Don't miss the point of the NF3. It is a great gigging guitar for a working PERSON that doesn't want to drag around several guitars for getting different tones. It can get "close" to a tele for country, to a strat for blues/funk, and a P90 LP for classic rock/rock stuff. I think you're missing the point if you're just directly comparing it to all of those though. It's not supposed to outdo any of them, but instead be a working PERSON's substitute for all of them if you need to play a variety in a single gig. It's versatility allows for playing across the spectrum of country, blues, and rock, without the need for dragging a tele, strat, and lp style guitar out to every gig. I had its precursor, the Swamp Ash Special and it was my favorite gigging guitar because I discovered I could just bring it and get whatever I needed out of it as far as the listener was concerned. The audience isn't sitting there nitpicking whether the mid range scoop and quack is exactly like a strat, or the thickness is exactly like a p90 loaded LP, or the bridge twang is exactly like a tele. They just want to hear the close approximation of the sound they recognize and that's what this guitar does so well. The PEOPLE I have seen review this guitar so far have all missed the point, and no one demos the guitar with that in mind when they show the tones. I'd love to see someone play it who really puts it through its paces on a twangy country song, a texas blues song, and a classic rock song, and tailor their amp settings to each a little bit, because the advantages of this guitar become very obvious when it's used that way. The added bonus is that it can even pull off modern melodic rock tones. So if you play in a band that does a bit of everything and get tired of dragging around 3-4 guitars for different tones, this guitar deserves some serious consideration. It can really make life easier for the working guitarist playing a variety of music.
@@dmueller78 I can attest to this. 100%. Gets the job done, stable, sturdy, pretty and a looker for live, and good sound. Can’t beat that for the price.
You play tastefully and in a way that gives the instrument the transparency it needs to be the focal point. The playing unlocks that, and we thank you for it!
Thanx for an honest opinion. Too many reviewers absolutely love the guitar they are reviewing or find a minor criticism that adds no value. I will probably buy one.
Great review! I’m very interested in this guitar, but I’m holding out for the inevitable NF53 SE when that’s released. I’m much more of a Tele guy, and I like the idea of the narrow field pickups, but I’d like to try them on a hardtail guitar
Great review and video! I chose that exact same gray/maple model over the orange/rosewood my shop also had, probably because I watched your video so many times. Thanks for putting me onto this new axe!
You made it sound a LOT better than the PRS videos. Bryan makes great vids, but it sounded nasally and harsh in the PRS vids, so I immediately wrote it off. I have a US Silver Sky and a couple of Fender Strats, so I’m not in the market for a “Single coil” ~ ish guitar, but great tone, review!
Hi, that guitar seems pretty cool and with a lot of versatility, however in all the videos i watched i checked some intonation issues.. individual notes are ok but then when playing some chords it sounds out of tune. Have you checked that in that guitar? Thanks
Good review, I don't own one but I am going to buy one now. I have a tele, don't need another, I have a start, don't need another. Many times while playing one or another I thought if only my tele could also do the strat sound or if only my strat could sound like my tele at times. Looks like PRS has done it, maybe not a perfect match but I'll bet on stage at volume it would be very hard to tell the difference.
Thanks for the review. I ordered one and returned it immediately, though. It had horrible fret sprout all along the neck. I was very disappointed because otherwise it was a very nice looking guitar and the neck looked great.
your sounds via the quad cortex are really good and made the guitar shine, much more than the prs official presentation videos where it sounds really honky and nasal.
Almost all PRS guitars sound nasal, with weak bass and spiky trebles on the PRS official videos. It doesn’t seem to matter much which model they demo. I don’t understand why they EQ the demos that way and I have never been able to figure out why they think those videos help them sell guitars.
Nice sounding guitar. On the Andertons Blog, it says "Poplar - a similar tone to alder, though some say it has a better upper-midrange. Although normally understated in appearance, you’ll occasionally see a piece of poplar with stunning grain."
It's very close to the early '90s PRS EG series, bolt on neck, pickguard. Mine had 2 Lindy Fralin "Dominoes" that look a bit like the NF pickups, and a Dragon bridge pickup. Somebody replaced the Fralins with Duncan Firebird pickups, and I need to rewire the guitar to make them work right. These SEs are great guitars for the price.
This kind review that i looking for, event i might purchase this guitar because the distributor in my country has discount program for the first 30 unit on next week.
Really appreciate this review. Lots of gushing in other "reviews" but comparing it to the SAS helped put this in perspective. I actually bought the SAS and have been mostly happy with it but as you mention here the frets definitely needed work. I was also really curious about how these pickups stack up to others including the SAS and when you said these were between singles and P90's told me everything I needed to know.
If I listen to it being played and not what it looks like, I hear a tele with a beefier sound and more tones. It may look like a strat, but I hear tele. I'm sure that is an unpopular opinion.
