PRS Guitars | Mark Holcomb Clinic | The Bad Thing

Mark Holcomb of Periphery & Haunted Shores discussing tuning, adding to power chords and playing through The Bad Thing from the album Juggernaut Omega.
This is the first of several videos we shot during the clinic Mark was gracious enough to do at our store on Saturday the 24th of October 2015. He did an excellent job showcasing his amazing PRS guitars signature model and was extremely informative regarding the methodology behind his playing.
We recorded the direct output of the mixer, so unfortunately I couldn't change the volume of the AxeFX versus the backing but the mix isn't too bad. Some of the other videos will have an additional camera angle rather than just the one. Please subscribe to our channel and check those out when we can upload them.
www.guitarfactory.com.au/

[@AugieSubsJrock]

The fact that Mark almost quit guitar 7 years ago

[@GuitarFactoryParramatta]

+Agustin Torres Would have been a monumental shame!

[@TheBanderson22]

+Guitar Factory Parramatta Terrifying to imagine such a world.

[@edubchrist]

it would've haunted him for shore

[@gavinjuge1961]

i like this comment. yes, i do like this comment.

[@behindthen0thing525]

Блять!

[@brunoalves3958]

This guy has a very personal style. My favorite guitarist of Periphery!

[@TheBanderson22]

These dudes should be universally recognized for the level of mastery in their craft that they have attained. Shit is astounding.

[@bigdubb_t9563]

He blew my mind too man.

[@garywebb911]

Shit is the only word in your comment that applies to noise this lad makes. Should have been preceded with PILE OF. He makes a noise that might be at home on a building site along with all the other din.

[@dflameX]

@@garywebb911 are you deaf?

[@garywebb911]

If I had to listen to this row i'd prefer to go deaf.

[@adrianberdecia4489]

@@garywebb911 why are you here

[@garrettmehl1427]

*Plays entire song perfectly* "I half-assed it, I hope it was okay"

[@nigel_tufnell]

kirk hammett in the audience xD

[@miki_the_little198]

+Nigel Tuffnel lol XD

[@Grillar]

+Nigel Tuffnel ahahahaha that's great

[@joshuagoonetileke1132]

that isn't really him is it? xD

[@nigel_tufnell]

you never know... can´t hurt to learn some new tricks from the new kids :D

[@joshuagoonetileke1132]

Nigel Tuffnel Haha true! Like how not over abuse a wah. Coming from one of the biggest hammett fans :P

[@GeoOoo7]

Normally as a guitarist I believe that what I should try to achieve is a personal level of mastery and style of playing but every now and then I can't help but be completely left speechless when I see some people play, so I end up idolizing them and thinking to myself "damn..when I can finally call myself a decent player I want to be able to play like THAT guy". For the last month, Mark has been THAT exact guitar player.

[@Opticoniro]

He doesn't have godly technique. Of course he is still an astounding player, but you can have his technique in 5-6 years of SOLID practice. What makes Periphery great is IMO their odd time signatures, unique writing and riffs and odd tunings. They make those work together really good.

[@speeddemonji9547]

@@Opticoniro this. Even mark will admit as much

[@FerralTurtle]

8:06 one of my favorite riffs :)

[@tetra3000]

great sound quality, thanks for posting

[@GuitarFactoryParramatta]

+tetra3000 Glad you like it!

[@behindthen0thing525]

Great job

[@davidstevenson8079]

Thank you so much for this video! Understanding different chord voicings hit me like an epiphany here

[@Max_Kleiber]

mark is the most metal out of the three. great playing.

[@Droid96]

Max Dee I would say Misha is the most metal honestly. After all P1, being their heaviest album, was essentially his solo work. And then you listen to clear and Misha has the Heaviest song by far. Mark writes a lot in major keys, like Scarlet, The Way The News Goes, Priestess, and Mile Zero, which is extremely uncommon for metal.

[@lozssaddict]

Id be inclined to say that he does both fairly well, but his style of playing lends itself to some more uplifting riffs. but id hardly call Scarlet major.

[@zackarysmith2222]

Droid96 all of those songs are in minor keys relative to C Major, so he’s adapting the actual use of the guitar much past the regular tuning

[@MarkLumsley]

I respectfully disagree. Adam is (and has been) doing pretty crazy things with metal noises as of late.

[@surekhaahlawat6068]

@@MarkLumsley but he's in the band while not being in the band. He's Schroedinger's bassist.

