The Gibson Les Paul Classic was introduced in 1990 as a reissue based on the 1960 Les Paul. The Les Paul Classic specifications were adjusted during the early 1990s. The first change was the addition of the Les Paul Classic Plus model which had a figured, curly or "Plus" top in April 1991 - which cost $2,099 at the time. In many respects the Les Paul Classic Plus was a more accurate reissue than the '59 Les Paul of the early 1990s. By swapping a few easily found parts: a blank truss rod cover, pickup covers, and a new pick guard, a pre 1993 Classic Plus with a nicely flamed top would look just as nice as a '59 reissue but over $2,000 cheaper. According to Eric Shoaf in Vintage Guitar magazine, May 1998:

"The success of the Classic and its new brother, the flamed top Classic Plus presented some difficult marketing problems for Gibson. The fact was that in many ways, the Classic was more of an accurate reissue than the '59 Les Paul of the early 1990s which still had a wide headstock, bright fingerboard and inlays, and wrong tuner bushings. The '59 did have a beefier neck and a highly flamed top, but the issue was further clouded when some highly figured Classic Plus models came to market. Wood grading is not an exact science, and some of the tops rejected for '59 reissues were in fact quite highly figured. Others had only mild flame. But with just a few easily obtainable parts, a blank truss rod cover, pickup covers, and a new pick guard, the owner of a particularly flamey Classic Plus could have a guitar that appeared to be just as nice as a '59 reissue while saving over $2,000 in the process."