Gibson Les Paul Custom Ace Frehley Budokan Electric Guitar (with case)

No longer available at zZounds
Ignite the stage with this recreation of the Les Paul Ace Frehley played at Budokan in 1977. Part of limited 100 guitar run aged to replicate the original.

The Gibson Custom Ace Frehley Budokan Les Paul Aged electric guitar has been painstakingly recreated in celebration of Ace Frehley's unquestionable status as a rock icon, and the epitome of glam-rock stardom that KISS represented at this crystalline moment in time in 1977. Offering everything you've come to expect from Gibson Custom's artist replica guitars, the Ace Frehley Budokan Les Paul Custom Aged is a recreation of Frehley's modified Les Paul Custom, based on intimate examination of the original guitar's current condition.

The Ace Frehley Budokan Les Paul Aged from Gibson Custom has been created with close cooperation between Gibson Custom, Ace Frehley and the guitar's current owner, Matt Swanson. Digital scanning technology was used to capture every minute detail of the actual guitar.

Body

In the image of the original Gibson Budokan Les Paul Custom, the guitar has a four-piece maple top glued to a mid-'70s 'sandwich' body made from a middle and back section of solid mahogany joined by a thin maple veneer, with no chambering. The top is hand-sprayed in nitrocellulose to give it the same Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish as the original, with 150 hand-aged to match the wear of the existing guitar.

Neck

The three-piece mahogany neck has been made to match the original guitar's thin profile. Decorative elements include mother-of-pearl block fingerboard inlays, multi-ply body and headstock binding, mother-of-pearl Gibson headstock logo and split-diamond inlay, and read more a cream pickguard.

Electronics

To match Ace's original guitar, the Gibson Ace Frehley Budokan Les Paul Aged Custom is loaded with three period-correct double-cream DiMarzio humbucking pickups - two PAF models in the neck and middle positions, and a Super Distortion in the bridge. And just like on Ace's guitar, the traditional 3-way toggle switch has been modified to only allow the use of the bridge pickup, allowing you to be able to accomplish one of Ace's most noted effects. The DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup offers searing lead tones and fat, chunky rhythm for the ultimate hard-rock performance.

Hardware

Hardware includes the classic pairing of chrome ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece, with Ace's choice of Grover tuners with pearloid 'banjo' buttons and Dunlop straplocks to keep the guitar securely strapped on through the wildest on-stage antics.

In short, the Gibson Ace Frehley 'Budokan' Les Paul Aged Custom is the ultimate embodiment of mid-'70s arena-rock balls and bluster, and it's available in strictly limited numbers. All aged Budokan Les Paul guitars include a Gibson Custom hardshell case silkscreened and a leather-bound CoA.

When KISS hit the stage at Nippon Budokan in Japan in 1977 with guitarist Ace Frehley behind a Cherry Sunburst, three-pickup Les Paul Custom, the entire package--band, guitarist, guitar--embodied the height of glam-rock excess and success for the '70s. This was the ultimate marriage of pop and heavy rock, driven to meteoric heights by the record industry marketing machine, and ultimately attaining that otherworldly presence that great stadium rock should achieve: unbridled fantasy and party-hard reality rolled into one glorious explosion.

Features

- Four-piece 'sandwich' Mahogany body with three-piece Maple top
- Ebony fingerboard with Mother-of-Pearl block inlays
- Three open-coil, double-cream DiMarzio pickups
- Chrome-plated stopbar and ABR-1 bridge
- Grover machine heads with pearloid banjo tuners
- Digital scanning technology was used to capture every minute detail of the actual guitar
- Limited run of only 100 aged Budokan Les Pauls being produced
read less

Body
- Top: 3-Piece Maple
- Back: 4-Piece (Mahogany, Maple, Mahogany, Maple)
- Binding:
- 7-Ply White/Black on Top
- 5-Ply White/Black on Back
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond

Neck
- Species: 3-Piece Mahogany Neck
- Profile: Fast, Slim
- Truss Rod: Traditional
- Joint Angle: 4 degree (+/- 15 seconds)
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond

Neck Fit
- Joint: Mortise and Tenon
- Adhesive: Franklin Titebond
- Joint Angle Tolerance: +/- .005 inch

Fingerboard
- Species: Ebony
- Frets: 22 Jumbo
- Radius: 12 inches
- Binding: White
- Inlays: Mother of Pearl Block
- Nut/E.O.B: 1.690/2.030
- Other: Dunlop Fret Wire/Black 1/16 Side Dots

Nut
- Material: Bone
- Width: 1.690
- Slots: Gibson PLEK System

Headstock
- Inlay: Mother-of-Pearl Split Diamond
- Logo: Mother-of-Pearl 'Gibson'
- Angle: 17 Degrees
- Binding: 5-Ply White/Black
- Truss Rod Cover: Black/White Bell

Tuners
- Model: Grover with Pearloid Banjo Buttons
- Plating: Chrome
- Tuning Ratio: 12:01

Bridge
- Type: ABR-1
- Plating: Chrome

Tailpiece
- Type: Stop Bar
- Plating: Chrome

Hardware
- Knobs: Gold Speed Knobs
- Pickguard: Cream
- Toggle Switch Washer: Cream with Gold Hot Stamped Lettering
- Pickup Mounting Rings: Cream
- Control Plate Cover: Cream
- Strap Buttons: Dunlop Strap Locks with Extra Button

Pickups
- Neck Position: Open Coil, PAF-style DiMarzio
- Middle Position: Open Coil, PAF-style DiMarzio
- Bridge Position: Open Coil, PAF-style DiMarzio Super Distortion

Electronics
- Potentiometers: 2 Volume Controls, 2 Tone Controls
- Capacitors: Ceramic
- Toggle Switch: Modified Three-Way with Cream Toggle Cap
- Output Jack: Traditional 1/4 inch

Finish
- Sealer: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Case
- Type: Custom Hardshell with Silkscreened Ace Frehley Signature
- Case Exterior: Black Pleather
- Case Interior: Red Fur

Accessories
- Certificate of Authenticity: Ace Frehley Leather-bound Certificate of Authenticity
- Additional Materials: Each Ace Frehley Budokan Les Paul Custom comes with adjustment literature, and documentation for the guitar's limited lifetime warranty

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-444-2766

No longer available at zZounds

In most cases, a product is unavailable because it has been discontinued by the manufacturer