Ace Frehley

• The tone is mid-forward Marshall crunch, not extreme metal — Ace played Les Paul through a warm Marshall on medium gain. Modern metal high-gain settings are wrong for this style
• Les Paul bridge pickup for the main solo tone — the humbucker warmth and sustain are characteristic
• Pentatonic minor in the blues-rock tradition — most leads are purely pentatonic minor, with occasional major pentatonic inflections for the "happy" passing notes
• The "Shock Me" solo uses controlled feedback as a note — aim the headstock at the amp speaker and find the resonant frequency for the desired pitch
• Moderate pick attack — not aggressive or heavy. Ace's playing is expressive rather than forceful
• Study "Detroit Rock City," "Deuce," and "Love Gun" for the rhythm guitar approach — simple, driving rhythms with Les Paul body and weight
• Vibrato is blues-influenced, medium speed and width — not the very fast metal vibrato or the very slow classical vibrato
• The overall approach is "accessible blues-rock with showmanship" — the technical level is intentionally within reach of most players
• Play with conviction over precision — KISS is more about the performance feeling than perfect technique. Selling the note matters as much as hitting it

Ace Frehley of KISS was the "Space Ace" — his Les Paul into Marshall tone and bluesy, pentatonic lead style defined classic hard rock guitar for a generation. More technically bluesy than metal, more musical than his flamboyant stage persona suggested.