Zac great to meet you the other day at Joe Glaser Guitars. I had a PRS Brent Mason model that I wanted Joe to put and B/G Bender on, he didn't want to do that and suggested I get a really nice tele for him to install the bender on. I called PRS and ask them if they were ever going to build a "T" style guitar, and they said they had nothing on the drawing board. So I hired Dan Bloom of "EB Rooster" guitars to build me a 3 pickup Nashville Tele. The Day I meet you I had Joe and his great staff plek my guitar and install the B/G bender. I am very happy with my custom EB Rooster Tele, but I do love Paul and his passion for his people and his instruments. We are Blessed to have people like you, Joe Glaser, his entire staff, and Paul Reed Smith and all of his great people to support us with great information and products to support our "Sickness."
There is a Guy By the name Forest Lee Jr over out of Dixon that makes Tele style He Made Me a 3 pickup tele with 3 special pick up no B.E. or G Benders . Hes Good Brad Pasley Has a couple tele's Forest has Made Youl Be Happy with His work . I was going to have him do a 4. Or 5 pick up strat a strech the Body for the 4 or 5 pic ups . Hes not hard to Find .
I've been trying to find a video where it's compared to a tele but everyone else's videos just play like hard rock and really "non tele"sounding riffs, I just wanted it a/b'ed with a tele and you're the perfect person for that
When people make videos in front of their bookshelves I always like to see what they're reading. Well, I'd been wanting to find a book about the history of Fender amps, so when I scanned your bookshelf I found you did my work for me. I figured if you had it on your shelf it's probably a good read, so I paused the video and ordered it up from my local library. I also ordered the Strat one too for good measure! Thanks Zac, for finding me books to read as well as all your great videos. Cheers!
I like that he has the Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West album in the background of a Tele review (orange cover “ Two Guitars “ title is visible) Jimmy gave Leo a lot of feedback and was the first guy to stop traffic with a Telecaster.
You might seriously consider publishing a Zacology bibliography if you haven’t already. You are my favorite interviewer and music historian. (Rick and Keith are tied for second place) You do the best homework and background studies. You know how to draw out the gold from all these recording kings. Thank you for sharing your gift of inquiry with us all. God bless you, Zac.
I laughed the first time I studied the shelf. Then checked mine to see if I had been robbed lol! Zac and I agree on literature. Guitar lit anyways lol.
Great guitar but this leans close to an apples vs oranges situation imo, would love to see the same comparison with a G&L ASAT which was Leo’s last iteration of the Tele which had pretty significant and innovative changes, primarily with the bridge and pickups. Interesting story about how he reluctantly came to design it but demand for a Tele design from him at that stage in the company’s history was apparently strong. Then there is of course the ASAT Classic which is basically a Tele, a comparison to your Esquire would be cool with it as well. Lots of Tele variants from various manufacturers but keeping it all Leo based might prove interesting and have that crucial historical link.
Always a gentleman - Thank you, Zac. I’m one of those Es335 players who couldn’t get along with a tele neck or bridge intonation. After seeing your review, I actually want to try one of these. ( I bought a thinline tele and played it a lot, but never bonded with that traditional neck- sent it to a new home.)
I put this into the general comment section but here it is as a reply. BTW, Warmouth (maker of necks and bodies of every guitar out there) makes a Tele neck that bolts up to the standard T-body but with the option of a Gibson scale length (24,3/4") and wider nuts width and flatter fretboard radius. They also make a combo fretboard radii with traditional radius towards the nut and a flatter radius up the neck also S/S frets.
Want to bet that Paul reaches out once he sees this? He seems to be interested in what people think of his instruments, which is a great way to improve what you design and build, I think. He also just likes to play and jam with others. He builds guitars from a player’s perspective whether his own, or from some of his signature artists. Great video.😬😎
Played one just like that at Righteous guitar in Atlanta - played like butter. I'm a bassist who doesn't much care for teles but I fell in love after 10 min.
Is the absence of the bridge plate really the culprit for some loss of twang? I was always told that more metal around the Tele bridge pickup caused a widening of the magnetic field of the pickup, making it more mellow. Same thing with pick up covers on PAF..
Great video, I appreciate you taking the time to do a deep dive. I have been playing a McCarty 594 for about three years and I’m having a great time, no turning back. They’re addicting for sure.
Thank you for doing such a well balanced non-biased review. It’s refreshing to see an honest review these days that’s not tainted with the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” tactics. I think the guitar sounds good and the bridge system offers some improvements over the traditional Tele bridge. However, the neck width, angled headstock, and the birds are all a no for me. The bird inlays are just too distracting looking for such a simple minimalist guitar. And I’m not a PRS Bird detractor. It depends on the guitar and I think the simpler Moons would be a much better fit. All and all just like you said, Zac, these guitars would be awesome for a Gibson/PRS player who needs a Tele now and then.
Zach, on break angle, it makes sense to me that a greater angle puts more pressure on saddle, resonating into the guitar. But I have a Bigsby on a guitar with 24.7 scale length that I run the strings over the bar behind the saddle because of intonation issues. The result is amazing sustain and slinky feel. It doesn’t make sense, but I really like it. I love my Fender guitars, but PRS builds a great guitar with a different quality. Solution is to buy more guitars.
