 John
DePatie, Guitarist |
Carvin
Allan Holdsworth Fatboy Guitar
by John DePatie
Published:
Gig Magazine, July 2000
Allan Holdsworth is a player's player, so it should come
as no surprise that the guitar he developed in conjunction with
Carvin is a player's instrument. The Allan Holdsworth signature model guitar
from Carvin is a fine instrument that has been around for a couple
of years. Recently, in
a quest for a more resonant, hollowbody-like tone, Holdsworth and
Carvin came up with the Holdsworth Fatboy.
It has the same basic body style as the original but is much
thicker. Also, internally the Fatboy is quite unique
with it's twin floating suspension beams. The alder wood body core is completely hollowed out except for
the the two alder beams that make contact with the body only at
the neck heel and the foot of the guitar, allowing the top and back
to vibrate freely at all times, making for an incredibly resonant
instrument.
I like the beautiful wood finish and the single-cutaway
body design, as well as the black hardware.
But I really like it because of its sound and playability. I was able to get used to the way this guitar plays and feels
almost immediately. In
the first hour of practice, I felt like I could play it as well
as the guitar that I've been playing for 10 years.
It's a single-cutaway but it's more playable than most double-cutaways--or
just about any other guitar out there, for that matter. The upper frets are smoothly reached. The body doesn't ever
get in the way of any lines or chords that you want to play; access
to any fret on any string is simple.
That inspired me to find some voicings high up on the neck
that aren't practical on other guitars.
It's easy to play fast, either with a lot of picking or a
lot of left-hand hammer-ons and pulls.
The feel is light, but there is enough resistance to really
attack a note.
The guitar as viewed is configured with two humbucking
pickups, which are controlled by a three-way toggle switch and master
volume and tone knobs. (The
standard configuration is a single humbucker in the bridge position.) The neck has 24 frets with the serial number lightly engraved
into the 23rd fret. It was
strung with light-gauge strings.
The strap buttons are mounted in slightly unusual positions
designed to make the guitar hang comfortably.
The neck button is on the back of the guitar body, centered
directly opposite the 19th fret. There are two rear positions: one on a slight
horn a little above the typical position, and one slightly below. Both felt comfortable for me to play although
they position the guitar a little higher than usual. Jimmy Page-types may not find the guitar
as comfortable as I did.
As mentioned earlier, the body of the guitar is hollow. This type of construction has several advantages
for the player. It makes
the guitar very lightweight. It's
very comfortable to wear for long periods without any fatigue. It also gives a very fat sound to the guitar,
even before you plug it in. It's
not loud enough to play as an acoustic instrument but it really
does push some air and create a nice resonance, which carries over
to its amplified sound.
The amplified sound of the Holdsworth is remarkably
balanced. Chords sound clear because all the notes
have the same volume. Players
into thick harmony and chordal playing will love this guitar. Single lines also have the same type of balance with a nice sponginess.
It sounds great--clean and with varying amounts of distortion.
I preferred the sound of either pickup individually to both combined,
but that was a usable sound too. This guitar doesn't have a weak spot in terms
of range. Either pickup
sounded good in any position and on any string.
A word about the pickups:
They boast a total of 22 adjustable pole pieces; so you don't
have to worry about things like volume drop when bending strings. They are also wound with very costly, vintage enamel-coated wire,
which Carvin says contribute to their rich tone.
I took this guitar on a couple of gigs.
The first was a jazz quartet gig with another guitarist and
upright bass and drums. The
Holdsworth was spectacular in this setting.
It cut right through everything in a very full-sounding way,
and was great for comping and soloing.
I didn't want to take it off the neck pickup because it sounded
so good but I did for test purposes.
The bridge and middle pickup positions both worked well too.
I let the other guitar player play it for a song, and he
said it sounded great and played great even though he prefers heavier
strings. He did offer one comment, however, about
the positions of the strap buttons.
He felt that the guitar was set up to hang too high for his
taste, which is the Jimmy Page height.
I prefer the guitar to hang a little higher so for me it
was quite comfortable where it was.
A piano player who has played with the band was in
the audience that night, and he also talked to me about the guitar.
He said it looked really cool and he liked the sound because
it sounded like I had gone up at least a string gauge or two (which
I hadn't).
The next gig I took the Holdsworth to was with an original
pop band. I didn't really think the guitar was designed
with that kind of music in mind, but I had to try it because it
sounded so good on the jazz gig.
For this band I use more of a dirty sound.
The guitar sounded good in that setting too. It cleaned up very nicely when I backed off the volume control
and did quite well when I loaded on the effects, but was more prone
to feeding back than my solidbody was at the same distance from
the amp and at the same volume settings.
The feedback wasn't uncontrollable but it was noticeable,
and it was a small enough stage that I didn't have a lot of liberty
to move much farther from the amp.
The Carvin Holdsworth Fatboy guitar was a pleasure
to play and test. It's sound and playability are top-notch.
It's hard-shell case is sturdy but light.
It would make a fine instrument for players of any style,
particularly those who are seeking a balanced sound for rich chords
and a very high level of playability.
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