Quote from: Hinfrance on July 14, 2013, 05:02:53 PMDon't know about the Vintage, other than what I have read (I did consider one), but I do have a recently acquired Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom GX in Black Cherry (following a visit from the birthday fairy and saving up for the best part of a year). Oddly it was 20% less expensive here than in the UK (less in Euros than in £s), otherwise I would have gone for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Pro.
The finish on the Prophecy is beautiful for the price. There are a couple of tiny, and I mean tiny, details that are not quite right, but I had to look really hard to find them. Obviously I spent some time setting it up to the way I wanted it, but it was fine out of the box even if the strings were not quite up to it. I have changed them for 010 Ernie Balls, but I will change them again to d'Addarios because my Harley Benton LP copy has those and I prefer them.
Which brings me to a Les Paul recommendation. My Prophecy is quite wonderful in my eyes, I'm a sucker for good looks and it plays beautifully and as the adverts say it has a fast neck. But, and it is a big but, I also really like my Harley Benton 450 despite the dodgy finish in places and the bit of resoldering I had to do when I first got it. It too has Wilkinson pickups, looks a million dollars (if you don't look too closely), plays well, has a big fat sound and the longest sustain of all of the guitars I have. It has a set neck, solid mahogany body and neck with a rosewood fingerboard. All in all it bats well above its price bracket. Until I got the Prophecy it was the guitar I played most often. It's so cheap that you'll have loads left over for a decent amplifier too!
Have you looked at a Chapman from Andertons? Possibly a bit metal?
The upshot is that lower priced guitars these days are generally extremely well made and even if the QC is a bit lacking from time to time the underlying products are better than ever. So I'm sure whichever one you go for you'll be more than chuffed with it.
The Prophecy definitely has a great reputation, and those fast necks are a dream to play.