I wonder how many of our old heroes (who let's face it we know because of Zac 😂) would get on with one of these. Always have to remind myself that the vintage kit they used was not vintage but new and the "latest and best" they could get. Paul, and even Leo in his later days, never seemed to stop striving.
Glad to see a real Tele player run this through its paces. Very cool! Actually does the Tele thing pretty well. Other reviews don’t really demonstrate that all that well.
Had one since Oct '23. Great in every way, as Zac points out. I would say it's close to 90% the Tele sound. EXCELLENT construction and quality! (played Teles since August 1970!!).
Zac, You do such a great job! A very nice review, with so much positive to say about a product that might have confused a lot of people. Thanks for bringing clarity from a tele-master perspective and keeping it positive! Your comments regarding Paul's continued innovation is spot on. It is nice to see him pushing every day. I hired his band to play our Homecoming in 1979. My cousin owned Mil-Com and now Mann-Made USA. Wishing you continued success! Thanks for your work!
My best Telecaster is my Richie Kotzen signature Fender MIJ. It’s an absolutely incredible guitar. Just my 2 cents on the telecaster topic. I’ve never played a PRS Tele
I like the way it sounds and I think the bridge design is cool, but I can't get over the way it looks. The headstock is fine (I have a DGT SE and I kind of ignore the headstock), but I really don't like the pickup having a gap between the body and pickup. That said, it sounds great and I hope the people who buy these love them!
Thanks for the deep dive. The detail about the nut is very informative. No other reviews mention this. This guitar is being aimed at Gibson or PRS players used to their necks. Helpful description. I own a Reverend & Suhr classic T. The Reverend has a slightly wider nut which I prefer but the Suhr is more chunky & I like that too. I’m going to have to track one of these down to feel the neck. I love the tones you got. If I get that without hum, that’s great. I will say I wish they put locking tuners on this like the Myles Kennedy.
As someone who prefers my Silver Sky to my stratocaster, I'm excited to get my hands on one of these. I have two telecasters, but I'm willing to give this one a shot. Appreciate the comparison and review.
Keith from 5 watt world sent me your way because of his short histories and my love of the Tele and thought I would check out some of your videos and enjoyed them and your playing and knowledge so Subscribed and look forward to more videos and checking out your past ones. Keep rocking 🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻
I can't afford to support you on Patreon at the moment but I got to say your content is really good. I love your true tone vids and am super thankful for the content you put out. Liked, subscribed, and will share.
I go back and forth on a variety of neck widths, ranging from a violin to a classical guitar, so I'm used to ignoring neck width. But, one thing that sometimes causes me hiccups on my Fenders is the lack of "wiggle room" between the E-strings and the edge of the fingerboard. In addition to the occaisional string slip over the edge, I sometimes find the base of my index finger making contact with the ringing open high E, causing a sizzle. It's annoying, but I adjust. I never have this happen on my Gibsons or PRSs, though.
Sometimes you need to shim the neck with bolt on guitars. Or at least crack the bolts loose and wiggle the neck until the strings are spaced better underneath it. Been a common issue with my bolt on necks
I have noticed this close to the edge grief on vintage Fenders, with the bridge perfectly centered. I grabbed a G&L Tribute classic T where it showed up. The bridge is parallel, but not centered. The neck joint is perfectly tight. Zero wiggle room for shiming. Not sure I have a cure I like, so I live with it. I love the pick ups! Chris
Same issue here. I have adapted to this E-string roll off by cutting new nuts to a narrower width.. This moves both E-strings in a little. Stew-Mac sells a nut spacing gauge that gives a perfect spaced cut every time. This also allows you to cut the high E a little higher to avoid the sizzle.
@@robertmitchell2178 I have done this. I keep it low as a fret. First fret intonation is paramount. One thing I constantly see is strings not lining up with pole pieces. Every thing is a compromise.
Chris, I'm not seeing how a neck shim would help, here, but a "therapeutic" nut as described above would likely help. On my Tele Deluxe, which came with the wide vintage bridge string spacing, I plugged, redrilled, and installed a lookalike import bridge with narrower spacing. This dramatically improved the playability for me by moving the strings away from the edges of the fingerboard. No one can tell by looking...
Very well done video review. It was bound to happen. Interesting spin. One characteristic of PRS guitars: they don't seem to lend well to customization or part swaps. I too prefer a 1-5/8" nut width. I think Zak's tele's just sound more organic.
Leo’s headstock lets you sit a Tele or Strat on its back without hitting the tuners or the headstock itself. Not a major advantage but appreciated now and then.
This was great. Your review was nice because you were coming at it as someone not already playing PRS and not affiliated. This guitar looks and sounds great to me. I have a Fiore and got it mostly for the neck, which is wide and thin. I like the wide string spacing on it, but I feel it still has a pretty standard thinness like a Fender strat or tele. It sounds like the NF is fatter. Still really nice. thanks for putting this out there.
Honestly haven't seen a better demonstration of what this guitar can do. Of course Ask Zac is gonna kill it on a prs tele. Really sounded beautiful in your hands, Zac. Makes me want to get one lol
I'm not a purist, but never found a PRS I liked. I played and liked a Fiore the other day, and picked up the nf53 after that. I really liked it. Good size neck, rolled fingerboard edges. A really great modern update to a classic.
