Paul Reed Smith SE NF3 Deep Dive + Sound Test

In this episode I deep dive into the new Paul Reed Smith SE NF3. These new version of the Narrowfield pickups, the Narrowfield Deepdish pickups promise to offer a different tonal experience. We'll see! Also, I don't know much about Paul Reed Smith guitars, so this was a learning experience for me!
I got my guitar from Amazon.com! You can too. If you use this link, I may get paid a small affiliate amount from Amazon. This does not affect your price, and all income made this way gets put right back into the channel.
PRS SE NF3 ($799.99) - amzn.to/45Qorq9
About the PRS Tremolo, from PRS themselves:
support.prsguitars.com/hc/en-...
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00:00 Intro
02:32 The Price
03:03 The Case
04:19 The Look
05:12 The Body
06:42 The Neck
09:02 The Hardware
13:25 The Electronics
15:11 The Other Materials
16:39 The Feel
17:20 The Weight
17:33 The Sound
24:52 The Conclusion
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Equipment used to make this video:
Sony ZV-1F Vlog Camera
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Zoom F2 Field Mic
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Rode RodeLink Lav Microphone
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Guitar Cork Neck Rest
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Music Nomad String Cutter
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Ernie Ball Guitar Mat
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Music Nomad Fretboard F-One Conditioner
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Guitar Scale
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Suction Cup Plate Remover
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Crenova Multimeter
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Klein Magnetic Angle Finder
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[@ArtDonna84]

What an excellent evaluation and review of this PRS SE NF3. I'm a huge PRS player and own several now, so I was looking to see reviews on the new kid on the block. I thought you did an excellent presentation from start to finish and then the tone demo was also excellent. Play wasn't overdone to show off you guitar ability, but to show the tonal quality of the pickups in the different positions and at lower volume. Thank you for posting the video. Became a new subscriber to you as a result. Looking forward to more excellent reviews.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you very much for checking out the video and for the kind words! 🤘🏽

[@FRCMoto]

Likewise. Very well done.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you!

[@ColineSonLee]

Mirror OPs comments. Subbed as a result of this very comprehensive review.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you!

[@lprb302]

Great quality video man! Thank you 👍🏻

[@treishtrei]

I insta sub when you compared 3 guitars side by side. Genius...

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you for the sub! And also for checking out the video! 🤘🏽

[@Itsjorgelanzas]

Great job man!! I really wanna try one of these! Thanks for the review!

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you for the kind words! 🙏 cheers!

[@BrazzyRosewood]

Thank you for your very thorough review.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@suretaithemongol6373]

I really enjoyed your review.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you for checking it out!

[@Frosenborg]

Good review, interesting pickups. Also nice to see an Aerodyne strat, you don't see those very often.

[@CompanyGrip]

Thanks for the nice words! I’ve been debating digging into an aerodyne, but don’t know if it’s been done to death yet. 🤷‍♂️ thanks for checking out the video!

[@gorgemusic]

Wow. Very thorough and balanced review. One thing that wasn’t specifically addressed was how well( or not) that it stays in tune. I have an S2 custom 24 and an SE CE 24 and they both suffer I think to stay in tune. They both have the same neck( wide thin) as the NF 3 and I’ve wondered if that is a contributory factor. Thanks.

[@CompanyGrip]

Hi. Thanks for watching the video. I did not seem to suffer any tuneage problems. But as soon as I got the guitar I put my strings on it and set it up like I do. I always do the luthiers knot also when I string up. Hope that helps.

[@mawacal]

i have the same guitar. i would say at the price its one of the best guitars i play. sounds great. it just feels good playing it.

[@CompanyGrip]

True! It’s a great player!!!

[@Ottophil]

I have 10 guitars. Half gibson half fender. But theres one prs se. Its an amazing in between guitar. Its one I take on stage often. I love the scale length because its like the goldielocks just right scale between the two other brands

[@CompanyGrip]

That was the vibe I was getting with it too! Cheers!

[@TheRealChetManley]

Thanks for taking the pick guard off and showing underneath. I wish you had shown more of the guitar underneath the pick guard. I am interested to see how the body is routed and if the cavity is coated with conductive paint or tape. I really like this one and it will probably be my first prs. The bridge has less of that thin springy sound of a strat. But the neck still has some of that strat like tone, but different. Seems like it would be a good guitar for someone that prefers a strat but wants some different tones. Especially that bridge with its p90 like tone for classic rock. Nice playing!

[@CompanyGrip]

Hi! Thanks for checking it out. The cavity is coated with paint if that helps. Cheers!

