Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

[metalchurch79]

I don't typically use a neck pickup, so I have very little if any experience with most models...

I have an AHB-1 Allan Holdsworth bridge pickup that's 16.30k/A5 and I'd like to pair it up with a Single Coil Duncan in the neck so I'm wondering what you guys think would match up well with the Holdsworth.

Here's a few that I picked out based solely on how they look on paper mind you..
1) Little '59 neck (9.8k/Ceramic)
2) JB jr neck (10.1k/Ceramic)
3) Cool Rails neck (9.8k/Ceramic)
4) STK-S4N neck (8.7k/A5)

How about a custom shop Holdsworth single coil neck??

My initial thought was to go with a DiMarzio SDS-1 (9.36k/Ceramic), but I'd really like to stick with a Seymour Duncan just to keep it in the fam.

The hypothetical guitar would be nothing crazy, just a typical Alder Strat w/ an OFR, Maple/Rosewood...

Also, would any of the above mentioned match up "better" if they had an Alnico as opposed to a Ceramic?

Thank you in advance

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

I'd be careful with a single-coil version of any existing humbucker. I have yet to find one that sounds like the humbucker it's named after, including from the custom shop.

Out of what you listed, I will say that the Cool Rails is one I tried that I'll never try again. too soft and mushy and undefined for my preference.

it would help more if you gave an idea of your goals? what type of music or what type or artist you'd like to go after?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

and i love the cool rails neck with the right setup. i didnt find it too soft or mushy at all. obviously its not a vintage strat pup but i liked the sound and feel of the pup. still have one sitting around waiting for another guitar

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

My thought is the Little 59. Funny thing, I don't know if Allan Holdsworth ever used a humbucker that hot. He is known for using neck 59s in the bridge (with double screws). But maybe he did a long time ago.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

My thought is the Little 59. Funny thing, I don't know if Allan Holdsworth ever used a humbucker that hot. He is known for using neck 59s in the bridge (with double screws). But maybe he did a long time ago.

Mincer, it was called the 1980's

I own a couple Holdsworth pickups. I'm also a fan of S-H pickup guitars.

If I was going with Duncan, I'd probably do a YJM neck for clarity or a Cool Rails for a little more punch with good balance.

Another interesting option is the Quarter Pounder...Warren DeMartini pairs these in his guitars with a JB or Custom Shop RTM in the bridge for a unique pairing (works well if you don't mind the extra punch of a higher output pickup in the neck).

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

and i love the cool rails neck with the right setup. i didnt find it too soft or mushy at all.

didn't like it in any setup. mud city.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

500k pots? it sounded clear and focused though my rig

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

500k pots?

is Allen Funt around the corner? will Ashton Kutcher be jumping out of a nearby van?

:lmao:

I don't typically use a neck pickup, so I have very little if any experience with most models...

I have an AHB-1 Allan Holdsworth bridge pickup that's 16.30k/A5 and I'd like to pair it up with a Single Coil Duncan in the neck so I'm wondering what you guys think would match up well with the Holdsworth.

Here's a few that I picked out based solely on how they look on paper mind you..
1) Little '59 neck (9.8k/Ceramic)
2) JB jr neck (10.1k/Ceramic)
3) Cool Rails neck (9.8k/Ceramic)
4) STK-S4N neck (8.7k/A5)

How about a custom shop Holdsworth single coil neck??

My initial thought was to go with a DiMarzio SDS-1 (9.36k/Ceramic), but I'd really like to stick with a Seymour Duncan just to keep it in the fam.

The hypothetical guitar would be nothing crazy, just a typical Alder Strat w/ an OFR, Maple/Rosewood...

Also, would any of the above mentioned match up "better" if they had an Alnico as opposed to a Ceramic?

Thank you in advance

MC79. I have a holdworth model...my bad...the 'Metal Fatigue'. if I wanted minimal switching, go with a stacked single coil. if you want versatility and might be ok with a split or parallel switch on the neck, and you are totally closed off to brands that might be better suited, look at the Little 59.

I'm building a similar guitar right now. alder body, maple neck, undecided board (roasted maple or maybe gaboon ebony). I'm going with minimal switching, just a 3-way LP style and a Bourns pot (500k, in case jeremy is watching ). I'm undecided on the bridge (a company I deal with just nabbed another artist to their roster and what they're making for him sounds like a strong contender)...but I've been looking at the DiMarzio Area 67 to give me a little Hendrix vibe.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

im always watching man, like big brother

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

im always watching man, like big brother

haha!

don't I know it.

 

[metalchurch79]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

I don't really have a specific goal in mind for the guitar per say, mainly because I don't use a neck pickup so I don't really know what to expect or what I want. Just thought maybe there was a production pup that would mend well with it. I was thinking maybe the little59 but I don't know if that would be a good fit.
As far as musical tastes I'm into old metal of all genres. From old Ozzy, Priest, Maiden, Dio to euro powermetal like Primal Fear, Hammerfall to death metal like Deicide , Obituary, old Corpse, Six Feet Under to Doom Metal like Solitude Aeturnus. All over the place really.
I'm mainly in Eb tuning. My rig is an old Engl620 preamp, Marshall 9200 poweramp, 1960B cab.
Thanks for all the help so far and I hope I'm of some help to you guys trying to help me...

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

I don't really have a specific goal in mind for the guitar per say, mainly because I don't use a neck pickup so I don't really know what to expect or what I want. Just thought maybe there was a production pup that would mend well with it. I was thinking maybe the little59 but I don't know if that would be a good fit.
As far as musical tastes I'm into old metal of all genres. From old Ozzy, Priest, Maiden, Dio to euro powermetal like Primal Fear, Hammerfall to death metal like Deicide , Obituary, old Corpse, Six Feet Under to Doom Metal like Solitude Aeturnus. All over the place really.
I'm mainly in Eb tuning. My rig is an old Engl620 preamp, Marshall 9200 poweramp, 1960B cab.
Thanks for all the help so far and I hope I'm of some help to you guys trying to help me...