My Crook pink paisley has tall thin frets. I really like them. To each his own. Thanks to Bill Crook for his suggestion . In addition, I may have missed it but, the saddles? Was there any mention about it? Cheers Dallas
Thanks for this review Zac, and thanks to Jesse for making it happen. I like a slightly modern Tele (such as a flatter radius fingerboard and individual saddles), and I’m really enjoying my PRS CE 24 SE. But I’m just not seeing anything in the NF-53 that appeals to me. Not that it matters until they make an SE model that’s in my price range. 😀 When they do, I feel like I’ll have to evaluate it as its own thing rather than compare it to a Tele, though. Because when I think Tele, I think Tele pick-ups, and those NFs may be great, but they don’t seem like a substitute for Tele pickups to me.
I am a custom shop Tele player its hard to wrap my brain around this one but it looks and sounds great I certainly would like to give it a try if I see one show up at my local guitar center.
There are soooooo many guitars I can’t play for this very reason. PRS and basically anything that isn’t Gibson or fender, looks wise just looks/feels like a copy.
Thanks for the excellent video Zac! Being in the market for a Tele, this was the video I used to get an honest assessment of the NF53. About 15 years ago I had a nice '52 Reissue with a neck humbucker... the things about that guitar I didn't like were mostly addressed in the PRS. Long story short, the guitar arrived yesterday-- and I LOVE it! One feature that I'm over the moon about is the belly cut; it extends into the upper bout-- perfect for me as I like to wear my guitar a little higher than most, so this little detail is a true blessing! I know, kind of goofy, but there you go. Now on to the store for a mug ;)
Like a great musician learning the language of a particular style, PRS has internalised the Tele and produced his personal vision of it. Not as easy as copying. I relate to your love of the original Fenders Zak, but it's great that you gave credit/respect for what Paul achieved here!
While like you, it’s nearly impossible to pry my ‘52 Tele out of my hands. This seems to be a well thought out and brought to market offering from Paul. There were some nice tones you were getting and I do appreciate the additional girth in the tone.
You can buy aftermarket pickups with a brass plate mounted on the bottom to raise the inductance like a telecaster however the pickup cavities on this guitar are so narrow that a lot of aftermarket pickups will not fit without routing the body. Thanks for the video! 🍺🇨🇦
It’s important to realise that PRS didn’t make this guitar for Telecaster fans. If you’re a hard-core Fender fan, you’re not going to buy the NF-53. PRS knows this. You’re not the target audience. The NF-53 isn’t intended to be a PRS for Tele players - it’s a Tele for PRS fans. There are a lot of people who love PRS and are very loyal to the brand. Until now, those people didn’t have a guitar to reach for when they needed a Tele. In the same way, the Silver Sky isn’t a PRS for Strat fans - it’s a Strat for PRS fans. What they are doing is creating a greater range of guitars for their loyal PRS fanbase, so those people have no reason to go buy a Fender, or a Gibson, etc….
I have the Myles Kennedy on the way from a mid-west music store after they install the Phase 3 tuners for me. That is my only gripe with PRS, and I own a lot of PRS guitars, is the Phase 3 tuners should at least be an option on any of their high end guitars. They look and perform fantastic. Great review of the NF-53. I have several NF3s withe the Narrowfield pups and it is my go to PRS. I play for a country artist and can nail everything I need for his shows. Thanks!!
Great review. I had a PRS Hollowbody I got rid of for a banjo I wish I kept. It was the one guitar that had that Redd Volkaert sound on the neck pickup more than I could get out of my some of my teles.
Hey Zac, ain't no hillbilly thing about our thumbs , when my fingers are up there, my thumb is over, when they travel down, my thumb is back down there. A barre chord needs the support unless it's long enough to use on the bass strings. I ain't no Richie Havens. Yeah those are big old flappers on the end of that every time you lean it against something you will move those big things. Hold on, gotta retune.
Very interesting video, Zac. I’m fascinated lately by “alt” style Teles, having recently obtained a CP Thornton TS-1, which I’ve decided is the best guitar I’ve ever played!
Great review Zach! I spent most of my time playing a 335 style guitar (early 80s Epi Sheraton with a slim taper neck) and a tele of some flavor so I’m kind of used to both albeit my teles were never vintage beefy neck models (cause I couldn’t afford them!). I also now have two PRS’s with pattern regular necks which are different but very comfortable. I admit the NF53 appeals to me even though I have 3 other T style guitars… surely don’t really need one but your video has done little to dissuade me so thanks (maybe…!) for that! And I agree on Paul being an innovator - the “classic” PRS body shape is for at now in the Pantheon of shapes with T, S, SG, 335, LP etc… and that’s not something anyone else has really accomplished in, like, 50 years.
Thanks for another great video, Zac. I've got to check the nut width of my old PRS Standard. It's definitely smaller than a typical PRS Custom and just might be Tele sized.
Of course, if you don't like the PRS approach to the Tele, but are open to something a little different from what Fender is offering, look at the G&L ASAT as mentioned in the previous episode.
Excellent review. Very thorough, interesting and sincere. I always love your cadence and delivery. My favorite thing about the guitar is that it is not a Tele copy. It is, as you said, Tele-esque. PRS designed a unique guitar inspired by the Telecaster and targeted at that customer but not one thing about that guitar is a copy. I would have liked the Silver Sky much more if it wasn't a Strat copy with a really ugly headstock (can't stand the shape of the PRS headstock).
