“The figured tops of the future”: Epiphone has expanded its Modern Figured range with two brilliant burst finishes – giving the futuristic family perhaps its best makeover yet

Epiphone has lifted the curtain on two fresh burst finishes, which have been added to the firms’ range of Modern Figured electric guitars.

Specifically, the cosmetic expansion pack – which comprises Purple Burst and Mojave Burst colorways – has been added to the SG Modern Figured and Les Paul Modern Figured lines.

Aside from the flashy new paint jobs, each model otherwise stays true to its Modern DNA, which looks to give the orthodox Gibson templates a… well, modern twist, by way of contemporary aesthetics and some choice functional tweaks.

Loosely speaking, it follows the same precedent set by Gibson’s own Modern collection, which itself features a set of similarly styled flamed maple SGs and Les Pauls.

That means the SG – which had previously only been available in Trans Fade Black – flaunts an AAA-figured maple veneer atop its mahogany body.

A pair of ProBuckers, meanwhile, are wired to versatile coil-splitting and phase-switching electronics, as well as a treble bleed circuit, in a bid to squeeze out some more sonic juice from the classic template.

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Elsewhere, the Asymmetrical SlimTaper neck profile offers a slight variation to the standard SlimTaper alternative, while a bound ebony fingerboard is drafted in over the laurel pieces of other Epis.

24 frets, trapezoid inlays and a GraphTech nut all make the cut, as do Grover Locking Rotomatic tuners. It’s a spec sheet that has prompted Epiphone to label its latest model as “the SG of the future”.

It’s a similar story for the Les Paul, which adds Purple Burst and Mojave Burst to its already-very-exotic assortment of finishes that had previously included the likes of Caribbean Blue Fade, Caffe Latte Fade and Magma Orange Fade.

Notably, the two new-look variants ditch the black pickguard that could be found on their predecessors, with these models instead opting to fully flash that AAA-figured maple veneer.

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Specs are fairly similar to the SG, with the single-cut sporting an Ultra Modern weight-relieved contoured Les Paul Modern body shape that offers a sculpted neck heel joint for greater upper fret access. It’s also got the ProBuckers, which can be tweaked via coil-splitting, phase-switching and treble bleed electronics.

Other notable appointments include Grover locking tuners, a Graph Tech nut and premium ebony fingerboard.

The SG Modern Figured models are available now for $749, while the Les Pauls will set you back $799.

To put that into perspective, the Gibson Les Paul Modern Figured proper costs $2,999, while the Gibson SG lists for $2,499. That's a sizable saving indeed, and these Epis – with their mature-yet-exotic burst colorways – sure look the part, with some nice tweaks to boot.

Head over to Epiphone to find out more.

It’s a fairly tame release from Epiphone, but it’s been a big year so far. The company was recently responsible for arguably the biggest guitar release of the year when it dropped Dave Grohl’s signature Epiphone DG-335.