Gene Simmons LoBue Tribute Build

[Blazer]

He didn't really play that tho' did he? I thought he stuck with his Les Paul, and just marketed that lightenbolt guitar in some ads and I remember a video with it...

I had a concert video of Frehley's Comet playing in London, and I don't remember seeing anything but his 2 LPs being played.

Ace said this about the Washburn in an interview for Guitarworld in 1996 when Kiss did their reunion tour.

"Washburn contacted me on making an Ace Frehley model, which looked cool but sounded like $#!*, I used it in the video for 'Into the night' and took it out on tour but after only one or two songs I said to my tech 'Get me my Les Paul, I can't deal with this!' "

Yeah that was back in the day when Signature models were basically guitars which were made without any input of the artist which name it carried.

I played the Epiphone version of the Ace's "Budokan" Les Paul and I didn't like it, it sounded way too bright.

 

[EpiRipper]

Here is a pic from the KISS album session... this doesn't look like a P bass to me

 

[Blazer]

Here is a pic from the KISS album session... this doesn't look like a P bass to me

What kind of Amp is he using, a Sunn?

 

[THand]

Here is a pic from the KISS album session... this doesn't look like a P bass to me

Cool pic

Gene did say that he recorded the old albums with a P bass in an interview before...but like I said he could BS reporters too...I wasn't there so I don't know..
I wish I still knew what interview that was.

I have some laying around the house where he talks about recording Revenge...and said he used whatever he felt like sounded best for the song, including a $200 Yamaha...

Based on that, I would think that he used whatever was around that sounded the way he wanted for the song...so while that's a cool pic, I'm not surrendering the idea that he recorded with a Pbass on the old albums...at least on some of the tracks...I just read him saying the P bass recorded better too many times

On the old ABC TV concert, you can see a black P bass sitting by his Ampeg.

 

[THand]

Ace said this about the Washburn in an interview for Guitarworld in 1996 when Kiss did their reunion tour.

"Washburn contacted me on making an Ace Frehley model, which looked cool but sounded like $#!*, I used it in the video for 'Into the night' and took it out on tour but after only one or two songs I said to my tech 'Get me my Les Paul, I can't deal with this!' "

Yeah that was back in the day when Signature models were basically guitars which were made without any input of the artist which name it carried.

I played the Epiphone version of the Ace's "Budokan" Les Paul and I didn't like it, it sounded way too bright.

I wanted one of those so bad when they first came out...but I'm glad I never bought one.

 

[bassgod76]

I wanted one of those so bad when they first came out...but I'm glad I never bought one.

My "Ace" is is building one as we speak, but it will have a DiMarzio Super Distotion pup.

 

[Blazer]

Bruce Kulick said on the recording of "I walk alone" on "Carnival of souls" that he urged Gene to play an ESP copy of a Fender jazz because he wanted something a little less powerful, more sophisticated than Gene's Pedulla and Punisher basses on there. Gene complied.

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Which makes for what could well be the final time Gene used a bass with single coil pickups on a Kiss record.

 

[bassgod76]

I think Gene used a music man on Psycho Circus

 

[Blazer]

My "Ace" is is building one as we speak, but it will have a DiMarzio Super Distotion pup.

If I were to make one of those it would get a two piece mahogany body, a set mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard and just the DiMarzio bridge pickup. Making it a pointy shaped Les Paul Junior.

Can't go wrong with that set up.

 

[Blazer]

I think Gene used a music man on Psycho Circus

And what kind of pickup does a musicman have?
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Eyup, a humbucker.

 

[THand]

My "Ace" is is building one as we speak, but it will have a DiMarzio Super Distotion pup.

Does he have a build thread by chance?

 

[bassgod76]

Does he have a build thread by chance?

No, he's not nearly as much into forums.

 

[bassgod76]

So I wrestle with the dilemma of the third pot. I was thinking of making it a push/pull for the 3rd coil of the MM TW pup. Being that I have to use split shaft pots, I kind of limited

 

[THand]

Why can't you use a straight shaft? Just drill the taper knob to fit the shaft and epoxy that sucker on there.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

You guys are forgetting about Gene's EB-0:

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I think he played that before the LoBue. And that's also why he put the mudbucker on the LoBue.

There's a thread about it here:

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=222.0

 

[EpiRipper]

You guys are forgetting about Gene's EB-0:

I think he played that before the LoBue. And that's also why he put the mudbucker on the LoBue.

He had the LoBue in '73. The EB-0 came on the scene in '76. KISS, as you might remember from the album covers used "Gibson guitars and Pearl Drums because they want the best". Although for the better part of '75 and '76 Gene had stopped using the Grabbers and Rippers that he was endorsing.
I believe the EB-0 made it's first appearance on the Paul Lynde Halloween special in '76, and with Gene's contractual obligations to uphold, national TV coverage with a Gibson bass would surely keep the sponsors happy.
I don't think it saw much, if any, stage time, it was mainly used for promotional purposes. If you see photos of the back of the bass, it only has minor codpiece rash.

 

[bassgod76]

Why can't you use a straight shaft? Just drill the taper knob to fit the shaft and epoxy that sucker on there.

I may just do that. My thinking would be to use an EMG EXB as the third pot, and I would just roll with a regular EMG MMCS instead.

 

[bassgod76]

Looking at the EMG EXB And the EXG, I'm wondering if these are the same pots with just different shafts? The EMG website is down now, so I will call Rick at EMG on Monday.

 

[THand]

You guys are forgetting about Gene's EB-0:

I think he played that before the LoBue. And that's also why he put the mudbucker on the LoBue.

He had the LoBue in '73. The EB-0 came on the scene in '76. KISS, as you might remember from the album covers used "Gibson guitars and Pearl Drums because they want the best". Although for the better part of '75 and '76 Gene had stopped using the Grabbers and Rippers that he was endorsing.
I believe the EB-0 made it's first appearance on the Paul Lynde Halloween special in '76, and with Gene's contractual obligations to uphold, national TV coverage with a Gibson bass would surely keep the sponsors happy.
I don't think it saw much, if any, stage time, it was mainly used for promotional purposes. If you see photos of the back of the bass, it only has minor codpiece rash.

You are correct.

 

[Ironfingers]

Here is a pic from the KISS album session... this doesn't look like a P bass to me

What bass is this then? If this is a pic of the KISS album session then it can't be the Lobue, that wasn't painted black until 1975.

It's either a black EB-0 or another Lobue, but I've never read of him having another one. One more mystery, which I'm finding a lot of the more research I do on this thing...