Jersey,
Is there a reason you want a stick welder? They're great for big, heavy work but for home or hobby welding a good mig machine will do everything you need. I have one but it has not been used in years and I've built four cars with my current wire feed and tig units. About control, you need far less practice to be good at wirefeed than stick. As for aluminum welding, plan on lots of practice. I can do aluminum but if I haven't done it for a while its like starting over again. It takes a lot of patients to master and you need the right equipment. The aluminum wire doesn't feed well through a metal sleeve and you need a plastic or teflon liner. The gas is different too; you use argon for aluminum whereas you should use a mix for ferrous metals. I've been welding for quite a while, not professionally but I've done enough that I can comment here with confidence. Get a good quality mig with a tank and flow control, either a guage or manometer type to control the gas and practice on scrap metal. I've known guys who have become quite good mig welders in a very short time. Good luck and easy ridin'