[@dclarkmusic]

I haven't been a fan of these guys lately, but faurk if they don't write some of the meanest riffs in the game!

[@ReelBigFish111]

i only just found this band and i’m in love with this song

[@jamjestrysiek]

This song....man it is so good :) And Mark, he is just amazing guitarist. Period

[@Aaron_LH]

Favorite guitar player right thur. Just absolutely adore his style/approach.

[@LukeCassidy]

God dang it it man. I’ve learned the whole song and am on the solo, and realized from this video he doesn’t actually play the solo the way that it is tabbed out on the “official tab.” I’ve spent weeks now learning it the wrong way. It sounds like the same notes just played on a different part of the neck and with a completely different technique. Well now I know I guess at least. I love this song, it’s so heavy and beautiful at the same time. I love Mark’s riffs, and his use of open strings. It seems to allow the guitar to kind of guide you with your ideas into new and exciting sonic territory with a ton of resonance and brightness.

[@B3Band]

You live on the other side of the planet from Periphery, Mark Holcomb is in the same building as you, and you decide to go play drums in the other room? Shame on that guy!

[@flynnedwards]

I live in Australia and I recently have become OBSESSED with Periphery. I hope Mark, Jake or Misha do another clinic in Aus soon!

[@tonepimp1431]

Awesome lesson an awesome quality great work guys

[@rookd1137]

Mark is the man love his playing style!!

[@VICEWRLD608]

I love the Syncopated Groove in The Bad Thing at 5:42 it's so sexy one of my favorite riffs in the song

[@j0eb0t0]

can anyone teach how to get this groove? i cant catch where to begin the next pick.

[@SpookyStorkRunningWild]

break it up into repeating patterns. then it’ll suddenly make a lot of sense

[@tarkus1056]

@@j0eb0t0 Either read the rhythm on the music sheet or listen to it a billion times until you internalize the groove, or, even better, do both

[@heardlessmusic]

@@j0eb0t0 In my case, just listen to the song that you want to learn. You'll remember it.

[@tylersaltmarsh9025]

7:02 good god....

[@tylersaltmarsh9025]

7:45 I think I heard Angels weeping after that sound.

[@TheBanderson22]

The bad thing is so fucking GOOD.

[@kevinworley7096]

That solo was clean AF

[@RoyaltonDrummer922]

Mark is amazing

[@weaintfriendsweaintfriends7346]

It's actually standard scale length (25.5). it's just other PRS have shorter scale length than other guitars like Ibanez or Jackson etc

[@solar4994]

whoa nice cover

[@Airtrooper719]

I want one of his PRS's! I have a custom 24, but now I need a longer scale for METALLLLL!

[@bbfan079]

I just got the mark holcomb se for 899$ fucking love itß

[@Airtrooper719]

bbfan079 Awww so lucky! I have the SE custom 24 (grey/black), but im so tempted to part-ex it for a mark holcomb. I think I play more in dropped tunings these days anyway so would make sense!

[@frandami1]

it has 25.5". Almost every ibanez or jackson on the market has the same scale. Also BC Rich

[@heiman213]

sound quality is just great even you can't adjust the volume

[@GyanjoYoutube]

8:50 my brain cannot comprehend

[@dumbohill42]

what was to song/chord proggression that he played in the beginning when demonstrating drop C?

[@krisviguie38]

see this song actually you can play in most heavy tunings and it really works well haha i like playing it on my 8 string Tuned to F# standard it just works so well

[@frantic299]

I find it funny he calls a 25.5" scale a long scale. To me and probably most people out there thats completely standard.

[@DarkestofTimes]

I have 6 guitars and they're all 25.5" scale. But I don't own a PRS either and most of them are 25".

[@keyshawest8704]

technically speaking you can add 13 to lower gauge on any 25.5. after that you'd require a baritone to cover up more tunings but if your just going to use it for standard tuning to get more umph then it's no biggie

[@chrisubhi1655]

I heard him say somewhere that its a 26" scale

[@frantic299]

His 7 strings are. The 6 is 25.5.

[@frantic299]

Yes. But I wasn't talking about tuning I was talking about his scale length. 25.5 is a pretty standard scale length on most guitars I find him calling 25.5 a long scale kind of funny. I guess for a PRS it is a long scale.