Great review! Personally, I have two Teles and two PRS CEs. The CEs both have the tremolo bridge which I really like. One is a semi-hollow and the other is a solid body. The PRS nut width does differ from the Fenders but I find that I play them better.
Great to see a video on this now the hype has died down in YT. My feed was choked up with the standard sponsored “reviews” when they first got released.
Lots of nice features on that guitar, and since I have big hands, the wider nut width is a big plus, as are the noiseless pickups, and comfort carves. Thanks
I have a t style guitar i got cheap and it works for that tele type thing for me. I have to admit i have had a sip of the PRS kool aid. Love the detail, fit and finish on these instruments. Only reason I haven't gotten one of the PRS NF-53 is the price. Hope they come out with and SE soon. Thanks for your opinion compared to a real tele. I value your opinion over most people regarding guitars.
Nice review but I think that you didn’t mention fretboard radius. I only mention it because many Tele and Strat type guitars have large radius boards, I think a large radius fingerboard just doesn’t feel right on them.
NF53, I'd say stands for "Not Fender" Not 19"53". BTW, Warmouth makes a Telecaster neck that bolts onto the standard Tele with a 24, 3/4" scale and wider nut for those Gibson and PRS types.
As Zak and John know I am a huuuge John Jorgenson fan owning 3 - ASAT’s, 2- JJ silver sparkle JJ edition G&L guitars,one maple neck, one rosewood neck. One JJ fender Hellecasters Strat, one Fender Custom Shop USA JJ Double silver sparkle telecaster, and an SC 30 Matchless. 😊Would buy a new Brent Mason Telecaster But it was heavy. Just had major emergency back surgery and it did not sound like a Tele. Since I am still here on this planet I want to get a great sounding regular Tele. All suggestions are welcome. I do not like anything but thinner necks. I also own the MIJ Jerry Donahue tele with upgraded Duncan pick ups, - recommended by Jerry, the JD fender Strat, the Will Ray MIJ Jazzacaster and the Fender Will Ray Custom Shop Hellecaster Tele. Hmmm guess I am a fan!
I love the single coil guitars that PRS is coming out with in recent years. I'm not a fan of the fingerboard birds, but thats just me. I'm holding my opinion on what I what I think of the new nearfield pickups. From the many videos I've seen they seem to be a bit thin sounding.
Very cool. The guitar sounded better than I expected. Pickups sound really good. Wish it was string through though. And a guitar of that price should definitely come with hard shell case. Just my opinion, especially considering that their lower price SE version guitars also come with gig bags. Good demo Zac.
I think the prs would look absolutely amazing with a dark rosewood neck ... that old George harrison rosewood tele colour scheme. The headstock might look less conspicuous that way with the slimming effect of the dark wood
Hey Zac, hope you are well brother. My name is Henry, I live in Greenwood SC. Retired truck driver after 27 years on the road. Never learned to play guitar. I have recently been purchasing music gear. I own a mint dual professional six string fender vintage 1955 in close to mint case. I can't play it, but I purchased it because it is just a beautiful instrument. I also purchased a new Deluxe reverb hand wired 22 watts. I have several guitars, but I am awe struck over the simplicity of the telecaster. I fear I may never learn to play at my age my old fingers don't bend as good as they used to. My question to you is if you were purchasing a new tele which one would you choose to stay as close to the original look and sound. I am also fascinated with Leo Fender journey from radio and tv repairman to setting the standard for guitar. I would like to purchase vintage but that is probably out of my price range, and I also would be afraid of not getting what I was paying for. I really don't like new things. I am kind of a history buff so it would be cool to own a vintage tele. Thank you Zac, I really enjoy your content and the calm manner in which you deliver it.
Love so many PRS guitars. I prefer a headstock with tuners all on the left - maybe a product of playing Fenders for decades. I wish Paul would do a left tuner headstock option for all of his bolt ons.
I finally got past the birds when Sweetwater dropped the price on the SE 594 right after Christmas. The pickups sound so good, the neck is so good, i love my PRS. The 594 has a wide neck which i prefer over the Fender thinner necks, however, I'm an engineer and work in thousandths of an inch on a daily basis with my work. The difference between Gibson and Fender nut width is 0.0375". If you take that dimension and divide it by 5, the number of between string gaps, you get 0.0075" or about the width of two or three human hairs. It sure feels like 10X that when you go from a Tele to a Gibson, but it's not. It's incredibly tiny. So why does the difference feel so big?
I never could get interested in PRS. I tried really hard ,but I couldn't. I like the classic designs because of their flaws. The same reason why "Paul Sheldon" in "Misery"(1990) drove that beat up ol mustang it helped him think. LOL Boom! Misery reference. LOL
Zac great to meet you the other day at Joe Glaser Guitars. I had a PRS Brent Mason model that I wanted Joe to put and B/G Bender on, he didn't want to do that and suggested I get a really nice tele for him to install the bender on. I called PRS and ask them if they were ever going to build a "T" style guitar, and they said they had nothing on the drawing board. So I hired Dan Bloom of "EB Rooster" guitars to build me a 3 pickup Nashville Tele. The Day I meet you I had Joe and his great staff plek my guitar and install the B/G bender. I am very happy with my custom EB Rooster Tele, but I do love Paul and his passion for his people and his instruments. We are Blessed to have people like you, Joe Glaser, his entire staff, and Paul Reed Smith and all of his great people to support us with great information and products to support our "Sickness."
