SOLD! - 2015 Ace Frehley Aged & Signed Gibson Les Paul 1959 True Historic
AGED & SIGNED - All original, 1 owner guitar, only played at home for a few minutes. True collectors piece!!
Comes with all the papers, hang tags, rare Gibson Burst Case Dust Cover, etc.Weighs only 3.7Kg
To feel an original 1959 Les Paul “Burst in your hands” is an experience beyond description for most true players, but to know the pain of having, then losing, one of the most cherished guitars of your lifetime, is a story few have words to describe. Luckily Ace Frehley was able to recall many of the details of his original, lost ’59. Based on those recollections, Gibson Custom has collaborated with one of rock’s most accomplished players to give a limited number of people the chance to feel and hear his beloved ’59 as he recalls it.
The Story of the Frehley Burst
In 1959, an unknown gentleman in upstate New York, bought the guitar new, from a New York dealer and intended to use it for country music. That fell through for him and he parked the guitar for ten years. A fellow named Bill bought the guitar from him in 1969, and immediately put the guitar up for sale in the local Syracuse newspapers for approximately $1,500.00. During that time a guy by the name of Gary Zamory was looking for a 1959 Les Paul after he saw Mike Bloomfield play one. So he contacted Bill in Oswego, NY after he saw the add. Gary saw Bill and haggled out a deal with him. The deal was apparently, one 1957 Fender Esquire, one 1962 Gibson ES-335, one 1956 Gibson Les Paul Special and $125.00 in cash.
Gary was apparently a monster guitar player. He actually got a chance to go down to Georgia in the early 1970s and meet The Allman Brothers and jam with them, with the guitar. They loved the guitar and his playing. All the guitar players down in Georgia wanted to buy it from him, but he wouldn’t sell. After a time in Georgia he went back to Syracuse and played in many bands through the '70s. After his band broke up Gary got into financial trouble and sold the guitar to a New York Music Store for $2,500 somewhere late '77.
And that is when Ace bought it for $4,000 He recorded every track on his solo album with it and he thinks it's the best guitar he has ever owned. And then this happened....
Interview in the May 1997 Guitar World edition:
GW: "What is the best guitar you've ever owned?"
Frehley: "It was probably my '59 Flametop Standard. I bought it for $4,000, and I recorded every track on my first solo album with that guitar. Then, in 1985, I ended up hocking it for $6,000 while I was on my way to Atlantic City. I just felt lucky. I thought I was going to go down there, win a bunch of money and get the guitar out of hock. That didn't happen. I ended up losing about $20,000. Somehow, there was a misunderstanding. I thought that I had six months to get the guitar out of hock, but the guy thought that I was selling it to him. Somebody snatched it up right away. I actually found the guy who bought it, and I had the chance to play it again. He had changed the nut from bone to metal and had done something to the frets. When I played it, it didn't feel like it used to. It didn't knock me out, so I didn't feel that bad that it wasn't mine anymore."
The reality and the significance of The Frehley Burst is simple. Although it wasn't a guitar that Ace was typically seen with, during Kiss' heyday and the Frehley's Comet years, it was most definitely the guitar that Ace was heard playing, more than any other, on studio recordings between 1977 and 1985. That time period incorporates some of Ace's greatest and most memorable tracks. Rip It Out, Snowblind... In fact, his whole first solo album in 1978, except for parts of Ozone. All of the Dynasty recording including Ace's cuts. Hard Times, 2,000 Man and Save Your Love. Torpedo Girl, Two Sides Of The Coin and Talk To Me from Unmasked are The Frehley Burst. Dark Light on The Elder, is The Frehley Burst. The songs are countless. Once he got this guitar the others were used just for live and this became his number one guitar. Ace: "It wouldn’t go out of tune. It's a truly magical guitar. Its the best one I have ever played, owned or even seen".
Here is a condensed, approximate timeline, showing ownership and purchase prices of this beautiful guitar ...
1959 - 1969 - Original owner in upsate New York ($269 + $42 case)
1969 - "Bill" in upstate New York ($ unknown)
1969 - 1976 - Gary Zamory ($1,500)
1976/77 - Unknown guitar store in New York City ($2,500)
1976/77 - Gene Holder ($ unknown)
1976/77 - Richard Friedman / We Buy Guitars ($ unknown)
1977 - 1985 - Paul 'Ace' Frehley ($3,500)
1985 - 1986 - Richard Friedman / We Buy Guitars ($6,000)
1986 - 1987 - Gil Southworth / Southworth Guitars ($ unknown)
1987 - 1988 - Vic DaPra ($ unknown)
1988 - present - Al Romano ($13,000, with an estimated value North of $1,000,000)