A player who wants versatility in their instrument would be far better off with the swamp ash special. It actually has excellent humbucker pick ups and with the coil split pulled up it is able to produce brilliant Strat and telecaster tones. I admit, this is a cool looking and very nice sounding instrument. It would make a great player for anybody. However, a person who specifically wants strat tones is far better off with a silver sky, and somebody who wants versatility is far better off off with a swamp ash special.
lol. The UA-cam transcription thinks the same thing. Something about the 'sh' sound into 'sp' sound seems to make me skip the h. The things you never realize about yourself until you broadcast them to the world... 😛
First PRS reviewer that could actually be a Dentist. 😀 Smartass comment aside, well done review and I appreciate your take. For me it seems like it's a rhythm player's guitar. Hope you get a chance to try out one with the rosewood fingerboard.
It's distinguishable enough not to be.. I have another guitar that is made from poplar wood. A Japanese made strat. Am I the only one that feels that poplar makes a guitar feel toy - like? (It's a good strat but...)
I heard the same thing and repeatedly. Probably now going to have difficulty not calling the Swamp Ash Special the Swamp Ass Special. Might just call it Special Ass Swamp.
Play it like a new guitar, different than a strat. What’s the point of playing a new model with its own characteristics, if the bar is how close it sounds to a strat, or a LP, or a P90 guitar.
Don't miss the point of the NF3. It is a great gigging guitar for a working PERSON that doesn't want to drag around several guitars for getting different tones. It can get "close" to a tele for country, to a strat for blues/funk, and a P90 LP for classic rock/rock stuff. I think you're missing the point if you're just directly comparing it to all of those though. It's not supposed to outdo any of them, but instead be a working PERSON's substitute for all of them if you need to play a variety in a single gig. It's versatility allows for playing across the spectrum of country, blues, and rock, without the need for dragging a tele, strat, and lp style guitar out to every gig. I had its precursor, the Swamp Ash Special and it was my favorite gigging guitar because I discovered I could just bring it and get whatever I needed out of it as far as the listener was concerned. The audience isn't sitting there nitpicking whether the mid range scoop and quack is exactly like a strat, or the thickness is exactly like a p90 loaded LP, or the bridge twang is exactly like a tele. They just want to hear the close approximation of the sound they recognize and that's what this guitar does so well. The PEOPLE I have seen review this guitar so far have all missed the point, and no one demos the guitar with that in mind when they show the tones. I'd love to see someone play it who really puts it through its paces on a twangy country song, a texas blues song, and a classic rock song, and tailor their amp settings to each a little bit, because the advantages of this guitar become very obvious when it's used that way. The added bonus is that it can even pull off modern melodic rock tones. So if you play in a band that does a bit of everything and get tired of dragging around 3-4 guitars for different tones, this guitar deserves some serious consideration. It can really make life easier for the working guitarist playing a variety of music.
Working guitarist? Working musician? Not all guitarists are men ;)
@@MakthebladeI don't know what you're talking about, guitar PERSON. 😆
What he said 😅
Very valid comment.
@@dmueller78 I can attest to this. 100%. Gets the job done, stable, sturdy, pretty and a looker for live, and good sound. Can’t beat that for the price.
You play tastefully and in a way that gives the instrument the transparency it needs to be the focal point. The playing unlocks that, and we thank you for it!
Thanx for an honest opinion. Too many reviewers absolutely love the guitar they are reviewing or find a minor criticism that adds no value. I will probably buy one.
Great review! I’m very interested in this guitar, but I’m holding out for the inevitable NF53 SE when that’s released. I’m much more of a Tele guy, and I like the idea of the narrow field pickups, but I’d like to try them on a hardtail guitar
Finally a proper demonstration on this guitar. Well done mate. much appreciated. I'm gonna subscribe 😊
Thanks!
Great review and video! I chose that exact same gray/maple model over the orange/rosewood my shop also had, probably because I watched your video so many times. Thanks for putting me onto this new axe!
You made it sound a LOT better than the PRS videos. Bryan makes great vids, but it sounded nasally and harsh in the PRS vids, so I immediately wrote it off. I have a US Silver Sky and a couple of Fender Strats, so I’m not in the market for a “Single coil” ~ ish guitar, but great tone, review!
Excellent review. Thankyou very useful and unbiased.
That's what I like about it. It's, it's own thing. I'm gonna check one out. Thanks for the demo. I'll leave you a 👍. Thanks again.
Played one of these in that exact color and it was inspiring to play.
i want one. Saving my money now. This is my next guitar.
Hi, that guitar seems pretty cool and with a lot of versatility, however in all the videos i watched i checked some intonation issues.. individual notes are ok but then when playing some chords it sounds out of tune. Have you checked that in that guitar? Thanks
Good review, I don't own one but I am going to buy one now. I have a tele, don't need another, I have a start, don't need another. Many times while playing one or another I thought if only my tele could also do the strat sound or if only my strat could sound like my tele at times. Looks like PRS has done it, maybe not a perfect match but I'll bet on stage at volume it would be very hard to tell the difference.
