Guitar Kisstory: Ace Frehley

This is part three of a new series in which I go through the guitars used by the members of Kiss. This episode focuses on Ace Frehley.
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#kiss #acefrehley #guitars

[@maceo9246]

I've actually played his sunburst double neck Gibson SG. It was having some work done on it in Nashville at Gibson's Restoration Center. It along with a few others of Ace's had some water damage because his basement actually flooded. It was definitely a surreal moment and a very unique instrument. I was told it was 1 of only 1 made specifically for the Reunion Tour by Gibson for Ace.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

That's so cool!

[@oskarsalvador7414]

Did Ace say it was ok to play?

[@maceo9246]

I asked the guys at the restoration center if I could. They saw no real problem in it so I did.

[@robertrandolph9756]

ACE WAS THE REASON I PICKED UP A GUITAR. WHEN I WAS 14 YEARS OLD!!

[@robertrandolph9756]

DAMNIT ACE!! YOU ARE JUST SOOOOOO FUCKING COOOOL!

[@Colstonewall]

"I can't even read music, but I can make a Guitar Smoke," Ace Frehley. Yes you can, Ace. Yes you can.

[@paulsharkey6576]

Ace is the reason I started playing 44 years ago.

[@zappasmustache]

Yep ditto. 30 years ago for me.

[@chiefpotpipe]

Same here 1976. Mom bought me a $5 garage sale acoustic.

[@BigDaddy-nt6yc]

You, me, and countless others!!!😎😎😎

[@thapainter11]

Me too!,Big Peavy musician,electra les paul,and kiss on 10!

[@paulsharkey6576]

@@chiefpotpipe My Mom bought me a new Fender Musicmaster. I still remember the serial number...S704507. It was a great guitar.

[@RavnerRavner]

Ace is the only guy who can make an Ovation breadwinner look good.

[@roadiesnrockstars]

I had one!

[@hellboundrubber4448]

I will always remember what it was like to see KISS in Hit Parader or Circus Mag. Back in the day when their identity was a complete mystery! Magazines would bait you with so called Kiss pics w no make up and it would turn out to be Paul or Gene hiding behind a coat or magazine. Years later that day finally came and must have spent an hour just looking at them w no make up in disbelief. Old schoolers were the only ones to live it.

[@MrKjohnson123]

Posted on Ace's birthday. Well played.

[@RikJSmith]

I love all of your KISS Guitar History Videos. But , me being a KISS freak since I was 11 years old , and playing Guitar since I was 12 , THIS IS THE KISS GUITAR HISTORY for Ace is the one that makes me happier than fan catching some of Ace's picks. I hope your Videos never stop , Sean. 🎸🎸🎸

[@traviesoarcefan3063]

Great video. Thank you so much. Been an Ace fan since 1976. Only got to see him play live once in August, 1977. KISS dedicated the show to Elvis who had died just a few days before. THANK GOD I bought the tourbook which I still have in good condition. 🙏👍

[@leokimvideo]

This is your most popular video, Ace is Kiss's most popular member. Maybe you can do a pull down of what's watched from your Kiss videos are see the dots joining together. Ace influenced more people in music Vs any other Kiss member. It's just so sad Paul & Gene don't understand how they made Kiss a joke by making it impossible for Ace to stay.

[@DMDvideo10]

Ace made it impossible for Ace to stay... Peter too... Drugs n' booze will get you every time...

[@scottbull8309]

Stellar episode!! Thank you for ALL your hard work and research. Such interesting bits of the technical and musical aspects of the band. Thanks again.

[@jamesdewer]

I had a Hondo "Ace" replica. For sound I built a 30w - 100w rms - peak, respectively RadioShack PA amp. No need for special effects, the feed back alone would cause the middle pickup to smoke.

[@pjaayzutube]

Love aces guitars. He can make any guitar look cool😎 Nice vid man thx

[@richkennedy3134]

Very thorough! Well done!!

[@willchew4040]

ACE FOREVER !!!!!!!!!!

