Is the Mark Holcomb PRS SE electric guitar a good choice for metal?

Today I would like to make a review of my PRS Mark Holcomb SE guitar.

Here's a picture of it:

My PRS Mark Holcomb Signature Edition electric guitar

In case you haven't heard, Mark Holcomb is a guitarist from the modern metal/ djent band Periphery.

Now, understand that this is the 2023 (or something near this year) edition from PRS. It means that the pickups are not Alpha & Omega (which had a little more output).

My guitar has a newer set of pickups called Seymour Duncan Scarlet and Scourge.

They are basically the same pickups but have a little less output.

Here are the quick specs:

Basically, I would say that the main difference between the Alpha & Omega and Scarlet & Scourge pickups is - the newer edition pickups have more versatility.

They can cover more genres (not only metal).

The Scarlet & Scourge give you more clarity when playing complex chords or heavy riffs. Even drop tunings (note that this guitar is factory-tuned to drop C) sound great without muddiness.

The notes ring out quite nicely.

What's the difference between Scarlet & Scourge?

The Scarlet (neck pickup) has a warmer sound and is great for cleans and mid-gain sounds.

Scourge (bridge pickup) is superb for modern metal rhythm and riffs. It is pucnhy and aggressive.

What about playability?

Well, I don't see any noticeable issues with this.

This guitar is made in Indonesia but it plays like a charm.

Quality frets, fingerboard, neck, etc.

The tuners are not locking tuners which is a bit sad. But then again, the price for the guitar is not astronomical.

It cost me about 1200 EUR to buy it from Reverb.com

That's because the shop I bought it from did a quick set-up for the guitar.

But you can get it for less nowadays.

Quick summary

All in all, the PRS Mark Holcomb SE 2023 with dual humbuckers is a great choice for novice/ intermediate (and even advanced) players who like to play modern metal/ djent.

But it can handle many genres like rock, blues, fusion and even jazz.

Ok, that it for today.

Have a great day!