I seriously don't understand why people are emotional over spending useless amounts of extra money on a Brand Name. A fake Les Paul is dirt cheap, sounds literally the exact same, and the only difference is what? A few extra 1000 bucks? For what? Cred?
I don't get it, what does a brand name mean to anyone? It's like kids and Nike Shoes, you just look stupid. Get a 250 buck Chibson, done. You get a guitar with NO FUCKING DIFFERENCE and you can still pay for your kids tuition. Problem solved for EVERYONE. But no, sacrifice the little money the family has for what?
Oh there absolutely are differences!
If you get something other than a Gibson, it might actually stay in tune. =)
I'll also note that often it's way less about how a guitar sounds, and way more about how they feel, and how they make YOU feel, and that's harder to quantify.
I have found that a good quality 500 buck guitar with ~200 buck work by a good technician/luthier can easily compete with or beat most 1000+ buck guitars.
In the 250 buck range it's a bit tougher, you can absolutely get a very good guitar that plays well, but probably not quite as good. Even if you get good basic geometry etc., usually at that price the hardware and pickups just aren't as good, though those are cheap upgrades. I'm a big fan of upgrading guitars. That though only starts to really matter when you're not just playing for fun.
Sometimes there are exceptions. I've had very nice playing, very well set up LTD guitars in the 500 buck range, but having had chances to test their "proper" ESP Japan made versions, you could immediately tell that they're just better, look better, feel better, play better.
Enough for me to pay 1.5k more? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
It's never been easier to get really good playing guitars for cheap than now, which is a great thing. =)
In the case of the Gibson Les Paul though... Yeah I don't get it. Might be a controversial take, but I feel today's Gibson doesn't make anywhere near the best Les Pauls, I much prefer many of the copies... They look stunning, they've got that down.