Modified Ace Les Paul?

smitty_p

smitty_p

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Just noticed this. Look at the rear of Ace's Les Paul. It looks like it has a contoured heel...kind of like a Les Paul Axcess before Gibson made a Les Paul Axcess.

Also, the forward strap button has been relocated.

Kiss_LP_Rear_1.png


Here's a link to the video.

 
That was his 73LP Deluxe he bought at Manny's after they got their advance for first album. He had it routed for full size HB pickups. Immediately after, he literally started gouging out the heel with a screwdriver to make easier high fret access.
He sanded it and seemingly repainted that area himself.
Love the L6 that Paul is playing too!
There are some online articles ahout that tobacco burst.
 
Jethro Rocker said:
That was his 73LP Deluxe he bought at Manny's after they got their advance for first album. He had it routed for full size HB pickups. Immediately after, he literally started gouging out the heel with a screwdriver to make easier high fret access.
He sanded it and seemingly repainted that area himself.
Love the L6 that Paul is playing too!
There are some online articles ahout that tobacco burst.
Click to expand...

So, those were his own mods that he did himself?

Pretty innovative of him.
 
Yup. Made his guitar work for him.
Here is one interesting article.

axeologyextended.wordpress.com

The heel of Ace’s 1973 Les Paul Deluxe

This is one of those things that it took me a number of years to actually figure out. When I first got really into the guitars of KISS back in the late 90’s there were almost no high-resoluti…
axeologyextended.wordpress.com axeologyextended.wordpress.com

Ace is an odd critter. He mentioned lately how he is surprised people say he used his Ovation Breadwinner for the first album when he claims it was the LP.
Maybe because there are photos from late 73 in studio wirh him playing it with headphones on?
 
Jethro Rocker said:
That was his 73LP Deluxe he bought at Manny's after they got their advance for first album. He had it routed for full size HB pickups.
Click to expand...

Any idea why he chose to get a Deluxe and have it routed, rather than starting with a Les Paul already fitted with humbuckers?
 
Jethro Rocker said:
That was his 73LP Deluxe he bought at Manny's after they got their advance for first album. He had it routed for full size HB pickups. Immediately after, he literally started gouging out the heel with a screwdriver to make easier high fret access.
He sanded it and seemingly repainted that area himself.
Love the L6 that Paul is playing too!
There are some online articles ahout that tobacco burst.
Click to expand...
HAHA, The L6 was the first thing I saw in that pic. I had to look for what Smitty was talking about.
 
smitty_p said:
Any idea why he chose to get a Deluxe and have it routed, rather than starting with a Les Paul already fitted with humbuckers?
Click to expand...
I remember the first LP Deluxe I saw in the flesh. I know where it was too. Link's Music in Hanover PA. I am thinking it was between 2008 and 2012 before I got my first SG.
I was hunting LP's back when the LP Custom Classics came out. I really dug the Natural Finished CC's. It was a Sunburst Deluxe with the Mini Hums and priced at around $3500-$4300. Needless to say, that was too rich for my blood.

It would be 2022 before I would get my non Epiphone LP. Despite my preference to get guitars @ closer to the $300-$999 range, it cost between the $1850 of the LP Custom Classic's I liked at GC, and the $4k ish of that LP Deluxe.

Being a 1979 LP, my particular guitar was obviously someone's " player." It is a killer Rock n Roll machine in the vein of my first guitar I got in 1983. Minus any kind of Stetsbar, Kahler, Bigsby, or contours in the back like an Axcess or Ace's self done one, it is fully capable of reproducing any Ace licks, Jimmy Page, Slash, and my favorite Alex Lifeson RUSH songs.

Rumor has it, the guitars like Smitty's and Col Mustard's SG 'Tributes?" with the mini hums are pretty nice pieces. I would surmise that any of the newer modern LP's with the mini hums would be likewise.

Since Smitty brought it up, I am now curious about Ace's modified Deluxe.
 
gball said:
I've watched those Midnight Special clips a hundred times and still can't get over how freaking amazing that band was in its prime. No wonder I wanted to play guitar, Ace is a beast!
Click to expand...
I wasn't raised in a home with access to the videos you speak of, especially in real time. Now that you mention the existence of the Midnight Special content that contains vintage KISS, I can search for them.

I do however remember going to my school buddy's house to check out his KISS ALIVE 1&2 albums circa 1981 which coincides with my first trip to Gordon Miller Music, my first Strat and Marshall amp experience with him at Gordon Miller, falling in love with Les Paul's at the other music store in Hillendale @ Loch Raven BLVD and Taylor Ave.

No wonder my first guitar was my used '79 LP.
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
I wasn't raised in a home with access to the videos you speak of, especially in real time. Now that you mention the existence of the Midnight Special content that contains vintage KISS, I can search for them.

I do however remember going to my school buddy's house to check out his KISS ALIVE 1&2 albums circa 1981 which coincides with my first trip to Gordon Miller Music, my first Strat and Marshall amp experience with him at Gordon Miller, falling in love with Les Paul's at the other music store in Hillendale @ Loch Raven BLVD and Taylor Ave.

No wonder my first guitar was my used '79 LP.
Click to expand...

I didn't get to see them in real time either - that came much later with the advent of the internet. As kids we were obsessed with all of the early albums, especially Alive! and Alive II.

We had a Gordon Miller at the Columbia Mall in the early days. It was where I got to see/handle my very first electric guitars, although my first one was an epic POS that came from Montgomery Ward. Got my first "real" guitar, a '77 Les Paul, from Bill's Music House in Catonsville. Bought a lot of guitars there over the years actually, up until I moved to California. But, yeah, the reason for wanting a Les Paul was pretty obvious as my main influences at the time were Ace, Page and Lerxst.
 
smitty_p said:
Any idea why he chose to get a Deluxe and have it routed, rather than starting with a Les Paul already fitted with humbuckers?
Click to expand...
Dunno. Price? I think the other option would have been a Custom as the Standard had P90s as far as I know.
 
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