There is a Guy By the name Forest Lee Jr over out of Dixon that makes Tele style He Made Me a 3 pickup tele with 3 special pick up no B.E. or G
Benders . Hes Good Brad Pasley Has a couple tele's Forest has Made Youl Be Happy with His work .
I was going to have him do a 4. Or 5 pick up strat a strech the Body for the 4 or 5 pic ups . Hes not hard to Find .
I really enjoyed meeting you, and what a great looking Tele he made for you!
At first glance, it appears that a Fender Tele had a one night stand with a Carvin Holdsworth model, and 9 months later, this was born!
I've been trying to find a video where it's compared to a tele but everyone else's videos just play like hard rock and really "non tele"sounding riffs, I just wanted it a/b'ed with a tele and you're the perfect person for that
When you say non tele and hard rock in the same comment it makes me think of Jimmy page. “Nothing sold more Les Pauls than Jimmy pages telecaster”
I felt the same with this review. A great review.
Yup. A clean amp setting is the only way to hear what the pickups sound like.
I hate when people do that lol
@@haplozetetic9519 exactly don't get me wrong though I like a good treble booster but when listening to guitar demos I like hearing the amps clean
Watching Zack's videos feels like watching the Bob Ross of guitars/music. Great job!
I am both a PRS and Tele fan, so this scratches a lot of itches for me. Excellent overview
When people make videos in front of their bookshelves I always like to see what they're reading. Well, I'd been wanting to find a book about the history of Fender amps, so when I scanned your bookshelf I found you did my work for me. I figured if you had it on your shelf it's probably a good read, so I paused the video and ordered it up from my local library. I also ordered the Strat one too for good measure! Thanks Zac, for finding me books to read as well as all your great videos. Cheers!
I only keep the good ones
I like that he has the Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West album in the background of a Tele review (orange cover “ Two Guitars “ title is visible) Jimmy gave Leo a lot of feedback and was the first guy to stop traffic with a Telecaster.
You might seriously consider publishing a Zacology bibliography if you haven’t already. You are my favorite interviewer and music historian. (Rick and Keith are tied for second place) You do the best homework and background studies. You know how to draw out the gold from all these recording kings. Thank you for sharing your gift of inquiry with us all. God bless you, Zac.
I laughed the first time I studied the shelf. Then checked mine to see if I had been robbed lol! Zac and I agree on literature. Guitar lit anyways lol.
YeahMe2.
Beautiful review. You brought out the twang other reviewers did not do for this guitar. Thank you for years of music related information !
Great guitar but this leans close to an apples vs oranges situation imo, would love to see the same comparison with a G&L ASAT which was Leo’s last iteration of the Tele which had pretty significant and innovative changes, primarily with the bridge and pickups. Interesting story about how he reluctantly came to design it but demand for a Tele design from him at that stage in the company’s history was apparently strong. Then there is of course the ASAT Classic which is basically a Tele, a comparison to your Esquire would be cool with it as well. Lots of Tele variants from various manufacturers but keeping it all Leo based might prove interesting and have that crucial historical link.
Such a fair review, you’re the man, Zac. We all learn so much from you!
Sir, that was a great review…kudos for the honest take from a tele guru. 👍🏻
As a pretty major Tele guy I would play one (in a solid colour). I respect what Paul is trying to do with this.
Always a gentleman - Thank you, Zac.
I’m one of those Es335 players who couldn’t get along with a tele neck or bridge intonation. After seeing your review, I actually want to try one of these. ( I bought a thinline tele and played it a lot, but never bonded with that traditional neck- sent it to a new home.)
I put this into the general comment section but here it is as a reply. BTW, Warmouth (maker of necks and bodies of every guitar out there) makes a Tele neck that bolts up to the standard T-body but with the option of a Gibson scale length (24,3/4") and wider nuts width and flatter fretboard radius. They also make a combo fretboard radii with traditional radius towards the nut and a flatter radius up the neck also S/S frets.
Want to bet that Paul reaches out once he sees this? He seems to be interested in what people think of his instruments, which is a great way to improve what you design and build, I think. He also just likes to play and jam with others. He builds guitars from a player’s perspective whether his own, or from some of his signature artists. Great video.😬😎
Great review! Appreciate your no nonsense take and insight within this review.
I appreciate that!
Played one just like that at Righteous guitar in Atlanta - played like butter. I'm a bassist who doesn't much care for teles but I fell in love after 10 min.
Got a chance to play one of these recently as our local music store got one. My impression was very much the same as yours. Thanks for a great video!
Is the absence of the bridge plate really the culprit for some loss of twang? I was always told that more metal around the Tele bridge pickup caused a widening of the magnetic field of the pickup, making it more mellow. Same thing with pick up covers on PAF..
I just want to commend your reviewing abilities, how you discuss the pros and cons! I feel more informed than "told what to think".
Great video, I appreciate you taking the time to do a deep dive. I have been playing a McCarty 594 for about three years and I’m having a great time, no turning back. They’re addicting for sure.
Thank you for doing such a well balanced non-biased review. It’s refreshing to see an honest review these days that’s not tainted with the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” tactics.
