The PRS SE NF3 Demo and Review
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- I wanted to demo this guitar using clean tones (and very slightly overdriven, but mostly clean). If a guitar can give me great clean tones, and it has decent sustain, it's a solid axe. Is this guitar worth the money? You be the judge! I certainly weighed in with my opinion and playing.
00:11 - Intro
01:51 - G.A.S.
03:58 - How I'll demo this guitar
04:06 - Demo with UAFX Lion
06:36 - Demo with UAFX Dream '65
08:47 - Tonal variety
09:30 - Sustain
09:53 - The middle pickup
11:10 - Build quality
12:26 - Outro with comments
Background music featuring the PRS SE NF3:
soundcloud.com/lance-zechinat...
Image attribution:
- Pic of PAF pickup: Jon Gundry www.throbak.com
- Close-up of Strat pickups: Fender website
- Close-up of P90 pickup: Gibson website - Hudba
The Birds are homage to Paul's Mother who was an avid Bird Watcher. Even tho I've read that and seen people mention that in videos, I've met Paul several times and he said it right to me at the PRS Factory. I don't mind the birds at all. Most people prefer the birds ,but even if you don't like the birds, you can understand Paul's reasoning for including them. Birds or no birds, they're just great guitars and the SE line is probably the best bang for your buck in its price range in my opinion.
I LOVE the bird inlays! (I was just stuck-up back then and very opinionated about silly things.)
That is a really cool story about his mom, and the special meaning of the inlays. Thanks for that info. Very cool.
Agreed! The SE is definitely the best bang for the buck. I have three SEs, one S2, and a whole bunch (10?) "core" PRS guitars. The SEs are just so nice for the price.
@@onceuponashredder Oh, no worries at all, there are many people that aren't fans of the birds. I like some of the bird inlays like the Hollow Birds, but I just wanted to let you know ( in case you didn't know) the meaning behind the birds that's all.
@@onceuponashredder Great review by the way. I have the pearl white one. I ordered it on June 22nd and got it delivered on June 28th. I have about 6 PRS SE guitars, 5 core PRS guitars,and 1 S2. All great guitars, but what you get in the SE line is amazing for the money for sure. If you ever get a chance, the PRS Factory started the factory tours again. I've done it about 8 times. It's pretty amazing to see how they do it. Treat yourself to a factory tour. Thanks for the video
A PRS without birds is not really a PRS…
@@LuisMorales-xr1gmIf I had endless money, I'd buy one of the high-end "Paul's Guitar" models. One of the reasons is because of the amazing bird inlays on those axes. Just gorgeously rendered, artistic, whimsical, abstract, etc. Plus, it's just a monster axe, anyway.
Paul's a cool guy. He's VERY opinionated and vocal about it. I don't think I agree with every theory he offers about "tone wood", etc., but I do agree that every ingredient matters. How much it matters is debatable, but most people can agree ingredients must matter to some degree. AND (especially) build quality and attention to detail.
Love this review - just strummed chords and clean sounds - lets the guitar shine.
Thanks! And right... just the bare necessities (sorta). I might do one for the LP Supreme, too, which is an entirely different beast sonically.
Just buttoned mine up tonight, after a few simple mods. Learned a hell of alot about how PRS is wiring these, to get the various tones in different switch positions. I'm very impressed with not only the quality of all the electronics, but the level of workmanship. Everything's tidy and whitey. No corners cut anywhere.
I'm not a big middle pickup fan, and can't for the life of me understand why every damn 3 pickup guitar is wired the same? Who the hell wants the middle pickup on, in 3 out of 5 positions? Not me. I much prefer the neck pickup be the most dominant one. I swapped middle and neck pickup positions on mine. This gives you bridge and neck in position 2, neck only in position 3, neck and middle in position 4, and middle only in position 5.
This is a WAY better option than the useless wiring layout the factory gives you. It took me the better part of a week, to realize I didn't need to change any wiring to accomplish this. Simply switch the physical location of the neck and middle pickups around! Why I never thought of this before, is a mystery?
Only other mod I did was add a treble bleed curcuit to the volume pot. Used a 332pf capacitor and 150khm resistor in parallel. I'm hoping the low value capacitor will help the pickups stay as bright and chimey as possible, all the way down the volume range. This should make this guitar a heck of alot more versatile than it already is. Tomorrow, I'm gonna rock out with my newly modded one off super NF3!
