On 29. February, 1980, Gene Simmons registered a first patent for his Axe bass. It shows a very rough drawing of the Axe.
Axeology:
This Axe is only known from a single set of photos taken by Raeanne Rubenstein for People magazine in 1980. It looks a lot less like the previous basses and more like a children’s toy axe. This bass is the obvious template for the second patent Gene applied for on February 29, 1980. In a 2004 interview with John Tate of AceFrehleyLesPaul.com Carr said that “I made several of these until we hit a design that is pretty much what [Gene] uses today”. Since this version has such a different look it feels as if it could be one of the prototypes Carr built but we really don’t know.
The gene Simmons Axe bass prototype seen in a picture from 21. July 1980, Photo by Raeanne Rubenstein.
On 29. February, 1980, Gene Simmons registered a first patent for his Axe bass. It shows a very rough drawing of the Axe.
Axeology:
This Axe is only known from a single set of photos taken by Raeanne Rubenstein for People magazine in 1980. It looks a lot less like the previous basses and more like a children’s toy axe. This bass is the obvious template for the second patent Gene applied for on February 29, 1980. In a 2004 interview with John Tate of AceFrehleyLesPaul.com Carr said that “I made several of these until we hit a design that is pretty much what [Gene] uses today”. Since this version has such a different look it feels as if it could be one of the prototypes Carr built but we really don’t know.
The gene Simmons Axe bass prototype seen in a picture from 21. July 1980, Photo by Raeanne Rubenstein.