A Gibson Les Paul and Marshall amp is the “magic” guitar-and-amp combo for hard rock guitarists, according to Ace Frehley
The former Kiss guitarist also notes his experience with a Washburn guitar that apparently “sounded like s**t”.
Image: Gary Miller / Getty Images
Ace Frehley has revealed what he believes is the “magic combination” of guitar and amp for hard rock guitarists.
Appearing on the latest episode of Premier Guitar’s Shred With Shifty podcast, the former Kiss lead guitarist speaks about some of the guitar brands he’s been involved with before he eventually settled on his favourite Gibson Les Paul and Marshall Amp setup.
“When I first went solo and left Kiss, Washburn got a hold of me,” he recalls [via Ultimate Guitar], “and they offered me a big deal. They made a special guitar for me. They gave me a dozen fucking stacks of Washburn amps. And I said, ‘Hey, free equipment. I love it!’”
Unfortunately for Frehley, the excitement didn’t last long as the guitar in question – a Washburn AF-40V – “sounded like shit”.
“I remember this vividly, I was headlining and I think we had the group The Donnas or one of those female bands [opening]. And they were using Marshall amps and the chick had a Les Paul. And I said, ‘Shit! That’s my sound. I can’t get it out of this Washburn and these fucking Laney amps.’”
“So, I just replaced all the amps with Marshalls, broke off my deal with Washburn, and started playing Les Pauls again,” Frehley continues. “That’s the magic combination as far as I’m concerned, for any hard rock guitarist.”
In other news, Frehley, whose solo album 10,000 Volts is due out 23 February, has claimed that the record is one that will “embarrass” his former Kiss bandmates Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
“I made this statement before this record even started. I said, ‘This album’s gonna embarrass them,’ because they can’t do a record this good. I dare them to,” the rocker said.