[@hankpikuni7024]

Holly Sh*t I own a Cornet and a Crestwood. I didn't know Ace played that.

[@brunolamarche100]

great montage. Some of these pics are unbelievable. Useful comments. - wouldn't have figured all this by myself back in '75 when I was first listening.

[@RikJSmith]

LOVE THIS VIDEO , SEAN !! Never enough Guitars. 🎸🎸🎸

[@GrooveHillStudio]

Thanks for this!!! Wicked content!

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

Oh wow, it's been 30+ years since I've seen the video for Into The Night! Thanks for reminding me to watch that!

[@bobowrathsovine.]

On the tour for Frehley's Comet album he used some cherry burst Les Paul with a Washburn wonder bar bridge. It may have been used in the Live+1 EP.

[@tomfreeman3640]

Well done Sean!!!! Thanks for the education!!!!

[@richardeller2162]

Happy Birthday, Ace!

[@sirhooligan7489]

Superb research of Ace´s gear. Thx 4 this , m8!!

[@craigfazekas3923]

There is a life-size Gibson Ace cardboard cut out in the front window of Earl Teat Music, in Dover, Delaware. It's from back in the day & sun bleached- and cool as hell !! 🚬😎👍

[@RikJSmith]

Absolutely LOVE this Video , Sean !! Because I'm a Guitarist and I think Ace is a Bad Ass Dude this is my favorite Video from you ever !! What an Amazing Video !! Well done and thanks for all the work you did to put it together !! Hope you're doing well , Dude . 🎸😎🎸 Second one in my Save Forever File .

[@SeanBlumenshine]

Thank you very much!

[@blakeburress]

Dude that New Nightmare standee is awesome! Such an underrated movie.

[@rongriesbeck294]

Great photos and very informative

[@gabrielgraves7369]

I would like to thank u for this great video & knowledge of Aces guitars great job

[@worgothcgd]

Loved the video !

[@connorwilson8696]

my dad bought a af40 brand new, thinking it was coming in black and silver, when he pick it up and opend the case is was black and red.. very very few black and red ones.

[@MrAdamJoel]

Interesting idea for a video. Thanks!

[@coastalpaladin5024]

Cool video as always. I can’t wait to see the Bruce guitar video. He is my favorite KISS guitar player. Be well my friend.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

Thanks man. I'm really excited about doing the Bruce one.

[@DanielFerrellMusic]

Love it! Thank you!

[@thebluesrockers]

Great Video, Awesome Job

[@Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

Well done, sir!

[@markthatcher4853]

Excellent video.

[@rockytheramone5604]

I always assumed the mini explorer was a Hamer. Thanks for the new info !

[@anthonyfrederick2829]

Thank you so much. I really enjoyed this. I had subscribed

[@paulsommerfeld6026]

Thanks for the video

[@roderickhager8154]

Kick ass job young man!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🤘🎸

[@sockneman]

Thank You! 🙋🏼‍♂️

[@romainlavoie1526]

I watched all three ! Excellent comments. If you could explore the rhythm section of Kiss on how Peter and Pearl relationship came to be along Eric Carr's fantastic Tama drum quit and Eric Singer Pearl's signature snare ! You're the best ! Great video 👌

[@bennybenitez2461]

Great video

[@jeffreybabino8161]

Great video thanks

[@wheezaldogg]

I can confirm Ace's Black Beauty replica. I met Ace 2 years ago and we cooled out for about 45 minutes.. he mentioned that gibson had been in contact with him wanting to do a run of that guitar.. 🤘

[@d2vmusic]

Good stuff, thanks for posting. Ace inspired me to start playing guitar, I got a wine red Hondo II Les Paul Custom copy for Xmas 1981 and started playing in school bands. I still have the guitar to this day, it'll be a tough one to part with.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

That sounds like an awesome guitar!

[@vernondunbar5846]

Thank you

[@yucatansuckaman5726]

This is cool series

[@sabianfirst]

You know it's THE ONLY THING that keeps us together.

