Fight Club: EBMM and PRS vs. Fender and Gibson

I've owned many examples from all four mfg's in question. Sound is subjective, but craftsmanship is not. Ernie Ball Music Man and Paul Reed Smith are both better built guitars than Fender and Gibson, in terms of QC, fit and finish. No contest.

With that said...

...I would take a Fender over an EBMM any day. The latter feel like "mini-guitars" to me. The bodies are small, and the necks are so narrow that my E strings are constantly slipping off the fretboard. I've owned an Axis and 4 Silhouettes, and they are all gone now. If you prefer the smaller feel, however, EBMM is the way to go without question.

OTOH, I would take a PRS over a Gibson any day. The only reason I can see to choose a Gibson would be because they look cool. Some will argue that nothing sounds like a Les Paul but a Les Paul. I would argue back. The necks can take some getting used to. They are on the wider side. The 24 fretters stick waaaaay out there. The scale length is another thing some people find foreign. Others models, the 245 for example, feel like home right off the bat.

The best guitar I've ever owned is a PRS SC245. Still have it....it's the one in the picture above.
Next best is a 1991 PRS CE24 - one of the early alder bodies. Sadly, that guitar has gone back to the great forest in the sky.