So I have never had or played a Gibson Les Paul, therefore won't delve into any comparison.
Probably the most interesting part about this guitar are the Gibson pick ups, and let me tell you, they sound great. Classic hum buckers, warm clean sounds and powerful in overdrive. Had another Epiphone Les Paul and the pick ups difference is quite noticeable.
About the rest of the guitar, the build quality is decent, but the fretboard was REALLY rough and in need of a complete polish, most likely due to all being done with machinery at factory. I doubt epiphone performed any type of setup at factory besides any standard QA as the intonation was not on point (Required some bridge adjustments).
I think Epiphone could charge a bit extra (maybe 30-50eur) for this china models and make sure there was minimal setup at factory, specially in terms of fret polishing and fretboard wood treatment. It would make a really big difference.
The case is cool, the guitar looks good and the remaining parts of the build looked decent. The next thing I am going to do is to replace the plastic nut for a bone nut, and I mean, putting plastic nuts on guitars >1000eur (or near that mark) is kinda sad.
Also I immediately changed the strings (it comes with some Gibson 010) but that is a matter of personal preference. Now trying out the D'Addario XS 010 and liking it! (mostly I use Elixir Optiwebs, but someone recommended to try the Addarios).
In a nutshell, you are buying a good guitar, the "black beauty" looks are to die for and with some setup/work without massive investment this instrument is outstanding.
PS: I play mostly blues and metal and this guitar sounds great in those. Highlight for that bridge pickup, who likes to crunch!
