which boutique amp to get holdsworth sound?

[echo44]

So far i have been looking at Fuchs, Victoria and Louis electric
I like te tweed clean sound on the victoria and Louis but I am looking for one amp
that can sound good at low volumes is versatile enough to play
Jazz, stevie ray vaughn and holdsworth type sounds. I am thinking going with the Louis or Victoria and adding a tube distortion petal when I need that sustaining singing lead sound?
Just wondering If you have any ideas
How does the Louis sound at low levels?

[digital jams]

Well SRV can be nailed with a Fender and pedals and one hell of a Legato left hand will get you to Holdsworth.

No need to break the bank imo.

[Joe Boy]

Originally Posted by digital jams

Well SRV can be nailed with a Fender and pedals and one hell of a Legato left hand will get you to Holdsworth.

No need to break the bank imo.

Ditto...or a twin.

[mentoneman]

egnater.

twin and eg 4 modules.

[davebc]

Originally Posted by echo44

So far i have been looking at Fuchs, Victoria and Louis electric
I like te tweed clean sound on the victoria and Louis but I am looking for one amp
that can sound good at low volumes is versatile enough to play
Jazz, stevie ray vaughn and holdsworth type sounds. I am thinking going with the Louis or Victoria and adding a tube distortion petal when I need that sustaining singing lead sound?
Just wondering If you have any ideas
How does the Louis sound at low levels?

Which Louis amp are you looking at and what do you consider low volume?
Lou's amps definitely DON'T need a pedal; but they are not what I consider low volume.

[7StringJazz]

Originally Posted by digital jams

Well SRV can be nailed with a Fender and pedals and one hell of a Legato left hand will get you to Holdsworth.

No need to break the bank imo.

Its the 'one hell of a legato left hand' that will cost you more than the amp! Get that right and any amp and pedal will do!

[wildschwein]

I'm pretty sure Holdsworth uses 2 Yamaha Digital Modelling Amps nowadays. DG80s I believe.

[re-animator]

that's right.



One of the most convincing allan holdsworth cover tones i've heard was some cat playing the metal fatigue solo in GC on a marshall MG30dfx of all things.

[csanford]

Originally Posted by wildschwein

I'm pretty sure Holdsworth uses 2 Yamaha Digital Modelling Amps nowadays. DG80s I believe.

In the latest interview I've read (think it was GP Mag), Alan said that his favorite tube amp is still the original Mesa DR... and that's what he was playing through the last time I saw him as well. I believe he slaves the amp and does some EQ tricks downstream though.

chris

[re-animator]

last I saw he was using a lot of PEQ, and I read he sticks the tone and volume knobs around 7 to take some of the hair off the tone.


The tricks if you ask me though is a lightweight guitar, with light strings, lots of gain, and a very light touch with God's vibrato.

[rwe333]

Originally Posted by re-animator

The tricks if you ask me though is a lightweight guitar, with light strings, lots of gain, and a very light touch with God's vibrato.

AH doesn't play w/ very much gain as he has a rather aggressive (though accurate) fretting hand technique combined w/ a light picking touch (he picks much more than many realize). In fact, Holdsworth sounds pretty much the same on acoustic.
He doesn't "pull-off" as much as "lift-off" for his legato approach, hence the need to attack the strings rather forcefully. He doesn't like the sound of the pick though needs to keep the strings ringing, so his picking is subtle.
Agree that he favors lighter weight instruments and uses a .008 or .009 set.

But back to the OP:
Holdsworth has has success w/ many amps (and guitars), from SS designs like Hartley-Thompson and Pearce (and sometimes Lab Series for clean); to tube Marshall, Mesa-Boogie, THD and Jim Kelley; to digital Yamahas... It really is in the approach as much as anything.
Boutique amps? He isn't really affiliated w/ 'em, though he often has complex rigs. Certainly has some custom/boutique guitars...
Certainly his overdrive is predominantly from the amp, not pedals.

[daddyo]

When I think of AH's sound, I don't think about an amp, I think about his insane technique. If I was on a AH quest, I would get a Roland Cube 60 and spend the rest of my money on lessons and woodshedding.

[S.W.Erdnase]

Peavey Bandit?

[wildschwein]

Originally Posted by S.W.Erdnase

Peavey Bandit?

Hey they're great amps!!

[glenecho]

Good luck I say...impossible with anything.

I'm fairly convinced the guy has something...a personal EQ curve along with some sort of OD/Distortion that he uses that gets that tone out of anything he plays. I've gotten some pretty decent looks at his rig and there are always a few staples in his rack that leads me to believe that the actual amp he uses is the smallest factor in his tone. Regardless the one steady factor in his tone is that particular EQ curve he has going on. I'd be astounded if he got that same exact sound through all those different amps without an EQ being involved.

I kind of disagree with the "doesn't use much gain thing" as well. While he undoubtedly has flawless technique, just listening to his lead sound to me tells me that he has a pretty fair amount of gain going on there. I know we like to think the greats never use any gain but I really don't think that's the case with all of them, including Holdsworth.

Last I heard AH was using H&K amps and a poster on another board claimed that AH personally told him they were only used for power...not pre.