Verified answer

what 'J' said makes absolutely no sense at all. first of all, the Epiphone les pauls are the only Gibson authorized copies of les pauls out there, so how in the heck are they 'fake'? secondly, how exactly are they pickups 'easier to switch around'? you get the selector switch in both guitars, a 5 way in the strat, 3 way in the les paul so if changing the switch position should be 'hard' for any human being then the strat has 5 ways and is theoretically 'harder'. btw this is nonsense cause anyone could easily find their way with a 8 way selector switch if it existed.

epiphone les paul II special is a very durable instrument and its lifespan is most definitely very long unless you throw it into a wood chipper.

'squier tends to be the clearer sound' well duh thats the difference between a single coil pickup and a humbucker, single coils are rich in high range and have very little low range so it has nothing to do with the make but with the type of pickups used in both guitars. it doesnt mean the les paul sounds muffled or whatever, it means it has lots of low range as well as high range whereas the strat has only good high range.

right, having commented that utterly nonsensical answer I will now move onto mine.

in the end it's up to you which guitar do you find more aesthetically pleasant, as well as what kind of music you're keen on playing. this you haven't disclosed so I can't advise you.

however, a couple of points. the squier strat has a pretty thin neck that's of wooden color on the backside. some people don't like that, while some do. the les paul has a black high polish finish on the back of the neck as well as the body. the neck is also considerably thicker which, to me, feels very nice.

all i all, I believe Epiphone gives you better quality for money.

Honestly, either one of these guitars should suit you just fine. In the end, the experience and experimentation of playing different guitars over time will develop more of a personal preference for you. But for now, if sheer sonic diversity is the main attribute that you're basing your judgment on, the Squire would fit that description more than the Epiphone. The reason I say this, is due to the pickups. The Epiphone is equipped with two humbuckers, while the Squire has a humbucker and two single coils. Humbuckers and Single Coil pickups have unique sounds, especially in this price range. Essentially, this means that the Squire will be able to more closely approximate the sound of the either/or between these two guitars, while the Epiphone is a little less multifaceted in terms of it's diversity. Good luck, and happy playing!

I am particularly partial to Epiphone Les Paul, but you may like the Squier Stratocaster. They're pretty comparable other than there are more pickup options with the Squier Stratocaster. I would go with the Epiphone if I were you.

Squier Strat Hss

The stratocaster would be my bet, the 'fake' les Pauls although good, I've found had a short life span though that's only my experience, I find the squier tends to be a clearer sound and the pickups are easier to switch around etc so easy to upgrade

I like the affinity, its a solid little guitar and the humbucker will give you some full low end tone while the singles will give you realy nice highs (think hendrix). I recently got an affinity strat to mod and the manufacturing standards are getting pretty good these days. Im not knocking the epiphone, they are great and if you like heavy music you will like the epiphone, but I feel the HSS strat will give you more range and help you decide if you like singles of hummers...