[@domingoquintanilla6980]

Looking forward to the Bruce Kulick installment. He’s my all time favorite KISS guitarist! Met him 13 years ago.

[@benjaminmyles5886]

Great video thanks man

[@Nickk81]

Great vid

[@jameshughes6049]

Ace is why I play guitar, & of course I play Les Pauls!!!

[@magnusbnordh9624]

Liking this. !

[@roadiesnrockstars]

Great History!

[@spooge33]

My first concert, 1976. Paul "Ace" Frehley fit the bill for Kiss. He is the only lead guitarist that I will recognize in that band.

[@k2rocksstl]

Very flipping cool.

[@user-hs1en1nz6g]

I took guitar lessons in 8 the grade.... Alto sax 4-12. Ace keeps me inspired.

[@justincase4925]

Very good and accurate

[@livejts3301]

I’m always looking for Cherry Burst SG’s! That double neck Cherry burst is awesome! Thanks!

[@oldfriend327]

There was a Gibson Custom Shop Ace Frehley artist model 1959 Les Paul Standard for sale at Guitar Center Hollywood about five years ago. You know that feeling when you instantly and desperately know that you want and would buy something when you first see it and then instantly remember you are broke?

[@SeanBlumenshine]

I work at Guitar Center and that's how I feel every day.

[@4stringz.]

The thumbnail with Ace in the studio with his guitars is my favorite pic. I have a small poster of that

[@tyorbs6277]

I heard Ace frehleys first electric guitar was a fender telecaster and his first amp was a Marshall and he got it for Christmas when he was 13

[@thomasjimenez5479]

I once seen a pic of Ace on stage playing a guitar with a Stratocaster body but a Les Paul neck, STRANGE

[@roosterj2599]

I bought my LP Custom and my honey burst LP Standard because of Ace. I would love to do the third pickup thing. Ace rules!

[@MikeMoose67]

I love the double neck ..Ace should definitely use it more !!!! This was a very cool video… thanks for sharing with us 👍

[@quentinpetit5515]

Back when I was a kid Ace was my favorite guitar player. I've maybe stopped listening to kiss on a daily basis, but he's still the one that made me wanna play on a les paul

[@richmeek6807]

You forgot to mention his signiture guitars with epiphone. I actually own a black burst signiture which is no longer avalible, but they also did the cherry burst and I believe the butakon. Great video though. Very cool info.

[@MrAcEsNeIgHtS1188]

There are existing pics of Ace playing a Fender Classic Telecaster Deluxe in the studio during the first album sessions (Bell Sound). There is also at least one pic (I've found) of Ace holding the black Gibson SG double neck six string that was used on Fractured Mirror.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

I’ll have to be on the lookout for those

[@mr.timebombman2230]

I like that dark blue LP with the Anomaly logo.

[@russellflynn6937]

sic man! 'The ACESTER'!

[@MrZerosRememberWhen]

For the 1981 "Elder" period Ace, was using a Stock Gibson Cherry Sunburst Deluxe, With Mini Humbuckers. MrZerr0: KISSin Time MPLS

[@jonstreng7850]

I'm not going to lie. I am a drummer. I know just about nothing of the guitar instrument except it comes in a six string version and a 12 string. Did Ace even play a 12 string on any KISS tracks besides Hard Luck Woman. My favorite guitar of his was the white one he played on New York Groove with the flashing lights. I have never given any solo material by Ace a chance. Once the comet ☄️ disbanded I thought he was done. I'm just now reading his No Regrets book. It is a fantastic read and far more helpful at understanding the band's past. I love how he focuses more on himself and doesn't bombard the other three with negativity. Class act. He was an a## when he drank though from what I have read so far. It is incredible that some of his car wrecks didn't kill him.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

He plays 12 string on the Rock Bottom intro

[@pavanpavan]

The cherry sunburst used for the I Love it Loud video had mini humbuckers. It's a different cherry sunburst les paul altogether.

