“The NF3 is not our answer to the Stratocaster. It is its own thing”: PRS launches the SE NF3 – a triple-humbucker evolution of John Mayer's Silver Sky
The S-style model shares its heritage with the SE Silver Sky, though brings to the table new tones, electronics, appointments and finishes
(Image credit: PRS)
PRS has launched the SE NF3 – an electric guitar that will be mighty familiar to players fond of John Mayer’s PRS Silver Sky signature guitar.
At first glance, the all-new SE NF3 – which, it should be said, is an updated SE iteration of an older PRS design, and a forebear of the PRS EG – carries all the Stratocaster-inspired style of Mayer’s Silver Sky, though does so in a non-signature, heavily altered form.
Indeed, upon closer inspection, dubbing the SE NF3 a standard-run Silver Sky seems to be far too simplistic. Sure, there are some inevitable visual similarities in the body shapes and setup, but equally, there are a lot of new specs that sets this six-string apart.
The biggest tweak here arrives in the electronics department. Instead of single coils – which would continue the Silver Sky/Stratocaster theme – the SE NF3 instead offers three humbucker-style Narrowfield DD ‘S’ pickups.
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(Image credit: PRS)
(Image credit: PRS)
In practice, these offer a similar tone to single-coils, but aim to do so without any hum or unwanted noise. Notably, they hail from the T-type NF53’s Narrowfield pickups, and are the first of this style to be manufactured in Indonesia.
These have been cunningly squashed and disguised as single coils, but are answerable to only two, rather than three, control knobs, which serve as master volume and tone parameters. A regular five-way blade switch does make the cut, though.
At its core, the Indonesian-made guitar features a poplar body and a slab-sawn maple neck with a Wide Thin profile and bolt-on joint. A 10” rosewood or maple fingerboard (depending on chosen finish) fitted with 22 medium jumbo frets and Bird inlays can also be found.
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As for cosmetics, Ice Blue Metallic, Gun Metal Grey, Metallic Orange and Pearl White cosmetics are on tap. Other notable appointments include a PRS six-point tremolo bridge and non-locking tuners.
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(Image credit: PRS)
(Image credit: PRS)
(Image credit: PRS)
So, yes, the inevitable Stratocaster comparisons will most certainly come, but as PRS COO Jack Higginbotham says in the upcoming issue of Guitarist, it should instead be viewed as a beast of its own.
“The NF3, to me, is not our take on a S-style: it is its own thing,” he says. “I understand how it may be perceived by the market as being our answer to the Stratocaster, but that’s not my intention with this guitar.”
Having said that, the PRS COO acknowledges the SE NF3 does indeed share a lineage with the Silver Sky, and aspects of the new release directly descend from the development of Mayer's SE variant.
“The neck and the neck body assembly were born of the SE Silver Sky originally and refined with the SE CE and Swamp Ash Special,” he concludes. “So, in a way, it is a brand new guitar that is built on ideas spanning decades and reaching to the very cutting edge of our current engineering and design philosophies.”
In other words, the SE NF3 is to the John Mayer Silver Sky what the standard NF53 is to Myles Kennedy's own signature PRS guitar.
The maple and rosewood versions of the SE NF3 are available now for $799 – Sweetwater already has them in stock. To put that into perspective, the SE Silver Sky weighs in at $849.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
