Bruce Kulick has entered the world of luthiery by teaming up with Johnny DiFatta's AXN Guitars for ‘80s-style Super Strats that pay homage to his days in Kiss.
Together, they will craft boutique, vintage-inspired instruments under the brand name Kulick Guitars, as the guitarist seeks to establish himself off the stage as much as he has on it.
Kulick enjoyed a 12-year stint in Kiss that produced eight studio albums. Last year he wrapped up a 23-year run with Grand Funk Railroad.
Upon leaving the band, he told Guitar World he wanted to return to the “powerful instruments” that weren’t appropriate in the band. To do so, he noted he had “jumped down the rabbit hole of discovery” to learn “what made my Kiss guitars so great.”
He subsequently forged a partnership with DiFatta, whose USA-made AXN guitars — and diehard passion for Kiss — made them a perfect match. The duo have already crafted re-creations of Kulick’s unmissable banana ESP M-1 and an M-1 style guitar inspired by the cover of Kiss’s 1985 album, Asylum, that features Kulick's face. Kulick has been test-driving the guitar on the road.
"Johnny’s knowledge of these instruments is tremendous, and matches my experience as a guitar slinger of the time, inspiring many spirited conversations," Kulick says. “My early Kiss Super Strats were Charvels with the gold decal and angle headstock, loaded with EMGs. But, after [1985’s] Animalize, I was introduced to ESP. The early M-1 models had necks that were better in my hand.”
Ultimately, he says he wants to create instruments worthy of having his name on the headstock. In addition to Kiss and Grand Funk, the guitarist has toured with Meat Loaf and Michael Bolton, and recorded with Paul Stanley and Billy Squier.
Kulick’s first M-1, a 1985 model, had what DiFatta calls “a flip-flop paint job”. Today, it hangs on a wall in London’s Hard Rock Cafe next to one of Eric Clapton’s Stratocasters.
“I went on to manufacture and produce a replica of that M-1 ESP, but it had a chunkier neck on it,” DiFatta says. “We applied some guitar math and used a caliper tool to examine his favorite ESP guitars. Bruce settled on a slightly thinner neck profile that was very 1980s-ish, with an R2 nut.”
Kulick and DiFatta thought it would be fitting to show the guitarist's face on the instrument's body, especially as Asylum turns 40 in 2025. That flip-flop paint job has returned, too.
The Asylum guitar features a two-piece alder body and a rosewood fretboard with a quartersawn maple back, fitted to a 25.5-inch-scale neck. Hardware includes a German Floyd Rose with AXN's signature SuperWide sustain block and an AXN/Seymour Duncan JB Custom humbucker.
“Bruce wants to offer boutique guitars,” DiFatta says. “His fans are constantly asking for more guitars that celebrate his Kiss era. We started talking about the woods, the hardware, all the specifications, and the pickups.
DiFatta, who manufacturers only a few guitars a year, says he has no plans to increase output with the new Kulick range. "AXN will continue to be concerned more about uniqueness and individuality instead of quantity and high production," he says.
He adds that the collaboration “isn't about money. I'm a Kiss fan first and foremost, yet it's also about our crazy obsession with era-correct guitars of the '80s.”
Kulick echoes that sentiment. He says: “In the past five years, I’ve seen a revival of my Kiss era… I’m always flattered that it’s not just the music that moved them. The guitars I played also matter.
“I can’t say when I’ll have stock to offer. Anyone who knows me will say I give a lot of attention to detail. That fits well with how Johnny works. This collaboration will help me create boutique-quality guitars worthy of my name on the headstock.”
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