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Isn't that what others call 'strumming'..?

Im finally doing it. 100bpm 3 strings. Achievement unlocked PXL_20230614_144357481.mp4

I've never tried to sweep pick. Some day I'll give it a go.

I'm a bit late the party here, but instead of suggesting a guitar for an upgrade, I would ask "do you like the sound of your current guitar?" If the answer is yes, then I would ask what you want from an upgrade. If aren't sure of an answer to that, then you just want to buy a new guitar for the sake of it. There's nothing wrong with that. As for electrics, you could go for a second hand brand name guitar and get something good for the money, or you could try a new Harley Benton. You get a pretty decent guitar for not a lot of money.

This may be a case of teenage exposure to early Bob Dylan talking, but sometimes an acoustic does just hit the spot that even with the time to plug up an electric won't. (Is that a reverse Judas? Ha!) That said, over the years I've had a weird enjoyment from playing my electrics entirely unplugged around the house. Like an acoustic, but much quieter! Can't hear it in the next room, doesn't drown out the TV if you're watching yourself and just want to noodle... I had an oddly great acoustic sound some years back from - no lie - a late 90s Chinese Squier Standard Stratocaster, with the plate / pots / pickups removed, and the bridge blocked with a synthetic wine cork. Of all things.... A semi (think 335 type) will give you the next level of volume up unplugged - though again without causing annoyance in the next room.

I can think of a few. 1] If you're left-handed, buy a left handed guitar. DON'T listen to that (inevitably right handed) guy who gives you a load of guff about "the guitar isn't handed" or who tells you "you'll be better off with your dominant hand on the fretboard (id that were true, *he'd* - and it's ALWAYS a 'he' - be playing with his right hand on the fretboard). 2] Learn full songs. Even if it's only basic open chords. It's far more fun to play full songs with other people than it is to show off dozens of intros to famous songs and bits of solos you've learned. 3] Get lessons (I never have, and I regret that - plan to do something about it in the next year.) While it's cute to be able to say you're "entirely self-taught!", the vast majority of us will progress faster with some good guidance as well as the practice. 4] Play what you enjoy playing. Don't sit there feeling inferior to the guy doing all the shred workouts because you can't. Sure, you could learn, but do you want to? I'd love to have the level of skill Steve Vai does, for example, but it's not stuff I personally get any joy from listening to, and it would be a chore. (I'm thinking of years of taking piano lessons because middle class, at a time when I had zero interest in piano based music... I never put the work in and just didn't really get into it. Would have been better on guitar all that time.) If you like Link Wray or Johnny Ramone, learn to play in that vein and make it your own. It's not to say that I think there's nothing to learn from being open to something outside your normal parameters, just that, well.. music isn't a competition, and being able to play one genre isn't qualitatively better than another if that's what you enjoy. Johnny Ramone forged an entire career from the root 6th barre chord, and not many players (other than Daniel Rey, ha!) have excited me as much with their sound on a primal level. 5] Listen to music, not instruments. I honestly think the people I've encountered who were the best guitarists were those who didn't limit themselves to only listening to guitar music. (This doesn't conflict with #4 , that's about being who you are, this is about appreciating who other musicians are. And finding inspiration in the oddest of places sometimes: that piano riff that makes Elvis Costello's Oliver's Army so melodically compelling was inspired directly by Dancing Queen by Abba - Lemmy's favourite band.). When it comes to equipment... 1] Buy quality not brand. Don't assume that the bigger brands are always best, equally don't assume that they have to be overpriced. When I started out, I doubt I could have much told you the difference between a Squier and a US Fender, much less an Epiphone and a Gibson in a blind test (and those differences were a bit starker back then). In time, I could - and lusted after all the high end stuff. I've now reached the sweet spot where I can tell all the differences, and I'm a lot more confident about the point along the track of the law of diminishing returns at which I jump off the train. I no longer feel I *have* to spend as much as I possibly can, and I'm a lot more confident about assessing a guitar, knowing it's foibles and what the next price rung up will get me, and being happy about my own choice when I decide that I don't want / need / consider that "more" to be either worth the extra or necessary to me. A real Eureka moment for me was realising that I actually prefer the specs of Fender's Mexico lines (at least much below a level of cost in the US models that just isn't worth it to me as a hobby player - were I a pro, that might be different). I think this is something that just comes with experience (to judge an instrument on its own merits confidently, instead of the security of it being "reassuringly expensive", though I also believe that with the right mindset you can get there a lot faster. A psychological breakthrough with this came for me when I started to think of guitars in the same way as I would clothes, or a car... Sure a Rolls would be nice, but a Morris Minor is more me - and cheaper to buy, insure, feed, less likely to get keyed by some class warrior down the supermarket carpark.... and still does everything I need it to. I also no longer buy flagship mobile phones.... I think what I'm emphasising here is the importance of knowing your own needs as a player, and being realistic about what point at which those are met, and what's just spending more money... I should note, I'm' not against spending more money if you have it, aren't going into hock for it and want the pricier guitar - just buy it knowing it's a luxury, not a necessity. And yes, there is a value in buying a "dream guitar" if it really will make you want to play more and enjoy it more. 2] Not judging a guitar by country of origin is another one - though I think that's also helped by the fact that I've never really felt a great need to buy a guitar "made here", and when you're not in the US, a US guitar is just another import the same as one made in China or Korea or Germany, all other things being equal.