Much better. The guitar is much nicer and the tone is much nicer. Epiphone is low-end Gibson - that's a "Les Paul" copy. The amp still won't be great - but it will be a start. A good practice amp will probably be your next purchase. Then a multi-effects board. Then probably you'll start being curious about other guitars. That guitar will have fine sustain, rich tones, and be able to deliver some serious bite and punch - and growl. Think Guns N Roses sound. Of course, the amp won't do it *that* well, but it'll be a start. If I had to pick between the three, I'd go with the Epiphone. They're built to similar specs as a $750 to $1000 guitar, but the wood won't be as high a grade, the hardware won't be quite the same, but they're very, very playable. I own a number of guitars that are almost exactly the same as that. Granted, most are Gibson - but I do have some Epiphone models.