Seymour Duncan Holdsworth pickup

[MrDan666]

I scored an original mid 80's Seymour Duncan Holdsworth humbucker on eBay last weekend. For those of you who don't know, It's essentially a JB humbucker but it has an Alnico 2 magnet and also has 2 rows of screw head pole pieces.

I found out about the pickup years ago after pestering Doug Aldrich, trying to find out what bridge pickup he used in his black and gold Strats.. He said it was a Holdsworth model and was a custom shop order pickup. I kept an eye out on the forums and eBay for one, but they rarely ever appear (maybe spotted 2 or 3 in the last 4 years), plus i was too lazy to get intouch with the custom shop and wait weeks for them to wind me one too haha So when i found it on eBay last weekend, i bought it straight away.

I now have it loaded into the bridge position of my Charvel SoCal and i gotta say... It is a KILLER sounding pickup. To my ears, it's everything the JB 'should' have been. It is much bigger sounding, more dynamic, no fizz in the treble freq and it doesn't have as much of the cocked wah tone that i hear in the regular JB.

Playing solos with this pickup is where it shines IMO... Very fluid and notes bloom together in an extremely musical way. It's tight enough for rhythm work too, just the right amount of 'give' in the feel and still enough articulation that i can hear individual notes in every chord. It can handle all of the gain that my modded Marshalls have on tap, and doesn't fall apart at all. Cleans up beautifully too.

This replaced the Tone Zone in my Charvel. So far i'm happier with the Holdsworth and don't think i'll be going back to the ToneZone any time soon..

 

[snowdog]

Congrats on the Find.

I have often though that probably the best pickup you may find is one you wouldn't even consider using in the first place. I have tried a few oddball ones, no great finds yet though.

 

[Rich7620]

I had a Holdsworth in my Jackson Soloist, Funny enough i pulled it out and put a JB this was back in the early to mid 90's. didnt know they were a custom shop pickup i would have held onto it, not even sure what i did with it might have let the tech who swapped the PU's keep it

 

[XSSIVE]

That's also the pickup in the bridge of Jake E Lee's main white strat converted to Charvel.

 

[jcmlespaul]

Cool!

 

[MrDan666]

Congrats on the Find.

I have often though that probably the best pickup you may find is one you wouldn't even consider using in the first place. I have tried a few oddball ones, no great finds yet though.

Yeah totally, i had heard of this pickup long before i found out it was Aldrich's choice of pickup in his guitars... But never even gave it a chance, as i just assumed it would only suit Fusion style playing/tone

I had a Holdsworth in my Jackson Soloist, Funny enough i pulled it out and put a JB this was back in the early to mid 90's. didnt know they were a custom shop pickup i would have held onto it, not even sure what i did with it might have let the tech who swapped the PU's keep it

Back in the day i don't know if they were a custom shop pickup... But nowadays they are. They cost $160 and have a 6 week wait time. With that said, my Holdsworth has a sticker on the bottom which says 'JBJ' aka J.B pickup wound by Maricela Juarez. So i'm thinking the original 80's Holdsworth pickups were actually modified JB pickups? As opposed to being an actual 'Holdsworth' model.

 

[MrDan666]

That's also the pickup in the bridge of Jake E Lee's main white strat converted to Charvel.

Yup i read that a short while ago, and now i totally believe it... Was playing Jake E Lee riffs on my Charvel earlier and that pickup totally nails Jake's tone. Specifically in the mids and the pick attack has a real unique sound, probably due to the 2 rows of screw pole pieces.

 

[Hail Satin]

Gotta dig mine out of the storage boxes. Picked up one from Fancy music
in Santa Barbara back in '87. It was supposedly done by seymour for holdsworth
and is heavily wax potted. Used it for about a year and then put a JB in the V.
Go figure...

 

[mentoneman]

had one in a zion in the late 90s and did not bond with it. on that gtr it was very dark and bassy.
also cured me of ever wanting a floyd again

 

[JohnSykes]

You know, i bought one like a year ago and im still waiting for the right guitar lol (just an excuse to keep buying stuff...)

did you compare it to the Duncan Custom? (not Custom 5 or Custom Custom)

I believe Doug used the Duncan Custom in his Lion days (with the Jackson Soloist).

 

[lettmusic]

That's also the pickup in the bridge of Jake E Lee's main white strat converted to Charvel.

Yup i read that a short while ago, and now i totally believe it... Was playing Jake E Lee riffs on my Charvel earlier and that pickup totally nails Jake's tone. Specifically in the mids and the pick attack has a real unique sound, probably due to the 2 rows of screw pole pieces.

since you got it in the bridge, how is it for fast alternate picking stuff? obviously it's great for legato.
Anyway, congrats on a great find.

 

[maiden_fan]

Congrats Dan, sounds like you are having alot better luck with it than I did. It sounded great for leads in my Charvel, really fattened the high strings but was too smooth for me on rythmn with my JVM.

Now where are the clips!

 

[MrDan666]

You know, i bought one like a year ago and im still waiting for the right guitar lol (just an excuse to keep buying stuff...)

did you compare it to the Duncan Custom? (not Custom 5 or Custom Custom)

I believe Doug used the Duncan Custom in his Lion days (with the Jackson Soloist).

It's massively different to the Duncan Custom IMO. Much warmer and fatter sounding. The Custom to my ears can sound a bit too clear and snappy at times. The Holdsworth and Custom similar output though, i would say medium. Not a super hot pickup at all.

Back in the day i think Doug was using a lot of different pickups in his guitars.. He's a tone/gear freak just like all of us here, so i'm sure he was just going with whatever worked best in each guitar. I know that he had the Custom in some guitars, and Custom Custom in others, aswell as the JB and JB Jr etc. His main Charvel back in the Lion days had a Bill Lawrence L-500 pickup.

 

[MrDan666]

since you got it in the bridge, how is it for fast alternate picking stuff? obviously it's great for legato.
Anyway, congrats on a great find.

It works great for hard rock stuff, no problem tracking alternate picking. However for much heavier stuff i would probably go with a stock JB or something that's a bit tighter/articulate in the low end.

 

[MrDan666]

Congrats Dan, sounds like you are having alot better luck with it than I did. It sounded great for leads in my Charvel, really fattened the high strings but was too smooth for me on rythmn with my JVM.

Now where are the clips!

Yeah it totally fattens up the high strings on my Charvel, there is no shrillness or harshness at all with this pickup. It seems to be heavily mid voiced, so it's got more mids than treble/bass. I could definitely see where that might be a bit too smooth with the JVM, especially if you're playing heavier stuff.

I'll see if i can make a clip tomorrow if i get time