I bought two newer Epiphones last year. They had the newer 2020 headstocks where supposedly they up'd the quality. Neither were low-end. One was a black glossy Custom, the other a 1959 inspired by Gibson
Both were nice in fit and finish. The '59 has a super nice veneer. The Custom looked mega pretty. The color was even without any flaws in either.
The acoustic resonance of both was good. The were good, not fantastic, but they were far from terrible either like some of the mid-tier guitars can be with the ultra-thick finish and the cheapie hardware. I actually thought the Custom was slightly better with more bite and slightly louder acoustically.
The bridges on both were crap. They both rattled like crazy. The gold in the Custom was super pale too, and it started to wear off even during the short time that I owned it. Easy fix, though. Just ordered some aftermarket bridges that made them sound and feel better, and the Gotoh bridge can be had for pretty cheap.
What was worst about them is the fretwork. ATROCIOUS out of the factory. Like, really bad. Dead fret galore. I took them both in for a fret leveling and recrowning, and that helped them both greatly. Honestly, the Custom played great with the thin neck. The 1959 is alright too, but the neck is clunky and even with the fret job, I never could get the action quite as low as the Custom.
Why I ultimately ended getting rid of the Custom was the bad fretwork didn't end up with the uneven frets. But many of them weren't even seated properly. You could see and feel a gap towards the treble side on the lower frets. Same as the treble side on the highest frets. Strings would even sometimes get caught in the gap from picking hard.
I'm considering getting rid of the '59 too not because it's bad or I don't like it, but because there is a lot of overlap with my Gibson Tribute, and I like the Gibson better in tone and feel. The '59 does look prettier, though, so that's why I haven't made up my mind.
So my advice is Epis are decent nowadays, the looks are really good, and the tone isn't bad, but keep an eye out for the fret work! Most of the issues can be fixed with them, but that's going to cost you something extra, and there are some cases where you won't be able to or it's going to be more expensive than it's worth.
To be completely honest, I'm not buying Epiphone anymore. Epiphones aren't cheap anymore. If I want a nice Les Paul without spending Gibson money, LTD's are better guitars for the money, IMO.
