To the subject of Epiphone: about 8 years ago I decided I wanted a Gibson SG (61 style) so I went to the local RockShop and tested a few they had there, when I saw this Epiphone Elitist SG (61 style) hanging on the wall there and decided to give it a whirl. It was an immediate no brainer that the build-quality, resonance and playability was hands down superior to the original Gibson. Long story short, the Gibson @ 1600€ stayed and the Epi @ 980€ became a keeper. Two mods were made, nut replaced with a bone nut and the bridge pickup got swapped for a SD 78 Model.
Picked up a used Epi Les Paul limited edition custom shop in mint condition for 250€. Since the foundation (neck, wood, resonance, playability) of this guitar was exceptionally good, I went all out and replaced pickups, nut, bridge and all the black plastic for cream.
Bottom line: When properly set up and they have a good foundation, neither of these guitars needs to hide behind their original counterparts and as far as my SG Elitist goes, it’s better than the original Gibson, at least the one I have. The Elitist SG was probably discontinued due to the direct competition with Gibson.