Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster“Mostly Les Pauls, but like I said, to double up parts, I’d use some Strats.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
a
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Ace Frehley. Every item links to its public source.
16 items · Last checked What guitar does Ace Frehley play?
Ace Frehley said he favored his Gibson Ace Frehley Signature Les Paul live, with his Budokan Les Paul a close second. He played through Marshall JCM900 and JCM2000 amps and a Bad Cat 1x12, and used a Zoom G3 as his only pedal.
Top 5
Where to start with Ace Frehley's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff Pi“I like the tape delay effect and the Big Muff sound, because I used a Big Muff years ago.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
03
Gibson
Ace Frehley Signature Les Paul
Top 5Has said they use
“Live, I still favor my AFS [Ace Frehley Signature] Les Paul.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
04
Gibson
Ace Frehley "Budokan" Les Paul
Top 5Has said they use
“The “Budokan” is a real close second.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
05
Fender
Precision Bass, sunburst
Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Precision Bass, sunburst“I wrote that on my old sunburst Fender Precision.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
What guitar gear Ace Frehley uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Guitars
Gibson
Ace Frehley Signature Les Paul
Has said they use
“Live, I still favor my AFS [Ace Frehley Signature] Les Paul.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Gibson
Ace Frehley "Budokan" Les Paul
Has said they use
“The “Budokan” is a real close second.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster“Mostly Les Pauls, but like I said, to double up parts, I’d use some Strats.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
Fender
Precision Bass, sunburst
Has said they use
Fender
Precision Bass, sunburst“I wrote that on my old sunburst Fender Precision.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Washburn
AF-40V custom guitar
Has said they use
Washburn
AF-40V custom guitar“They made a special guitar for me.”
Said in When Ace Frehley Got Upstaged After Trading Signature Sound for Free Gear, February 2024
No store page for this one.
DiMarzio
Super Distortion pickup
Has said they use
DiMarzio
Super Distortion pickupSaid in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Amps
Marshall
JCM900
Seen using
Marshall
JCM2000
Seen using
Marshall
JCM2000Seen in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Marshall
Marshall stack
Has said they use
Marshall
Marshall stack“just me plugging a Gibson Les Paul into a Marshall amp cranked to 10!”
Said in When Ace Frehley Got Upstaged After Trading Signature Sound for Free Gear, February 2024
No store page for this one.
Bad Cat Amplifiers
1x12 combo
Has said they use
Bad Cat Amplifiers
1x12 combo“Another amp that I used on this record that I’d never used before was a Bad Cat, the 1x12 model with a Celestion.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
EVH
Amp
Has said they use
Laney
Stacks
Has said they use
Laney
StacksSaid in When Ace Frehley Got Upstaged After Trading Signature Sound for Free Gear, February 2024
No store page for this one.
Pedals
Zoom
G3 multi-effects
Has said they use
Zoom
G3 multi-effects“The only pedal I used was the Zoom G3”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Echoplex
Echoplex
Has said they use
Echoplex
Echoplex“I was using Echoplexes, but I got sick and tired of the tapes breaking and the noise.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Electro-Harmonix
Big Muff Pi“I like the tape delay effect and the Big Muff sound, because I used a Big Muff years ago.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
Accessories
Gibson
Electric strings (.010)
Has said they use
Gibson
Electric strings (.010)“I’m using .010s now.”
Said in Ace Frehley: Cosmic Space Invasion, September 2014
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Ace Frehley's gear.
What guitar did Ace Frehley play?
Gibson Les Pauls. Live he favored his Gibson Custom Ace Frehley Signature Les Paul, with the Budokan Les Paul a close second, and he doubled parts with Fender Stratocasters in the studio. He also wrote on an old sunburst Fender Precision bass.
What amp did Ace Frehley use?
Marshall amps, including a JCM900 and JCM2000. On Space Invader he also used a Bad Cat 1x12 with a Celestion and an EVH amp. He summed up his formula as a Gibson Les Paul into a Marshall cranked to 10.
What pedals did Ace Frehley use?
Very few. On Space Invader the only pedal he used was a Zoom G3. He had used Echoplexes until the tapes kept breaking, and an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff years earlier.
What strings did Ace Frehley use?
Gibson strings. He used Gibson .009 to .046 sets for a while, then moved to .010s, with medium picks and sometimes a heavy pick for hard riffs.
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AF
Ace Frehley
About this guide · Last checked
Ace Frehley (1951 to 2025) was the founding lead guitarist of KISS, the Spaceman, and a solo artist. This legacy guide covers his Gibson signature Les Pauls, the Marshall and Bad Cat amps and the few effects he used, mostly in his own words from his 2014 Space Invader interview with Premier Guitar.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Ace Frehley didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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