10 Guitarists You've Never Heard Of - Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley was the original guitarist for the band Kiss. He is known worldwide as 'The Spaceman' because he really is 'out of this world'. He has an IQ of over 160 yet claims to have done poorly in school. Ace's hobbies include drawing (as he is a gifted artist, he designed the Kiss logo and all of their posters), building, and of course... experimenting with drugs. Gene Simmons claims that he and Paul Stanley were holding auditions for a lead guitarist. They were in the process of signing Bob Kulick when Ace walked into the room and plugged in his guitar. At first Simmons was confused as to why this man was so rude... but his jaw soon dropped when Ace played an incredible solo for twelve minutes straight.

The band signed Ace as their lead guitarist. Ace was known to do a lethal dose of different drugs and would never arrive to rehearsals, recordings, or gigs ontime. He is known for his strange and sometimes offensive sense of humor (usually due to alcohol). He is no longer a member of the band because he felt it would be better for him to pursue a solo career.

Ace's style was incredibly unique for the time. He helped define the hard rock solo. Not metal, not punk... just straight up hit you in your balls rock n' roll. Although his solos and wailing guitar riff were unique at the time, he used no special techniques, just a hell of a lot of practice.

Frehley plays a custom Les Paul with three humbucking pickups. He uses his signature Gibson strings to give his playing extra sustain and punch. The bottom pickup of his guitars produces smoke... something he designed while waiting in a hotel room on Kiss's Alive! tour. Another one of Ace's guitars shoots a rocket from the headstock but was only used on the 'Dynasty' tour at one show because of an minor accident.

The Spaceman did not play on all Kiss records. The first Kiss album that did not publicly feature him as lead guitarist was 'Lick It Up' which was released in 1983 (with Vinnie Vincent playing lead guitar). Ace does, however, play lead guitar on the band's most recent studio album 'Psycho Circus' which was released in 1998. In 1978, the entire band release self-titled solo albums. Ace's was the best selling of the four and quickly went platinum (as did the other three). "New York Groove" was the most popular track off of that album with stunning vocals and a somewhat funky guitar part and steady drums.

Today Ace continues writing songs and is occasionally used as a session guitarist.

Comments

[Doolittle88]

loads of people have heard of ace frehley

[ShaDoweR]

ive heard of him as well

[hololos]

The two other guitarists before, I've never heard of, but Ace Frehley, he's one of the most well known guitarist in the world!

[smilifile]

ive never heard of him, but then again i dont know much about kiss

[Encore_God]

Ace Frehley in guitarists we've never heard of? Most people would wish they'd never heard of him or Kiss, but we all know him well enough.

[blueeleguitar]

ive heard of him hes a good guitarist

[EarlofGrey]

What's next, Yngwie Malmsteen?

[guitar_freak523]

we all know who he is

[colegrove49]

...Dude, this guy has a signature guitar, hes not unherd of at all...

[BrofUJu]

I know who he is... come to think of it, I've known of all these guitarists...

[n_punx]

He uses his signature Gibson strings to give his playing extra sustain and punch.

is the strings good? anyone tried it?

[FrankNslash]

Who the hell doesnt know Ace? well if dont blow me

[FrankNslash]

smilifile:
ive never heard of him, but then again i dont know much about kiss
FrankNslash: what a ***ing homo! that goddamn smilifile.

[FlyingFuc!<]

i already knew this guitarist and teppei

[PsychoWolfD]

Ace Frehley is awesome. That must be one powerful Les Paul since it has 3 humbuckers and Ace uses it well!

[FreebirdSolo]

(2nd senctence)-He is known worldwide as 'The Spaceman' because he really is 'out of this world'.

??? Isn't this about guitarists you never heard of?

[chuckles_34]

We all should have seen this coming seeing as this guys name is ace from space

[pirate]

wow......some people never cease to amaze me with there stupidity....i mean who hasent heard of ace frehley.....and if you havent i suggest you go stick your face in a waffle iron...er watever those things are called, and then pop in your dads detroit rock city 45....mmmkay

[gooseholla]

Ermmmmmm I tyhink nearly everyone has heard of him.

