PerFeCTioNThrUSileNCe

^Gibsons are pretty much crap unless you spend more than a thousand dollars on a Standard model. Anything lower than that is pretty much a waste of money. The only low end Gibson I've ever played that I liked was a Faded model SG, and the only reason it played well was because the friend of mine who owns it spend hours tweaking the action and intonation.

In terms of "affordable" guitars...the lower end Ibanez models are actually decent guitars out of the box, as are LTD's. Generally LTD's have the best features for the money. Schecters are decent but to find one that plays really well you have to do a lot of searching.

If we're talking about legitimate guitars, professional quality and playability, and a slightly heftier price tag, then ESP and Ibanez definitely take the cake. It depends somewhat upon the type of neck one prefers on a guitar, but ESP guitars have the best necks in my opinion. They're relatively thin, but the fretboard isn't so flat that you end up only being able to play on one type of guitar as you do with most newer Ibanez guitars. In terms of speed though, Ibanez are the best. The flat fretboard allows for slightly wider spacing between strings making sweeping and tremolo picking (a.k.a. shredding) easier and cleaner.

Carvin guitars are also great in terms of playability but they're among the most expensive. PRS as well, though like Gibson, you have to spend at least two thousand to get one that really plays. I don't like PRS necks though, they're very Fender-esque; wide with round back and fretboard.

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