hey nothing wrong with lower end geeetars man !
i personaly never owned an american made guitar due to the high $$$$$
but iv played american made guitars & jap guitars in my local guitar center all the time & i tell you there is not a big differance between the both models ! apart from the price & resale value of the instrument !
i personaly prifer jap jackson guitars ! with emg's ! ..
even if i could afford an american jackson , ill rather buy the jap model !
remember as long as the guitar has a solid wood body & you install hight output pickups & have a decent amp then you will have a million $$ sound ! ..
oh & if you play good helps alot too lol ..
remember EVH can make $100 guitar sound like a $10,000 guitar !!
p.s. thats a great looking EP lespual ! those thing sound great man !