Very cool! You're more savvy than I, though I've done my fair share of "tech" work.
For me, it was always the bare middle pickup of three on its own that wasn't useful. Until the NF3!
Fender solved the neck+bridge on their American Ultra Strat line by embedding a pushbutton into the first volume knob. If I had time and interest to mod this NF3, I would probably swap the volume pot for a pull-push pot to facilitation that. But I like it as-is. And (in general) I like the bridge+middle and neck+middle combos on 3-pickup guitars that have that option. I have just never liked - until this axe - the middle pickup on its own.
Enjoy your personalized ultra-NF3! :) I like the weight, balance, and sustain. All-around, this is a really solid entry for the SE line.
@@onceuponashredder Not fond of any kind of volume pot with switching. They all feel flimsy and don't have enough tension. I'll only run my push/pulls on the tone pots. Totally agree, the middle pickup on most SSS guitars serves little purpose alone. And personally, I have very little need for bridge and middle together. Much rather have bridge and neck. Then, with a well sorted treble bleed. You can dial the volume all the way down the range, without losing as many frequencies.
I've got a Cutlass HSS with some ultra mod'd wiring going on. It has one of them DiMarzio superswitchs so it acts the same way as my NF3, but has the wiring and switch positions normal. So positions middle and 5 are standard, and position 2 is bridge and neck. Thats my only other 3 pickup, or even S type. Trems aren't my thing. But to be honest, the 2 I do have are excellent. I'm very impressed with the overall construction and specs on this SE model. By far the best one I've seen yet. The McCarty .594 singlecut standard I bought earlier this year, needed every part except the pickups, bridge and tailpiece upgraded. All other electronic parts and tuners were garbage.
@@andrewbecker3700 Interesting! I wonder if you got a lemon (594 singlecut). I have one SE 594 singlecut, and three Core 594 singlecuts. Love 'em!
I used to mod everything. Everything. But at the beginning of 2024, I decided to stop modding and spend more time just enjoying each guitar for its own stock personality. OR... sell it if I'm not digging it! It's mainly a time thing for me. I wanted to spend more time playing/recording and less time trying to perfect the guitars. I have 40+ guitars, which is probably my limit. I literally have no more room in the studio for another guitar, which is a handy G.A.S. limiter guitar-wise. I have leaned more heavily on "tones" though, I think. Because my pedal collection has grown, mostly in the boost/overdrive/flavor pedals. Which, honestly, is sorta silly, because I have an AFX3 - which has the entire tone universe inside. But knobs, man! There's a level of satisfaction I dig from the standalone gear, even if I used it rarely. G.A.S.! And proud of it!
@@onceuponashredder I'm struggling to make much sense out of your reply, if that's what it is. You claim you used mod every guitar you had? But just recently stopped any and all work on guitars, to focus more on enjoying them factory stock. Good luck trying to find one you can do that with. This NF3 is actually only 1 of 3 I've ever bought that didn't need significant mods to make the cut. Why you think a specific guitar would be what you refer to as a "lemon", I'm not understanding? The guitar is excellent, as most PRS SE's are. The electronics and tuners were subpar. After switching out the pots(like I almost always do) I wire them how I want, with my choice of tone capacitor. If it's modern wired, a treble bleed is imperative. Otherwise 50's wiring is my preference. The switch and jack depends how they feel mostly. The McCarty had junk. Plain and simple. It's not rocket science. Many a guitar, I've never even plugged in, before tearing them apart for a complete rebuild. It's just my nature. If anybody with some dope money can buy the same thing. What fun is that? No. I'm a hot rodder to the core. Everything MUST be souped up. Good luck trying to find the "one". I only have 10. But they're all dimes.
Great review. I appreciated the way you explained the process and the pictograms that showed what you were playing.
Thank you for a great review!
@@photoz23830 Thank you! Much appreciated.
Very nice video on this STELLAR budget guitar from PRS!
Thanks, much appreciated! I figured a walk through clean tones was sorta lacking in YT Land, and really that's what I care about most, anyway. I can do overdrive, distortion, lead, heavy riffs, whatever. But a nice clean... that's what I really want to hear from a guitar. You're right! It's a stellar axe at this price, really any price. It's just a solid guit-box.
@@onceuponashredderTotally agree. Waaaaay too much ‘blues noodling’ in gear reviews.
