First of all, you need to play them before you buy them. You don't know how they are going to feel until they are in your hands. With the Epi, you need to play more than one of the same model because the consistancy among indivicual Epi's is somewhat lacking. Also, my experience with BC Rich guitars is that they are not well balanced. You have to hold the neck up because the headstock constantly wants to take a nose div to the floor.
That being said, I would suggest the Epi based on your musical preferences. The BC Rich is mainly built for metal and metal does not seem like yur priority right now. The Epi should be able to do the modern rock thing but should also have no problem chugging out some metal. Good luck on your quest, Ryan.

i too must say go with te Epi, although i am a BC Rich user and it can be used for all types of music the Epi would better suit your needs

I own a Epiphone LP studio and the quality of the epiphones tend to be drastically different between like guitars. The one I bought is as good as any expensive guitar but when I was looking at others of the exact model there were nicks, intonation issues, bad frets and fret finnishing. I would go for the Epiphone but really pay attention and shop around and get the quality one over the color you really wanted. Also think about waiting until you can afford a bit better guitar. If you are shopping in the $200 range then wait till you can jump to the $500 range where you can get a much nicer LP or Ibanez RG. Ibanez makes some really good low end guitars too so you may want to check those out also

My friend i will agree with other about not taking the Warbeast. When i bought my guitar i test mant Bc Rich i have to say some of the all great but most of them are hard to play because of the design.
Personally i am fan of BcRich guitar but they are hard for beginners. I would suggest to take a BcRich Outlaw the Guitar has great design , sound quiality and also has a floyd rose. The guitar cost more or less 400 euros( i don't know i dollars ) if you can't afford you can take a Ibanez GSA60 it cost around 200 euros it also do the trick and it has humbucker and tremolo.

That my opinion friend . Hope to find the best!

My eight-year old son has the Epi Special II, got it in September when he started taking lessons. He has grown into it, even though his hands are still too small to hold chords well. The action is good enough for a beginner, the strings seem to need readjustment to get back in tune after he plays for about 30 minutes, the sound is pretty good played through my ancient Princeton Reverb and it feels pretty good to me when I play, although I haven't played guitar regularly in about 30 years. Not bad for a starter. However, I must caution on two things: the price and longevity. I bought the guitar new at a local shop for $105. My son is ready for an upgrade already so i don't know if it's a guitar that is good enough if you plan on playing regularly and getting better quickly. Maybe you should wait, save some dough and get a mid-range guitar ($300 to $500).

I'd go with the LP.
I'm a proud Epi LP own and it's a pretty good guitar.
Great sound.

But the Warbeast is nice, but I don't think a begginer can handle such an axe.
There's no inlays on the fretboard and switching from a Squier, to a BC Rich, is a HUGE difference.

You should try one of the new Ibanez single cuts. Go to Ibanez.com and check out the ART400, ART300, and the ART100. See if one of the local places is ordering any and check them out. I tried out the ART320GR at a local place and if I didn't have my sz320 I would have bought it in a heartbeat. They usually run about $250-$500. I am a major advocate of Ibanez. Number one I have owned 5 of them and the only problem I ever had was the GIO that I had was set up with tremelo pick ups and I don't like them. But seriously check an Ibanez out. Usually if you want that tremelo sound you can get a double humbucker with a three way switch and it will have the set up to where you can get the single coil going.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtttt


well i mean look at you can shoot lightning out of it

duh!

yea but for real go with the epi