Recently, we did a deep dive into why headless guitars, once seen as the Pontiac Aztek of sorts of the guitar world, have experienced a sudden surge in popularity.
Chatting with us at this year's NAMM show, noted headless aficionado Plini, for one, pointed to how ergonomic and lightweight headless models are, joking – to the ire of many – “if you don't need a 20 kilo guitar, why have it?”
One of the earliest prominent proponents of headless models – in his case those of Ned Steinberger – was oft-overlooked virtuoso Allan Holdsworth.
A boundary-pushing player with a mind-boggling command of the fretboard, Allan Holdsworth was just as interested in going outside the norm in the gear department, notably adopting a futuristic hybrid instrument dubbed the SynthAxe.
Though he wouldn't arrive at these futuristic electric guitars straight away (they didn't exist yet, of course) the first decade and change of Holdsworth's career shows the guitarist's restlessness with the technology at his disposal.
Holdsworth began his career as a Strat-slinger, moved to Gibson SGs, then back to Strats, then to Charvels, before ending up with Ibanez by the mid-'80s.
By the late '80s, though, Holdsworth had fallen fully into the camp of Ned Steinberger and his headless creations.
In a 1989 interview with Guitar World, the maestro reflected in wonder at the experience of picking up a Steinberger for the first time.
“I was so floored by the thing that I couldn't believe it,” Holdsworth said. “I haven't felt that way about a guitar since I started playing.
“It's really the most significant development in the last fifty years,” he continued. “Everything else has just been kind of a little tweak on something older guys like Leo Fender or Les Paul did.”
So, what exactly about the Steinberger fit Holdsworth like a glove?
“It's unbelievably even,” he told Guitar World. “It has a kind of resonance, though not the kind induced by the various pieces of wood you've ordinarily got connected together.
You're not worrying about how far up the tree this piece of wood came from, how it was cut, how it was dried, or how long the tree had been dead
“When I started playing the Steinberger, I was taken by its really scientific approach. The materials used were all the same; you could consistently operate under a formula that works.”
This, the virtuoso explained, took out the tonewood guessing games.
“You're not worrying about how far up the tree this piece of wood came from, how it was cut, how it was dried, or how long the tree had been dead,” he said.
“It seemed that every single thing on the guitar just contributed, so you were left with either a really great guitar or a little junk pile. And for some reason, the Steinberger has a great sound. Between that guitar and the SynthAxe, I can't imagine wanting another guitar – except to own another Steinberger.”
Now, Holdsworth did end up wanting another instrument – working with Carvin later in his career on multiple headless signature guitars.
Up to the very end of his career, the guitar great was steadfast in his love of the polarizing, headstock-less design.
“Once you play a headless guitar, you get used to the fact that there is no headstock,” he told Guitar World in a 2017 interview conducted just days before his death at the age of 70. “You’ll never want to play a regular guitar again.”
