Those First Act guitars aren't all that bad. They started making guitars for kids, and now they have a "higher end" signature line of guitars. I bought on a whim their VE591, which has an internal preamp that gave a real warm tone, and allowed you to plug a set of headphone directly into the guitar for practice without an amp. I sold it recently, and kind of wish I hadn't.
As far as other budget electrics, the Squires mentioned above are pretty good values. A guitar instructor of mine would always recommend Ibanez for their high value/playability. Hope this helps!
