Gene Simmons inspects the folder with the documents about his mother's persecution. Both stars were known for their use of illegal substances, and both lost their lives while they were still in their prime. So I kept moving the pickups around and adding a boost on the back, just to make sure that the bass had the sound I wanted., Simmons notes a distinction between bass designs that work well in the studio compared to on stage, Sometimes in the studio, because of the different acoustics and dynamics, I would use basses that I have never used on stage, because live, they dont sound good. Spector #1 Spector #2 Valdez Axe Carr Axe. Search titles only; Posted by Member: Separate names with a comma. After that modification number two kicks in and we see another set of knobs. No matter the angle or lighting, up until now the white binding has been clearly visible at all times. Apparently, Gene didnt want to break his mothers heart after her family survived World War II. Stage Played Experience = $14,995. There is only one man that gave us the licks that inspired us to "Rock and Roll All Nite," - Gene Simmons, the legendary rock icon and bassist from KISS. [*] 1996 Guitars that Rule the World, Metal Edge presents KISS Alive! But, during the Convention Tour of 1995 this bass was part of the museum and was labeled as a prototype Gene Simmons Axe (see pic and video below). Realtor.com. Fender teams up with Mastodon's Troy Sanders for well-spec'd Silverburst signature P-Bass, Zoom unveils new B2 Four bass multi-effects pedal, with Multi-Layer IR, 300 patches and a 60-second looper, 50 years ago: The Runaways guitarist Lita Ford was invited to replace John Paul Jones in Led Zeppelin, Jeff Berlin explains why playing bass is like playing kazoo, To be honest, I'm not really a bass player. The Spector takes over as the #1 and during the early part of the Love Gun tour it is brought out only occasionally soon to disappear completely. According to the Spector web site "Gene Simmons of mega-group KISS commissioned several Brooklyn Era SB-1 basses from Stuart in the late 1970's. People accused Nick of plagiarizing ideas from the likes of Hellsing, One Piece, and Bleach, something that was enough to see the youngsters dreams of becoming a graphic novel author vanish before he got his time to shine. The basic design of the bass has changed a little through the years and it's been made by several luthiers and companies. I made several of these until we hit a design that is pretty much what he uses today." . Last years news that he was launching his own G2 brand pronounced G squared through the American giants nevertheless came as a surprise, the new collaboration pledging to release a whole range of guitars and basses built with the Demons personal seal of approval. The passing of time has proved fruitful for Kiss' 1982 . Considering the photographic evidence the natural finish Grabber doesn't seem to have gotten much action. As Simmons explains, "because I owned the name and the design, it qualifies as an invention in the library of congress. It's not shown in the tour book photos shot at SIR studios but instead makes its "proper" debut in the video for. For the 1981 TV appearances in Mexico and the sattelite feed to the San Remo festival Gene relied on the Kramer Axe. The rockstar replied Ice Cube should get in touch when Jimi Hendrix gets into the hip hop hall of fame.. Below are a few early shots of Gene using the LoBue in 1972-73 starting with the loft rehearsals as a three piece, a shot from one of the shows at the Daisy, and . He decided years ago that she'd already been through enough having survived the horrors of the Holocaust, and he didn't want to break her heart by becoming a drug addict. Gene tapped Valdez Guitars to build the first one, then Steve Carr built a few, as did Kramer, Jackson, and Cort. The result? It turns out the people at Fox News were less than impressed with Genes alleged behavior as the security guards reportedly had to intervene and escort the star from the building. Watch Marty Friedman play with Megadeth again, Journey and Steve Lukather play Black Magic Woman. The body appears to be a slab style with a hint of a bevel on the "inside" of the horns (and possibly where Gene rests his arm; see below). See the latest gene simmons celebrity trends and reviews on PremierGuitar.com, the world's foremost authority on all things guitar and bass. They have one album and a handful of collaborations, but thats not all. Both Peter Criss and Gene Simmons weren't the best players of their instruments but by god they both had a cool groove which made their song unmistakenly Kiss. New rock and roll stars lurked around every corner, and it seemed that plenty of people couldnt wait to head to the latest party on the block. Again it's the bridge that gets a change with a very odd combination. Cause & Effects: Are vintage effects pedals always the best examples of their type. Gene Simmons is a legendary rock icon and the bassist from KISS, and his new Gibson Gene Simmons G2 Thunderbird Bass reflects his tastes. Gene Simmons now thinks people pirating songs was enough to see the end of rock and roll as he confessed he thinks no one values the music enough to pay for it.. The basses are often signed or played on stage depending on what price point the buyer