I have Fenders, Gibsons and Epiphones. A griend that works at the Gibson factory, and is a player, sez he buys the Epiphones himself as great quality. Some talk of the electronics not being as good as Gibson's - dunno if that is true as I've been pretty happy with what comes with the Epi's and the fit and finish on the Epi's are just great and equal to Gibson's. I'm really happy with what I'm seeing and hearing. The Epi's are based on the Gibson designs so you get that great playability and sound w/o the big ticket price.
And then you get into the Fender vs Gibson battles. Personally I prefer Gibsons/Epis 6-strings for the fatter, bluesy sounds and the short scales, tho I play a J Bass when amped, but prefer the Fender BG-29 around the house as fun to play and tho short-scaled, you get some nice growls from the ADG strings...
Good luck with your guitar search!