Ace Frehley's 'Budokan' Les Paul

[Slim]

Walked past the Hard Rock Cafe in London on Wednesday and noticed this beauty in the window, so I took a pic.

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It's going to be auctioned in New York in May.

https://english.aawsat.com/entertainment/5254793-heavy-metal-memorabilia-offer-julien%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98music-icons%E2%80%99-auction

You can see Ace playing this guitar in the Alive II cover photos so it was quite a moment to be standing in front of it.

Looking at it closely you can see that it's a Norlin era instrument, with a very visible join where two slabs have been glued together for the body. Curiously there's a socket next to the upper strap button .. no idea what that's for. A ciggie holder?

[Thenop]

Wow! Fantastic!
Also: that are a lot of pick ups.

I still think this is the perfect burst colour. They should be careful displaying it, too much sun fades it.

[Slim]

The Norlin era and later finishes don't really fade and the 'Budokan' Les Paul is destined to stay bright red forever. The early Les Pauls faded quite dramatically although ironically they look much nicer (to me) than the original cherry burst.

In this pic, Bernie Marsden has removed the "poker chip" surrounding the pickup selector on his '59 to show what's left of the original colour.

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[The Picnic Wasp]

Had a bit of a Les Paul impulse moment myself today. Andertons have the Epiphone Alex Lifeson signature in their Easter sale, so I picked one up. I'd been meaning to mark the start of my state pension days with something trivial, so this'll do. £350 reduction and comes with a case so quite pleased. It can join my Geddy Lee Jazz in the rack.

[Nick]

The socket may have been for his rockets?

[Thenop]

The socket may have been for his rockets?

Rumour has it that Kiss' rockets were in Pauls pockets, hence the poetry display in the song Take Me

Put Your Hands in My Pocket
Grab Onto My Rocket

[Slim]

The socket may have been for his rockets?

I'd forgotten about that but those were launched from the headstock. Found this:

https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingAboutGuitar/posts/ace-frehleys-legendary-rocket-launcher-les-paulace-frehleys-rocket-launcher-guit/1299843082071316/

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An actual '57 Custom was "modified" for this purpose! Interesting that there's a strip of tape along the bass side of the neck.

[Thenop]

The things you find on the Internet are sometimes amazing in the truest sense of the word:

http://www.acefrehleylespaul.com/SolosSmokersShooters.html

[chrisso]

It's really fascining to see how guitars can carry such a story!
The Les Paul "Budokan" of Ace Frehley defo marked its time.

[Slim]

Hello chrisso, welcome.

[The Picnic Wasp]

Sold for $512,000

[captainkurtz]

Wow.