The Trogly's Guitar Show

New 2020 Epiphone Les Paul Classic worn purple Burst | Review

The 2020 Epiphone Les Paul Classic worn series is part of the new inspired by Gibson lineup. Essentially, for this series, Epiphone has mimicked their Gibson lineup. They have an Epiphone modern and Epiphone original, just like the Gibson original and Gibson modern collection. The biggest feature shared by all these guitars is the brand-new headstock design, which is similar to the old Epiphone Kalamazoo styled headstock.

The Les Paul Classic, despite being called Classic, its part of the Les Paul modern series, which is made up of six guitars in the Epiphone lineup. The Series includes Les Paul Modern Figured, Les Paul Classic, Les Paul Studio, Les Paul Muse, Les Paul Classic, and the Les Paul Classic worn. The price points these guitars vary between $449 to $699. These are mid-tier level instruments.

What is the difference between the Classics and the Classic worn?

The original classics are $499 whereas the worn series is $449. So you can save up to $50 by buying the classic worn.

The classics feature fancy electronics of coil-splitting as well as in-and-out of phase through the use of push-pull pots whereas the worn series, although it features coil-splitting technology, you don’t get the phase inversion in the middle position.

The Classic series has CTS electronics whereas the worn series doesn’t have.

The Classic series has a gloss finish whereas the Worn series, as the name suggests, has a worn finish. For the worn series, you can see and feel the wood grain with your hands; it’s especially prevalent on the back.

As a player I prefer the worn finishes because I think they feel better, they’re a little bit slicker, and not quite as sticky compared to the full gloss finish on the Classics.

Color options

Both the Classic and Classic worn series have a heritage cherry Version and the ebony finish. But the Les Paul Classics Worn has an exclusive metallic gold and a purple finish.

Main features

The main features you need to know about the new Les Paul classics from the Epiphone line up include the new headstock, upgraded Grover Tuners, and a Graph Tech nut. These are just meant to be great mid-tier level instruments.

First Impression

If you want to know my general impression on this guitar, check out my unboxing video. The aesthetics of his guitar is just beautiful. I am so happy they brought a purple burst finish back to the Les Paul. The last time they did it was in the mid-2000s on a series called the Les Paul Goddess.

Overall, I wasn’t 100% pleased with this thing when I first opened it. I loved the finish and how it feels, but I wasn’t impressed with the open pore finish on the top. I was also immensely disappointed that this guitar got a black back. I’d have loved to see a burst or some other type of complementary color to the purple.

However, the open grain finish with the black finish at the back is cool. So It’s kind of a love-hate relationship when it comes to the finish; hate it on the front but love it on the back.

I am digging the cream color plastics with the zebra pickups, the gold bell style knobs, I think these work well. Considering the weight, this guitar is pretty chunky.

Epiphone Les Paul Classic Worn Specs:

The Epiphone Les Paul Classic Worn consists of a solid mahogany body and neck, with a plain maple top to lay down the worn finish.

This guitar has a slim 60s neck profile with an Indian Laurel fretboard. The fretboard radius is 12 inches, with 22 medium Jumbo frets which are very good for doing bands. The nut material is Graph Tec

Hardware specs include a Lock Tone ABR bridge, Grover 18:1 ratio tuners, cream pickguards, gold top control knobs,

Electronics include Alnico PRO neck and bridge pickups (Alnico is short for Aluminum, Nickel, and cobalt), output Jacks, and controls.

The guitar weighs just under 9 pounds at 8 pounds 14.5 ounces. That’s not too bad, it’s body heavy though it feels a little bit heavier than that

Final thoughts

Epiphone impressed me on this one. Not so much on the fretwork but that aside this is an excellent guitar.

As far as the tone goes, I think it got really good cleans. I was impressed by the P90 cleans as well on the SG classic. But I think where this one did a little bit better was in the distorted tones. They’re not fantastic but they’re definitely within the acceptable territory. The coil splits once you activate them it gets a little bit noisy for my taste.

So if you’re interested in this beauty, I would highly suggest going to an authorized dealer and checking one out in-store.

I hope you enjoyed this review on the new Epiphone Les Paul classic worn. This was my open and honest opinion of it. Check out my in-depth review, tone talks, and tone demos.

I’m also going to demo a bunch of the new Epiphone series so make sure you check out my youtube channel for more of these videos.