To Mark Holcomb, or not to Mark Holcomb...?

[CJM3175]

My GAS is crazy for this guitar. I love every single spec on it, but that price would be more than double the most I've spent on any guitar previously. I would gladly take an SE version if one ever came to fruition, but I know that not every artist signature model is guaranteed to a have an SE sibling. Has anyone spotted a pattern in the models that also get selected for SE versions? What do you think the odds are of this becoming an SE someday?

 

[ViperDoc]

The Mark Holcomb Signature is a limited release model. Due to its 25.5 inch scale and Seymour Duncan Alpha and Omega custom pickups, I wouldn't expect an SE variant ever. If this is your guitar, then you should buy it.

 

[VHTStark]

I will also say that outside of it not becoming an SE, ordering these specs the private stock route would be upcharge city! So, with the Holcomb you are essentially getting a private stock type spec instrument at core prices. For me, this is it spec wise....can't wait to get it!

 

[CoreyT]

Just do it

 

[CJM3175]

I will also say that outside of it not becoming an SE, ordering these specs the private stock route would be upcharge city! So, with the Holcomb you are essentially getting a private stock type spec instrument at core prices. For me, this is it spec wise....can't wait to get it!

I completely agree! I have no interest in the music Mark Holcomb plays, but EVERY PRS fan should check this guitar out because it is one of the few signature models that is actually 100% unique. The next 30 days will be agonizing as I contemplate whether or not to empty my bank account....

 

[vchizzle]

Do it. If these specs are what you want, there won't be a better chance to get them(at a reasonable price). Maybe you can put half the $ down and pay it off over time somewhere? Some stores will do that.

 

[themike]

Do it. If these specs are what you want, there won't be a better chance to get them(at a reasonable price). Maybe you can put half the $ down and pay it off over time somewhere? Some stores will do that.

Grab it. Definitely grab it.

 

[tabl10s]

My GAS is crazy for this guitar. I love every single spec on it, but that price would be more than double the most I've spent on any guitar previously. I would gladly take an SE version if one ever came to fruition, but I know that not every artist signature model is guaranteed to a have an SE sibling. Has anyone spotted a pattern in the models that also get selected for SE versions? What do you think the odds are of this becoming an SE someday?

Don't compromise. Just save for it.

 

[Mixman]

If I didn't have an order in for the Dustie Waring model, I might consider this., but the no trem thing is a little disappointing.

 

[timrocks311]

it's a nice guitar! if it is what you want spec wise and you are dead set on getting a PRS then get it, because there probably won't be another like it. i think the specs fit me too, and I'd like one, but for me personally PRS is getting to expensive. So i get what you're thinking. I have two that i'm happy with and so i've been looking elsewhere, like the EBMM Majesty i have one order.

 

[Chris528]

If I had the funds for a core PRS this would be the choice for me without question.

 

[Chiliphil1]

I definitely would if I could without thinking twice. Ebony board, pattern thin, string though? Yep, I am all over that but the $4k is yet again preventing me from getting what I want.

 

[CJM3175]

That really is the question, am I dead set on getting a PRS? I love PRS, we have the same birth year, and they are always trying to take things to the next level rather than reach back to the past (like some other brands we all know). They are the best looking, feeling, playing guitars in my opinion... BUT they are so damn expensive! I could get 2 Carvins built to a similar spec for less than this. I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable. They need to lay off the endorsement dollars in my opinion, cuz let's be honest the music industry is dying. 30 years from now I will probably be the only person in my town who even plays guitar. I doubt the kids who listen to Mark Holcomb or many of their other nu metal artists can even afford their products (outside of the SE range). Quit paying artists who wont build the brand, and start cutting costs for the few of us left who actually play music without using a computer.

 

[themike]

That really is the question, am I dead set on getting a PRS? I love PRS, we have the same birth year, and they are always trying to take things to the next level rather than reach back to the past (like some other brands we all know). They are the best looking, feeling, playing guitars in my opinion... BUT they are so damn expensive! I could get 2 Carvins built to a similar spec for less than this. I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable. They need to lay off the endorsement dollars in my opinion, cuz let's be honest the music industry is dying. 30 years from now I will probably be the only person in my town who even plays guitar. I doubt the kids who listen to Mark Holcomb or many of their other nu metal artists can even afford their products (outside of the SE range). Quit paying artists who wont build the brand, and start cutting costs for the few of us left who actually play music without using a computer.

Cost has nothing to do with artists - very few recieve financial incentive outside of the small percentages alloted to signated models. With that being said, there is a reason PRS is PRS and Carvin is Carvin. With the 7 string thing Ive often found myself thinking exactly what you are.... "they're beautiful, custom, and whatever specs I want for 1/2 the price". But the fact that we play PRS is because they are PRS - they way they are built, the materials they use, the level of skill the workers have, how they're treated, how PRS gives back to the community etc. Its more than just an instrument to some of us and thats why we chose to support the brand. Now if you just want a piece of wood with strings on it that can look like a PRS? Go for it because Im sure it'll be fine.

With that said, Carvin did a limited run of 7 strings for a community I'm part of and within a month a bunch of them were for sale. That says to me that while they were eye candy, there was something missing from them and well tone and playability is more important than looks, right?

And trust me, I have my fair share of complaints about model offerings so this isn't just puppy love but its what I truly and honestly feel.