@@alanparkinson4568 LOL! I'd recorded some video of me yammering along those lines but edited it out. (So much gets edited out, mercifully.) I appreciate the demos people do, but need to subtract points on some of those videos because it's the instrument I really want to hear, not the playing.
Love your vibe. I was a PRS hater till I found the narrowfield guitars. Now I own a bunch in different configurations and love em! Probably won’t get the SE version since I have a few Swamp ash specials and OG Nf3s but glad to see it added to the affordable line. These guitars have been invaluable to me as a professional touring and session musician
Thanks! Yeah, I wasn't aware of an OG NF3 until I started looking further into this one. Though, I was vaguely aware of the NF pickups on some of their other guitars. PRS is the shiz-nizzle. I have lotta, lotta other guitars, but PRS have become my faves. You're lucky to have an OG NF3!
Just got into guitar. My first was a prsccarty les Paul style. I too have small fingers so I traded it for an SE CE. Love it. It also has great sustain and tone. Great video
Thank you! Oh yeah, I love the McCarty. I have an SE single cutaway McCarty, and I have three "core" single cutaway McCarty "Les Pauls". I love the CE, too. I have I think six CE 24 DW guitars (with Floyd... I'm a Floyd guy)... LOVE THEM. Best playing guitars, in my opinion. You're right, great sustain. The CE 24 DW guitars are what really pulled me into the PRS universe, even though I wasn't very familiar with Dusty Warring. I just liked the specs of the guitar, and started there. Thanks again for your comment.
The content is very good
@@KestejooAlgonquin-v7t Thank you, much appreciated.
One question. Does it sit comfortably on your leg with no strap or does the treble side horn fall off like a LP or PRS standard?
I just b 13:25 ought one. To my ears, the tones are more dramatic through the Marshall clones, with more pronounced mids. That's how I set my Quilter amp.
I also have 25th Anniversary Swamp Ash Special NF to compare it too. The older NF pups have a bit more humbucker tonality, much louder and more low end.
I'm loving both guitars.
@@charlesbecker101 Indeed! This one has a decadent "cluck"-y vibe without going overboard. Great middle ground, I think.
The background instrumental I recorded for this video - SoundCloud link to that one if you expand the video description - all of that is through the "Marshall" (UAFX Lion), except for solo at the beginning (that's still a "Marshall", but the AxeFX3). This NF3 guitar convinced me to keep that UAFX Lion! I didn't realize a Marshall "clean" could sound so gorgeous. I had it listed on Gear Exchanged, started making this vid, and went "Whoa!" What a lovely clean vibe. Yeah, so everything except that super-saturated guitar solo in the middle is through the UAFX Lion, because it just sounded sweeter than through the "Fender" (and that sounded awesome, too).
they nearly had me...love the narrow-field idea.
but i don't do poplar...
one of the least desirable guitar woods...
but it's come into vogue, as other woods
become more and more expensive.
Interesting about the poplar thing! I honestly couldn't tell you what most of my (I think over 40) guitars bodies are made of, with a handful of exceptions. I just happen to remember a few of them are mahogany. I even have a PRS "Wood Library" Custom 24 w/Floyd, and I don't know what that body is! (Which is weird and ironic, don't you think? I mean, it's a "wood library" guitar.) I've been playing for decades; I've toured, recorded (still record), and electric guitar and "tone" are my obsessions. But the type of wood has never been that important to me, because even with guitars made of the same wood, no two are alike in my experience. I have six (maybe seven) CE 24 DW guitars, and no two are a like. They're similar, obviously, but they're not identical. Each one has its own personality. Crazy how that can be true, but it is. Thanks for your comment and perspective. Much appreciated.
Greediest company out there besides the poorly managed BLACKSTAR.jesus christ guys BUILD 1 GOOD AMP.insted of a mediocre parade of stuff.just sayin.
@@leehenderson8132 Interesting! You think RPS is greedy? I guess, technically, all companies are greedy, yeah? They don't get into this to break even.
But I may have misunderstood what you meant. If you don't own a PRS, trying a "cheap" one is the way to go, in my opinion. Their SE line is insane quality for that money. I was anti-PRS for decades. Didn't like those bird inlays, then I bought a nice PRS because I liked the specs. Got hooked! I have more PRS's than any other brand, now.
That’s a lot of hate to have towards a guitar company. Did PRS bang your girlfriend?