No one has mentioned Schecter. For the money, they're one of the best guitars on the market. The one I have has a scale which makes it so playable and comfortable… it's in between the shorter Gibson scale and the longer Fender scale, with 24 frets. So, you get some of the "snap" of a Fender, with the fast playability of a Gibson. Duncan-designed pickups sound great also. All this at a small fraction of a Gibson.