Yes, thanks, you are right, and I'm doing that. (Hard to sneak a new guitar into the house, easy to get new strings )
I think a large part of the problem is that I have no idea what this guitar CAN sound like. I have very little experience with electric guitars (I've only ever played the three I own, and only ever played them through my boss katana amp).
Yep... certainly need more experience. I won't be changing anything too radical until I get that.
So (preparing this in my head so it comes out smooth if I need to say it to my wife)..."The really experienced players that I know on internet all said I need to try lots of strings, spend a lot more time playing (and lass time cooking), and might need a valve amp in the near future" -- yep, she'll buy that if I can say it with a straight face 😁