Allan Holdsworth (Guitar Player 1982): Difference between revisions
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Summary: Allan Holdsworth recorded an independent album because | [[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 = | =Allan Holdsworth - A style apart = | ||
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Tom Mulhern | 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 | 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. | ||
Allan's renown was fairly limited as well: With the exception of Ponty and U.K., few of the musical amalgams in which he participated ever received much attention in the U.S. Despite virtual invisibility in the pop music world at large, Allan, through his unique sound and strongly independent approach, became a touchstone for many guitarists. Among lead players, "Allan Holdsworth" had elevated to a buzz word -- if you wanted to perk your ears up, he was the one to listen to. | Allan's renown was fairly limited as well: With the exception of Ponty and U.K., few of the musical amalgams in which he participated ever received much attention in the U.S. Despite virtual invisibility in the pop music world at large, Allan, through his unique sound and strongly independent approach, became a touchstone for many guitarists. Among lead players, "Allan Holdsworth" had elevated to a buzz word -- if you wanted to perk your ears up, he was the one to listen to. | ||
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Neither a rock guitar wildman nor a limelight-seeking stage strutter, 34-year-old Holdsworth is instead an intense devotee of the guitar. His lead style is immediately striking as fast, fluid, vibrant, and deadly accurate. Upon closer examination, enigmatic melodies with large intervallic leaps and rhythmic syncopations and ambiguity emerge. Hand tremolo plays a strong part in his style as well, lending a shimmer to passages to add depth and immediacy to even seemingly inconsequential passing tones, rather than acting as a tool for creating half-octave bends and squealing feedback. | Neither a rock guitar wildman nor a limelight-seeking stage strutter, 34-year-old Holdsworth is instead an intense devotee of the guitar. His lead style is immediately striking as fast, fluid, vibrant, and deadly accurate. Upon closer examination, enigmatic melodies with large intervallic leaps and rhythmic syncopations and ambiguity emerge. Hand tremolo plays a strong part in his style as well, lending a shimmer to passages to add depth and immediacy to even seemingly inconsequential passing tones, rather than acting as a tool for creating half-octave bends and squealing feedback. | ||
As a soloist, this English guitarist is certainly unique. However, as his abilities to play lead became better and better known and exploited, he found himself trapped into a one-dimensional mode; his chordal and melodic talents were lying fallow. This musician, who has drawn praise from | As a soloist, this English guitarist is certainly unique. However, as his abilities to play lead became better and better known and exploited, he found himself trapped into a one-dimensional mode; his chordal and melodic talents were lying fallow. This musician, who has drawn praise from Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse, and many other well-known exponents of the electric guitar, felt that he had more to offer that just flashy embellishment to other people's songs. And in order to vent his ideas, he decided to form his own band. | ||
In 1980, Allan teamed with bassist | In 1980, Allan teamed with bassist Paul Carmichael and drummer/pianist Gary Husband to form a trio in London known as False alarm. Expanded later to include vocalist Paul Williams (formerly of Juicy Lucy and Tempest, a band in which he and Holdsworth had worked together in 1973), the group became known as I.O.U. In a Guitar Player interview in the December 1980 issue, Holdsworth originally described the music as having "some elements of jazz and rock, but we try not to be overly tricky." | ||
Given the freedom to pursue his chordal, melodic, and soloing abilities with the new band, Holdsworth developed material he had written over the previous few years, and with I.O.U. began performing in England. According to Allan, though, the climate wasn't quite right for the type of music the band was performing. Punk and new wave were the rage, making I.O.U.'s music less desirable to the general public. Holdsworth and company recorded in early 1981, and found their music met with less than enthusiastic response by record companies. | Given the freedom to pursue his chordal, melodic, and soloing abilities with the new band, Holdsworth developed material he had written over the previous few years, and with I.O.U. began performing in England. According to Allan, though, the climate wasn't quite right for the type of music the band was performing. Punk and new wave were the rage, making I.O.U.'s music less desirable to the general public. Holdsworth and company recorded in early 1981, and found their music met with less than enthusiastic response by record companies. | ||
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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 | 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. | ||
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How long did it take to record the album? | How long did it take to record the album? | ||
I think we took about five days to record it, and it was mixed in two evenings. Rather quick. It was recorded on | I think we took about five days to record it, and it was mixed in two evenings. Rather quick. It was recorded on The Barge, a studio in England, which is actually a real boat. It floats, but it doesn't move much because it's very heavy. And luckily, the water where it's docked is usually very still. | ||
