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| Ace Frehley's 1976 Gibson Les Paul Custom is an iconic image to KISS fans. |
How much would you pay for a piece of rock-n-roll history? How about a piece of re-created rock-n-roll history?
Well Gibson is giving you the opportunity to buy a piece of ... something.
The famed guitar manufacturer has teamed with former KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley to offer the Ace Frehley "Budokan" replica Les Paul.
You wanted the best, you get this instead.
The "Budokan" is based on Frehley's 1976 Les Paul Custom that he played when KISS set attendance record's at Tokyo's legendary Budokan arena during the band's Rock and Roll Over tour in 1977. One of the shows was filmed professionally and has become a highlight among KISS fans throughout the world.
According to Gibson "the Ace Frehley 'Budokan' Les Paul Custom is a painstaking recreation of Frehley’s modified Les Paul Custom, based on intimate examination of the instrument’s current condition."
The guitar features three humbucker pickups (only one pickup is wired so you can jiggle the toggle switch and make Ace-like sounds) and is "hand-aged," whatever the hell that means. Gibson says there will be 50 guitars hand-aged and signed by Ace (OK, that's cool), 100 that will just be hand-aged, and 150 more that will be "treated in Gibson Custom’s VOS process." I don't know what that means either, but it doesn't add up to the sticker price.
Did I mention it costs $12,000?
Shock Me!
I'd be the last person to discount the power of a rock icon's likeness to market a guitar. I've owned both Paul Stanley and Slash signature guitars as well as the post-Eddie Van Halen Music Man Axis that was designed by EVH himself during his brief time as a Music Man endorsee. But 12 Grand? No way.
Gibson has always touted itself as the Cadillac of guitars, and their prices have reflected that. The quality, however, has not managed to keep up with inflation. The Gibson brand and the boast of "Made in the USA" still carries a lot of weight, but most guitarists will tell you there's far more (head)bang for your buck elsewhere.
So Gibson churns out signature model after signature model trying to manufacture a collector's market that can't sustain itself. A 1959 Les Paul can still wow the crowd. A "limited edition" Alex Lifeson Signature Model? Eh.
Back to the Ace Frehley Budokan...
I'm not saying it's not a nice guitar. It probably is. And let the market be what it may, and let Gibson get what it can get. More power to them. But I have to ask, who would buy this?
"Check out my Ace Frehley Les Paul!"
"Wow! You mean he actually played it?"
"Well, no. But it has his name on it."
"Cool."
It's not a piece of memorabilia. It's fabricated nostalgia.
I bet you could offer Ace 12 Large and he'd sell you a guitar from his personal collection. It wouldn't be worth it, but it'd still be cooler than plopping down a pile of cash for a replica.
