The Latest Breaking News from Allan Holdsworth

“A desirable icon of ’80s nostalgia and futuristic innovation”: How Steinberger started the headless revolution – with a little help from Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth

Ned Steinberger didn't invent the headless guitar but his GL series captured a moment in the ’80s that changed guitar for good

Guitar World · Jul 23

“Evidently not content with redefining what was technically possible on the guitar, he also managed to rewrite pretty much the whole of music theory”: How Allan Holdsworth blew Eddie Van Halen’s mind and inspired the next generation of virtuosos

We unpack the brilliance of jazz-fusion trailblazer Allan Holdsworth, with some help from Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert and Eddie Van Halen

MusicRadar · Apr 15

“This wasn’t party rock any more. It was fusion and progressive music, and I absolutely loved it”: Paul Gilbert on the genius of Allan Holdsworth, and the one song that proves it

The former Mr Big guitarist and solo artist discovered his prog hero via Eddie Van Halen – and even tried to play like him for a while

Louder · Apr 12

“He had his own vocabulary. He had his own way of constructing chords. His own understanding of how they go on the neck”: Steve Vai on why Allan Holdsworth – the fusion virtuoso who wrote his own rules – was the GOAT

Most players Vai can work out where they were coming from. Holdsworth, he admits, was something different entirely

MusicRadar · Aug 14, 2025

“It’s a team of terrifying quality – but the result is no face-melting noodle-fest. Everything stems from musical ideas”: Gavin Harrison and Nick Johnston’s Early Mercy

King Crimson and Porcupine Tree drummer and new Mastodon guitarist deliver strange, beautiful music with help from Allan Holdsworth bassist Evan Marien

Louder · Aug 6, 2025

“I love using toy guitars that you have to wrestle with. It adds to the performance – you’re pulling from the instrument”: Dean DeLeo on why his favorite STP songs are the ones he didn’t write, and barging into Allan Holdsworth’s dressing room

The Stone Temple Pilots guitar icon explains how he stumbles upon songs, why nothing’s quite like a Telecaster, and how his latest spellbinding collaboration, One More Satellite, came to be

Guitar World · Jul 15, 2025

“I said, ‘Wow, Jeff Beck has really taken it to the next level.’ But then I realised, ‘Wait a minute - this isn’t Jeff Beck!’”: Steve Stevens reveals his two all-time favourite guitar solos

Billy Idol's sidekick pays tribute to Page and Holdsworth

MusicRadar · Apr 7, 2025

“It's the most significant development in the last 50 years. Everything else has just been a little tweak on something Leo Fender or Les Paul did”: Once Allan Holdsworth picked up a headless Steinberger, there was no turning back

Though he'd also later work with Carvin, Holdsworth remained a headless guitar devotee for the rest of his life, telling Guitar World in an interview just days before his death, “Once you play a headless guitar, you’ll never want to play a regular guitar again”

Guitar World · Apr 6, 2025

Joni Mitchell described it as ‘fly fishing’ and Jeff Beck was a master of the craft – learn how to use volume swells like guitar legends Eddie Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth and Larry Carlton

Volume down, pick, volume up... violining offers loads of potential as this lesson proves

Guitar World · Apr 3, 2025

“I like that their appearance intrigues non-guitar players and bothers old-fashioned people”: Despite early love from Eddie Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth, headless guitars became a punchline – yet in 2025, they’re more popular than ever. We found out why

With wider options across a variety of price points and more signature artists than ever, has the headless axe’s time finally come?

Guitar World · Mar 27, 2025