[@KKmusicals]

You missed some guitars that ace had in the frehleys comet tour. He had the Washburn guitar with a Washburn wonderbar tremolo system for the frehleys comet tour. he also had a black one and the flasher for backup

[@lockheedskunkworks5687]

Sunburst is the one I liked. 1976 was my first kiss record

[@rjc7289]

Never knew about that pointy AF signature model he played during his Frehley's Comet days. Would've loved to see a mention of the Les Paul he used during that time that had a whammy bar on it.

[@zubileegluckgluck]

This is a great series. I'm really enjoying them. 👍👍

[@RavenWolfDrum69]

I play ovations .like Nancy Wilson. I love heart ❤. I❤ ACE

[@ferox965]

Ace also used a Les Paul junior around the time of Alive. For the I Love it Loud video, he's using a Les Paul deluxe with mini humbuckers.

[@SeanBlumenshine]

I’ve never noticed the mini humbuckers! That’s so cool; I really like the minis in my firebird. I bet that Les Paul sounds great.

[@philipchurchill6508]

There is a chinese company called DH gate doing copies of kiss guitars , though I have not sampled these , I have had 2 Pete Townshend [ the w ho] les pauls , one a cherry sunburst and the other a goldtop , though the wait was 3 months , the results were fantastic both in sound and looks , my dad who has played the guitar since the late 50 s , said he could not believe my lo luck .

[@acefrehley6410]

Your best video…👍

[@misterneponsit2894]

This video was released on Ace's 70th birthday! Now how cool is THAT, right?

[@94xjrgodown2]

Can you do a video on Ace & Paul's amps and the Schaffer Wireless guitar systems please. As they were the first band (after ELO) to use a commercial wireless system!Happened after ACE was Electrocuted in Florida in 1976.

[@johnmcminn9455]

cool video . i was under the impression gibson gave ace what was pretty much the frampton guitar 3 pick up custom, because frampton got in a car accident and could not tour . my suspision of this comes from the fact KISS ALIVE was recorded on all of Framptons PA gear

[@mergatroid1212]

Great work but you forgot the Lemon burst 59 les Paul used on the 78' solo album and re-issued in 2016 I believe, now Aces main choice. I think Gibson gave him 15 guitars. The best guitar of them all but I gotta say I'm looking forward to the black beauty!

[@Civilian2.0]

Great video, very interested in their use of Ibanez and Greco 'copies' - I have a '96 Burny RLC 75 AF, a copy of the Gibson 3 Pickup Cherry Sunburst Custom. It's a fantastic guitar. Any more info on the Japanese guitars they used?

[@davidwalden5015]

I haven't read through all of the comments, but nobody seems to remember that Ace was briefly a Peavey endorsee. I distinctly recall seeing a picture of Ace with a Peavey Mystic in front of six Peavey 410 cabs stacked up in a pyramid. I don't think he ever played Peavey live, but he definitely had some interaction with the company.

[@victorancelmo2549]

Ace was the first guitarist i was in awe of and the first one i saw wield a les paul. 3 years later and now 16 i still love les pauls and still love ace🤘🏼

[@dangreving1094]

I wonder what those guitars would fetch at an auction??

[@lysaarvideo]

There are early Ace photos with a tobacco sunburst Les Paul featuring mini humbuckers. I'm not sure, if it's the guitar he became famous for using, but ir's very similar.

[@gabrielbrouwer]

Maybe you could’ve mentioned that during the Frehley’s Comet years he installed washburn wonderbars on his Les Pauls.

[@zee3499]

Ace's Reunion cherry customs were just custom shop models made for that tour - He only ever used the iconic 1973 cherry custom "Budokan" for the Weenie Roast show.

[@rickyb5062]

Ace!

