Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1982): Difference between revisions
From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
Created page with "Allan Holdsworth <div class="color"> = A style apart = </div> == Guitar Player, December 1982 == === Tom Mulhern === Bouncing from one band to another, album by album, w..." |
No edit summary |
||
| (15 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Allan Holdsworth | [[File:Ah-gp1282-01.webp|right|480px]]'''''Summary''': Allan Holdsworth recorded an independent album because he couldn't secure a record deal for his music. The album was recorded in about five days using a Neumann U-87 microphone and featured some direct input recording. The sound was achieved through experimentation and a unique amp setup. Overdubbing was minimal, with most tracks recorded live. Holdsworth's distinctive sound was a result of ongoing changes and visualizing a specific sound profile.'' | ||
''Allan switched to Charvel guitars after meeting Grover Jackson, who was open to his design ideas. Grover crafted custom Strat-style guitars with wider necks and various woods, resulting in Holdsworth's favorite instruments. He experimented with different woods like maple, ebony, basswood, jelutong, and spruce, each offering unique tones. Holdsworth preferred single pickups, one volume, and one tone control. He used Fender amps for chords and Yamaha equipment, but he considered Hartley Thompson transistor amps the best. '' | |||
''He praises bassist Jeff Berlin's chord-heavy approach, explaining that it adds depth to their trio's sound. He expresses the importance of good drummers in a band and prefers those who groove rather than plod. Holdsworth finds inspiration in Jeff's melodic playing and values collaboration. He shares insights into his compositional process, avoiding editing in favor of one-take recordings. Holdsworth discusses his challenges in the UK music scene, preferring the more vibrant American environment. He emphasizes self-critique and continuous musical growth over technicality.'' | |||
''[This summary was written by ChatGPT in 2023 based on the article text below.]'' | |||
= | =Allan Holdsworth - A style apart = | ||
Guitar Player, December 1982 | |||
Tom Mulhern | |||
Bouncing from one band to another, album by album, was once the rule rather than the exception for Allan Holdsworth. Moments of brilliance left in his wake on LPs by jazz and progressive rock artists including Tony Williams Lifetime, Gong, U.K., Jean-Luc Ponty, Soft Machine, and Bruford created for Holdsworth a reputation almost exclusively as a soloist. His presence on some of the recordings was by and large similar to that of a saxophonist: sitting out and waiting until it was time to fill a certain number of bars with a flurry of creativity. Holdsworth's chordal abilities were rarely showcased, and because strict limits often governed his approach, he grew tired of his role as a mercenary soloist. | Bouncing from one band to another, album by album, was once the rule rather than the exception for Allan Holdsworth. Moments of brilliance left in his wake on LPs by jazz and progressive rock artists including Tony Williams Lifetime, Gong, U.K., Jean-Luc Ponty, Soft Machine, and Bruford created for Holdsworth a reputation almost exclusively as a soloist. His presence on some of the recordings was by and large similar to that of a saxophonist: sitting out and waiting until it was time to fill a certain number of bars with a flurry of creativity. Holdsworth's chordal abilities were rarely showcased, and because strict limits often governed his approach, he grew tired of his role as a mercenary soloist. | ||
| Line 27: | Line 29: | ||
By 1982, the band decided to try their luck in the United States, and released their LP, ''I.O.U.'', independently. It showcased for the first time the side of Allan Holdsworth's guitar playing that had only been hinted at on previous works: complex, densely voiced chord melodies including unusual harmonic arrangements that sounded as if they came from neither guitar nor keyboard. Ambient, shimmering, and at times ghostly chordal swells, rather than harsh rhythm chopping guided the songs. Solos were sharply focused, the rhythm section of Husband and Carmichael pumped like a powerful machine, and Paul Williams' vocals provided a familiar reference point for the songs. Accentuated by the band's aggressive, jazz-influenced-but-rock-rooted arrangements, the music indeed captured a different side of the guitarist. | By 1982, the band decided to try their luck in the United States, and released their LP, ''I.O.U.'', independently. It showcased for the first time the side of Allan Holdsworth's guitar playing that had only been hinted at on previous works: complex, densely voiced chord melodies including unusual harmonic arrangements that sounded as if they came from neither guitar nor keyboard. Ambient, shimmering, and at times ghostly chordal swells, rather than harsh rhythm chopping guided the songs. Solos were sharply focused, the rhythm section of Husband and Carmichael pumped like a powerful machine, and Paul Williams' vocals provided a familiar reference point for the songs. Accentuated by the band's aggressive, jazz-influenced-but-rock-rooted arrangements, the music indeed captured a different side of the guitarist. | ||
For several months Allan and I.O.U. played gigs mostly on the West Coast, and in August a dramatic upheaval in the band found Gary Husband and Paul Carmichael out, and bassist Jeff Berlin and | For several months Allan and I.O.U. played gigs mostly on the West Coast, and in August a dramatic upheaval in the band found Gary Husband and Paul Carmichael out, and bassist Jeff Berlin and drummer Chad Wackerman (who accompanied Frank Zappa on a few tours) in. After a few weeks of working together, the new lineup went out on the road, hitting major cities on the West Coast -- mostly in California. New material by Jeff Berlin and Holdsworth combined with new approaches to the older songs yields a hard-charging, spellbinding concert for guitarists as well bassists. Currently, I.O.U. plans to record a new album this month for Warner Bros. | ||
