PRS NF3 SE | Evaluate

MSRP: (UK) £799 / (US) $799

Nick Jennison critiques the PRS NF3 SE — the brand new standout within the PRS lineup. That includes three PRS Narrowfield pickups (a primary for the SE collection), the NF3 SE’s poplar physique, 22-fret bolt-on maple neck, and rosewood fretboard guarantee versatile playability. The Narrowfield DD “S” pickups ship a centered, highly effective tone with taller bobbins and further metallic items between the magnets. Anchored by PRS’s patented tremolo, it provides easy bending and fluttering. Excellent for rock, blues, gospel, nation, or jazz, the NF3 SE is a flexible workhorse that is exhausting to place down.

Earlier than we go any additional, enable me to handle the elephant within the room. As avid GI readers will likely be conscious, I am a PRS artist. I like PRS guitars, they usually’re excellent to me. That mentioned, no guitar maker is ideal, and I’ve by no means shied away from criticizing issues I do not like about PRS guitars, and if I am not right into a guitar I will not say in any other case.

One such guitar that I have been important of previously is the unique PRS NF3. As a lot as I needed to like this guitar, it simply felt like “neither nowt nor summat”. The tone struck me as having the worst features of single coils and humbuckers: a uncommon “swing and a miss” from PRS.

So I approached the SE NF3 with a cynical thoughts, anticipating one other guitar that did not do it for me. I’m very glad to report that this instrument proved me very, very flawed. In truth, it is likely to be one of the best SE guitar I’ve ever performed.

The SE NF3 is a bolt-on design with a maple neck and a physique model that is within the vein of the older EG guitars which knowledgeable the Silver Sky (amongst others). It sports activities a PRS SE floating tremolo, and a trio of Narrowfield DD “S” pickups – the “DD” that means “Deep Dish”, whereas the “S” refers back to the East Asian development. These pickups are absolutely hum-canceling, however PRS claims they sound similar to single coils. We’ll get to that, however what I’ll say is that they’re unquestionably this guitar’s greatest power – in the identical means that they had been the largest letdown within the authentic NF3. No matter PRS has modified between the unique Narrowfield pickups and the “Deep Dish” variations, it labored!

Do they sound like conventional single coils? Truthfully, not likely. In a direct comparability to an SE Silver Sky, the SE NF3’s tone is considerably fatter and louder, with a sturdy low finish that is much like a great PAF, mixed with a vibrant and glowing excessive finish that may be very “single-coil-esque”, however slightly smoother and extra refined. If I needed to liken the sound to something, I would most likely evaluate it to Andy Timmons’s “Strat however greater” tone. All 5 positions sound lovely and stylish when performed clear, highly effective and characterful with overdrive, and utterly noiseless. It is trivially straightforward to coax throaty blues, spanky funk, nation twang, and punchy high-gain tones out of this guitar, regardless of the minimalistic management structure. It simply works.

Playability is precisely what you’d anticipate from PRS, in that it is flawless. Notably, the manufacturing unit setup is considerably extra “pleasant” than you’d discover on PRS guitars from a number of years in the past. I may by no means perceive why PRS would go for a reasonably stiff motion from the manufacturing unit, given how immaculate the fretwork is on their devices, however I am happy to see them transferring away from this spec towards one thing extra instantly playable. The neck has an amazing really feel that is listed as “Broad Skinny”, however feels only a hair fatter to me, placing it in a candy spot for all kinds of taking part in kinds.

The PRS tremolo is likely one of the greatest within the enterprise, and the one on the SE NF3 is a superb instance of this. It is arrange floating, however with solely sufficient room to tug up by a couple of semitone. That is not an enormous subject although, since there’s nonetheless loads of journey for chord shimmers, bar vibrato, and even Jeff Beck-style flutters. Tuning stability is predictably glorious, even with out locking tuners (though PRS does promote drop-in locking tuners to suit this guitar for a comparatively small worth).

Out there in 4 enticing strong finishes, every with the choice of maple and rosewood fretboards, the PRS SE NF3 is a guitar for all seasons. It is completely at dwelling in nearly any musical setting, performs fantastically, and appears sharp as a dart. Is it one of the best SE that PRS has made thus far? I feel so.

For extra data, please go to:

prsguitars.com/