Burstbucker = $149 a piece.


Bill Lawrence Wilde L-90  =  $60 a piece.
less than half of one burstbucker.

http://wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_Twin_Blades.html

drewfx1


Assuming you start with a guitar with decent "known" PU's, I wouldn't make any decisions about replacing them until I had the guitar a while to figure out what I liked/disliked about it. One or both of the stock PU's just might turn out to be perfect (or not). 

And my experience is that whenever you ask a forum about PU's everyone tends to respond with what they like/dislike regardless of what the OP specifically asks, so keep that in mind.

I completely agree.
 
The first thing I'd do is remove the covers and take a good listen. No cost option that may be just the thing.
 
Some people are quick to  tell you what pickup to use but maybe not so quick to tell you what pickup they're hearing when all they have to go by is the sound.
 
 

The stock ones on the Epi's don't sound bad, actually. The whole guitar packs in a lot of value for the money. That being said, there's always room for improvement. 

Another contender which just caught my eye and which I'd certainly like to hear are these babies: http://www.seymourduncan....whole-lotta-humbucker/

But again, these are more expensive than the DiMarzio SD or such.

Bats - Thanks for the link, I'll check them out. 

Burstbuckers are expensive.  I have never actually bought Gibson pickups off EBay, but I have seen some pretty good prices, if you watch patiently.  

I have a friend who's an expert at getting the best deals on eBay - I hadn't really thought about it but it might be an option to get him to check these out if I decide to go that way.