November 15, 1976 - Reading, MA
Ace with his Cherry-burst Custom rehearsing for the Rock & Roll Over tour
November 27, 1976 - Raleigh, NC
The Cherry-burst Custom becomes Ace's #1 guitar
February 16, 1977 - Hartford, CT
DiMarzio DP100 in the bridge, and DiMarzio DP103s in the middle and neck positions
Ever since I began this website, I've been digging for detailed information about Ace Frehley's original Cherry-burst Les Paul Custom. Let me tell you; it's been no easy task !! In fact, it was easier to dig up information about his Tobacco-burst Deluxe than this guitar ! At this point in time, I know the guitar's current owner ... no, Ace doesn't own it anymore. Ace had mentioned in many interviews over the years, that he thought it was a 1973, but as you'll see by the reference chart below, that's probably not too likely. We know the serial number on the guitar, but, unfortunately, it doesn't tell us anything. Let me explain why ...
Back in the early 1970's, Gibson's method of serialization didn't really follow any set pattern. In fact, it wasn't until mid-1977, that their current serialization method, which contains pretty specific information about when a guitar was built, came into regular use. Here's the text from The 11th Edition of The Blue Book of Electric Guitars specific to Gibson Electric Guitars; 1970-1975: From 1970 to 1975 the method of serializing instruments at Gibson became even more random. All numbers were impressed into the wood and a six-digit number was assigned, though no particular order was given and some instruments had a letter prefix. In 1970, the words MADE IN USA were impressed into the back of instrument headstocks (though a few instruments from the 1950s also had this). The difference between a 1960s and a 1970s Gibson model is the "MADE IN USA" stamp on the back of the headstock.
NUMBER - YEAR
000000S - 1973
100000S - 1970-1975
200000S - 1973-1975
300000S - 1974-1975
400000S - 1974-1975
500000S - 1974-1975
600000S - 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975
700000S - 1970, 1971, 1972
800000S - 1973, 1974, 1975
900000S - 1970, 1971, 1972
Now, to confuse things even more and in contradiction to the information above, from The Blue Book; there is information contained in Larry Meiners book called Gibson Shipment Totals 1937 - 1979, which reflects that Gibson shipped over 2,100 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom guitars in 1973 and over 2,800 in 1974. Confused by all this ?
Ya ... me too !!!!
Respecting the wishes of the current owner of Ace's guitar, I will not be publishing the guitar's serial number. However, I can tell you that it falls within the 600,000 group, which as you can see by the chart above, covers the greatest number of possible years that the guitar might have been built in ... excluding 1973, as Ace thought. So, how did and/or do people date these old Gibson guitars accurately, without taking them apart ? The paint pattern helps ... notice there is no 'burst' on the back of the headstock, but there is a burst on the back of the neck. The wood used in manufacturing helps too ... maple neck versus mahogany neck. These indicators point firmly towards the guitar being a 1974 (Thanks for all your help and input, JP !!!). But, the numbers on the potentiometers ... which contain a numeric, year-code ... IF they are still the original potentiometers ... is the best indicator. I know for a fact that Bill Baker of The Ace Frehley Archive, changed one or more of the original pots in the early to mid-90's, when he was Ace's guitar tech. However, with the help of the current owner and the tech's at Gibson, I can now confirm, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Ace's original Cherry-burst Les Paul Custom was in fact a 1974. When Gibson's techs began examining and studying the original guitar, in preparation for the Budokan model, they found that 2 of the pots were still original 1974 CTS pots. One is dated to the 37th week and another is dated to the 52nd week of 1974. Additionally, they discovered a neck date (presumably inside the neck pickup cavity) that reads Aug. 13, 1974.
Now the question is, when and where did Ace get the guitar ?
1.) Indirectly to me, Ace has mentioned that he recalls also getting this guitar at Manny's Music, in Manhattan. It was originally a 2 pickup model and he converted it to a 3 pickup, simply because he liked that look.
2.) This purchase most likely happened sometime between September 12, 1976 and November 15, 1976. These dates are assumed as there are no known pictures of Ace with this guitar during the Destroyer tour, which ended on September 12, 1976 in Springfield, MA. The earliest dated pictures of Ace with the guitar are from the rehearsals for the Rock & Roll Over tour, which took place between November 15th and November 21st, 1976, in Reading, MA.
3.) Ace would further modified the guitar by removing all the stock, black plastic fittings (front and back) and replacing them with creme colored ones.
4.) Ace also installed the Grover Tuning Machines, with the 'square' pearloid buttons, to enhance the overall look of the guitar. These tuners are VERY different from the ones found on The 300.
March 24 - April 3, 1977 - Japan
Ace conquering Japan for the first time with his
1974 3-pickup Cherry-burst Les Paul Custom
February 21, 1977 - Uniondale, NY
Rockin' The Nassau Coliseum
in mid-air
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
A great shot showing the 3-piece construction of the neck on Ace's 1974 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom
July 24, 1977 - Vancouver, BC
The Canadian leg of the relatively short Love Gun tour
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
An outtake of a very famous picture of Ace and his
1974 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Custom, from the San Diego photoshoot
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
This photo shoot generated the vast majority of publicity photos (including the gatefold of ALIVE II) for Kiss and Ace, in 1977 & 1978
July 31, 1977 - Calgary, AB
Ace and Kiss began using some of the earliest 'wireless' units, during this tour
...
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
Another outtake from the very famous group shot
June 29, 1977 - Newburgh, NY
Rehearsing for the Love Gun tour and Ace's first, live, lead vocal
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
The published version of the outtake photo pictured above
August 19, 1977 - San Diego, CA
A cropped copy of the published version of the outtake photo pictured above
It's interesting to note that of Ace's 3, main guitars, during his initial years with Kiss ... the Tobacco-burst Deluxe, the Cherry-burst Custom and the Black Customs ... the Cherry-burst Custom, which is the guitar most commonly associated with Ace, was his primary guitar for the shortest period of time ... 17 months (November 1976 to April 1978). Yes, he still used it for many years, after April 1978. But, not as his primary guitar.
