Ace Frehley used a guitar that produced smoke on his final tour with Kiss – and it’s headed to the auction block
One of Ace Frehley’s ‘Smoker’ Les Paul guitars, which was used during his final tour with Kiss, is being sold at auction.
Frehley used a number of Smoker guitars across his time with the band, with the first instance of him debuting the trick dating back to 1975. The model that is currently under the hammer has a sunburst finish and was used during his final Kiss shows between 1999 and 2001.
READ MORE: “I owe not just an artistic debt to him, but a life debt to him”: Tom Morello on the genius of Ace Frehley
The auction is live now via Gotta Have Rock and Roll, and will run until 5 December. The unique axe also comes with photographs of Frehley with the guitar, as reported by Rolling Stone. Frehley originally used smoke bombs to create the effect, which he placed in the back cavity of his Les Pauls, but this later adaptation was modified to smoke from the neck pickup.
The visual stunts Kiss implemented into their shows didn’t always go smoothly, and Frehley looked back on some of their biggest mishaps earlier this year. He told MusicRadar in January that his rocket-firing guitar trick nearly once collided with bassist Gene Simmons.
“I fired one of those rockets at Gene and it almost fucking hit him,” Frehley recalled with a laugh. “It flew right by his head. It would have burned him pretty bad.”
He also mentioned the nifty smoke bomb trick: “I burned my leg real bad once back in the ‘70s, man,” he said. “A smoke bomb ignited too early inside the cavity of the guitar, and it melted the asbestos – which our fucking costumes were made from – to my thigh.”
Frehley sadly passed away back in October, and reports later revealed his cause of death as blunt trauma injuries to his head, sustained following a fall. A number of musicians came forward and shared their tributes to the Spaceman, including his former Kiss bandmates, as well as artists such as Nuno Bettencourt, Tom Morello, and John 5.
Last week (14 November), Kiss also honoured Frehley during an unmasked acoustic performance as part of their KISS Kruise: Land-Locked in Vegas three-day celebration. The striped back set marked their first live appearance together since retiring from touring in 2023, and included classics such as Beth, Hard Luck Woman, and Nothin’ to Lose.
Before the music began, Paul Stanley invited fans to raise candles as the band reflected on Frehley’s legacy: “Before we get going, we just wanted to take a moment to think about somebody who was at the foundation of this band. We’re talking about Ace. Why don’t we take a moment, a little quiet, think about him looking down on us – from [the planet] Jendell, probably – let’s have a moment for Ace. Candles up,” he said.
Head over to Gotta Have Rock and Roll to find out more about the Smoker guitar auction.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
