I play my American Strats most of the time, but I always wanted an LP style guitar, and decided to go for an Epi. One of the local stores had some Standards, but they were beat up a bit by the customers, and none were very inspiring. They all needed a good cleaning and setup, and I just didn't want to bother with that. So I kept looking around, and I found a real nice one locally.
For $459, I couldn't be happier. The only thing I changed was the pups - I put in GFS Fat PAFs. I know it's not a Gibby, and that's OK, because I can relax and not worry about dinging it.
When I pick it up and play it, it feels and sounds great. Doesn't feel cheap at all. Yeah, I know, it's covered with veneer, etc.
All in all, a great value for the bux.