Tommy Thayer
Latest Tommy Thayer news, guitars, gear, music, performances, and collaborations covered by Guitar Radar.
Guitar Radar has 1 story about Tommy Thayer, tracking new music, tours, collaborations and gear. Most of it sits under players. The most recent story, from Sep 7, 2026, is “Tommy Thayer confirms KISS have recorded a new Paul Stanley-written song”.
About Tommy Thayer
Tommy Thayer is the lead guitarist of Kiss, whose stage character is the Spaceman. His rig centers on Gibson Les Paul Standards, and his best-known instrument is a Silver Sparkle Les Paul that Gibson's Custom Shop built for him. Epiphone made the Spaceman Les Paul as his signature model, a straight-ahead Standard based on a 1959 to 1960 vintage, with Gibson 498 pickups (an open-coil bridge and a covered neck pickup) and Grover Deluxe tuners. The run was limited to 1,000 guitars and was launched at NAMM 2013, and it is now out of production.
Other guitars include a 1959 reissue Gibson Custom Les Paul with Seymour Duncan JB open-coil humbuckers, a 1972 Les Paul Deluxe, a 1975 Les Paul Standard with DiMarzio Super Distortions and a 1961 reissue SG used on Sonic Boom.
Amplifier sources conflict. Hughes & Kettner has made a Tommy Thayer Signature Duotone amplifier, while Thayer himself has said he uses 4x12 cabinets similar to a Marshall's and has also used a couple of ENGL cabinets. Guitar Radar follows his signature models and Kiss-related gear.
Sources: Guitar World: Epiphone Spaceman Tommy Thayer Signature Les Paul review · Guitar World: Interview with Tommy Thayer · Equipboard: Tommy Thayer's gear
