Can PRS SE Mark Holcomb 2017 do other stuff than metal nice?

[AncientCandy]

I'm picking my first electric guitar, and after tons of research i narrowed my choice down to one of SE customs. Then i noticed a Mark Holcomb signature model, which also intrigued me, but the thing is, all the demos i could find show it nailing high gain with low more-than-few-steps-down tuning. So, my thoughts were: okay, this guitar can do hardcore stuff, nails it, got it. But then i thought: does it really do such a good job with lighter, more funky, jazzy stuff? I mean, i want a rather versatile guitar, since i'd like to play all different kinds of genres. So, while those alfa and omega pickups are a very good thing for high-gain output, it's not as if i'd always want to go heavy, from time to time maybe. and while 25.5 neck provides more ground for tuning the strings down, it's not like very important for me, i'd even say that i didn't care about that before i read somewhere that they are tuned like 4 steps down in factory. So question is: considering what i said before, is this guitar still a significantly better option than just a 24 custom? Maybe i should better go with a 24 custom for that better versatility besides high-gain heavy sound? Or maybe Mark Holcomb signature one is also versatile enough aside from nailing high-gain, so i don't need to worry much about it? I, sadly, can't just go to a local music store and try one to decide, because i live in Russia, and there are none in my city, i'd even say more: there are no PRS guitars in my city at all, at least all the "big" stores don't have them. So, i'm asking you for some advise .

 

[Huggy Love]

Welcome to the forum, and I hope you get into the right PRS.

Any guitar can do other forms of music like jazz & R&B, etc. so I think it's more a case of the type of pickups and sound. The Holcomb I believe has very hot output that might not provide an authentic jazz tone, so you might have to decide in your mind if you want a guitar more suited for hard stuff or versatility. I would think a CU22 or CU24 would be more versatile depending on the pickups.

 

[Ovibos]

The Holcomb cleans are sparkly.

 

[shinksma]

Well, to me at least, a hot Pickup can be tamed by rolling off volume, adjusting tone.

A lower-output pickup will always be a lower-output pickup.

If you always have your volume knob at 10 (or 11 ) then the Alpha and Omega probably aren't suited for jazz or R&B/funk.

IMHO, YMMV, insert random disclaimer...

 

[WiredGuitarist]

Here's some funk stuff around the 50 second mark.

 

[charliefrench]

The top on that guitar is incredible.

 

[You-S4-It]

While I can also attest to the Holcomb's ability to change genre's decently, what I have noticed when compared to all my others is, you need to take into account the other distinct aspect of this model - not just the pickups. The ultra flat 20" fret board, for me, is a challenge for full barre chords. For single notes, and partial barre chords, it's fine. [did you notice on the video he's only noodling single notes?] I play lead in the band and its awesome for that. I have normal size hands but my other PRS' (Tremonti SE, Mira, Brent Mason, S2SC) are all easier to fret all 6 strings. The flatness of the board shouldn't be over looked if it's your "one" guitar. Again, just something to consider other than the tone. As I am well familiar with PRS quality, I bought it "untested" and the flat/wide did surprise me initially. Takes getting used to and you just might want to consider a different SE model for "all around" playability. Again, I'm not you but you should definitely at least put one in your hands first and see how it feels for you, regardless if you plug it in or not.

 

[Ovibos]

It's the tall frets that I'm still adjusting to. I sharp things a lot.

 

[WiredGuitarist]

While I can also attest to the Holcomb's ability to change genre's decently, what I have noticed when compared to all my others is, you need to take into account the other distinct aspect of this model - not just the pickups. The ultra flat 20" fret board, for me, is a challenge for full barre chords. For single notes, and partial barre chords, it's fine. [did you notice on the video he's only noodling single notes?] I play lead in the band and its awesome for that. I have normal size hands but my other PRS' (Tremonti SE, Mira, Brent Mason, S2SC) are all easier to fret all 6 strings. The flatness of the board shouldn't be over looked if it's your "one" guitar. Again, just something to consider other than the tone. As I am well familiar with PRS quality, I bought it "untested" and the flat/wide did surprise me initially. Takes getting used to and you just might want to consider a different SE model for "all around" playability. Again, I'm not you but you should definitely at least put one in your hands first and see how it feels for you, regardless if you plug it in or not.

I haven't personally had any issues with the flatter board. Classical guitars are also very flat and classical guitarists play a lot of chords. Mark Holcomb's style is very chordy too but you do raise a good point, if you're used to a vintage radius then the Holcomb might take a bit of adjustment!

 

[AncientCandy]

I haven't personally had any issues with the flatter board. Classical guitars are also very flat and classical guitarists play a lot of chords. Mark Holcomb's style is very chordy too but you do raise a good point, if you're used to a vintage radius then the Holcomb might take a bit of adjustment!

yeah, i also don't understand why many people can't go with flat fingerboard, i've been playing acoustic for 3 years, and never had any problems with my left hand. and the first time i heard about round fingerboards was about a week ago, while i've been looking through electric guitars, i've never even had a clue there could ever be such a thing as a fingerboard radius.