wants to reach for. It seems thats always been the case for Nick as the star has been working on his own band, Peroux, for the last few years. Jan 11, 2009. so I read an article years ago where it talked about gene simmons' live rig, but i couldn't find any info anywhere and the magazine is long gone, so I spoke with his tech Spike and he said basically this is it: 1 SVT-2 Pro. She wanted to make sure her music was on the hottest playlists at the time and wouldnt rest until she got the results. The one in the middle does feature the pointy headstock that was a feature of all of the guitars Carr built for KISS (see Ace's mini-Explorer and Paul's Star guitar for instance). None of the pre-1974 pics I've found suggest that the body was more than a slab-style with some rounding for the upper horns. 1's, Paul only changing from his own LoBue custom V when it was stolen. Okay, its not always simple to figure out how much someone is worth, especially when their name is tied to a well-known company or, in this case, a band. Or why not treat yourself? The Return of KISS!! It also arrives with a low enough action for more technically ambitious styles of playing, as well as basic root-noted rock, making bends, stretches and hammer-ons more comfortable than expected. What is a guitar but a collection of wood, magnets and metals? Shannon Tweed rose to fame as a Playboy model and actress before she met and wooed Gene at the Playboy Mansion. G, from Gene to Gibson, will introduce new collections of right and left-handed electric guitars and basses across . Things went from bad to worse when two women accused Gene of behaving inappropriately, something he denies. Gene? Whether or not this is the first Axe that Gene got or not is something of a mystery. by Jacob Uitti 2 years ago. Diana Ross. At first, people thought that Gene was trying to trademark the image itself. Gene's version is either a '76 or '77 ebony version that was modfied from the get-go. Here we can see the outline of the tape coverup (check the full-size pic for better detail) for the last time. This is the story behind the iconic Axe Bass which has been wielded by Gene Simmons for decades. More importantly, however, this feels like a real Thunderbird and being handmade in the USA, it very much is one, with an incredibly resonant mahogany body that rings loud acoustically beforeyouve even plugged it in. This mk III retains the original violin-type bridge. It turns out Gene Simmons is no exception, but not many people know the rockstar was once actually a teacher. It was even Genes love of comic books that saw Kiss adopt many of their stage mannerisms and gimmicks that have made the bands performances so famous over the years. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3). Wicked Lester had their equipment stolen from the loft at Mott St. and Canal St. After this there is a long void of solid photographic evidence on what happens. All of his business-savvy moves and investing in several companies, such as a financial company, a restaurant chain, and a sports team, means hes earned quite the fortune over the years. It showed a mirror image of the #1 Spector and erroneously dubbed it a "Spectre" bass, even claiming it was the first "Spectre" ever made. However, some. (My original theory was that the blade was originally silver and refinished black but the dating of the photo shoots are well-established.) [*] Its first appearance is the photo shoot that was set up the day of the Return of KISS dressrehearsal, 79.06.14. It is only shown in a series of backstage pics from February or March 1976, a single backstage pic from Stockholm, Sweden on 76.05.28, and a later backstage instrument lineup from Daytom, OH 76.08.08. That one night he dropped it and the neck broke in half." Sadly, Gene Simmons wasnt impressed with the look. And most people know that he was partial to using it while spending time the many thousands of women the frontman claimed to have spent time with . Sadly, in 2014, Gene upset quite a few people during an interview with HuffPost Live. Thats right; the bass player is often seen with blood pouring from his mouth, but dont worry; no bass players are harmed in the making of the act. This phenomenon can also be spotted at the start of the Return of KISS tour. So I ended that relationship and continued to make them on my own.. It is generally assumed that the re-finish and the headstock inlay occured at the same time even though the picture evidence can't entirely support that conclusion. It might be no surprise that he doesnt always have nice things to say about fallen stars, including Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain. . That Gene managed to play that bass and actually got something resembling music from it is a true accomplishment. My bass is the only musical instrument that is an invention., Jokes abound about the level of KISS merchandise available, but the reality is that Simmons was ahead of his time in terms of understanding how to monetise and control his image and legacy, and trademark ownership has played a big part of that. In fact, in 1974 it was only offered in ebony and wine red (a high-gloss, see-through finish that looks nothing like this bass). As a subscriber enjoy big savings off the shop price! 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