Toasting a pair of revamped Seymour Duncan pickups, the PRS SE Mark Holcomb delivers the crushing high-gain tones, pristine cleans, and effortless playability that modern prog metal players have come to require from their 6-strings. This guitar starts off with the classic PRS tonewood combination of maple-capped mahogany, but the top of the SE Mark Holcomb is upgraded even further with a violin carve and quilted maple veneer that’s sure to capture your audience’s attention. On the opposite end, Mark opted for a maple neck with a PRS Wide Thin neck profile: this slightly skinnier shape has a smooth, fast feel to facilitate all manner of fleet-fingered metal technicality. Finally, this iteration of the PRS SE Mark Holcomb marks the introduction of Seymour Duncan’s Scarlet and Scourge humbucking pickups, specifically voiced to retain extreme clarity and maximize the tonal output of any modeling amplifier.

Redesigned Seymour Duncan pickups

The SE Mark Holcomb introduces two all-new Seymour Duncan pickups to the PRS family: Mark’s signature Scarlet and Scourge humbuckers! These pickups were built from the ground up to excel with modeling amplifiers, offering a full tone with a slightly lower output than one might expect for a metal maestro like Mark. It all adds up to a humbucker with incredible note-to-note clarity, articulate highs, and tight lows that never feel muddy — essential qualities for guitarists who regularly dive into down-tuned depths, but who still require their instrument to cut through a full band mix when playing solos and high-register proggy melodic passages.

Specialized for the needs of Mark Holcomb

Periphery have helped set the bar for modern progressive metal, and Mark Holcomb is a lot of the reason why. His style combines exotic note runs, intense jack-hammer riffing, and fluty single-note melodies, all of which requires a high specialized instrument. While Mark's Maryland-made Limited-edition signature model has been a huge hit, this SE makes his signature instrument attainable for a much wider audience. We're huge fans of Mark's playing and have enjoyed having him here at Music Experience on several occasions.

Fast response

Every aspect of the SE Mark Holcomb has been crafted to allow anunrestricted playing experience. The maple neck is capped with a beautiful piece of ebony that feels sleek under the fingers, while its 20-inch fretboard radius aids in wide bends and nimble string-to-string playing. The neck also boasts PRS' famed Wide Thin neck carve that is full enough to remain comfortable, but thin enough for you to fly up and down the frets.

Made beautiful, inside and out

The SE Mark Holcomb's rich-yet-balanced sound is a result of its timeless tonewoods combination: mahogany capped with a solid maple top, here with a stunning quilted maple veneer. The mahogany body gives you natural tonal warmth, which is offset perfectly by the brighter tone of its maple top. Together, these tonewoods give you an incredibly balanced sound. The set maple neck and 24-fret ebony fretboard offer smooth playability and a full two-octave range on every string.

What PRS Says...

The band Periphery has become a force to be reckoned with in the progressive metal scene thanks to their complex rhythms and soaring melodies. Guitarist Mark Holcomb helps achieve this full, lethal sound with his PRS guitars and signature Seymour Duncan Scarlet and Scourge pickups. PRS and Holcomb have worked closely together to develop a truly unique guitar for the SE Series lineup.

"With my SE signature model, we managed to capture all of the defining characteristics of my Maryland-made guitar and turn it into a streamlined, less-costly package. It is an incredibly special instrument, and one that is now the primary focus of my rig in the studio and onstage." - Mark Holcomb, Periphery

The SE Mark Holcomb model truly stands on its own in the PRS lineup and delivers addictive playability thanks to some unique specifications, including a 24-fret, 25.5” scale length wide thin satin maple neck with 20” radius ebony fretboard. Holcomb’s signature pickups provide the right amount of output and articulation whether you’re playing sophisticated chords or solos and whether you’re playing alone or working in the mix of a band. Other specifications include a quilted maple veneer, black chrome hardware, and a 3-way blade pickup switch with push/pull tone knob for coil splitting.