 

[CJM3175]

I have played/owned both, and there is a reason I am on this forum with a picture of my beautiful SC245 as my avatar. The Carvin did not compare (in all the ways I mentioned previously) to my PRS, which at that time was only an SE Allender. They are superior in every way, except the one that affects my wallet.

 

[ViperDoc]

That really is the question, am I dead set on getting a PRS? I love PRS, we have the same birth year, and they are always trying to take things to the next level rather than reach back to the past (like some other brands we all know). They are the best looking, feeling, playing guitars in my opinion... BUT they are so damn expensive! I could get 2 Carvins built to a similar spec for less than this. I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable. They need to lay off the endorsement dollars in my opinion, cuz let's be honest the music industry is dying. 30 years from now I will probably be the only person in my town who even plays guitar. I doubt the kids who listen to Mark Holcomb or many of their other nu metal artists can even afford their products (outside of the SE range). Quit paying artists who wont build the brand, and start cutting costs for the few of us left who actually play music without using a computer.

Do what you want, but you get what you pay for.

 

[vchizzle]

That really is the question, am I dead set on getting a PRS? I love PRS, we have the same birth year, and they are always trying to take things to the next level rather than reach back to the past (like some other brands we all know). They are the best looking, feeling, playing guitars in my opinion... BUT they are so damn expensive! I could get 2 Carvins built to a similar spec for less than this. I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable. They need to lay off the endorsement dollars in my opinion, cuz let's be honest the music industry is dying. 30 years from now I will probably be the only person in my town who even plays guitar. I doubt the kids who listen to Mark Holcomb or many of their other nu metal artists can even afford their products (outside of the SE range). Quit paying artists who wont build the brand, and start cutting costs for the few of us left who actually play music without using a computer.

You're making an awful lot of assumptions on things you don't know, and neither do I, for that matter. Everything that I've ever heard on the matter is about what Mike stated. PRS isn't out of line with pricing for what you're getting. There's a lot of time, effort and care put into these guitars that many manufacturers skip. It's pretty well agreed on(even by people that don't like their guitars) that PRS single handedly upped the ante on guitars when they came out. As PRS grew, other builders were forced to build better instruments and stop putting out crap or lose some of their market share. It's a pretty special company. I'm in a similar boat as Mike, there's not many guitars currently in the core line up that I'd play regularly for my normal gig. I'll have to go PS, because what I want will never get built. I don't make PS kinda $, so it's likely a situation where I have to sell some things, save, use taxes, etc, to make it happen. You're complaining about endorsers, but the guitar you really want wouldn't exist without said endorser. That guitar has a ton of stuff that is way different from everything else they do. It's basically artist package price. That's a pretty great deal when you get a bridge style, fretboard radius, pickups and a finish that you can't even get within the artist pack.

 

[kes7u]

I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable.

Unreasonable to whom? Perhaps the government could force them to sell at $2500. It has worked for Venezuela. Why not?

 

[rugerpc]

That really is the question, am I dead set on getting a PRS? I love PRS, we have the same birth year, and they are always trying to take things to the next level rather than reach back to the past (like some other brands we all know). They are the best looking, feeling, playing guitars in my opinion... BUT they are so damn expensive! I could get 2 Carvins built to a similar spec for less than this. I really don't think that capping non private stock guitars at $2,500 is unreasonable. They need to lay off the endorsement dollars in my opinion, cuz let's be honest the music industry is dying. 30 years from now I will probably be the only person in my town who even plays guitar. I doubt the kids who listen to Mark Holcomb or many of their other nu metal artists can even afford their products (outside of the SE range). Quit paying artists who wont build the brand, and start cutting costs for the few of us left who actually play music without using a computer.

You're making an awful lot of assumptions on things you don't know, and neither do I, for that matter. Everything that I've ever heard on the matter is about what Mike stated. PRS isn't out of line with pricing for what you're getting. There's a lot of time, effort and care put into these guitars that many manufacturers skip. It's pretty well agreed on(even by people that don't like their guitars) that PRS single handedly upped the ante on guitars when they came out. As PRS grew, other builders were forced to build better instruments and stop putting out crap or lose some of their market share. It's a pretty special company. I'm in a similar boat as Mike, there's not many guitars currently in the core line up that I'd play regularly for my normal gig. I'll have to go PS, because what I want will never get built. I don't make PS kinda $, so it's likely a situation where I have to sell some things, save, use taxes, etc, to make it happen. You're complaining about endorsers, but the guitar you really want wouldn't exist without said endorser. That guitar has a ton of stuff that is way different from everything else they do. It's basically artist package price. That's a pretty great deal when you get a bridge style, fretboard radius, pickups and a finish that you can't even get within the artist pack.

^^^^^ what Vaughn said...

You aren't going to get the bridge, the scale, the finish, the glow-in-the-dark side dots, fretboard radius, the ebony board and specialty pups at an SE price, an S2 price or even a core price. This is a Private Stock guitar at an Artist price.

 

[CJM3175]

If it was a neck through (alla Torero model) and had 408 or 305 pickups, my wallet would have already lost this battle. I don't just like the guitar, I love the way the specs complement my SC245. Satin vs gloss, string through vs 2 piece bridge (not a fan of trems personally), 25.5" vs 24.5", 24 fret vs 22 fret, thin vs thick neck, 20" radius vs 10" radius, DGT frets vs standard (though they seem plenty big to me), ebony vs rosewood fretboard, and finally classic 24 body vs single cut body. 2 very different and very sexy beasts. GAS GAS GAS... Sweet god so much GAS!!!