Headless Sunday

Wasn't motivated to leave the house in this scorching heat today. Indoors with the headless siblings.

Kiesel: Allan Holdsworth

One of my favourite / go-to guitars for inspiration. Used this one to play ideas really slowly before speeding up to taste. I'm not a fan of signature models (if you've been following the entries here closely) but the custom options meant I could trim this down to my specs; that's the only reason I bought this guitar.

Ibanez: Q54

Wasn't attracted to this because it's a headless guitar but because it sports a body contour very close to the Radius series. Was wondering if that kind of ergonomics would help me play differently but I believe it's more of the player, not the instrument. I am too used to the way I play so this was adopted to the guitar & not the other way round. There's something about Ibanez that makes me play fast & fumble all the time. Darn.

Wishing everyone a good week ahead. 

Copper pink Friday

I am in no mood to usher in the new year. It's when you have nothing to begin with, the enthusiasm to celebrate any occasion gets suppressed. In any case, I'm not the type to get all hyped up at the turn of the year any way. 

Spent the final weekday of the year at home playing the above guitars - the pink one because it's one of the smoothest bridge humbucking tone I own & the copper one because those are some of the best-sounding distortion-friendly single coils I've come across. Not being an ardent single coil fan, this means a lot to me. What do I have planned for the NYE tomorrow? Nothing much, might be more of the same that happened today.

MOMM (34)

Holiday ear fodder.

Allan Holdsworth: Jarasum Internation Jazz Festival 2014

I'll be brief with this one - it's Holdsworth's most sub-par live performance, clearly over-shadowed by his rhythm section. I was wondering why this was the case. A re-listen revealed a clear account - it was a darn cold day. Have you ever tried playing guitar when your fingers get semi-frozen? Don't bother, you can't.

Alluvial: The Deep Longing for Annihilation

I acquired Sarcoma before this one so I knew what to expect. However, this was a vocal-less performance so I was happier after knowing it as such. Wes Hauch is one of metal's most talented & formidable guitarist out there. Intensity & technicality - checked & balanced. 

MOMM (30)

There's something about this album that made it unpopular  when it comes to material selection for compilation releases. Level Best, for instance, featured no songs from Guaranteed. If you ever listened to any songs from Guaranteed, we could agree that all of them are well-crafted & perhaps showcasing Mark King & company at their level best (no pun intended). Allan Holdsworth was all over this album & perhaps this is the reason why it's not really pop-oriented; it is guitar inclined, somewhat. 

How long?

From the above pic, which guitar is longer?

The Les Paul is longer

It's rather obvious that the Les Paul is longer when it comes to end-to-end measurements. The LP features a headstock so it adds significantly to length.  

The Kiesel is longer

That's right, folks. When it comes to scale length, the Kiesel is longer. It is 25.5" as opposed to the LP's 24.75". Scale length here refers to the measurement from the nut to the bridge. 

Why is this important? It dictates tone. The LP, any LP for that matter, has its strength in the lower frequencies. It just gives off that kind of warmer sounding notes in the lower / lower midrange especially with overdrive in the mix. The Kiesel has that Strat-type snap for single note clarity but in this case, it's a little compounded by its overall dimensions. The weight is not that substantial to manifest what a Strat could. Also, the type of pickup matters. In this case, Alan Holdsworth preferred a deep sounding pickup in his guitars for his smooth legato works. So this is a reminder to everyone, myself included, when it comes to dimensions, scale length considerations should be factored in.

Hello, April 👋

Holdswoth/ Mayhem

Couldn't resist these. If you've ever heard Holdsworth playing live in Japan on Youtube, you'd know how fat & smooth his tone was. It took a live release like this one for me to really like his tone. So much clarity in the overall music as well. One of the best live productions I've come across. Mayhem's Grand Declaration of War was re-released late last year with one-up mastering especially for the drums. The percussive tones are more upfront with a bolder bottom end push. Due to the hectic festive delivery schedule, it didn't make its way here before the year ended. It missed January as well but it's here now. 

