My tuppence...I have a 20-year old Gibson Firebrand. It's a mahogany solid body whose shape was based on the Gibson 335 semi-hollow (stylistically similar to B.B. King's various incarnations of "Lucille"). Gibson made them for two or three years in the late 70s/early 80s with the C&W set in mind. (The gimmick on the Firebrand was having the Gibson name burned into the headstock as though with a branding iron.)

Bottom line for me: I like its shape, its weight and balance, the range of tones I can get from its two humbucking pickups and the tuning setup, from bridge to tuning heads. Picked it up for about $400 US a few years ago and it's been all the electric I've needed. (This had been someone's serious gig guitar, judging from the worn finish on the front and the belt-buckle intaglio-work on the back, so it had already proved its longevity and ability to take abuse and still stay in tune by the time it came to me.)

All things being equal, I think I'd buy a used and roadworthy Big Name rather than spend the same money on a new low-end or budget line model from the same manufacturer.