During a recent trip to Gibson Custom in Nashville, Tennessee, Swanson sat down for a chat about the unique attributes of the “Budokan” guitar that, through the Custom Shop’s detailed and perfectly accurate recreations, can now be owned by other guitar fans.
To see Ace’s interview about this iconic instrument, click here.
Also, check out Epiphone’s Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom.
Gibson Custom has recreated one of the most famous guitars in music history – the Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom. The master craftsmen at the Custom Shop have forged this tribute to the KISS guitarist’s most famous axe. Frehley nicknamed his Les Paul “Budokan” because it was the very guitar he played when KISS broke The Beatles' sell-out record at Japan’s legendary Budokan arena in 1977. It also was Ace’s main touring guitar throughout ’77 and ’78, was his go-to studio guitar after that and was used in the 1996 KISS reunion.
With the Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom, Gibson Custom has painstakingly recreated every single one of the idiosyncrasies of Ace’s customized guitar, drawing on digital scanning technology and working closely with Frehley and the guitar’s current owner, Matt Swanson. When Frehley recently took one of the guitars for a spin, he was amazed at how much the guitar felt, played and sounded like the real deal.
Check out Gibson’s exclusive interview with Ace below, in which he shows off the new “Budokan” Les Paul Custom, talks about KISS’s early days and shares some stories from his new book, No Regrets.
Ace Frehley has announced that he will perform his 1978 self-titled solo album in its entirety at a festival show this December. According to Blabbermouth, the former KISS guitarist will dust off “New York Groove,” “Snow Blind” and the rest of the classic Space Ace tracks at the Hard Rock Hell V festival in Prestatyn, Wales on December 3.
In 1978, all four members of KISS each released their own solo album. Frehley’s disc, which featured the #13 single “New York Groove,” rose to #26 in the U.S. album charts and was eventually certified platinum. The album also featured appearances by future David Letterman musicians, Anton Fig and Will Lee.
Frehley’s current band includes drummer Scot Coogan, bassist Anthony Esposito and guitarist Todd Youth.
