Jim Cara, legendary maker of smoking guitars, relies on Look Solutions to keep spectacular effects safe

It did not come much more rock and roll than KISS co-founder, Ace Frehley, playing a smoking guitar live on stage and the man who made those guitars smoke is Jim Cara. He knows every type of smoke generation, from tiny steam engines to smoke grenades. His advice on creating these stunning effects? If you want to stay on the right side of the Fire Marshalls, only a Look Solutions fog machine will keep you there.

“I love the Tiny Foggers! There are other, cheaper ways to make a smoking guitar, but if you want to make a safe version that can be used on a large stage, you need Look Solutions,” Cara explains. “In the old days, people would try and use Gopher smoke deterrents, but that just ended up with someone getting hurt. You might save a few hundred bucks, but you would have seriously injured your lead guitarist!”

One of Cara’s most famous makes was used to create the magical tribute to Ace at the Kennedy Centre Honors on December 7^th, 2025. A high-pressure 48-hour build, under the direction of master illusionist, Criss Angel, saw a Gibson guitar once again come to life on stage with a brand-new, high-tech system, specially designed by Cara for the tribute. “Everyone cried,” he says.

This was the first time Cara had spoken to Anna Zirkman, Vice President at Look Solutions USA “I had to get a longer power cable and I needed it right away, so I drove over to their place in New Jersey, and she helped me out,” he continues. “They’ve got it all figured out!”

Public performances, especially indoors, must adhere to strict rules on permitted smoke and pyrotechnic effects. There are several Federal and local laws that govern the use of indoor smoke and pyrotechnic effects, meaning misuse, especially if deemed aggravated, could result in a Homeland Security, or other federal agency prosecution. Rules include the attendance of a Fire Marshal to determine how and when pyrotechnics can be safely used. Thanks to the outstanding safety record of Look Solutions fluids, all its machines, including the Tiny Fogger, are safe to use in any space, with venue permission. Cara uses Tiny Foggers with an ingenious switching solution that allows the player to trigger the fog effect at will. It is a safe and reliable setup that is completely legal, unlike some other methods he has heard about over the years.

“I’ve used pretty much everything to make smoke effects for fun, from battery powered steamboat smoke generators, vaporizing baby or mineral oil, to dismantled vape elements,” he says. “These things are nice to play with and fairly cheap, but I’m pretty sure Homeland Security would have something to say about you trying to use them in a show now. Some were used back in the day, but they could catch on fire, or even electrocute your guitarist. That’s actually where the KISS song Shock Me came from. Before I started, somebody took apart a full-sized fog machine and put parts of it in a guitar, critically, without the protective case. Somehow, Ace touched it at the same time as he touched a metal handrail and bang! It looked good though…”

Cara started working with KISS after Steve Carr, Ace’s original guitar builder, passed away in 2006. He was spotted playing a colorful, smoking guitar and the band got in contact. He has built many smoking guitars since then, adapting them to house a Tiny Fogger. Depending on the application, he uses any one of the smaller Tiny range, from the CX to the S.

“The thing about using the Tiny Foggers is you don’t need ventilation, but all the other options require a fan. If I used a different fogger, I’d also need to add ducting, which would take up more space,” he continues. “The Tiny Foggers don’t have anything extra, there are no annoying buttons or stuff you don’t need, which is great. The only thing you have to be mindful of is noise; you shouldn’t really put anything mechanical next to a mic or pickup if you don’t want to hear it. Van Hallen got that sound at the beginning of Poundcake when he was working with a drill to take out the screws in his guitar pickup and it made a noise that he liked. The Tiny Foggers are quite quiet, though, so we get away with it!”

Having made countless smoking guitars and tried many different ways of getting the desired effect, Cara always comes back to Look Solutions USA, not just for their proven safety record and range of suitable, off the shelf products, but also for the customer service he has experienced.

“If I need anything, Anna and the Look Solutions USA team are right there,” he concludes. “Their support is worth more than saving a few bucks on a lower quality machine. Look Solutions machines are the best and are so much safer than anything else on the market. I’ve looked at every possibility in the world, but Look Solutions is just the best. They may cost a little bit more, but you can be absolutely certain they’re not going to harm anyone.”

High-res images available here.

Jim Cara’s website: http://acefrehleyguitars.com/