[fendermalmsteen]

I know him

[SlashJr.90]

he is very well known kiss is an awesome band

[Greenmercury]

It was a good article and all.... but man who the hell hasn't heard of Ace Frehley? He's one of the most signifigantly sounding guitarists of his time!

[will_yeah]

that the same Ace Frehley that EVERYONE'S HEARD OF? or a different one? is this article for deaf and blind people, because i'm pretty sure that it should be, even tho they CAN'T READ.

[will_yeah]

how did this article get 4 stars (before my vote), i mean it's well written i think, but IT'S COMPLETLY CONTRATDICTIVE to the title

[igotabcrich32]

whos next? jimi hendrix? eddie van halen? kurt cobain?

[lostinmyownw0rl]

Who hasn't heard of him.

[Wormboy]

I don't like Kiss, but I've heard of Ace.

[them_sell]

well writen but seriuosly? who hasnt heard of him

[WarriorXT]

NEXT on Guitarists you've never heard of: A triple threat! Kirk Hammett, Randy Rhoades, and Kerry King!

[IlikeTheSKA]

(7 votes)

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Ace Frehley was the original guitarist for the band Kiss. He is known worldwide as 'The Spaceman' because he really is 'out of this world'.

Yet we never heard of him? wtF?

[chet91]

it's a good article, but ace is really well known.

[rockfan]

Ace is an awesome guitarist.

[garagerocker69]

jesus! whats next?? friggin tom delonge?

[bensk8n]

God dude next he'll think we havent heard of like all of led zeppelin or all of metallica... i am very unimpressed...

[Lint]

OH COMMON we have all heard of ace!

[ValoVonHellvett]

EarlofGrey:
What's next, Yngwie Malmsteen?

exactly,who ever put Ace in Guitarists you've never heard of should be set on fire and thrown of a cliff!
whats next Steve Vai?John Petrucci?Angus?Hendrix?

[MonkeyAteMySoul]

everyone knows who ace is, you should do mattias ia elkuhnda from freak kitcheen next

[JoHNNERz]

there's this really underground guy i've heard of... name's iomi...

probably not as famous as frehley, cause i think i've heard of frehley before...

[JoHNNERz]

i was kidding asshole.

[pirate]

too bad its iommi...not iomi.....dickweed

stuartmcilliam: ban coming your way.... just thought i'd let you know in two different places so you can get it in your fat head.

[Tcurtis]

wtf? tons and tons of people know who Ace is.

[`NeXxuS`]

haha, ive known every single one on this list so far... this is retarded, let me do one and ill show you a couple of real guitarists no one knows..

[drevil814]

who hasnt heard of him?

[PARASITE 5150]

the main point in rating the article should be the quality... not the title.

[siamesedream]

How could you not have heard of Ace Frehley?

[jimmypage2]

whose ace frehley?

lol

[ark]

heheh, for most people who dont play guitar or like rock think about rock music....first thign comes to mind is KISS...dont you think? i think that ace freshly (though many wont know his name) know who he is and i think its pretty well known.

these articles are starting to bomb.

[PARASITE 5150]

i think he means that people have seen his make up and have seen his band... but his bio they don't know and they don't actually know him.

[howaceisjoe]

Another one of Ace's guitars shoots a rocket from the headstock but was only used on the 'Dynasty' tour at one show because of an minor accident.

....HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAA minor accident HAHAHAHAAHAAHA

[metalmassacre]

oh yeah never heard of him...........jackass jk lol

[jimbo66]

what are you smokin.... i want some

[pietje punk]

why doesnt know who ace is!?
but nice piece anyway... that all we didnt knew

[Burn in hell]

They should write an article on fleetwood mac's guitarist. I dont think anybodys heard of him.

[msierragtz]

we all know ace frehly

[crawlingfaster]

hahahahaha even lame kiss hating people like me know who ace frehley is

[WhiteKnight123]

kiss is one of the most famous bands of all die, and ace is a front man so we all have heard of him, the other two we havent heard of but we have heard of him

[Joey .G]

Whether or not we know him that was two good articles in a row keep em coming

[Thegeetarnoob]

Good quick overview of him. Should've picked a guitarist no one knows, though.

