I apologize in advance to all of you Les Paul lovers but
when considering the recent quality of Gibson I would recommend you to check out the USA Hamer "The Les Paul Killer" Studio or Sunburst (same guitar). A member from Hamer Fan Club and G&L forum organized a blind test in G&L forum with four different guitars all with the same kind of pickup configurement and neck joints and bridges. There were a historic Les Paul, a Hamer Studio or Sunburst, one G&L and one Carvin. The Hamer beat them all hands down. Les Paul became last. They were all tested with same amps with same settings with both clean and dirty channels. My intention is not to criticize anything 'cause after all it's a matter of personal tastes
but check out the Hamers, you can't lose anything if you try one but you might be positively surprised by their quality and bang for the buck.