I've got to be honest here, I don't rate Gibson guitars at all, and Epiphone are only really a decent buy because of the value they offer. Having said that I don't like Fender guitars either, which is odd because I love their Bass guitars. I'm using a Jazz Bass and a Stratocaster guitar at the moment. Love the Jazz but hate the Strat.

If I was going to recommend a guitar it'd be a Gretsch hollow bodied model of some sort, lovely pieces of kit. But very expensive unfortunately. Which is the only reason I haven't bought one yet.

For that money an Epiphone isn't a bad choice, my friend's got one and in all honesty the sound and playability are of a decent enough standard, they just aren't to my tastes. They may well be to your tastes which is what buying a guitar is all about.