PRS SE NF3 review – the S-type guitar for people who want more than Mayer tones
$799/£799, prsguitars.com
The affordable guitar world is not short of instruments inspired by the venerable Fender Stratocaster – it is the greatest electric guitar of all time for a reason, of course. But in recent years, PRS has been making substantial waves in this end of the market with the affordable John Mayer collaboration, the Silver Sky.
READ MORE: PRS SE Silver Sky Maple review – how much difference does a maple fingerboard really make?
The Silver Sky is, of course, Paul and John’s ‘evolution’ of Leo Fender’s greatest achievement, and the SE version might very well be the best electric guitar on the market, pound for pound. That said, it’s not going to change your mind about Strats if you’ve never really got on with them – if you’ve found them a little sonically anaemic or lacking muscle. Enter once again, then, Paul Reed Smith and his team of disruptors – and the brand new SE NF3.
PRS SE NF3 guitars in 2024 Ice Blue and Orange metallic finishes
What is the PRS SE NF3?
The original NF3 was launched by PRS back in 2011 and was effectively Paul Reed Smith’s attempt to reinterpret the Stratocaster. The original guitar had a Korina body, maple neck, vaguely S-type body shape, and a trio of the Narrowfield humbucking pickups that gave the guitar its name.
The NF3 is inspired by this guitar, but at the same time is very different. The body for starters has been radically altered – perhaps because in the years since, the Silver Sky has taken and refined its S-style body. Instead, we have a vaguely Strat-shaped guitar but here with striking and modernistic bevel around the horns that pairs nicely with the equally 2024 Ice Blue and Orange metallic finishes.
There are other changes too, you get a choice of maple or rosewood fingerboards on the maple neck, the body is poplar (as with the Silver Sky), and the pickups are a triple threat of the new Narrowfield DD (Deep Dish) ‘S’ humbuckers. These are made with taller bobbins to fit more winds and extra metal pieces in between the magnets which will supposedly give us a more focused, powerful tone.
The NF3
Does the PRS SE NF3 sound like a Strat?
If you roam online guitar chats, then you have probably seen people comparing NF3 with its Silver Sky stablemate – and it’s not hard to see why given the visual and material similarities, but these are different instruments in use.
The Deep Dish humbuckers are a far cry from the 60s-style single-coils on a Silver Sky in a variety of fundamental ways. What’s more the bridge assembly, while at a glance similar is very different – Mayer opts for a two-point floating unit on his guitar, while this uses the PRS six-screw tremolo, giving an increased connection to the body and with it, more sustain. We also have die-cast saddles versus the bent steel type on the Silver Sky. Anyway, enough talk, let’s dive in.
It’s always a good sign when an electric guitar feels lively and resonant before you’ve even plugged it in, and the light poplar body delivers that in spades – impressive given that it comes in at around 7.3lbs.
And if you were wondering if the NF3 sounded like a Strat plugged in, I can honestly say it sounds quite unlike any guitar I’ve ever played or heard – it’s not totally unfamiliar and yet it’s discernibly different.
The Narrow Field DD ‘S’ pickups sound fuller than a single-coil, and with no extra noise but they’re nowhere near as loud or brash as full-sized humbucking pickups. If I were to compare guitar tones to pizza crust – and frankly, why wouldn’t I? – I would say that if a traditional Strat single-coil is a thin Italian crust and a humbucker is a chunky, doughy deep dish, the NF3 pickups are somewhere in between; a medium crust if you will.
The NF3
It takes those fundamental Strat tonalities and makes them thicker, chunkier – without losing the clarity and punch of a single-coil. It would be the perfect guitar for rock and blues – run some dirt pedals into it and turn things up, and you’ll get all the good stuff and none of the wooliness or loss of definition.
When it comes to Strats, I’m usually not a fan of middle pickup tones, unless you mix them with the bridge or neck pickup, but with the NF3 the middle pickup sound here is a killer – much more articulate and usable, without any of the compromises.
Another common issue with Strats is the bridge pickup, which can easily become shrill and thin in the wrong hands, but here there’s none of that. It still has that quintessential S-type tonality but it feels more substantial in all the right ways.
PRS has led the way in terms of build and playability at this end of the market, and the NF3 continues that great work here. The wide neck fills out in your hand and the belly cut on the back of the body makes it contour to your body seamlessly.
If I owned it, I’d probably add locking tuners, but the standard PRS closed-back units here do their job perfectly well. Honestly, it’s the only quibble I can really find that would perhaps put me off using it as a gigging guitar night after night – and it’s a very easy mod if you’re similarly inclined.
The NF3 pictured beside a pedalboard
Should you buy the PRS SE NF3?
The last few years of the PRS SE line have seen an impressive and undeniable flex of what we think is possible in terms of build, sound and playability from import guitars. Whether it’s bargain McCartys or Silver Skies of all stripes, the brand has been setting the benchmark at this level and the NF3 continues that trend impressively.
The really interesting thing about this PRS guitar though is that it doesn’t have a currently made US equivalent – though if you told me this was a US-made guitar from the S2 range, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. It’s that good.
The reason for this high praise is in the little details that add up to a big difference – the nicely rolled and dressed frets, the bevelled neck joint on the back, the way its contoured body lines flow and fit you like a glove. And then there’s the sound – something that is all at once familiar and yet different, a more muscular and modern take on a classic that will convince the doubters.
If you’ve ever been put off an S-type guitar in the past, this could be the one to change your mind – a guitar for today’s players and today’s music, that is pure fun for a relatively bargain price.
If you have always wanted a more sonically muscular take on the S-style guitar the PRS SE NF3 needs to be tried. This guitar isn’t aimed at playing Golden Oldies, it was designed for today’s music and today’s players, and it is just pure fun to wail on it. At a price of $799/£799 it is a lot of meaty guitar for your money.
PRS SE NF3 alternatives
If you want things a little more on the traditional Strat end of things, well the PRS SE Silver Sky ($849/£749) should be on your test list, as should the Sterling by Musicman Cutlass CT50 Plus ($649/£749). Another interesting PRS take on a Fender recipe is the SE Swamp Ash Special ($849/£899). If you want your Strats fat and saying Fender on the headstock, the Mike McCready signature model ($1,899/£1,699) might just be the girthiest single-coil Strat on the planet.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