I think the guitar sounds good and the bridge system offers some improvements over the traditional Tele bridge. However, the neck width, angled headstock, and the birds are all a no for me. The bird inlays are just too distracting looking for such a simple minimalist guitar. And I’m not a PRS Bird detractor. It depends on the guitar and I think the simpler Moons would be a much better fit.
All and all just like you said, Zac, these guitars would be awesome for a Gibson/PRS player who needs a Tele now and then.
Zach, on break angle, it makes sense to me that a greater angle puts more pressure on saddle, resonating into the guitar. But I have a Bigsby on a guitar with 24.7 scale length that I run the strings over the bar behind the saddle because of intonation issues. The result is amazing sustain and slinky feel. It doesn’t make sense, but I really like it. I love my Fender guitars, but PRS builds a great guitar with a different quality. Solution is to buy more guitars.
I wonder how many of our old heroes (who let's face it we know because of Zac 😂) would get on with one of these. Always have to remind myself that the vintage kit they used was not vintage but new and the "latest and best" they could get. Paul, and even Leo in his later days, never seemed to stop striving.
I can see Roy Nichols using one of these.
IMO they’re way better than those silly music man guitars Johnny Hiland and Albert Lee used/use. .
@@fancykarlmarx why do you come to that conclusion?
@@vintagepearlguitars purely esthetics. Music man guitars sound just fine I just hate the way they look and their bass counterparts.
Glad to see a real Tele player run this through its paces. Very cool! Actually does the Tele thing pretty well. Other reviews don’t really demonstrate that all that well.
You share some great insights and observations, Zac. Thanks.
Had one since Oct '23. Great in every way, as Zac points out.
I would say it's close to 90% the Tele sound. EXCELLENT construction and quality!
(played Teles since August 1970!!).
The neck radius is the first thing I noticed.
felt great to me.
10° radius
Zac, You do such a great job! A very nice review, with so much positive to say about a product that might have confused a lot of people. Thanks for bringing clarity from a tele-master perspective and keeping it positive! Your comments regarding Paul's continued innovation is spot on. It is nice to see him pushing every day. I hired his band to play our Homecoming in 1979. My cousin owned Mil-Com and now Mann-Made USA. Wishing you continued success! Thanks for your work!
My best Telecaster is my Richie Kotzen signature Fender MIJ. It’s an absolutely incredible guitar. Just my 2 cents on the telecaster topic. I’ve never played a PRS Tele
Oh man, I am feening for one of those. Is it that great? I m always looking for the perfect tele. Love my "goldfoil" tele.
I like the way it sounds and I think the bridge design is cool, but I can't get over the way it looks. The headstock is fine (I have a DGT SE and I kind of ignore the headstock), but I really don't like the pickup having a gap between the body and pickup. That said, it sounds great and I hope the people who buy these love them!
Thanks for the deep dive. The detail about the nut is very informative. No other reviews mention this. This guitar is being aimed at Gibson or PRS players used to their necks. Helpful description. I own a Reverend & Suhr classic T. The Reverend has a slightly wider nut which I prefer but the Suhr is more chunky & I like that too. I’m going to have to track one of these down to feel the neck. I love the tones you got. If I get that without hum, that’s great. I will say I wish they put locking tuners on this like the Myles Kennedy.
As someone who prefers my Silver Sky to my stratocaster, I'm excited to get my hands on one of these. I have two telecasters, but I'm willing to give this one a shot. Appreciate the comparison and review.
Great Review! Love how you was able to show it from a telecaster player perspective, it makes a lot of sense for me!
Keith from 5 watt world sent me your way because of his short histories and my love of the Tele and thought I would check out some of your videos and enjoyed them and your playing and knowledge so Subscribed and look forward to more videos and checking out your past ones. Keep rocking 🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻
Thanks to you and @fivewattworld
I can't afford to support you on Patreon at the moment but I got to say your content is really good. I love your true tone vids and am super thankful for the content you put out. Liked, subscribed, and will share.
I go back and forth on a variety of neck widths, ranging from a violin to a classical guitar, so I'm used to ignoring neck width. But, one thing that sometimes causes me hiccups on my Fenders is the lack of "wiggle room" between the E-strings and the edge of the fingerboard. In addition to the occaisional string slip over the edge, I sometimes find the base of my index finger making contact with the ringing open high E, causing a sizzle. It's annoying, but I adjust. I never have this happen on my Gibsons or PRSs, though.
Sometimes you need to shim the neck with bolt on guitars. Or at least crack the bolts loose and wiggle the neck until the strings are spaced better underneath it. Been a common issue with my bolt on necks
I have noticed this close to the edge grief on vintage Fenders, with the bridge perfectly centered.
I grabbed a G&L Tribute classic T where it showed up. The bridge is parallel, but not centered.
The neck joint is perfectly tight.
Zero wiggle room for shiming.
Not sure I have a cure I like, so I live with it.
I love the pick ups! Chris
Same issue here. I have adapted to this E-string roll off by cutting new nuts to a narrower width.. This moves both E-strings in a little. Stew-Mac sells a nut spacing gauge that gives a perfect spaced cut every time. This also allows you to cut the high E a little higher to avoid the sizzle.
@@robertmitchell2178 I have done this.
I keep it low as a fret.
First fret intonation is paramount.
One thing I constantly see is strings not lining up with pole pieces.
Every thing is a compromise.
