Heya Peeps,

I've been reading through this board for quite sometime already and i'm in midst of deciding on whether i should go for the Epiphone Les Paul 100 as my very first guitar. My second choice is a Ibanez GRG 150, btw.

Being a complete beginner (although i do know how to play 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica on Acoustic relatively well) and making a shift from drumming, i would like to seek opinions about this particular model.

Judging from the numerous positive reviews i've read while doing research over the net on websites such as Ultimate Guitar.com and other miscellaneous sites, it seems that this budget model has almost all the stuff i would love to have for my first E-guitar. The thing is quite heavy though, thanks to the mahagony body!

However, i would love to know what you guys(who own this model or have played it) have to say about this model such as its tone, its build quality and reliability.

As for me, i lean towards indie rock(i think fender stratocasters is more appropriate for this genre), hard rock, alternative, jazz and the blues. From what i read, this guitar has proven to be versatile at playing almost any genre out there.

What amp model will you guys recommend to me to pair up with this baby? I'm looking at a 15-watt one in the meantime as foresee myself doing alot practicing at home before i go jamming in studios or perhaps later, on stage(!) one day.

Lastly, i would like to know what is the effect(sound) like if i modify the humbacks(to better ones) or lower the strings. Also, do the number of frets matter much? For example, i notice some Ibanez or ESP models have 24 instead of 22.

Oh, i forgot to mention i'm a big fan of Dreamtheater, John Petrucci, Steve Vai and his bassist, Phillip Boyle and Joe Satriani!

Pardon me if this general post is meant to be in a completely different section. If it is, i'll relocate it to the appropriate topic post.

Thanks guys!

This post has been edited by Kagekiyo: Aug 29 2007, 01:39 AM