[@luisraul864]

How does Mark sets the effects on protools to play live? can someone tell me?

[@axleblaze123]

Listen to Japanese metal bands! They seem so love using 7ths, diminished Sus2 sus4 9ths ect

[@kampfgolem]

+Ming Wu Interesting. Any specific bands?

[@chancewindham1718]

fuck Japanese metal bands

[@07cosmo1]

Mark's Snapchat videos are so fucking funny! They always make my day!

[@wipe0utpuls3]

what's Mrak's snapchat?

[@07cosmo1]

wipe0utpuls3 @markperiphery

[@BillLarkinmusic]

I was here....

[@daninja265]

In Death - Is Death sounds a lot like the bridge section.

[@kjm3586]

4:45

[@alyusdickey9561]

8:00 my favorite part right here. So nasty, in a amazing way of course

[@WhatsGoinOnMate]

Yes Mark, that was okay lol

[@marcelolivier]

It's really interesting how his gate do not holds the less intense notes!

[@uzo6665]

音最高！

[@furiousmat]

just noticed from the price tag on the right that they're selling this guitar $5300 lol.... damn son.

[@surekhaahlawat6068]

That's just for the limited run one. The others were 1k.

[@aristide4505]

That's the PRS USA, regular price for a PRS. He has a PRS SE made in Korea and its few hundred bucks. Lower build quality and insignificant sound quality loss, it's an absolute deal.

[@enzosisneros451]

So even if he only down tunes the 6th string, we're still talking he goes from D to C to A shouldn't that affect the tension of the rest of the strings or even the neck? Or am i asking a question where the answer is just: Dude! That's a PRS!!!

[@RealJohi]

Dude! That's a PRS!!!

[@MrNojam4u]

Dude! That's a PRS!!!

[@retro_mando]

Enzo Sisneros Dude! Thats a PRS!!!

[@PursuitSk8]

its actually easier to drop the ome string down like that instead of all of them.

[@347akuma]

Yeah, in order to not sound sloppy in this tunig on a regular guitar you require a bit thicker strings and a little bit of adjustment. At least thats how i do it. C:

[@CorpseChords]

what are you using for the low E? And does it hurt the neck etc tuning from c down to a?

[@Relentless_lel]

+sdsad asdasd i dont know if he uses the same guitar for drop C and that A /Drop C tuning live. if your guitar is set up for Drop C and you tune that C down to A and can cope with the string being a little loose, nothing happens. its more a feel/tightness thing i use a set of 12 - 60 for drop B and do the same tuning thing but tune the B down to G#. in the studio i prefer a 70 for the G# because it sounds more tight. i'd guess that he use something like 11 - 58 , maybe a little lighter on the high strings since he mentionen he likes a ligther gauge. basically tuning down isnt a big problem, but tuning up with thick strings hurts the neck.

[@naked_snake_91]

@@Relentless_lel Mark uses 11-56 d'addario NYXL live and 10-52 in the studio for drop C and A

[@viniciuscunha4667]

What is the proper name of that "drop A" tuning? Cause that's not the regular drop A tuning

[@behindthen0thing525]

Intermode dropped scrotal to the 8th

[@furiousmat1667]

To any guitar player out there. I'm getting this odd problem that when I try to downtune my guitar too much (drop to A? wtf), my strings get all flappy, and the sound of the notes become actually dependent on how hard I pick the string. Like right after picking it'll be noticeably higher pitched and then will come down to the right tuning (approximately?). The strings becoming flappy also make it harder to play and you can kinda hear the flappiness in the sound of the string even with heavy distortion. What's the trick here? Is it the guitar I'm using (which has an unusually shorter neck, only 22 frets, but still)? What are these guys doing to keep the sharpness of their sound even when using these crazy low tuning?

[@GeorgeSandle]

have you tried heavier gauge strings,? 11s are the usual choice when headed down to the lower tunings.

[@naked_snake_91]

Mark uses 11-56 d'addario NYXL and if you have a longer scale it's better for lower tunings

[@klblackstar]

30,000th view!

[@sergejkrynycky728]

What a song!!!!!!!!!

[@wov5826]

@4:43

[@juvenromero3715]

That Emperor shirt though...

[@stevenjam7119]

Wonder what string gauge he uses

[@naked_snake_91]

11-56 d'addario NYXL

[@danson1992]

da chops

[@kebab_warrior99]

kirk in the audience

[@indianajohn5669]

What is the scale in this guitar? He said it's longer than the usual 6-strings, but I think he didn't explain. Does anyone know for sure?

