Ace Frehley – Kiss: Ace Frehley

Mentioned in this January 2005 Guitar World interview and two Premier Guitar interviews.

Guitar World, January 2005, pgs. 45-46 "Ace Frehley" (a Russian translation can be found here)

What effect are you using on the solo in "Strange Ways"? I love that sound.

—Roy "Snake" Helvenstine Jr.

That was a heavy distortion unit–probably a Big Muff or a Fuzz Face–and a Marshall amp on 10. I usually performed my solos from the control room, with my amp out in the studio. But for "Strange Ways," I stood in front of the amp, which is how I got all the crazy feedback.

(...) You have a great sound. What pickups do you use, and what is in your pedalboard?

—Vince Applegate

I don't have a pedalboard because I trip over them with my boots on. I have a rack under the stage that my roadie controls. It has different gear in it at different times, although it always has an MXR graphic equalizer, a Big Muff and a power booster. The last few tours I also had a Line 6 Pod. But the real key to my sound is that I always blend three sounds: usually my rackmount, my Marshall and another Marshall with a sealed cab and a Celestion 12-inch speaker with a mic inside. On the last leg of the most recent tour, I started using a Peavey 5150. I use DiMarzio Super Distortion custom-made pickups.

Premier Guitar, "Ace Frehley: Navigating with the Spaceman", March 11, 2010

According to the man himself, Ace’s rig both onstage and in the studio has always been relatively straightforward:

“On the early Kiss records, I used my tobacco sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard with a rewound hot pickup, through a Marshall stack or old Fender tweed amp, on most of the studio recordings. I used an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff to overdrive them sometimes. Later, I got a cherry sunburst Les Paul Custom and an old ’59 Les Paul Standard, which dominated my studio recordings in the late ‘70s. My 1978 solo album, Ace Frehley, really shows off what a Les Paul guitar can do in the studio. I recorded almost the whole album exclusively with my 1959 vintage sunburst Les Paul. I use Gibson Les Paul Customs live because they’re simply the best guitars for loud rock ‘n’ roll. I’ve always said, ‘Just plug a Les Paul into a Marshall amp and turn it up to 10!’ It’s a no-brainer.”

Premier Guitar, "Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion", September 2, 2014

What sounds are you using from the G3?

I like the tape delay effect and the Big Muff sound, because I used a Big Muff years ago. In general though, I try to stay away from effects as much as I can.

A picture of Steve Brown in Ace in the Hole Studios NJ plays Ace Frehley's Fender American Vintage '63 Precision Bass (Cherry Medicine song), which Ace used in his 1978 solo album and for all subsequent albums where he plays bass. A photo with Ace himself is expected