The KISS Ace Frehley’s Guitar Auction for Half-Million Dollar

The most important guitar of late original KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley has found a new collector. His beloved 1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom, the instrument he relied on more than any other during his prime tenure with KISS, sold for $512,000 during Julien’s Auctions’ Music Icons live auction held in New York City. News Source from Newsnation

Nicknamed the Budokan, this triple-humbucker Les Paul Custom features a striking cherry sunburst finish and serial number 657947 with an “A” prefix. It stands as Ace Frehley’s primary stage and studio guitar throughout KISS’s most creative era, serving as his go-to axe for every concert spanning the 1976 Rock and Roll Over Tour all the way through the 1979 Dynasty Tour. No other instrument appeared as frequently alongside Frehley both onstage and in recording sessions.

The guitar earned its famous Budokan moniker after Frehley played it for KISS’s iconic four-night residency at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan from April 1 to 4, 1977. This exact Les Paul was also used to record KISS’s landmark 1977 studio album Love Gun, released just one month after those historic Japanese performances.

Frehley kept the Budokan as his main touring guitar through 1979 before shifting it to backup status. It rarely appeared live on the 1980 Unmasked Tour, and Frehley parted ways with KISS by late 1982, shortly after wrapping a brief European promotional run.

Ace Frehley continued playing the Budokan throughout the 1980s and made several custom tweaks to fit his playing style. He swapped the bridge pickup for a black humbucker and installed a Washburn Wonderbar tremolo system with matching tuners at the nut, leaving visible holes around the headstock’s truss rod cover from the retrofit. Later, the guitar was fully restored to its original factory bridge and pickup configuration, matching its well-known vintage appearance seen in official tour photos.

Given KISS’s global cultural impact and the one-of-a-kind rock history attached to the Budokan Les Paul, auction officials set a pre-sale valuation between $400,000 and $600,000. The final winning bid of $512,000 landed neatly within the projected price range, cementing its status as a top-tier piece of hard rock memorabilia.

On October 16, 2025, original KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley passed away at age 74 after suffering severe injuries from a fall at his residence. He had canceled all 2025 tour dates earlier that month due to declining health. Medical reports confirmed he suffered a brain hemorrhage and was placed on life support before his passing. Frehley’s family released an official statement: “We are utterly devastated. We surrounded him with love and prayers in his final moments. His joyful spirit and groundbreaking musical legacy will never be forgotten.”

Ace Frehley joined KISS back in 1973 and created the band’s iconic Spaceman persona. A self-taught guitarist, his raw, blues-infused hard rock riffs defined KISS’s signature sound. The 1975 live album Alive! catapulted KISS to worldwide superstardom, yet Frehley grew increasingly frustrated with his limited creative role within the group.

Frehley launched a successful solo career in 1978 with his self-titled debut LP. His cover of New York Groove cracked the Top 20 on mainstream music charts. Substance abuse struggles and artistic disagreements led to his original exit from KISS in 1981. He formed Frehley’s Comet in 1987 to focus on independent touring and recording, reunited with KISS for the massively successful 1996 reunion tour, and departed the band once more in 2002.

This 1975 Gibson Les Paul is far more than a vintage electric guitar. It carries direct provenance tied to KISS’s commercial peak, landmark live shows in Japan, a platinum-selling studio album, and decades of Ace Frehley’s personal performance history. For guitar collectors, KISS fans, and hard rock memorabilia investors, the Budokan represents an irreplaceable piece of 1970s arena rock history.

Julien’s Music Icons auction regularly features rare stage-used instruments from Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen and other legendary rock acts, but the sale of Ace Frehley’s Budokan Les Paul stands out as one of the event’s headline lots. Decades after those legendary Budokan concerts, Frehley’s trusted studio and touring guitar remains a tangible symbol of his unmatched influence on rock guitar playing.