Thank you for your words, mentlegen.

Sprool - They are passive I would have thought, because the guitar is sub £300. I did some Googling and I that makes me lean towards the passive as well. I do like playing metal, and I've got a cheapish VOX modelling amp, which I find I can get almost any sound out of. I could always chuck some actives in at a later date I guess. It's something I can find out when I'm in the shop.

I do like the look of the Ibanez more, despite them looking quite similar! Well, I'm off to the shop in a couple days, so I'll let you know how I got on, and hopefully have some pics of a new guitar for y'all!

I'm under no illusions that either would be a step up from the Squier, but I'm really just after something to noodle/practice on, because as weird as this sounds, the SG is a cruel mistress sometimes and I find the neck extremely narrow and the action is set incredibly low, tried to get it fixed but not really worked.... So I prefer to have something a bit more forgiving if I just want to hammer out a new riff or I get frustrated!

...And the top E keeps getting caught on the 5th fret on the Squier, so time to retire that one!

Thanks again, I'll report back in a few days!

(I would appreciate Rob's input on the Ibanez!)