Is Gibson a bad guitar company?

Yes you can get a Chinese custom Gibson Les Paul copy with "EMG" pickups shipped Worldwide for $275 but ultimately it's a $275 knock off and it would be noticeable if you did a side by side test with the real thing. The copies look great and apart from the odd cosmetic differences look almost identical but they are best used as wall decoration as opposed to anything other than a medium to low priced guitar. Any luthier will tell you what's the three most important things in building a guitar and you will get the response "the wood, the wood and the wood". Plywood doesn't sound as good as mahogany.

There are loads of genuine guitars in the same price range that will sound and play better than a made in Shanghai rip off. Gibson and Fender aren't rip offs. They both have budget ranges (Squier, Epiphone) through to the full priced guitars. As with most things in this World you get what you pay for, guitars are no different.

Gibson is truly a great company, Fender as well, I own several of each ranging from early 80's to current models. The American models of each really are top notch instruments right from the factory. The low budget Epips and Squiers aren't terrible but you do get what you pay for. There is a placebo perception because of so many celebrity collaborations over the decades but the bottom line, the pros would not be playing them if they were junk.

Personally from a company standpoint I go with PRS, AAA+ all the way

I mean no disrespect, but if you knew how to play guitar at any decent level you wouldn't be asking this question. You would already know the answer from playing these guitars. But no, you are incorrect. I own everything from Squiers, to Custom Shop Gibsons/Fenders, to one-off lutier built customs. Point being I have played and compared guitars from many manufactures and small makers side by side as any guitarist worth his weight has done. I suggest you do the same instead of spreading a bunch of troll-like crap you "heard on the internet".

When it comes to fake or knockoffs you can tell right away. However you are paying more for the brand name rather than the quality. I do not think spending thousands of dollars on a guitar makes that much of a difference. maybe spending a couple hundred more but thousands I don't know. Like a pair of lewis vuiton shoes for 1000 bucks does not have quality worth that money no shoes do but we pay for the name. So to answer you I would say yes the sound is better but is it worth the money I would say no. I bought my guitar from Royal Guitar and they do not sale fake replicas but they sale cheaper guitars for people with lower budgets and I must say I am happy with my purchase. But again to each is own.

Gibson and Fender both make high-end guitars that are worth their price.

Many celebrities want guitars that are custom made to their specifications. They want a sound that they don't believe they can get with a stock instrument.