Epiphone makes good guitars, for the money. I've had several Epi's, including their high end LP's. They were all good guitars. I've also had several Gibson LPs including two Ttibute T's, and they were all better in every way. Most of them were considerably more expensive than the Epi's. If you look inside your Epi at the electronics, they're just not the same quality components or workmanship. I will say that Epi has their finishing process down. They all look pretty good, but it's a poly finish that is much less expensive and easier process than Nitro.