Guitar Nerds Anonymous

My rule of thumb with cheaper instruments is, if you can get your hands on it and try it (even unplugged) you will soon know if it's worth a punt.

A nicely made guitar with good playability can always sound good, worst case scenario you will need to swap pickups but on the other hands, good sound alone might still be coming out of a badly finished, unenjoyable instrument.

Add to that that on the whole cheaper=less QC and therefore less consistency, so you might get a great copy and a not so great one. Having said that, the guy in the video seems to be an absolute Gibson nut but also very honest in his assessment - if he's impressed it should be for good reason.

To add to the options, I have recently picked up a lovely Epiphone SG Classic (two P90s and full batwing pickguard) and I've been super impressed with how well it's made, how it plays and how it sounds. I believe Les Pauls STDs go for similar prices to my SG, so a second hand one should be around that 250, maybe 300 mark (I paid 280 for mine), so if you're on the lookout for a nice, cheap LP those might be worth a look too! Especially the recent ones with the much nicer headstock get great reviews and people seem to find them every bit as good as I've found my SG and might be easier to find one to try in person?