[@DragonAirsoftUK]

25.5", rather than the regular 25" on a regular PRS.

[@Relentless_lel]

+TheKnifleman isnt regular PRS 24,75 ? just curious.

[@cazza710]

+Relentless he literally just said it was 25" on prs 6s dude cmon

[@Relentless_lel]

cazza710 no offense. i was just wondering!

[@naked_snake_91]

@@cazza710 his signature Is 25'5 www.prsguitars.com/index.php/electrics/se/se_mark_holcomb_2018

[@joesphwallace1434]

What song is mark playing at 2:27 ?

[@Cen2ored]

+Xeno Zekken It might have been something he just wrote on the spot.

[@davethedm]

Haunted Shores - Immaterial

[@sony040]

if anyone has one of the american made holcombs for sale hit me up! that thing is beautiful!!

[@kickside99]

Is there a full video?

[@GuitarFactoryParramatta]

+Threads Three more on our channel!

[@kickside99]

Guitar Factory Parramatta Ive seen all those haha I NEED MORE

[@zoilien9089]

8:08 I came!!!!!!!!

[@roostercogburn4218]

@9:30 thank the china shop gods I wasnt there! At this point in the song I typically lose my shit and those poor bastards up front wouldnt have been sitting.💪👹🤘

[@underneaththesilence]

The compression on this videos audio is painful. The release is set too slow. Or too fast if you want it quitter. It's catching the drum peaks well but killing the guitar.

[@nickweiler3693]

"You can't just use a strat. Also, the perfect scale length is 25.5 inches."

[@void_man9862]

Mark is so cute (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

[@sofabiru6852]

🥾🥾

[@moltenmetalguitar4747]

The compressor suck is real haha.

[@danson1992]

What's wrong with the compressor?

[@moltenmetalguitar4747]

Nothing wrong with the compressor itself i'm sure, but where Mark is playing over the track and whoever posted it has compressed the track and marks playing together, its creating an effect called "compressor suck". The compressor is biting down and messing heavily with the dynamics. Google it if you're that fussed haha, I only noticed because I literally run a studio so its kinda my job.

[@danson1992]

Oh okay, I was just wondering lol

[@eatin5seconds]

Yeah you can really hear it on all the double stops. almost a wah effect

[@uskypg]

5299 $ for a mark guitar?? fuck me even a music man JP - and the man is a guitar god- is 2450 $ with piezo and the best non locking tremolo

[@sw.]

I don't know why that particular model is $5299. His signature PRS SE Holcomb Burst is about 900 online most places and it appears to be the same.

[@GuitarFactoryParramatta]

There's a few reasons. Firstly you need to remember you can't just compare Australian dollar and US dollar prices like there's the same thing dollar-for-dollar. There's a pretty big difference at the moment. Secondly, the US version was a limited production version with actual 10-top quilt tops - that's always been extremely expensive no matter what PRS model you look at. The SE models use a non-carved, wafer thin veneer instead to get the same appearance. They're very much so different guitars. Having said that, I will admit the SE version is exceptionally good value - even just for the fact that it shares the same pickups.

[@1097jad]

it drops down to 3951.73 in USD which considering it's a full blown PRS with a custom (sexy ass) finish, I think different pups and a longer scale length isn't really that bad but i'd just pay for his lower end model which is 900

[@jerrodrushford2503]

That's because it's the custom shop version there is an SE version for under $1k USD and is almost the exact same with his signature pickups

[@abelarabian3895]

That sidechain while he is playing is annoying, just turn down the volume of the main song!

[@RoyaltonDrummer922]

I mean, considering he already gave the clinic, you're too late

[@HauntedShoresDC]

Okay, I'll go back and fix it!

[@metalheadblues]

@@HauntedShoresDC dude 😆

[@AGV133]

Oh man phasing issues

[@bohdilama]

The singer is so horrible. They need to be instrumental or find a new singer.

[@Byster_0]

Haters gonna hate

[@weaintfriendsweaintfriends7346]

he is improving with every album though somehow, so maybe in like 5 more albums he'll become next Freddie Mercury or something haha

[@andrevdan5731]

4:45

[@kebab_warrior99]

kirk in the audience

[@guerrero_4204]

4:45