I've been playing for well over a decade and in that time I've played dozens of epiphones, squiers, harley bentons etc and, in my opinion, this is one of the better guitars in that price range. It feels wonderful to play, sounds excellent and the finish looked gorgeous (a lot better in person than it does in the picture, I reckon!). I bought this for my brother as his first electric guitar and it did the trick nicely. The neck feels very fast and responsive and I'm quite a fan of the single tone/volume knobs as it helps keep things simple for beginners. My one criticism is that the frets are a little sharp. Other than that, it is an outstanding piece of gear for the money!