As self-effacing as he is unconventional, Allan Holdsworth doesn't believe he has tapped his full potential as a guitarist, nor does he feel there will come a time when he has. Constantly changing and updating his equipment, he is a perfectionist who loves to experiment, and finds music the most rewarding pursuit he can imagine. | As self-effacing as he is unconventional, Allan Holdsworth doesn't believe he has tapped his full potential as a guitarist, nor does he feel there will come a time when he has. Constantly changing and updating his equipment, he is a perfectionist who loves to experiment, and finds music the most rewarding pursuit he can imagine. | ||
| Line 45: | Line 47: | ||
Did you leave the original Fender single-coil in the middle? | Did you leave the original Fender single-coil in the middle? | ||
No. Because I used to use pretty thin strings, and I didn't like pickups like those, which had a lot of | No. Because I used to use pretty thin strings, and I didn't like pickups like those, which had a lot of magnetic string pull, because they took away a lot of the vibration. | ||
How was your guitar recorded? Did you mike it or go direct into the board? | How was your guitar recorded? Did you mike it or go direct into the board? | ||
| Line 53: | Line 55: | ||
Actually, it sounds as if it were recorded in a much bigger place. | Actually, it sounds as if it were recorded in a much bigger place. | ||
That was just the help of Trident | That was just the help of Trident studio, were the album was mixed. And we probably could have gotten it to sound a lot better if we had had more time to mix. But we didn't. | ||
What kind of mikes did you select for your amps? | What kind of mikes did you select for your amps? | ||
| Line 73: | Line 75: | ||
''Did you use mikes to capture all of the guitar parts on the'' I.O.U''. album?'' | ''Did you use mikes to capture all of the guitar parts on the'' I.O.U''. album?'' | ||
Well, actually I went DI | Well, actually I went DI direct input into the mixing console on one song, "Temporary Fault." I did that one DI just to see how it would come out, and I was quite pleased with the results. I could have probably gone DI on more. The Hartley Thompson works well for miking and DI. It does everything. The reason I didn't use DI more in the studio was that chords and the solos would have been coming down on the same track. At that time I didn't own enough Hartley Thompsons to set them up like one for the solo and one for the chords. | ||
Did you set the mikes very close to the amps, or did you go for more of an ambient sound? | Did you set the mikes very close to the amps, or did you go for more of an ambient sound? | ||
| Line 237: | Line 239: | ||
''Did you release the'' I.O.U''. album in England?'' | ''Did you release the'' I.O.U''. album in England?'' | ||
No. They probably don't know about it -- two years later | No. They probably don't know about it -- two years later laughs. England is definitely on its knees as far as music and almost everything else, it seems. | ||
Are you more enchanted with the music environment in America? | Are you more enchanted with the music environment in America? | ||
| Line 361: | Line 363: | ||
How do you execute artificial harmonics? | How do you execute artificial harmonics? | ||
I just hold the pick and lightly tough the string with my middle | I just hold the pick and lightly tough the string with my middle right-hand finger, but I don't use them very often. | ||
Do you find the technique to be awkward? | Do you find the technique to be awkward? | ||
| Line 369: | Line 371: | ||
How did you come to jam with Eddie Van Halen? | How did you come to jam with Eddie Van Halen? | ||
That was at the Roxy | That was at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I met Edward a few years ago when I was working with U.K.; I didn't know him then, but we said hello to each other. He came down to our first gig at the Roxy, and I was trembling in my shoes at the thought of all the people being out there. At any rate, he came to the gig, and I was talking to him afterwards, and I said we're coming down in the afternoon to do another soundcheck. Why don't you bring your guitar? I talked to Jeff, too, and told him to come down. So we had a bit of a blow in the afternoon. We thought it would be a good idea to do a jam together at the end of the night. So we worked out one of Edward's tunes. We finished our set, came back on and played this tune together. It was great. It was fun -- kind of a nice contrast to the rest of the gig. | ||
What do you think is good or bad about the current state of the guitar? | What do you think is good or bad about the current state of the guitar? | ||
| Line 390: | Line 392: | ||
Oh, no! It's got to be emotional. That's the only reason I'm a musician -- because I love music. If I had wanted to get into science, I would have been a mathematician. It's got to make you laugh or cry, or both. If I wasn't moved by it, I can think of a lot of things that I could have spent the last four years doing rather than this. | Oh, no! It's got to be emotional. That's the only reason I'm a musician -- because I love music. If I had wanted to get into science, I would have been a mathematician. It's got to make you laugh or cry, or both. If I wasn't moved by it, I can think of a lot of things that I could have spent the last four years doing rather than this. | ||
[[Category:Press]] | |||