[awesomedude89]

dude i ***ing hate kiss and ive heard of him

[shredbeyndshred]

i know him?!?!

[micha]

how about ryan delmaire from crowned king(canadian kick ass punk rock band)

[MessikaN]

i know who this guy is...ive never really been a fan of kiss though so i havent heard much of his stuff.

[Greasybass]

im only 14 and i've heard of ace.

[scoochiefoo]

wow, it only took 12313 million people to say they know ace to prove a point, i think you can stop saying he's well known by now, geez

And i think the article was well written

[MrLucky77713]

Wow. I'm gladd you assholes are so supportive of writers who worked hard to write a quality article. I couldn't find many flaws, but you guys have him two goddamn stars just because you've heard of him?

You wankers are fucking weak.

[harm0n20]

what??? this guys not "unknown" my little brother knows him and he's only 13!

[jumpmanhat]

who's gene simmons? who's the guy guy with a star on the eye? but i know ACE hes cool like ICE

[Emenius Sleepus]

yup. next is probably Yngwee, or Joe or Steve... or maybe even Kirk Hammett and Kerry King

[Emenius Sleepus]

***.. typo

[MrScary07RR]

who the hell hasnt heardof ace frehley? good article anyway, he's just not very undergound

[nouse4aname125]

yeah i mean... ive never even heard of kiss until i read this great article... i mean kiss. who the hells ever heard of them. were they under ground? no? legendary you say? but this guy says no ones heard of the guy? hes wrong? i thought so.

oh and by the way the reason he was called the spaceman wasnt because they decided to give him a cheesy name. its because he also had a great fascination with space. i think he even wanted to go to space. i havent heard the story in a while though so im not sure

[Lick_Soloist]

Ha, Everyone heard of Ace Frehley, This column sucks!!

[Aditya]

darn...i'm the only guy here whoz neva heard of him...now i have

[PuNk RoCk 69]

anyone whos thinks they no music and guitarist shoudl no ace if u dont you shoudl go back to school or some shit

[IbanezPlaher]

I thought the title said "TEN GUITARS YOU NEVER HEARD OF".... Ace Is AN AX MAGICIAN!! I've known about him for years... who writes this garbage? BOO!!!

-"I'm gonna vote you off the fu*king planet man!!"

[corystanding]

Obviously everyone hear has heard of him, I didn't even read it because i was thinking....so many people have heard of him

[Duff_McGee]

This was a sad article,if you don't know who ace is,then you need help and a bitchslap

[Frentic_Amnesic]

I'd like to see this one Steve Vai guy someone told me about once up her, and maybe this Joe..Sak..Satriani? Come the hell on man, if you're going to post a guitarists no one knows make sure he's not in one of the, if not the biggest band in the world.

[Frentic_Amnesic]

here*

[EnEnSy-Brad]

if a guitarist hasn't heard of ace frehley then somethings wrong

[Nadz]

are you going to do chris and michael amott?

[Geldof the Grey]

Frentic_Amnesesic: If you think Satch isn't well known you are mistaken. Regardless, there's a columns called '10 Guitarists to Idolise' coming up and he's in that. I certainly wasn't expecting Ace Frehley in this set, I think that's rediculous!

[joshimitsu]

Whats next on the guitarists you've never heard of? Slash? Page?

[hatebreed219]

i dont like kiss and i've heard of ace,find someone else man

[busby_bass]

also i dont like kiss, and iv heard of ace ... u gonna so hendrix next :P

[PARASITE 5150]

you guys are pretty arrogant... you rated him because of the title and not the article? wow.

[Frentic_Amnesic]

Geldof the Grey: I was being sarcastic, I'd hope everyone would know vai and satch.

[behn_rocker]

man, who hasn't heard of Ace Frehley? he has signature strings, signature guitars (from both washburn and gibson), and he was in Kiss. also you got some info wrong... neck pickup produces the smoke in his guitars, not the bridge... also, he doesn't have that in all of his guitars... he's had i think 2 that did that, ever. and on that one, it comes out of the middle pickup since it is a 3 humbucker model. also, he continues to use the rocket launcher guitar. on the 2000 psycho circus/farewell tour, he used it to blow up stuff that hung down. pretty cool. but lets try to keep this to people you HAVEN'T heard of. damn... he was ranked one of the 100 best guitarists in Guitar World 3 years ago.

