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Please help me make the right decision!

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  • #1

    Please help me make the right decision!

    Hello

    I've been looking for a new metal guitar for the past year and I've finally managed to save enough money (~1000$) to buy one that suits me.
    I've tried out many guitars but in the end, two particularly caught my attention: the Charvel dk24 HH and the PRS Holcomb signature.

    Here's the deal: I've only managed to play the Charvel, not the PRS. I fell in love with the feel and everything (except the pickups but that's an easy fix), but I'm scared the floating trem will cause tuning stability issues, which I'm not fond of especially considering that I'm probably going to down tune pretty often. I know there are ways to lock the bridge in place, but I'm still a bit worried.

    So my question is: has anyone trid locking a floating bridge and if so, has there been any tuning stability issues with it when downtuning and stuff?

    PS: I generally don't like buying gear without trying it but the PRS is basically spec'd out with almost everything to my taste, so I don't think I'd be disappointed with it. I also tried a bunch of other PRS's that I really enjoyed playing around the same price tag so...
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  • #2
    Re: Please help me make the right decision!

    The feel of the Charvel and the Holcomb are a little different, as you probably suspect. The Holcomb's fingerboard is super-flat, which not everyone likes. Plus, the PRS shape feels a bit different than the classic Strat design. You might want to hold off dropping all your cash on one until you can try the Holcomb out in person. Or, buy used, so you're not taking a huge hit if it doesn't work out

    As far as the Charvel's bridge goes, I assume you are referring to the non-locking 2-point trem? If so, the Gotoh 510 is super-stable, so you won't have any tuning instability on behalf of the bridge itself. Same goes with the Floyd Rose. You can lock either bridge in place using a number of techniques from tremol-no's to wood blocks. Guys have been doing that as long as floating bridges have been in existence.

    Of course, if you get the Holcomb, you don't have to worry about blocking anything and changing tunings is much easier, so that's a plus.

    They are both solid guitars and offer a slew of premium features at their price points. You're choosing between 2 very good options, which makes recommendations tough. Only YOU can know what you truly like.

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    • #3
      Re: Please help me make the right decision!

      Charvels are great playing guitars. If you know how to wedge a piece of wood into a crack, you have the technological capability to turn a Floyd guitar into a rock solid fixed bridge guitar.
      Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

      Originally posted by Douglas Adams
      This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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      • #4
        Re: Please help me make the right decision!

        Thanks for the quick reply and the advice!

        What you said made me consider the Charvel even more though. The issue with the PRS is that none of the stores that are even remotely close to my location have the Holcomb in stock and it didn't look like they were considering it.
        I live in southern France and I would have to go to Paris to MAYBE have the chance to try one out (i.e, to get to a store that's big enough to sell something other than Fenders). There's sort of a shortage of big guitar stores in France, so much so that i feel like Thomann or other online stores are the only option if you're not buying fender/epiphone stuff (or second-hand, but then again you have to get really lucky to stumble upon these kind of models). But of course that means you can't really try the gear beforehand.

        Anyway, thanks again for the insight on the Gotoh bridge, and I'll wait another month just in case I get lucky with the Holcomb haha!

        Cheers

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        • #5
          Re: Please help me make the right decision!

          Thanks!

          That's good to know, I wasn't sure if it was a viable option but I might try that out then.

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          • #6
            Re: Please help me make the right decision!

            The beauty of a blocked double locking system is that it will never go out of tune. You can hammer the strings all day long, bend as hard as you want, and they'll be in tune.
            Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

            Originally posted by Douglas Adams
            This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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            • #7
              Re: Please help me make the right decision!

              Yeah I own an EVH wolfgang equiped with a sorta blocked FR, but floyd roses aren't exactly great when it comes to down tuning. I'm really looking for a fixed bridge kinda thing for this new one, which is why I plan on locking the floating trem of the charvel if that's the one I go for

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              • #8
                Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                I think that a Floyd would work fine for lower tunings as long as it is set up properly for them. You just won't be able to switch back and forth to standard as easily.

                Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

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                • #9
                  Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                  I've been using blocked Floyds for a few years now. If you do it right it functions exactly like a fixed bridge.

                  My Kelly has blocks of wood cut exactly to the shapes of the gaps between the bridge . It is so rock solid you can't wobble the bridge if you try. You can put any gauge strings on it and change tunings whenever and it's fine.

                  I have others that I do it with pennies and shims, still works fine ! You can wobble the bridge a little if you really try but it's very stable. Even more so if you lock the nut too.

                  Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

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                  • #10
                    Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                    PRS has several back shapes
                    Pattern
                    Pattern Wide
                    DG something

                    Several

                    Look up the specs on the Holcumb
                    Then find a local guitar with the pattern or pattern wide lor whatever

                    That will tell you about the neck shape

                    Blocking and decking trems is an art

                    I would also try Ibanez and Jackson
                    Those are also excellent metal axes
                    EHD
                    Just here surfing Guitar Pron
                    RG2EX1 w/ SD hot-rodded pickups / RG4EXFM1 w/ Carvin S22j/b + FVN middle
                    SR500 / Martin 000CE-1/Epiphone Hummingbird
                    Epiphone Florentine with OEM Probuckers
                    Ehdwuld branded Blue semi hollow custom with JB/Jazz
                    Reptile Green Gibson Custom Studio / Aqua Dean Shire semi hollow with piezo
                    Carvin Belair / Laney GC80A Acoustic Amp (a gift from Guitar Player Mag)
                    GNX3000 (yea I'm a modeler)

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                      Don't forget Schecter when checking out metal axes.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                        Yeah, I'm curious why the Charvel and the Holcomb were the 2 you narrowed it down to?

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                        • #13
                          Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                          Tuning down? If just down...

                          Digitech Drop or EHX Pitch Fork. C'est tres facile....
                          Originally posted by Bad City
                          He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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                          • #14
                            Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                            So as someone else said, I know Schecter, Ibanez etc have a reputation for modern metal stuff.
                            I got to try a variety of guitars during the past year, including Schecter reapers, C-6, C-1, Ibanez RGs and others I can't remember the names of. I already own an Ibanez (pretty low end tbh) and I got tired of it bc of the neck shape, which is too thin and too flat for me, and that's something that all the other Ibanez's I tried had in common, I didn't like how the neck felt. Regarding Schecter, I wouldn't really know how to explain it but but they just didn't feel right to me... They weren't bad by any means, they just weren't what I was looking for. Out of all the guitars I tried, the Charvel was definitely the one I got along with the best. It was pretty much love at first sight haha. And for the Holcomb, as I said, I didn't get the chance to try it but (as stupid as it sounds) on paper, it should just feel right. The thing is that the style of music I plan to play on this new guitar is pretty much going to be very similar to what Holcomb plays, so... I know it doesn't necessarily means I will like the PRS Holcomb, but idk, it's just a feeling.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Please help me make the right decision!

                              The Holcomb is a great instrument. It's extremely well made and should be a super solid rocker right out of the box. The Charvel would be on par for sure, but not necessarily better. The two guitars definitely have a different feel, but you might actually like the flatter radius of the fretboard on the Holcomb for that style of playing. It feels a bit strange at first for someone used to a more rounded fretboard, but you get used to it quickly. The Wide-Thin back profile of the Holcomb is possibly my favorite PRS neck shape. It's thin, but feels better and a tad fuller in the hand than an Ibanez Wizard profile, for example. For a sight-unseen purchase, you could probably do a lot worse.

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