“When I sign any guitar I buy, it doubles or triples in price. So I always make money on any guitar I’ve bought”: Ace Frehley on his greatest gear finds – and the guitars he regrets selling

The former Kiss guitarist on that time he sold a ’59 Les Paul to fund a gambling trip, and the price-boosting power of his personal signature

We’ve heard a lot from the resurgent Ace Frehley, whether he’s shooting down Kiss myths, sharing his solo philosophy, or admitting he should have practiced more as he promotes raucous new album 10,000 Volts.

But there’s a reason we keep Frehley on speed-dial: the guy has truly seen and done it all.

“It was a Gibson Les Paul. It’s a very slight blue metallic, almost like my nail polish [laughs]. I picked up that guitar on Reverb and it sounds fabulous. I recorded with that on my new record, [10,000 Volts]. When you get something good – I mean, like a good Les Paul – all set up correctly, and into a Marshall amp, it’s a no-brainer. You don’t have to use any special effects if you have the technique, so I rarely use special effects.”

“Right now, all my guitar cases are in my attic. I have an 8,000sqft house with a huge attic, and all my cases are up there. I keep the boxes for the important outboard gear, speakers and stuff that I have in my recording studio. I’ve got my guitars all over the house: in my office, down in my studio, up in my bedroom, hanging on the walls. I don’t regret any of them and can always make money on them if I sign one.”

“I bought a Keith Richards model, you know, with the humbucker, for like 300 bucks. It’s probably worth at least a grand. And then, if I sign that, I could sell it for two thousand. But I really liked the guitar, so I’m probably going to keep that one. I also bought a Danelectro guitar inside the case with the amp, like the ones they had at Sears. I found one of those. It’s always the coolest guitars you look out for when you’re a collector.”