Yes I did try the Gibson first, just to see the difference. I noiticed a difference in feel on the fingerboard, either was better, they both felt good to me and while playing on the clean channel I noticed the Gibson had a slightly "brighter" sound to it. Other than that I couldn't tell any differences. I say go for the Epiphone, and then work your way up to a Gibson.

Also, save up a couple extra bucks and buy the Standard, not the Studio. The difference between the Epi Studio and Standard was like a Strat and a Tele. Totally different.