I don't know, I love my gibson... but, I kinda want to buy a fender too.

btw... gibsons are half made by machine, and half hand built. certain things (like cutting out the body shape) are better done by machine, whereas others (like fret filing) are better done by hand... gibsons are like a hybrid of the two, and the results are nice (for me anyway, maybe I just got lucky)

yes, there may be better brands out there, I just haven't played any yet.