PRS SE NF3 Rosewood Fretboard Electric Guitar Pearl White

Novice player, its everything I've ever wanted

This was my 7th PRS but my 1st SE. My experience has definitely not been the same as those reviewers who claim that these rival the US models in quality, and basically, that ended up being the bottom line for me. On the other hand, it's a great buy that is noticeably a level up from any of the dozens of Mexican-made Strats I've ever owned or played, which may end up being the bottom line for others. Pros: while I don't think the pickups are as unique as claimed, they're still worth most of the hype. The thickened up, more powerful tone compared to S-type single coils still maintains a nice, defined top end and a lot of what I love about single-coil tones while being eminently more well-rounded. The neck position sounds great, but the bridge and even the middle positions are, for me, much more usable than on a traditional S-type guitar. If I were recording, I'd use my Strat, but I'd pick the NF3 for playing live because of its added versatility and power. The satin-finished neck avoids the cheap, sticky, over-lacquered feel of most offshore-made guitars, but there are still several ways this inevitably feels like it came out of the Cor-Tek factory (right down to the obligatory loose output jack). Predictably, as others have reported, this also means that the volume pot acts more like a tone pot, and in addition to needing a setup out of the box, I also had to install a treble-bleed to take full advantage of these pickups' many great tones. Even with the volume safely on 10, the pickups don't quite have the clarity of their American-made counterparts. Overall, the SE NF3 is unique yet familiar and a step up from other similarly-priced guitars, but I'm still kind of distracted by the difference in build quality compared to my U.S. models.

Have been playing Fender Players Stratocaster for over 15 years and took a chance on the NF3 based on positive online reviews. Excellent decision. Purchased in December, 2024. The single coil/humbucker voodoo works fantastically well. For the first time in a long time, the sounds I'm getting from my vintage Tonelab SE sound great. Also the fit and finish, white body with ebony fingerboard, are excellent and I'm really enjoying the 25 inch scale length. The tremolo system is extremely smooth and does not throw the tuning out of whack. I can fully recommend this PRS model as great alternative to a Fender Strat.

I walked into my local GC with the intent of purchasing a Fender Player Plus Strat. I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe because of the horrible set up. Then I see this PRS, tried it and it was night and day playability wise. The neck felt way better than the Strat. It was smooth, action low with no buzz. The pickups have their own character which sound great! PRS did a great job with these.

Vibrato returned sharp with use. 20 cents. The nut was cut too deep and the strings would bind. I contacted both PRS and Guitar Center, neither was interested in rectifying the situation with 10 to 15 minutes on a bench with a guitar tech. This guitar sounds great, feels great had a great mass to it, but nobody wanted to stand behind it.

I loved the pickups, I loved the feel of the neck, It was a tad heavy and there were some moderately sharp fret ends... In the store, I did not have the vibrato to test out, for those of you who don't know, that is the proper term for what is often referred to as a tremolo... It was with the gigbag and I took it home and popped it in there. This guitar had a horribly cut nut. In the store It was fine because it did stay in tune without the bar being used. After I started to use the bar at home, the guitar would frequently return 20 cents sharp. I contacted PRS and it was a big hassle, to which they did not sound enthused anyway. I also asked Guitar Center San Marcos, California, if they would take care of the bench time it would take to do a little work to unbind the nut (every string was way too deep)... Since the store and the manufacturer didn't want to take care of it, it went back for a refund. It would have been an incredible guitar to be inspired by, but hearing comments from other stores on their YouTube channels, it sounds like the NF3 is an unwanted model that's going to be orphaned by PRS via discontinuance. Another point, this does not sound like any other guitar. Pickup positioning and characteristics make it so this is not going to fill the void of a Strat. Seems like it could have been a great guitar in an arsenal of many instruments.