I'm not ABSOLUTELY tied to the idea of a Les Paul type guitar, but I'm pretty set on wanting something with a sweet humbucker tone as an alternative to my strat. I think the Epi LPs are good guitars, and for this price range they are what I would compare other guitars to, but that doesn't mean there aren't better! If I don't find something better, my fall-back position would be either an Epi or if I can stretch the budget a cheap Gibson studio. Or, for something completely different, an Epiphone Sheraton
VB, I'm glad you had a good experience with a Vintage, I'm kinda leaning that direction myself. But I haven't found anywhere local that stocks them, so I would have to buy online, and that's not ideal. Good point about the setup, I might look into Guitar Bitz when the time comes. The old Japanese Tokais were superb, but the new cheaper Chinese ones don't look as good.
I'm about to pull the trigger on some much-needed recording gear, a condensor mike, cable and usb interface. Oh, and a cajon thrown in for fun

Then I can start saving for a new guit. And then a new bass... it never ends
But we love it
