On 15. June 1979, Ace Frehley used the light guitar live for the first time playing “New York Groove”, when Kiss played the Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida, on the opening night of the “Return of Kiss” tour.
Ultimate Guitar:
The original Light Guitar started out its life as a blonde Les Paul TV from the late 50s with a routed face holding nearly 1000 incandescent lights, which were powered by a Ni-Cad battery pack. This guitar, along with many other special effect guitars from the late ’70s and early ’80s, was engineered by a man named John Elder Robison (in conjunction with Long Island luthier Steve Carr). John’s story is rather interesting. He has a couple of books out, which make for an excellent read. He was a self-taught inventor who also worked designing toys for Milton Bradley. His books detail his life living with undiagnosed Asperger Syndrome. The guy is absolutely brilliant. He designed the circuit board controlling the lights on the guitar. Steve Carr was in charge of making the guitars functional for on-stage performances, John would design the electronics – he would also work on the laser guitar, the rocket guitar, and the smoking pickup guitar. Steve Carr also added an inlay of Ace in his makeup on the guitar’s headstock.
– The Story Behind Ace Frehley’s ‘Light Guitar’
