Re: One great axe or lotsa good ones?
Robert, I know what you mean about those ibanez 550s. I had a 560 with a JB in the bridge, and replaced it with a high end custom built guitar that in retrospect doesn't come close tonally. I can't hang with the necks these days, but they are great guitars.
To answer the question, I'd go for several, but it's mainly to do with having something to cover all the various tonal/stylistic bases.
The nicest guitar I own is my PRS. But it simply won't sound like a strat or tele no matter how much I tweak the electronics. So I tend to use my fenders for my main band, as they tend to cut through a 9 piece mix a bit better. However, the PRS is great to have for smaller format gigs where I'm the harmonic 'bed' for the whole band. So it's horses for courses.
As for whether my guitars are midprice or high end, I think it depends on each individual guitar. I guess eventually I'll get a relic nocaster and a tom anderson or similar, but my current guitars sound great, gig well and will play even better once they get their upcoming refrets.
Right now, there's a gap in the inventory for a p90 guitar, an 80s shredder, an ash/maple tele, a semihollow and a Les Paul. But it's going to be a while before those gaps are filled.