Would you consider doing any QC with acoustic videos ?
Thanks for the review. I ordered one and returned it immediately, though. It had horrible fret sprout all along the neck. I was very disappointed because otherwise it was a very nice looking guitar and the neck looked great.
Yeah, I've noticed that all the maple fretboard SEs seem to have that problem. The Swamp Ash Special had it too.
your sounds via the quad cortex are really good and made the guitar shine, much more than the prs official presentation videos where it sounds really honky and nasal.
Almost all PRS guitars sound nasal, with weak bass and spiky trebles on the PRS official videos. It doesn’t seem to matter much which model they demo. I don’t understand why they EQ the demos that way and I have never been able to figure out why they think those videos help them sell guitars.
Awesome playing man! :)
Thanks!
Nice sounding guitar. On the Andertons Blog, it says "Poplar - a similar tone to alder, though some say it has a better upper-midrange. Although normally understated in appearance, you’ll occasionally see a piece of poplar with stunning grain."
It's very close to the early '90s PRS EG series, bolt on neck, pickguard. Mine had 2 Lindy Fralin "Dominoes" that look a bit like the NF pickups, and a Dragon bridge pickup. Somebody replaced the Fralins with Duncan Firebird pickups, and I need to rewire the guitar to make them work right. These SEs are great guitars for the price.
This kind review that i looking for, event i might purchase this guitar because the distributor in my country has discount program for the first 30 unit on next week.
That sounds great!!
If I can afford just one for play many genres, which one you recommend, rosewood or maple?
I'd go rosewood.
@ Thank you 🙏❤️
You have Bryan Ewald's voice, dude. You can definitely fill in for him while debuting new PRS gear. 🙂
I love the sound ......it doesn't sound like anything else.
i think the guitar sounds amazing... i bet with a proper amp and overdrive its gonna be a super melodic guitar to play!
Nicely done! #WeMakePRS
Really appreciate this review. Lots of gushing in other "reviews" but comparing it to the SAS helped put this in perspective. I actually bought the SAS and have been mostly happy with it but as you mention here the frets definitely needed work. I was also really curious about how these pickups stack up to others including the SAS and when you said these were between singles and P90's told me everything I needed to know.
Glad it was helpful!
Good review
Thanks!
If I listen to it being played and not what it looks like, I hear a tele with a beefier sound and more tones. It may look like a strat, but I hear tele. I'm sure that is an unpopular opinion.
nice tone man
A player who wants versatility in their instrument would be far better off with the swamp ash special. It actually has excellent humbucker pick ups and with the coil split pulled up it is able to produce brilliant Strat and telecaster tones. I admit, this is a cool looking and very nice sounding instrument. It would make a great player for anybody. However, a person who specifically wants strat tones is far better off with a silver sky, and somebody who wants versatility is far better off off with a swamp ash special.
It’s Swamp Ash, not Swamp Ass lol. At least that’s how I hear it.
lol. The UA-cam transcription thinks the same thing. Something about the 'sh' sound into 'sp' sound seems to make me skip the h. The things you never realize about yourself until you broadcast them to the world... 😛
It's heading to the upper 80's in these parts. I don't have a PRS, but Swamp Ass seems likely.
@@thebrysmith3 🤣
First PRS reviewer that could actually be a Dentist. 😀
Smartass comment aside, well done review and I appreciate your take. For me it seems like it's a rhythm player's guitar. Hope you get a chance to try out one with the rosewood fingerboard.
It's distinguishable enough not to be..
I have another guitar that is made from poplar wood. A Japanese made strat.
Am I the only one that feels that poplar makes a guitar feel toy - like?
(It's a good strat but...)
"Basically the same neck as the swamp ass special."
So you get nervous playing guitar?
I heard the same thing and repeatedly. Probably now going to have difficulty not calling the Swamp Ash Special the Swamp Ass Special. Might just call it Special Ass Swamp.
Ah yes the SAS PRS ......@@cmonsterz
Play it like a new guitar, different than a strat. What’s the point of playing a new model with its own characteristics, if the bar is how close it sounds to a strat, or a LP, or a P90 guitar.
Rodriguez Cynthia Hernandez David Allen Helen
The design loses me with
the strat style heel, and
no 'true' single coil pups.
Swamp what?😂
🤣
H2P
NOPE.
Really like this guitar but it needs a roasted maple neck. just my opinion.
Been on the fence for days, might as well jump .... rosey board though :{ )
Yeah, I think I would have liked the rosewood board better. I never seem to gel with the PRS maple boards. Not sure why.
@@davlavmusic7070
Rosewood / pearl white from some shop out of Pittsburg.
•BOINK•