Easy does it

First weekend of the year, taking it easy- down with flu, bad throat. 

The grand passing- a year on.

April is a sad month for me. Some of the worst things took place in April & I wish for it to pass quickly. April also saw the passing of Allan Holdsworth, the grand master of guitar who had never strummed a chord to please pop culture- my kind of attitude.

My go-to Holdsworth reference is actually a collaborative effort seen above. TIS features Holdsworth & Gambale at their best. Everything you hear in this album is not about one guitar genius trying to outdo the other, it's a complementary effort considering the obvious technical difference between both masters. I can listen to this release on repeat mode for the entire day with no issues.

Last 3

Alrighty! Time to talk music since music was the reason I picked up guitar. Here are my last 3 purchases:

1. Mastodon- Emperor of Sand. Lots of talk prior to its release. It was touted to contain some of the most moving moments since it was conceived during emotional & sombre episodes. Sadly, it's not on my like list. The initial single, Sultan's Curse, was rather misleading as it failed to represent the other numbers in this release. It's one of the truly metal tune penned here, the rest of which are bridled aggression, at best. Below expectations, definitely.
2. The Allan Holdsworth Collection- Eidolon. Bought this one on the day of his passing, unknowingly, that is. Still eerie come to think of it but this double discs release contain some of the master's best. Even the non-shred pieces were thought provoking & very otherworldly. One simply does not listen to Holdsworth & not get stirred in some ways. Worth every cent.
3. Come Together- Guitar Tribute to the Beatles. Finally, Beatles tunes without anyone singing- ha! I'm not the Fab 4 fan, never was. I'm intrigued by the song arrangements but would prefer an instrumental take with lots of individuality & this album is bulging with that content. Allan Holdsworth's Michelle & Zachary Breaux's Eleanor Rigby are my firm favourites. 

RIP: Allan Holdsworth (2)

It's a little eerie but I bought this a day before his passing. Despite the current Kiesel deal, Holdsworth did play an Ibanez & had an endorsement deal which lasted for two years. 

One of my favourite Allan Holdsworth video is this one captured live in 1974. He played a Gibson SG & it's simply amazing how the volume induced drive gave him adequate gain for the job; we know there's no distortion pedal going back then so players have to crank it way up to get the drive going. Watch how he retuned one of the strings during play like it's nothing. Also, most of the time, he wasn't looking at what he's playing; it's already embedded in his mind, he just manifested it there & then. 👍

RIP: Allan Holdsworth

Sad passing of the master, nothing pressing to say right now, just this announcement. More in time to come.

RIP: ALLAN HOLDSWORTH (6 AUGUST 1946 - 15 APRIL 2017)

ISP Pro Theta... waiting

The ISP Pro Theta was first mentioned here: CLICK

I definitely have plans to get this one as opposed an AXE FX, especially when Master Holdsworth here was seen giving it a definite thumbs up. In the mean time, some convincing:

PIC: ISP Tech

Still not the thing

I recently went for a hit/miss try-out involving a Carvin Allan Holdsworth (not the one depicted here, though, it's just a reference) because it was on clearance. I thought if it's time to get a signature model (I don't own one to date. OK, the Les Paul might count...) maybe this is it.

The thing with signature models is that the instrument's specs were dictated by the endorser so what you get is actually what someone else wants in their instrument, not what you want. However, if these instruments fit your bill, the bottom line is, they work for you. So the HH2X I picked up had an incredible feel namely due to its weight- light! Many of us are skeptical when it comes to light guitars because they manifest those semi-hollow quirks quite removed from the solid body take. However, Mr. Holdsworth specified a chambered body to his preference because he is absolutely OK with that kind of tone, it's his forte for the music that he peddles. Every fixture of the HH2X was top notch, befitting of the instrument's stature (& price, mind you). The minimalist body & headless outline also meant that the guitar was literally a deserving extension of one's body. The thing that got to me was the neck; it's a finished version & that very rounded, thick C-profile was a put off for my needs, while everything else was ace. That included the very flat 20" radius which benefited upper fret shredding.