[behn_rocker]

also he didn't design the model in a hotel room... he ruined one of his guitars by putting a smoke bomb in the tone and volume pots and lighting it onstage. so really, he designed through trial and error after that.

[PARASITE 5150]

also he didn't design the model in a hotel room... he ruined one of his guitars by putting a smoke bomb in the tone and volume pots and lighting it onstage. so really, he designed through trial and error after that.

No... he designed it in a hotel room. He said so himself in the KISS: Behind the Mask book.

[bottled water]

who hasnt heard of ace?

[dane1234]

you have to bes stupid to not know who ace frehely is....this column is plain stupid

[corey182__]

dane1234:
you have to bes stupid to not know who ace frehely is....this column is plain stupid

[skimboarderr]

this guy is the biggest dumbass ever!!!!!!

[FutureMetalLord]

I don't like KISS or Ace at all, and I even know about him

[Steelman]

dude, ive heard of all three guitarists so far, this is just stupid

[boxcarblink41]

hey you might as well do tom delonge next...seriously.

[Alora]

Who thought that Ace wasn't heard of? Was there a worldwide vote or something? This really makes me mad. I love Kiss and how can you miss the man in drag, I think you would notice him. Oh, and by the way, he was know as 'Space Ace' NOT 'Spaceman'.
Alora

[TomD03]

i've known all these guitarests too

[PARASITE 5150]

he was know as 'Space Ace' NOT 'Spaceman'.

well some kiss fan you are... he was the spaceman...

[roo6339]

i haven't heard of him, but then i don't listen to kiss... so that'd explain it.

[dylan_f1989]

isnt this supposed to be 10 Guitarist Youv'e NEVER Heard Of - At least Mainstream wise, well KISS was mainstream.

[Volkl]

I'd heard of Ace before i knew he was in kiss, when i found out he was, his name was more familiar to me

[AxeMan88uk]

not a bad article but itsw wrong to put 'under guitarits uve never heard of'.
He is a very known guitarist and among the most influential with many of the gr8 guitarists claiming to be influenced by him

[LpBlack_Beauty]

...um.. who doesnt know who kiss. or ace is?

[space with ace]

behn_rocker, wtf man ure actin like this huge KISS fan that knos everyfin but ace is religious to les pauls and its Paul that plays washburn, and parasite 5150 wat u onna bout spaceman not spaceace wen both names r used and if ure so sure its not space ace why wud the macfarlane LICENSED toys call him space ace, an yea u may all kno who ace is but u might not kno any of his songs an this article might make u interested in listenin to him which im sure it was meant to do

[space with ace]

behn_rocker, wtf man ure actin like a KISS kno it all but ace never plays washburn and is religiously les paul and its Paul that has the signature washburn, and PARASITE 5150, wat u onna bout spaceman not space ace wen both names are used an if space ace is so wrong why wud Macfarlanes LICENSED toys call him space ace, yea u may all have heard of ace but u might not have heard his music and readin this article might have got u some interest in ace which im sure it was meant to do.

[space with ace]

it needed to be sed twice it annoyed me that much

[Until_it_sleeps]

Ace Frehley is a gaylord... I ***ing hate KIss, Why do you dress like a spaceman? Not cause he's out of this world, He's A QUEER

[5ironaudiorage]

lol it says 10 guitarists uve never heard of

[5ironaudiorage]

10!

[5ironaudiorage]

it says 10 guitarists uve never heard of lol

[BASS-PUNK-2010]

^^ yeah where are the others ?

[mattbellamy]

^^i appreciate it must be very difficult to work out, but maybe they are part of a series of articles?

just a thought.....muppets

[JimmyPage1969]

I didn't even read this because of the utter stupidity of Ace Frehley being a "guitarist you've never heard of."

[idontknow]

Ha! I was gonna try and justify ur stupidity Ace_From_Space by seeing if u came from the jungle or something where u have no knowledge of the current music scene or something. But no..........Florida. I guess u r just plain stupid.