[@Jimmyace2006]

Nice video. I am friends with John Tate, the owner of the Ace Les Paul web site where most of the photos and info came from. I did want to correct some info about the blue guitars. First, there is no evidence that the very first blue burst silver sparkle Les Paul is a refinished 1990s Les Paul. I have a lot of photos of that one; the back of the headstock has "PROTOTYPE" stamped where the serial number would be. The second blue guitar is the Anomaly guitar, and it is not a sparkle guitar. It is a flametop guitar, and also a one-off prototype that Ace did not like too much. The third one is another blue burst silver sparkle Les Paul, but it is not one of Ace's old guitars that was refinished. I am the original owner of that guitar. It has a factory blue burst silver sparkle finish. I had a middle pickup added and swapped out all of the parts so that it would look as much like the first prototype as possible, though it has no lightning inlays or Ace face. I sold to a friend who sold it as well. It disappeared for a few years until it came up for sale on ebay; a different friend of mine who knows Ace bought it. He got Jim Cara to add a smoking device (destroyed the entire beautiful blue burst silver sparkle back). Then he sold it to Ace, who toured with it for his smoker routine from 2016-2018. My friend re-acquired the guitar from Ace and sold it again to someone overseas. Now it is sitting in a museum.

[@RikJSmith]

Another Amazing Video , Sean. Thanks for sharing all this info. I assume you're a Guitarist also. Maybe you could share a video of you playing ? My playing is definitely influenced by Ace. 🎸🎸🎸. Hope you're doing well Stay safe , Dude. And I just made a new Folder in my KZbin Files ; Save Forever And this Video is the first one in . Serious .

[@ericstathis67]

Awesome. Only thing is you missed his Les Paul Junior from 74. He also had a seldom used white Les Paul in 74

[@SeanBlumenshine]

Thanks! Yeah I'm planning on updating the videos in December when Kiss finally stops touring.

[@a.romano6532]

I had the LesPaul Juniour too used at the Coventry. I gave it to Richie from We Buy guitars, and he gave it away for nothing to somebody.

[@a.romano6532]

Here is some information as to the whereabouts of Aces guitars because he had me sell them for him in 1991 to the hard rock, but you guys are missing on many guitars that were very important. My photos of Ace, with these guitars appear in Bill Baker’s book. A black 1960’s Gibson double neck octave, 6 string which Ace used on fractured mirror that was sold to Perry. A black Danelectro single cut away, which Ace used on most of the rhythm parts of New York groove. You can clearly hear that it’s a Dan electro if you know anything about guitars, that guitar resides in the hard rock Café. Ibanez natural wood destroyer with repaired headstock that is in the hard rock now. Ace used that guitar on the destroyer tour. that guitar resides in the hard rock Café. A triple pick up black 1970’s LesPaul custom, which was on the cover of guitar world magazine that is in the hard rock, a black Gibson Lespaul Custom smoker, which was used on the dynasty tour that is in the collection of Joe Marshall the guitar was stolen from Ace. Joe wasn’t aware of that at the time that he purchased it. I would hope that he would sell it back to Ace.. Joe paid $10,000 for the Smoker guitar. That would be the right thing to do. After it was stolen. I ended up giving Ace payment for the guitar and taking liability for it. It was loaned to a customer to try and the guy never gave it back and sold it. It’s stolen and it should be sold back to Ace. The most important of all of Ace’s guitars was his Gibson lemon drop 1959 Les Paul serial #9-1878 that Ace used on Rocket Ride and his entire 1978 solo album. Ace used the 59 on every song. Ace told me he wanted to be buried with that guitar. He told me the guitar would not go out of tune, and that he loved it so much. It was his favorite of any guitar he ever owned in his lifetime. I am the owner of Ace’s 59. I offered it back to Ace for $75,000 and he couldn’t get the money together to buy it, but I always let him play it every time he came to my house And all those pictures appear in Baker’s book.

[@sirbokchoi3rd669]

Ace’s main tobacco burst was never turned into the original smoking guitar, he had another tobacco burst as a backup and for his guitar solo that was used for the smoking guitar.

[@KanoHQWrOcks]

The best thing of the guitar and a guitariset is a people that it's using the guitar,and the guitars ace used was made for ace