So by virtue of that major repulsion, I did not go home with a signature guitar & I must say it was that close because the HH2X was a very versatile beast; from warm cleans to absolute heavy metal, it adapted well. The instrument in whole was very comfortable but I guess this one's for those of us who don't mind that kind of neck profile. For the rest of us who grind bass notes for heavy music, a rounded neck profile wouldn't benefit us in terms of focus & lethargy endurance. Till next time.

Smooth options

These pedals are rather fresh. Both are signature products & they are treading the same path, one which serves great smoothness in drive voicings powered by a 2-in-1 concept. 

The Wampler Dual Fusion is a complex beast. There are subtle controls here that would alter your tone rather drastically especially at higher volume settings. It is able to manifest an 'alternative' arrangement akin to switching the positions of two pedals aligned in series. Marvelous.

The JRockett Allan Holdsworth pedal is no wimp when it comes to drive intensity as well but it works on a slightly different note; one of its channel is a booster unit as opposed to the Wampler's double drive serving. The immediate advantage here is that the booster unit doesn't temper with your tone drastically, instead, it supplements your gain concerns. Awesome.

I've been meddling with both pedals individually because an inital hook up just manifested too much gain to such an extent it becomes a very fuzzy affair, something I'm not too keen with. Both pedals are menacing when it comes to that smooth fusion tone so these specialists are singular in their performances in this aspect, it's not quite as good for anything else for that matter. If you think you need some inspiration for your legato techniques, do check them out.

Silky smooth

April is here. A quarter of 2015 had zipped by just like that. Time flies but we always failed to see it take off, the reason why we are left behind.

As you know, I'm no fan of signature guitars but I can live with other signature products. Pickups, strings & effects units are OK with me. This is the signature Allan Holdsworth overdrive pedal (JRad) & it got me interested because it brings me closer to the master's very smooth overdrive tone. It's so silky smooth, it's indeed one of the means to getting good legatto phrasings done. We can't fully emulate AH's tone for a simple reason; we are not AH. We might have access to his instruments & other gear but we need to be the man to sound like the man. That aside, I like what this pedal has to offer, a very smooth drive voicing, very removed from the rock front. It is rather self-sufficient in terms of gain structure as it features a booster function on board. This means the pedal retains the drive voicing while manifesting increased saturation. Perhaps the master himself can convince you of some performance notes:

Headless!

An initial glimpse of the new Allan Holdsworth headless Carvins. When he performed at the Esplanade, he wasn't seen with a (Carvin) Fatboy so we know what's been in the works.

What restrictions?

Yngwie Malmsteen shred notes with only 21 frets in his guitar...

... & Allan Holdsworth bewildered everyone with only a single humbucker.

The features in our instruments are basically attending to our needs. Some of us do not need certain features, they are not essential anyway (eg: Floyd Rose bridge). The attributes of our instruments do not make us a less capable player because there are so many means to an end.

Favourite album (Part 1): Truth in Shredding

I do not have a particular favourite release, but Truth in Shredding is definitely one I keep listening to. I didn't know this existed, borrowed the original pressing from an ex-colleague when I was still working in a hydrographic office at World Trade Centre in the early 1990s- yes, it's still known as 'World Trade Centre' back then.

This album featured 2 very distinguished guitarists. One was this 'Thunder From Down Under' but we know him as Frank Gambale, the sweep picking sage.

The other fretboard deity was Allan Holdsworth, whose command of the instrument would leave you feeling extremely unaccomplished if you think you are proud of your attainments in the mean time.

I wouldn't have thought two people, both masters of their respective trades, would have done superbly in the same recording. There was no competition, both players were there to complement each other & the listener would be thoroughly impressed whenever one of them stepped up to showcase their ideas. The most prominent highlight of this release was its lack of memorable flash; there wasn't any one moment which outshone the rest. I thoroughly enjoyed this release & it serves as a reality check; every time I feel I am on top of the world with my playing, then I would listen to this & it would keep my reservations in check.