I've played some Epiphones they were great and some that were terrible. Generally, the electonics aren't as good as what they put in Gibsons. The quality of the wood that Epiphone uses isn't anywhere near as good either. If you compare a Gibson Les Paul to an Epiphone, you'll see major differences in how Epiphone puts their guitars together. Generally, Epiphone will uses a lot of glue to manufacture their instruments, where Gibson tends to use solid peices of wood.
Generally, for the money and the quality you get, Ibanez is the way to go. Since quality can vary greatly, my advice is play an instrument before you buy it.
Re: Epiphone....are they really that bad?
I've played some Epiphones they were great and some that were terrible. Generally, the electonics aren't as good as what they put in Gibsons. The quality of the wood that Epiphone uses isn't anywhere near as good either. If you compare a Gibson Les Paul to an Epiphone, you'll see major differences in how Epiphone puts their guitars together. Generally, Epiphone will uses a lot of glue to manufacture their instruments, where Gibson tends to use solid peices of wood.
Generally, for the money and the quality you get, Ibanez is the way to go. Since quality can vary greatly, my advice is play an instrument before you buy it.