Japanese made guitars are excellent. In the late 90's to early 2000's they were an absolute steal. No one really wanted them and it wasn't uncommon to find a Japanese made Jackson, Ibanez, Charvel for under $300. Not so common anymore unfortunately.
70s ones were great guitars. They were originally just copies but later focused on electronic options and effects to separate themselves from the other brands. Electronics not being for most peoples taste, they had awesome build quality.
I love this fucking thing. Since I was a much younger glory hole stalker I wanted this type of guitar after seeing and hearing Elvis Presley whale on Scotty Moore's Gibson Super 400 in his 68 comeback special. Unfortunately, unless I rob a bank or make a killing selling meth to the local population (probably could in my area) I'm never gonna afford one of those. However I was in the market for a low priced axe last year and came across the Ibanez and figured it was worth a shot. I can't believe these go for such an inexpensive price (well I can after reading the wood types they make them from these days) but it's an absolute steal. Their QC seems to be on point, and I only had to make minor adjustments from the factory setup. Having a guitar I can't wait to pick up and play has been a boon to my practice/playing.
If you're feeling lucky I'd say go for it. My local CL usually has a number of monitors available at any given time. You could always wait for a great deal on a pair of monitors that are known to be good.
Those daisy chains aren't usually the greatest. They can create a lot of unwanted noise. Isolated power supplies can be found cheap if you're patient enough.
It's an awesome guitar.
1) Do it
Yes it does, at least if it gets moved out of position after it is set up, it'll fuck up the intonation completely. I imagine there is some leeway for positioning, but any changes you make will then require a re-intonation. There seems to be some kind of measurements you can use for that (I ain't got time fo' dat, you can find it on the internetz though). Since I have the guitar intonated and set up by the bridge position as I received it (I'm taking a leap of faith that the Indonesian ladyboi that set up my guitar wasn't high or drunk or dilating while doing it), the easiest way to keep things consistent would be to use post it notes and stick those at the bridge edges you want to mark off before removing it.
I have a Godin, a Solidac, and it's one of the best guitars I've ever owned. I've played a few others at varying price points, too. They're not terribly exciting looking, but they play and sound extremely good for the money, and (in my experience) the quality is great.
I've never owned a Godin but I've heard they're awesome.
Ebay, Reverb, or Guitar Center's used market should be able to provide you with something that will work. I learned the hard way to make sure you get a larger supply than what you think you'll need. Damn pedals seem to multiply on their own.
For sure, I've said it here before; these are relatively simple instruments. You can take a guitar pickup and attach it to a plank of wood, suspend some strings over it, touch the two wires coming out of your pickup to your jack, and it'll make sound.