When KISS hit the stage at Nippon Budokan in Japan in 1977 with guitarist ACE FREHLEY behind a Cherry Sunburst, three-pickup Les Paul Custom, the entire package—band, guitarist, guitar—embodied the height of glam-rock excess and success for the ’70s. This was the ultimate marriage of pop and heavy rock, driven to meteoric heights by the record industry marketing machine, and ultimately attaining that otherworldly presence that great stadium rock should achieve: unbridled fantasy and party-hard reality rolled into one glorious explosion.

In celebration of Ace Frehley’s unquestionable status as a rock icon, and the epitome of glam-rock stardom that KISS represented at this crystalline moment in time in 1977, Gibson Custom proudly announces the release of the Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom, produced in a strictly Limited Edition of 50 hand-aged guitars signed by the artist, with a further 100 hand-aged guitars, and 150 guitars treated in Gibson Custom’s VOS process. Offering everything you’ve come to expect from Gibson Custom’s artist replica guitars, 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 Ace Frehley “Budokan” Les Paul Custom has been created with close cooperation between Gibson Custom, Ace Frehley and the guitar’s current owner, Matt Swanson. Digital scanning technology was used to capture every minute detail of the actual guitar.

In the image of the original Les Paul Custom, the guitar has a four-piece maple top glued to a mid-’70s “sandwich” body made from a middle and back section of solid mahogany joined by a thin maple veneer, with no chambering. The top is hand-sprayed in nitrocellulose to give it the same Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish as the original, with 150 hand-aged to match the wear of the existing guitar. The three-piece mahogany neck has been made made to match the original’s thin profile. Decorative elements include mother-of-pearl block fingerboard inlays, multi-ply body and headstock binding, mother-of-pearl Gibson headstock logo and split-diamond inlay, and a cream pickguard.

Read more at Gibson.com.

Ace Frehley has been added to the Mad Monster Party, taking place at the Blake Hotel in Charlotte, NC, March 23rd - 25th.

In addition to Ace Frehley, other guests include original METALLICA bassist Ron McGovney, Marky Ramone (THE RAMONES), Rutger Hauer, Brad Dourif (One Flew Over The Cuckoo’S Nest, Exorcist 3, Child’S Play, Lord Of The Rings, Deadwood), Dee Wallace (E.T., The Howling, Cujo, Critters, The Frighteners), Rowdy Roddy Piper (Wrestling Legend, They Live), Joe Turkel (The Shining, Blade Runner), Richard Moll (Bull From Night Court, House)

According to a press release, The Mad Monster Party is a horror convention with a difference. While other shows install a generic event in a random city, Mad Monster is building their show from the inside out. With the support of local Charlotte organizations like “Visit Charlotte” tourist board and business leaders like Kevin Blanchfield and his Haunted Mill, Phillip Morris of Morris Costume, etc, Mad Monster Party is putting down roots and committing to a partnership with the Charlotte community to provide a unique convention that is fresh, theatrical and offers visiting international fans a destination for years to come. Daily and weekend tickets are available as well as RIP (Really Intense Partyer) front-of-line and all access passes.

For more details visit Madmonster.com.