Throughout Bruce Kulick‘s career with Kiss, which ran from 1984 to 1996, he always had specific guitars on standby to fit the group’s hard-rocking needs. But when it came to his post-Kiss projects, he had to rethink the selection of his instruments.
During an interview with AM/FM Magazine, Kulick tackled this topic and discussed which welcomed piece of guitar gear in Kiss was an absolute no-no when he played in Grand Funk.
“I was kind of like one of [ESP Guitars’] earliest endorsers in rock,” Kulick explained (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “I played plenty of the one pickup bolt-on, y’know, ‘Super Strats,’ as I call them. But then I evolved into their other models, like Horizons and different things. And then I challenged them, ‘Make me an Explorer. Make me a Les Paul-looking guitar.'”
Kulick then explained the piece of guitar gear that was in demand during his tenure with Kiss. But, was never ever utilized in his next longest-tenured gig, with Grand Funk.
“After Kiss, I didn’t use Floyd Roses a lot. I remember the band Union that I had [with ex-Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi]. I had a Vintage Plus Strat [with] three pickups, Floyd Rose, from ESP. That was for the whammy bar stuff.”
“Then I’m in Grand Funk for 23 years. I did not need a whammy bar. It wouldn’t have been appropriate anywhere in their material because their fame came before it really became a fad and existed. So I kept true to that. Now, obviously, when I went off and did some things, I used a guitar that might have had a Floyd Rose.”
As with most hard rock guitarists of the ’80s, Kulick certainly used his Floyd Rose tremolo system, especially on Kiss tunes such as “Crazy Crazy Nights,” “Tears are Falling,” and “No No No,” among others.
