I recently bought a used Epiphone 335 Figured Tea Burst used for $450. I’m not an expert by any means but it’s about as good a guitar as I would ever need. I thought that I would at least need to change the pickups but I was wrong. These “Inspired by Gibson” guitars have CTS pots, upgraded hardware and are finished nicely. I also like the changed headstock better than the other version. I kind of expected the guitar to be the typical Chinese cheap feeling type of thing. It’s slightly heavier than the Gibson as it’s not nitro finished but other than that the differences are not something I would notice
I’m not what I call a cork sniffer as I’ve been lucky to find three really good MIM Fenders as well as a 1993 LP Classic that I rotate around. For someone who just enjoys playing at home I think there are a lot of moderately priced Chinese guitars out there that provide a good value.