Chris, I'm not seeing how a neck shim would help, here, but a "therapeutic" nut as described above would likely help. On my Tele Deluxe, which came with the wide vintage bridge string spacing, I plugged, redrilled, and installed a lookalike import bridge with narrower spacing. This dramatically improved the playability for me by moving the strings away from the edges of the fingerboard. No one can tell by looking...
Very well done video review. It was bound to happen. Interesting spin. One characteristic of PRS guitars: they don't seem to lend well to customization or part swaps. I too prefer a 1-5/8" nut width. I think Zak's tele's just sound more organic.
Leo’s headstock lets you sit a Tele or Strat on its back without hitting the tuners or the headstock itself. Not a major advantage but appreciated now and then.
This was great. Your review was nice because you were coming at it as someone not already playing PRS and not affiliated. This guitar looks and sounds great to me. I have a Fiore and got it mostly for the neck, which is wide and thin. I like the wide string spacing on it, but I feel it still has a pretty standard thinness like a Fender strat or tele. It sounds like the NF is fatter. Still really nice. thanks for putting this out there.
Great review and playing, Zac! You know, that PRS reminds me of my '88 G&L ASAT, only updated by thirty-some years.
Honestly haven't seen a better demonstration of what this guitar can do. Of course Ask Zac is gonna kill it on a prs tele. Really sounded beautiful in your hands, Zac. Makes me want to get one lol
Well done look at the PRS. Definitely not a PRS guy but I listened to you because were fair and objective. Thank you
The bridge pieces appear to be a variation on the Mastery saddles--three string saddles, two screws for intonation adjustment.
I'm not a purist, but never found a PRS I liked. I played and liked a Fiore the other day, and picked up the nf53 after that. I really liked it. Good size neck, rolled fingerboard edges. A really great modern update to a classic.
Doinky! My next technical term! Great video as usual...
Zac’s videos are absolutely brilliant👌👌👌🫡
My Crook pink paisley has tall thin frets. I really like them. To each his own. Thanks to Bill Crook for his suggestion . In addition, I may have missed it but, the saddles? Was there any mention about it? Cheers Dallas
Thanks for this review Zac, and thanks to Jesse for making it happen. I like a slightly modern Tele (such as a flatter radius fingerboard and individual saddles), and I’m really enjoying my PRS CE 24 SE. But I’m just not seeing anything in the NF-53 that appeals to me. Not that it matters until they make an SE model that’s in my price range. 😀 When they do, I feel like I’ll have to evaluate it as its own thing rather than compare it to a Tele, though. Because when I think Tele, I think Tele pick-ups, and those NFs may be great, but they don’t seem like a substitute for Tele pickups to me.
I had that bridge on a Vela. Brilliant design. Works great for string changes!
I am a custom shop Tele player its hard to wrap my brain around this one but it looks and sounds great I certainly would like to give it a try if I see one show up at my local guitar center.
That's a beauty, BUT the pointy headstock... I have a pointy guitar stigma issue.
There are soooooo many guitars I can’t play for this very reason. PRS and basically anything that isn’t Gibson or fender, looks wise just looks/feels like a copy.
i sees the Bose Wave Radio in that shot. Mine went belly up last year, i nearly cried.
They are good little units!
Is anybody reminded of the old Ovation electrics? Like the Viper, Preacher, and Breadwinner?
I once had an Ovation electric. Innovative and really well made.
I had a Breadwinner....wish I'd hung on to it.
the David Cassidy embarassment guitar
Thanks for the excellent video Zac! Being in the market for a Tele, this was the video I used to get an honest assessment of the NF53. About 15 years ago I had a nice '52 Reissue with a neck humbucker... the things about that guitar I didn't like were mostly addressed in the PRS. Long story short, the guitar arrived yesterday-- and I LOVE it! One feature that I'm over the moon about is the belly cut; it extends into the upper bout-- perfect for me as I like to wear my guitar a little higher than most, so this little detail is a true blessing! I know, kind of goofy, but there you go. Now on to the store for a mug ;)
Totally enjoyed the way you assessed this guitar. Thank you sir! 👍
Like a great musician learning the language of a particular style, PRS has internalised the Tele and produced his personal vision of it. Not as easy as copying. I relate to your love of the original Fenders Zak, but it's great that you gave credit/respect for what Paul achieved here!
(Sorry, Zac)
Plot Twist: next two instruments Peavey brings back are the TL5 and the Cropper Classic.
I wish
While like you, it’s nearly impossible to pry my ‘52 Tele out of my hands. This seems to be a well thought out and brought to market offering from Paul. There were some nice tones you were getting and I do appreciate the additional girth in the tone.
You can buy aftermarket pickups with a brass plate mounted on the bottom to raise the inductance like a telecaster however the pickup cavities on this guitar are so narrow that a lot of aftermarket pickups will not fit without routing the body. Thanks for the video! 🍺🇨🇦
It’s important to realise that PRS didn’t make this guitar for Telecaster fans. If you’re a hard-core Fender fan, you’re not going to buy the NF-53. PRS knows this. You’re not the target audience.
The NF-53 isn’t intended to be a PRS for Tele players - it’s a Tele for PRS fans. There are a lot of people who love PRS and are very loyal to the brand. Until now, those people didn’t have a guitar to reach for when they needed a Tele. In the same way, the Silver Sky isn’t a PRS for Strat fans - it’s a Strat for PRS fans.