[@pitbullguy5884]

Just prescribed to your channel. And I do mean prescribed. You do a great job covering the features and get into the guts of it too. I've seen two of your videos today and you are going to be a KZbin legend. I have had several PRS SE models and the bolt on series are much better feeling to me than the lacquered soulless ones. You get more of a connection to it because you can feel the wood. Not an opinion. Just a fact. Keep on making those videos!

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you for the kind words! And thank you for subscribing! I’m glad you are enjoying my videos. They take a lot of work so words like yours are very refreshing. 🤘🏽

[@robbyclark6915]

The only PRS guitars I've ever played have had thick necks. I don't like thick necks. I have 2 Gibson LPs, and both have the slim 60s neck. I have 1 new American Pro ll Strat, and I think the neck on it is a little thicker than they used to be. At least towards the nut. It's borderline for me. I have a Carvin super strat with a Floyd on it, and it's probably my best guitar? It's excellent! Dual humbuckers, ebony board, flame top. Plays fantastic. Anyway, what was this video about again, lol? I did hear you say the neck on this is close to the Gibson slim taper, which I love! I might try one of these? I dig those pups.

[@CompanyGrip]

Yeah. It’s close to a Slim Taper. I mean, are any two slim tapers alike? But it fits in the spec range. I have a spec chart of every guitar I’ve reviewed, what it’s “supposed to be”, and what it actually measures at, and this is right in there.

[@robbyclark6915]

Cool, thanks for the reply! I can tell you that I'm not actually going to try one, however. They look.....like a mutant guitar? Not quite a strat, not quite a PRS? I'm sure they are fine guitars, but PRS have just never peaked my interest, and this one is no exception even with a nice neck. For $800, I would rather try a Schecter tele style! The PT model, I think it's called? Anyways, nice video. Appreciate the holler back! You got my sub!

[@CompanyGrip]

Thank you for the sub! That’s awesome! Schecter is on the list of guitar I want to look more into…but it’s a long list to be honest. Haha!

[@NINEWALKING]

22 nF not 22uF. Sorry OCD works at full speed.

[@sinakaedwards2009]

The one it sounded the most like was the p-90 to me, maybe somewhere between the p-90 and a single coil. The single coil had more clanky type sound to it. Overall, it sounds pretty good. Do you think you might do an update around December to report what you think after 6 months or so? Also wondering what the resistance means? Like what is the difference between 8k pickups and 12k pickups if both are the same type of pickups?

[@CompanyGrip]

Yes! I need to do an update on a few guitars actually! Like the Relish Trinity! Haha. As far as resistance meaning - well, it’s not entirely an exact meaning, especially in these exact pickups that we know not much about. BUT, say we were comparing a set of identically component-laden 57 classics, and one set read around 7k and another set was around 9k, we could infer that that the 9k models were hotter and more likely to break up earlier. So, while the number by itself might not mean much, in the long term it’s a stat line for documenting these pickups over the long term. If that makes sense?

[@sinakaedwards2009]

@@CompanyGrip not really, seems like i remember something about ability to drive them. Does break up mean lose sound? Seems like hotter would mean more articulation or louder.

[@CompanyGrip]

Sorry, break up, like it’s quicker to transition from clean to overdriven sounding.

[@sinakaedwards2009]

@@CompanyGrip by turning the volume on the guitar up?

[@CompanyGrip]

Exactly!

[@theoversouls]

Excellent review. Those pickups don't sound even remotely like normal Strat pickups to me. It's hard to believe that's their marketing pitch. I'm not sure why almost all SE's have slim necks which my mildly arthritic hands don't dig, but they do put thicker necks on some of their 5K guitars - is wood that expensive?? Nice guitar that seems like it's its own thing.

[@CompanyGrip]

Agreed!

[@jackvai2681]

12th fret action, on delivery?

[@CompanyGrip]

Pretty low, but no buzzing noticed. Like I mentioned, I changed the strings out pretty quick after purchase, and tweaked it just a tiny bit for the lighter gage strings. Sorry, I know that’s not really accurate numbers for you, but hopefully it helps.

[@jackvai2681]

@@CompanyGrip thanks for responding...i like 1.5 x 1.25 opt...1.75 x 1.5 min...but i cannot tolerate buzz. this is a very interesting piece of gear...but i need to know that i can bring it to those stats...probably with a vega-trem. ok man...thx for your time.

[@ericajohnson7535]

it looks like a 3/4 sized guitar

[@lliberation]

This guitar sounds so awful. But the orange one looks so good. I gotta have one. But I gotta figure out how to get single coils in it.

[@leehenderson8132]

Greediest builder in the business.

[@CompanyGrip]

Hey! Usually on my videos those comments are reserved exclusively for Gibson! 🤣 Tell me more!

[@BrazzyRosewood]

$799 greedy? Are you missing your String Trees?

[@rogerbiggerstaff3293]

Based on what exactly?