Searches for QCD axions with masses in the neV/$c^2$ mass range are strongly motivated by new physics at the GUT scale and by well-motivated pre-inflationary axion symmetry breaking scales. This parameter space is challenging to probe due to the small axion–photon couplings, which typically require large, high-field magnets with substantial stored energy. In this paper, we propose a new experimental geometry based on a narrow-bore, segmented solenoid that optimizes the collection of the axion-induced signal using LC resonators outside the high-field region of the magnet bore. This alternative optimization significantly reduces the required stored magnetic energy while preserving sensitivity, thus enabling a near-term experiment in the 30–200 MHz (120–830 neV/$c^2$) range, with a cost-effective, staged scaling to a GUT-scale experiment in the 100 kHz–30 MHz (0.4–120 neV/$c^2$) range.