strat vs epi LP????

Been playing acoustic for awhile and want to start playing electric. Budget is not too high, so looking between Strat (non-american) and the Epiphone LP standard plus.

I like the feel of the LP as the neck feels more like my acoustic and it played so nice at guitar center tonight. I didn't give the strat much of chance tonight, so I was hoping to get peoples thoughts on what each guitar is capable of. What types of music do each guitar excel at? Are the single coil pickups in the strat better than the humbuckers in the LP? What does one have over the other???

Just looking for opinions. I don't want to buy the LP just find it plays rock very well, but sucks at everything else. The guy at GC told me the strat would be better for blues and clean channel.

Thanks,

Chad

well, i am pretty new (1 year), and i used to have a strat (non american) and now i have a LTD 100QM (epi copy).
what i have noticed is it is more in the pickups & amp than anything for your sound. the strat had a slight warmer tone, but i didnt really like the neck, the LTD (so i thought), seemed to be a little more "twangier", but after my guitar teacher suggested a fender amp (Frontman 25R), it sounded much warmer.
over christmas my wife bought me Eric Clapton's Crossroads DVD, in that Susan Tedeschi plays w/ a Les Paul; she had prolly one of the best blues sounds i have ever heard. (recommended watch BTW).
so i think the moral of the story is, get what feels right in your hands. don't worry about you sound yet since you can tweak this w/ new pickups and different amps.

Awesome advice. Thanks!

I'm starting to scrape the $$$ together for that epi. I can't stop thinking about it!!!

It's a decision only you can make, and the reality is that either guitar will likely serve you well. I always recommend the Strat as a first electric - seems to me that it is more versatile and I find easier to play. Body width and weight being an issue on the LP, and for me the position of the controls as well...

Give the strat a chance, and for that matter try every guitar you can afford to help you make an informed decision. When you do decide on the type and manufacturer, make sure to play every one of that guitar the store has - each one will be slightly different. Make sure you get the sweetest one...

And welcome to GT... :)

Hi
I have been looking for ages for a new guitar. I had an Ibanez Artcore, which is great for jazzy type stuff but feeds back when any volume is used. I first bought a really cheap Strat copy from EBay. I liked it but thought that the neck was a bit narrow. However, it had got my interest going for a solid body and after much searching and trying of different things, on Wednesday I bouht an Epiphone Les Paul Junior 57 Reissue from Merchant City Music in Glasgow (I'm in Scotland). It might just have one P100 pickup, but it sounds great and feels great (it also looks great. It's TV Yellow!). The moral is, try lots of stuff and buy what fits your hand. I'll get lots of good sounds from my Junior, I'll just have to work a bit harder to do it, using guitar and amp settings plus my effects box.
One other thing. Once you buy one, give yourself time to get used to it. It doesn't matter how many you try in the shop, it's only when you get it home that you begin to get to know it. Have fun!