[jimbo66]

wel thats stupid i mean come on have almost all the songs ive seen you list ive heard of and every one here i mean how is ace frehley even in the same catagory of unknown guitarist i mean he was in one of the most biggest sell out bands in the world!!

[guitarguy8810]

who hasnt heard of kiss!? you gotta be friggin joking
the article is "ten guitarist you havint heard of" not

[SRVGuitarFreak]

well you just ruined the rest of the names to come, lol.

[Godsmackcrzyman]

DUDE everyone has to have heard of Kiss and Ace Freely, your born with this knowledge

[Vitilillniss]

i dont like kiss, though whoever hasne heard of The Space Ace - hould be shot...... multiple times.... next some ranting diot is going to say "No one has heard of Stevie ray vaughan (this applies mainly to metal such as me )

[bamargera_babe]

to until_it_sleeps:
you assholes! kiss is awsome! your the the gay ass queer that blows dogs for quartes, thats from a kiss movie;detroit rock city wich rocks! unlike you

[CoryXCore]

someone needs to write one on Jade Puget, if no ones listened to AFI's cover of My Michelle and Dancing through Sunday, please do.

[irchan]

he have his own signature washburn strings

[WhiteKnight123]

MrLucky77713:
Wow. I'm gladd you assholes are so supportive of writers who worked hard to write a quality article. I couldn't find many flaws, but you guys have him two goddamn stars just because you've heard of him?

You wankers are ***ing weak.

I disagree. This title is wrong for the article, but it was well written, but it DEFINATLY shouldn't have gone in 10 guitarist you haven't heard of, maybe 10 not well known guitarist.

[nouse4aname125]

those of u saying it was a well writen article are wrong. part of writing an article is doing the research, and it doesnt look to me like he did that

[bass_player15]

y didnt u mention Micheal Angelo. lead guitarist for Nitro and he is insane

[gooseholla]

The dude with that guitar that locks together and gives him 2 necks on different sides? ^^^^

[space with ace]

irchan:
he have his own signature washburn strings
for *** sake man Ace Freheley doesnt play Washburn thats 2 ppl who have said that ace plays les paul he has a signature les paul you can buy and signature GIBSON strings its paul who plays the washburns *** me they dont even look alike its insultin

[slimgeraldo]

dude everyone has hear of this guy... find another dude..

[im not mental]

who HASN'T heard of ace?

[someguy89]

Why do fifty people post the same thing "Who hasn't heard of this guy". I think we all got the point. Go f*ck a stick.

[TomD03]

yeah, just get off it guys, we all know you know him, no need for EVERYONE to say you know him, lets pretend this is


*CLOSED*

[Zerostarr]

Seriously, who doesnt know Ace??? his face is too common...

[Whstripesrox]

It is impossible not to know him....
this dude's running out of ideas

[Shea3Blink]

ok we all know yall have heard of ace now stop telling us

[Shea3Blink]

who was extremes guitarist

[space with ace]

^nuno bettoncourt or sum shit wasnt it

[FrankNslash]

FUCKING MORON

[Nikki_Sixxxx]

Ace is still with KISS there finishing up a tour in fact

[andythefir]

I heard of him first through weezer, they make a reference to ace frehly in 'in the graj'

[Big Show1]

U SUK

[slash_andrew]

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[Metalology]

who hasn't heard of ace frehley ???

[mi rocker 07]

whos next on the list jimmy hendrix

[JFG]

not really a kiss fan. but one has to respect ace's work.
what was the name of the lead guitarist from crowded house?
questions,questions,questions.
i need lunch.

[xxgenocide98xx]

It seems the only thing we dont know about Ace is how to properly spell his last name. lol.

[ebashnitzil]

everyone knows Ace - hes a million times better than Paul Stanley, who i apparently hate - he's the only bad part of KISS

[NWOAHM_cain]

haha mi rocker, i agree wholeheartedly. we may get one on vocalists that no-ones heard of like Ozzy and other completely underground artists

[NoFxMIke]

Millencolin has a track on the album Life on a Plate called Ace Frehley :-p

[NoFxMIke]

it goes likes this....."I'M ACE FREHLEY!!!.."

