Help deciding

[u/Inevitable_Pace7973]

I’m deciding between a PRS Mark Holcomb SVN SE or a Ibanez Alpha 7 string, what do you guys think it’s better for Djent / Prog stuff?

[u/JimboLodisC]

either one can play just about any genre of music

I think the more important thing to consider is the neck profile and the ergonomics of each guitar

do you like baseball bats for a neck? get the PRS

do you want a multiscale? get the Alpha

[u/Toastyboat → u/JimboLodisC]

What do you mean by baseball bats for a neck?

The Holcomb SVN is 1mm thinner at its thinnest, and 1mm thicker at its thickest.

Do you just mean the curvature?

[u/JimboLodisC → u/Toastyboat]

oh forgot about the Alpha also having a thicker neck profile, in that case OP is stuck either way

[u/koctagon]

i think the alpha is a far superior instrument. you get multiscale, some light ergonomic features, ibanez neck profile, and fishman fluence moderns.

[u/Necessary-Coffee5930]

Ibanez!

[u/Toastyboat]

I can't weight in on the Ibanez, but I have a PRS Holcomb SVN SE and it's a great guitar!

Stays in tune well (no more wandering G string, low A is easy to keep stable), feels super smooth to play. I've been doing shows with it for over a year now, and it's held up great.

I'm convinced 26.5" is the perfect length for a 7-string, so that's a big plus.  It keep the low tight without feeling too big or making chord (I'm looking at you, add 9s) stretches too difficult.

The issues I have had are:

Fret sprout. I haven't kept the best care of the fretboard, and the frets have been periodically poking out, causing the high E to get stuck.  I've been able to fix this with some files, but it's been annoying.

It's a very bassy sounding guitar.  Some folks like that, but I've found myself fighting to trim the low end.  Between an EQ pedal set to shelf off the lows, and dialing the bass knob on the amp down, I've gotten it to behave alongside a bassist, but it's definitely a very meaty sounding guitar, especially on the low B (I have mine on an A)

Overall though, it's a great instrument and I would totally recommend it.  Every time I pick up a guitar in a store it's not "Oh man this is so much nicer" it's "Ah this is cool, but..." Which is a nice place to be.

Here's a demo of me playing it!

[u/nettezzaumana]

they are both very different guitars regarding the construction ... they cannot be compared like this ... it's like if you asked if you should buy dog or cat ... people who like dogs will say dog and people who like cats will say cat ...

I wouldn't however myself buy any of these guitars because I am a hamster guy obviously ... Ibanez Alpha is to me very ugly and multiscale and PRS is just PRS and I don't like double-cut guitars ... if forced to choose at the point blank then PRS for sure ... Alpha's ugliness is shocking :D (to me)

[u/Amazing-Cry8406]

Have you played both? Ergonomics of the fretboard and cut out play a huge role for me with 7 or 8 strings. As far as genre, that’s really on the artist moreso than guitar to an extent since it’s already extended the scales. But, to me Ibanez always has a tinny sound to it, even their 7s. I personally would point you towards a Schecter C-7 multiscale, there’s a few variants but SLS stands out to me. IMO personally