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You need to assess individual guitars on their own merits, but if I was buying online I'd expect the Gibson to be far more likely to have the potential to be a professional sounding guitar.
My personal experience is that every time I've compared a beautiful, glossy flame topped Epiphone with a dowdy-looking budget Gibson, the Gibson has effortlessly sounded like the real thing and the Epiphone has just been a little generic sounding.
Im sure there are some good and some bad of each though
Generally speaking personally I'd go for the Gibson.
They're multi-piece bodies with a veneer front and back, and like @p90fool I don't believe they're mahogany in the strictest sense of the word, but I guess the biggest difference is that the thick poly finish can feel dead and plasticky. Although I notice the Gibson Studios are also multi-piece backs.
Standard and Trads are usually 2 piece bodies to...have been for years!! But still better quality all round.
will you constantly be looking at the headstock and wishing you had a Gibson? I know I would.
I had a Les Paul Studio a few years ago and put some Lollar Imperials in it and it sounded much better to me, more vintage and was a fine sounding and playing guitar.
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Doesn't mean that they will sound any better though.
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Considered flying to Manchester or London to see what was there.
Once, for amusement, I picked up an Epi LP that was on the 'guitars you can try' rack. It had a few minor scratch marks but it felt pretty good. Plugged in it was not too bad, the more I played it the more convinced I felt that I should buy it. The shop assistant wanted to get a new boxed Epi for me as the guitar I had in my hand was 'demo stock'. He was surprised when I said that I wanted to buy the demo guitar, in the end I got €50 off the marked price.
Since then I have fitted S. D. pickups, new decent quality machines, got the guitar professionally setup and this year I fitted a Switchcraft selector switch. And I removed the scratchplate.
The guitar is still an Epi. I would have bought a Gibson if any Gibson I tried out felt as good as the Epi in my hand. Gibsons failed in that regard. The day it was setup, the tech plugged it into a Marshall head and a 4 * 12 cab. I was at the far end of the shop and one of a group of young lads said "Fucking hell, that is some sound. And it is an Epi" I still have it and it is not going anywhere!
Adding up the cost of the Epi, the pickups and other upgrades brings me into the lower reaches of Gibson. A Gibson would be worth more if I sold it on but I bought the Epi to play it. It took a lot of time and effort to get a Les Paul guitar that I actually liked. Just goes to show that you should always try before you buy. If you must have the Gibson name on the headstock, be prepared to try out lots before purchasing.
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If it sounds good and feels good - buy it! If the Epi is good, then it's good. Same with the Gibson. Depends on your budget. Try out used items too. Used guitars hold value - unless you were stung initially.
Don't forget that a lot of people like the old plastic guitars. Just because it is not real-woods does not automatically mean it is bad either.
I'm not a guitar snob, but if you're after a specific classic sound then you can't ignore the construction elements which go to make up that sound.
FWIW, my favourite Epiphone is the old Les Paul Special II, bolt on neck, cheap ceramic humbuckers and God knows what kind of wood.
It sounds nothing like any Gibson ever made, but it's an absolute rock 'n' roll machine.