There are very nice Gibson style guitars from other brands on the market as well if Epiphone doesn't do it for you, almost every manufacturer makes their own version of the Les Paul, but they're all different. you can't expect a comparable Gibson at an Epiphone price. Keep in mind the price you pay for an Epiphone in comparison to a Gibson.

There's no doubt if I had money to blow I'd probably replace every piece of hardware that's replaceable on my LP, but that's just me being anal because it does the job as is for the moment and when I'm ready I'll probably be moving up to a Gibson anyway. I'm happy with the Epiphone Les Paul ProFX my brother picked up last year that I did a full set up on for him that left me thoroughly impressed.

I'm happy with my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus and I'm happy with the Epiphone EJ200CE that my Father owns.