What kind of guitars did you use? | What kind of guitars did you use? | ||
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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? | ||
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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? | ||
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''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? | ||
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Why did you switch from Stratocasters to Charvel guitars? | Why did you switch from Stratocasters to Charvel guitars? | ||
I was really lucky, because just before I sold my Stratocaster, I met [Charvel Luthier/designer] | I was really lucky, because just before I sold my Stratocaster, I met [Charvel Luthier/designer] Grover Jackson in London. We went out for a few beers and he was willing to listen to ideas I had about certain woods, whereas a lot of other people wouldn't. They'd say "you can't make a guitar from this wood or that wood." But Grover listened to everything, and made three Strat-style guitars from various woods. Also I had the necks made wider at the fingerboard end. I hate the Fender string spacing. | ||
Why's that? | Why's that? | ||
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Have you ever considered installing a contact pickup in the guitar in order to infuse more of the body's resonance into the sound? | Have you ever considered installing a contact pickup in the guitar in order to infuse more of the body's resonance into the sound? | ||
No, I'm still trying to get the sound I want just through the combinations of the wood. It's getting pretty close now. And | No, I'm still trying to get the sound I want just through the combinations of the wood. It's getting pretty close now. And Seymour Duncan made me a pickup a few months ago that I'm currently using, and I've fallen in love with it. I just hope I have a chance to get together with him to take it to the nth degree; that is, the right combination of the right pickup and the right woods. | ||
Why do you only have one pickup in the bridge position and no pick up at all near the neck? | Why do you only have one pickup in the bridge position and no pick up at all near the neck? | ||
I found that I hardly ever used the other pickup, anyway. I've always favored the treble pickup. So when Grover made the first prototype for me, we just tried it with one. And it seems that I've never missed it at all. So I decided to have them all made with single pickups. It's really basic. Each of the guitars has a different pickup on it The red basswood one has the specially made Seymour Duncan pickup, the white one has a Seymour Duncan 59N, and the spruce one has a specially wound | I found that I hardly ever used the other pickup, anyway. I've always favored the treble pickup. So when Grover made the first prototype for me, we just tried it with one. And it seems that I've never missed it at all. So I decided to have them all made with single pickups. It's really basic. Each of the guitars has a different pickup on it The red basswood one has the specially made Seymour Duncan pickup, the white one has a Seymour Duncan 59N, and the spruce one has a specially wound DiMarzio on it. | ||
Are there any fancy switches such as coil taps? | Are there any fancy switches such as coil taps? | ||
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Do you perform many modifications yourself? | Do you perform many modifications yourself? | ||
I used to until Grover came along, because if I was going to take a chisel to it, He'd say, "On, no. Let me do it." And [luthier/repairman] | I used to until Grover came along, because if I was going to take a chisel to it, He'd say, "On, no. Let me do it." And [luthier/repairman] Dick Knight was the same way in England. He and his son-in-law, Gordon, were always helpful. They did so much work for me there. As far as wiring goes, I always liked to do my own, though. | ||
Was this because you trusted your own work more than other people's? | Was this because you trusted your own work more than other people's? | ||
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In your equipment rack is a box with no labeling for control functions on it. | In your equipment rack is a box with no labeling for control functions on it. | ||
Yeah. That's a custom routing box made about five years ago by | Yeah. That's a custom routing box made about five years ago by Pete Cornish. The box it was in kind of fell apart, so Hartley Thompson built a new case for it, and I stuck one of their stickers on it. I know what all the knobs are, so they aren't labeled. It's basically a routing box that allows me to patch anything that I want in any sequence. You see, I have two channels on each Hartley Thompson amp, and each has its own tone equalization. That box sends different signals at different times to whichever amplifier I want. Usually, I only use effects on the chord channels: a real short delay, or A/DA Stereo Tapped Delay. On the lead channel -- the red channel -- I usually go directly into it. | ||
How do you designate your amp channels? | How do you designate your amp channels? | ||
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''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? | ||
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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? | ||
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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? | ||