[Bulletbass man]

okay if no one has heard of ace frehley then i guess no one has heard of guns n roses or nirvana
How much pot did u smoke before riting this

[Daysra]

I'm sure everyone knows who Ace Frehley is

[shaofu0424]

whoa... wtf... whoa... whoa... the first record i ever got, when i was friggen four, was a 45 of shout it out loud b/w nothin to lose... still got it in mint condition... and no i will not ever sell it!... peace...

[julian2k4]

ur point is?.....dumbass

[LeoKhenir]

What the hell? I thought it was "guitarists you NEVER heard of before", not "guitarists you have heard of a zillion times because of his gayness facepaint and stupid bandmates"

[LeoKhenir]

Wait, I'd better shut up about facepaint, since I am a "grim, true and evil" Norwegian blackmetal drummer. Hail! :P Ah, the irony.

[zebra cake]

im just postin cause i need 50 posts

[pytolk]

Ace Frehley is one of the greatest guitarists ever. (i;ve heard of him also)

[grimreaper65]

well known

[thrashing moles]

i've heard of him

[inti_illimani]

Hey I've been taken the time to read all U've been written 'bout ACE FREHLEY!! Let me tell ya, If U're far from some place. What you see better? Or What you hear better? Well, just the grate things!! U understand? And I tell you, I'm from the southest land in the world... Chile, Southamerica, and here, everyone that see the Ace's face recognize him, even now it can see the KISS name and Ace face painted on the walls. And I saw on 97? Tour together with Pantera and the great Dime Bag Darrell, and let me tell you, he is a grand guitarist. If as far as the place I live, we know Mr. ?Ace of the space guitar? That?s it.. You put the answer on it!!

[hamett91]

I think i'll write an unkown guitarists article about jimmy page.

[Hart_Attack]

pirate wrote:

wow.....some people never cease to amaze me with there stupidity....i mean who hasent heard of ace frehley.....and if you havent i suggest you go stick your face in a waffle iron...er watever those things are called, and then pop in your dads detroit rock city 45....mmmkay

I totally agree... but he wasn't on that one song umm... flaming youth on destroyer, so I'd say my rock n roll bible ALIVE! It's not that he's not known it's that he's one of the most UNDERRATED GUITARISTS EVER!!!!! Along with Malcom Young. I hope one day they can have a jam session... now THAT! is a cream jeans dream...

[vinniebeast]

Give the guy a chance, he has thought of 9 other guitarists and was spot on, I know a lot of people have heard of ace but it still gives good detail.

[Punk Rocker]

Ive heard of ace, he was in kiss wasnt he?

[rockergurl09]

umm, I've heard of Ace as has most everyone else.

[Parasite 1974]

How has no one heard of Ace Frehley? Only someone in a cave would not have heard of him. Also to the author of this article Ace From Space: Ace used the rockets that shot out of his headstock on the farewell tour in 2000. And he did not in fact play on all of Psycho Circus. If you heard his interview, and Peter Criss' on Eddie Trunk's radio show you would have known this. Also Paul and Gene were not signing Bob Kulick he was at the end of his audition, and they didn't want a bald man like Bob. Just wanted to set the facts straight. All that I posted came from interviews from Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons.

[ululation]

rockergurl09 :
umm, I've heard of Ace as has most everyone else.

good

[pagan_bloodlust]

ace didnt leave the band to start a solo career he left cause kiss were starting to use synthetic sounds and shit like that and ace wanted to play rock n roll

[Ultimate_Gio92]

wtf who doesnt know ace frehley? its some of the LATER guitarists i never heard of

[marcouandreas]

what the **** is the title of this article trying to do to us?seduce us?if you are a ****ing rocker or metalhead,you should have known all of these guitarists.

[mr.brownstone_6]

everyone has heard of ace frehly. if you haven't then you suck and need to know who he is. and how he got the idea of the smoking guitar. Man, thats awesome!

[I Walk Alone]

WarriorXT wrote:

NEXT on Guitarists you've never heard of: A triple threat! Kirk Hammett, Randy Rhoades, and Kerry King!

Kerry King plays guitar? That's news to me.

[azz_kikr92]

you thought that we would never have heard of him?