Solitude! nice! I engineered on one of John's Liquid Sound Company albums (Exploring the Psychedelic). he used my Hamer with an e-bow for a backward solo on one song. he played me their version of No More Tears that was used for the Legend Of A Madman album.

when I worked with him and then when I worked with one of the guys from Gammacide on one of their other projects, IIRC they played whatever was in the guitar when they bought it. with the rig you listed, I think you'll be good with most any neck pickup that has a well-rounded approach.

 

[metalchurch79]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

LSC was a cool project that John did. Have you heard Concept of God yet? Its a side project by some members of Solitude. I really like John and Edgars tones..very underrated players and band for that matter....

I guess ill try to find a few used single coils and do some swapping around until I find something that works good. I know the Holdsworth pup isn't very popular so I wasn't expecting a flood of replies, but I did get some good suggestions so that'll get me on my way.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

Allan probably used something like that pickup on 'Metal Fatigue' back in 85, but listening back, except for the title song, the pickup doesn't sound that high output. Of course Allan can make anything sound like he wants, so who knows. It is interesting history to me, a big Holdsworth fan. BTW, I have heard the Cool Rails sound good with a JB, so it might work here- it was described as a single-coil sized Jazz, after all.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

I don't mind the cool rails in the right guitar and it does pair well with JB-esque pickups. It's fuller than a true single coil, but still chimey. Kinda comes down to personal taste. I will say that I prefer a brighter, snappier sound in the neck when possible.

Since Darth brought up the "Area" series from DiMarzio, I will say that I am also a huge fan of those...really amazing stuff for being a passive, noiseless design and reasonably priced. Got an Area 61 going into a "H-S" superstrat project as we speak with either a VHPAF or a Holdsworth in the bridge. I'm already planning on fine-tuning the heights, because I know the Area 61 will be quite a bit lower in output, but I'll let you know soon how it comes out.

If you haven't already, definitely glance at the single-coil size humbuckers from DiMarzio like the FastTrack, Chopper, etc. I've always been amazed at the sounds some guys get with those, especially under gain, and nearly all of them will keep up with the Holdsworth.

 

[metalchurch79]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

I actually have an old DP184 Chopper from 1991 and it sounded good in the neck slot of my Strat with an L500XL in the bridge, but I've since yanked those out. I had the Chopper in the bridge slot and it sounded good there as well.

Were there 2 versions of the Holdsworth, a 9k and a 16k?? As far as I know Allan didn't use a neck pickup. (At least his sig Ibanez and Charvels were 1hum...)
I initially got the Holdsworth because I was chasing the Jake tone and after several JB's (both old and new) I ended up getting the Holdsworth and it pretty much nails the Bark at the Moon tone. (At least through my rig anyway)
This project is definitely NOT a Jake E Lee tone chasing by any means, otherwise I'd go with an SDS, and the only reason that I mentioned an SDS is because it's a tried and true method.
Figured I'd try to pair the Holdsworth up with a Duncan single and both the Lil59 and JBjr are a visual match to the Holdsworth being they have double rows of screws.
I certainly appreciate all of the help and suggestions by you guys, I don't generally post those types of threads, but I got some good ideas from you all so I'm glad that I did. Thanks so much.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

There are a few "Holdsworth" pickups out there that I know of...

The original is the Duncan version, designed around 1983-84 that was featured his famous red Charvel at the time. You can see the Charvel and the Duncan pickup clearly in the first few seconds of this video from 1984:



You can also hear how the pickup sounds if you keep watching! You can tell it's the higher output Duncan

That guitar and pickup were the inspiration for his Ibanez "AH" series signature guitars that were produced in the mid-'80s. The Ibanez guitars, however, featured a Japanese (Gotoh?) made copy of the Duncan pickup. They looked nearly identical and had similar specs, but the Ibanez pickups were not associated with Duncan in any way. However, Duncan did sell their "Allan Holdsworth" model at retail during this time.

Later on, Holdsworth was endorsed by Carvin and they made him a signature set of pickups which were much lower in output. Duncan had ceased production of their signature version by then and it became a Custom Shop option.

All-in-all, outside of that brief period in the 1980s, when high output pickups were "the thing", I believe Allan has strongly preferred pickups like the Duncan '59, etc.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

Whatever pickups he uses, he sounds like Allan. I don't know if these days he is actually using Carvin pickups or not. He is still seen occasionally with his Steinberger, too. I am pretty sure he was still getting some pickups made by Duncan even after his Carvin pickups came out.

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

Whatever pickups he uses, he sounds like Allan. I don't know if these days he is actually using Carvin pickups or not. He is still seen occasionally with his Steinberger, too. I am pretty sure he was still getting some pickups made by Duncan even after his Carvin pickups came out.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Steinberger!

Also, I've seen several people suggest that he wasn't entirely satisfied with how his original Carvin signature pickups turned out and often stuck with Duncans in his personal guitars, so that wouldn't surprise me. However, I don't think he's used any high output pickups since the '80s.

Here's his Strandberg with a Duncan clearly displayed in the bridge:

Also, here's his new signature bridge pickup from Kiesel (previously Carvin) at 8.9K with an A5 magnet. Seems very much like a '59 type wind on its face with the classic dual-screw pole configuration of his 1980's signature Duncan!

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Neck pickup to go with a Holdsworth bridge...

Looking at that baseplate, is that a Duncan?