Who Makes The Best Inexpensive Les Paul Copy?

I have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and am very very pleased with it :)

What do you get from a Gibson that you can't get with an Epiphone?

The Agile brand ones from http://rondomusic.net/ are very nice for the price.

What do you get from a Gibson that you can't get with an Epiphone?

Higher quality workmanship, wood, finish and parts.

There is no doubt that Gibson's average level of quality is higher than Epi's. The question is if that difference is worth paying what you have to pay for it.

I have heard tale that all Les paul copies are manufactured in the same factory in the middle east and its all down to what headstock label you chose.
A good friend of mine has a Vintage V100CS http://www.guitars.co.uk/acatalog/Vintage_V100CS.html
Sounds very nice through his Peavey amp

AGILE! AGILE! AGILE! AGILE

I have a Goldtop and it's AWESOME!

I would have to agree with KP except for the Epi "Elitist" model LPs.
they have there own factory in Japan and all American hardware, i believe they are also quality inspected here in the USA.
However having said that you can get a lower end Gibson for several hundred less.
edit---

if money was tight i would have to go with Agile from Rondo for the best quality i've seen in an LP copy.
Uncle Frank sez....

Thanks for the info, everyone. If you guys had to choose between a Gibson Les Paul Studio or an Epiphone Elitist, which would you choose and why?

Thanks for the info, everyone. If you guys had to choose between a Gibson Les Paul Studio or an Epiphone Elitist, which would you choose and why?

Agile

I have heard tale that all Les paul copies are manufactured in the same factory in the middle east and its all down to what headstock label you chose.

You can run the same line for two different brands and have a higher grade of wood for one over the other.

You can have higher quality parts in the assembly bin for one over the other.

It's not all about the quality of the automated bits.

if i had the option of going to Tennessee and hand picking one i might get the studio, however the ones i've seen at MF have had quite a few flaws that i would not accept on a Gibson.

Every single Elitist that i checked out at MF has been near perfect in construction and set up very nicely.
i have not taken them home to try on my 67 bassman so i'm not too sure how they would sound, but imo the amps they had at MF made it a coin toss.

every so often they have a sale on Elitists at MF. i have seen the red and black LPs sell for around $750. this is what i would hold out for. at that price i could justify replacing the pickups.

What about the Eclipses? Where do they fall in the LP spectrum?

I have heard tale that all Les paul copies are manufactured in the same factory in the middle east and its all down to what headstock label you chose.
This is an old chestnut, that maybe 10 years ago was perhaps true. The factory in question is Samick, which, in 2001, was credited with producing 60% of the world's guitars.
Since then, a number of companies have expanded their production capability, including Epi, which has it's own, Gibson-owned facility in China. They also produce Epi guitars (mostly, if not exclusively) LPs in the Czech Republic, for European consumption.

However, the fact that one "brand" of guitar is produced on the same production line as another "brand" doesn't mean that the materials are the same, nor, necessarily, the quality.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of other copies...

ESP makes a Les Paul style guitar. They are a more mainstream name.

Michael Kelly makes a Les paul style in a number oif different models. You'll find the price on par with Epi.

Hamer makes a Les Paul Double-Cut guitar. Very high quality - especially the early 2000's Korean models.

PRS now makes a single-cut guitar from in their Korean line. It is called the PRS SE Singlecut. A little more pricey ($400 - 600).

These are in addition to the numerous "off brands" such as Agile, SX, Tokai, etc, etc...

I would personally stick to Epiphone or any of the above brands. Agile is a house-brand for Rondo music, and while many really like them, they are still a house "off brand".