First Electric Guitar?

If you want to go the route of Vox and Les Paul - which sounds awesome by the way - why not get closer than what you're suggesting here?

The recommended Pathfinder by Vox is a great solution to get you started. Far better than the Marshall. Both are practice amps of course, but the Vox is simply better - and much closer to your tone ideal.

Then you should check out the Agile brand for really amazing Les Paul copies. These are far better than the Epiphone brand (owned by Gibson). In may ways, they even match Gibson in built quality, materials, finish and set-up (they come supplied with a superior set-up out of the box).

I own and play a number of really good Gibson guitars, but also a couple of Agiles. These are truly some amazing guitars for the prize. You can check them out here: http://www.learnelectricguitarnow.net/agile-electr...

And sure enough - they (Gibson as well as Agile) sound simply superb through my Vox amps :-)

You can get an Epiphone Les Paul Studio (Goth , Black or White $350) and the Marshall ($150) for $500.

The LP Studio has set neck (not bolt-on) for better sustain.

If you look around you can pick up a vox pathfinder 15r amp for around £50. or a pathfinder 10 for even less. I got a 15r and its perfect for a practice amp and sounds awesome. look em up.

the guitar looks good tho. and I've heard good things about it.