What they are doing is creating a greater range of guitars for their loyal PRS fanbase, so those people have no reason to go buy a Fender, or a Gibson, etc….
Your right there are a lot of people who fall for Paul's bullshit, sales pitch!
I dunno if I agree with the strat part, because as far as I'm aware, the Silver sky is just a good strat clone
Fascinating seeing Zac playing a PRS! 🙂
I have the Myles Kennedy on the way from a mid-west music store after they install the Phase 3 tuners for me. That is my only gripe with PRS, and I own a lot of PRS guitars, is the Phase 3 tuners should at least be an option on any of their high end guitars. They look and perform fantastic. Great review of the NF-53. I have several NF3s withe the Narrowfield pups and it is my go to PRS. I play for a country artist and can nail everything I need for his shows. Thanks!!
Thanks nice review. I've got a Buzz Feiten T-Pro... his take on a tele with some mods
The bridge was actually developed eight years ago for the PRS Vela model.
Those sound awesome.
Great review. I had a PRS Hollowbody I got rid of for a banjo I wish I kept. It was the one guitar that had that Redd Volkaert sound on the neck pickup more than I could get out of my some of my teles.
for 3K they need to throw in a hard shell case.
@@brianmorton4127 for $3K, they’re going to have to drive me to the gig every week and pay my bar tab…
Hey Zac, ain't no hillbilly thing about our thumbs , when my fingers are up there, my thumb is over, when they travel down, my thumb is back down there. A barre chord needs the support unless it's long enough to use on the bass strings. I ain't no Richie Havens. Yeah those are big old flappers on the end of that every time you lean it against something you will move those big things. Hold on, gotta retune.
Great review. I think I will look for one in my local music store to give it a try.
Very interesting video, Zac. I’m fascinated lately by “alt” style Teles, having recently obtained a CP Thornton TS-1, which I’ve decided is the best guitar I’ve ever played!
Great intro tune. Love your playing style.
Great review Zach! I spent most of my time playing a 335 style guitar (early 80s Epi Sheraton with a slim taper neck) and a tele of some flavor so I’m kind of used to both albeit my teles were never vintage beefy neck models (cause I couldn’t afford them!). I also now have two PRS’s with pattern regular necks which are different but very comfortable. I admit the NF53 appeals to me even though I have 3 other T style guitars… surely don’t really need one but your video has done little to dissuade me so thanks (maybe…!) for that! And I agree on Paul being an innovator - the “classic” PRS body shape is for at now in the Pantheon of shapes with T, S, SG, 335, LP etc… and that’s not something anyone else has really accomplished in, like, 50 years.
Thanks for another great video, Zac. I've got to check the nut width of my old PRS Standard. It's definitely smaller than a typical PRS Custom and just might be Tele sized.
Of course, if you don't like the PRS approach to the Tele, but are open to something a little different from what Fender is offering, look at the G&L ASAT as mentioned in the previous episode.
Excellent review. Very thorough, interesting and sincere. I always love your cadence and delivery. My favorite thing about the guitar is that it is not a Tele copy. It is, as you said, Tele-esque. PRS designed a unique guitar inspired by the Telecaster and targeted at that customer but not one thing about that guitar is a copy. I would have liked the Silver Sky much more if it wasn't a Strat copy with a really ugly headstock (can't stand the shape of the PRS headstock).
Excellent balanced review, thanks Zac
Great review! Personally, I have two Teles and two PRS CEs. The CEs both have the tremolo bridge which I really like. One is a semi-hollow and the other is a solid body. The PRS nut width does differ from the Fenders but I find that I play them better.
Very informative. Thank you.
Great to see a video on this now the hype has died down in YT. My feed was choked up with the standard sponsored “reviews” when they first got released.
Lots of nice features on that guitar, and since I have big hands, the wider nut width is a big plus, as are the noiseless pickups, and comfort carves. Thanks
Thanks for the honest review
I have a t style guitar i got cheap and it works for that tele type thing for me. I have to admit i have had a sip of the PRS kool aid. Love the detail, fit and finish on these instruments. Only reason I haven't gotten one of the PRS NF-53 is the price. Hope they come out with and SE soon. Thanks for your opinion compared to a real tele. I value your opinion over most people regarding guitars.
Don't want to swing a core model but an SE would be great!
I do like tiny frets. Looked for years to replace an old tele and ended up with a new Godin that has small frets
Nice review but I think that you didn’t mention fretboard radius. I only mention it because many Tele and Strat type guitars have large radius boards, I think a large radius fingerboard just doesn’t feel right on them.
It has a 10" radius
Thanks for your quick reply. 10 inches is just about Ok for me.
NF53, I'd say stands for "Not Fender" Not 19"53". BTW, Warmouth makes a Telecaster neck that bolts onto the standard Tele with a 24, 3/4" scale and wider nut for those Gibson and PRS types.
I hope they bring one of these to the SE line
Great, i really enjoyed the review. Now please do some music man and g&l videos on strat and tele reinterpretations.
He just did the ASAT recently.
@@mrbuttons1243 thanks, I'll check it out!
@@mrbuttons1243 ah, I've watched it already and totally forgot! I'm watching it again for good measure.
As Zak and John know I am a huuuge John Jorgenson fan owning 3 - ASAT’s, 2- JJ silver sparkle JJ edition G&L guitars,one maple neck, one rosewood neck. One JJ fender Hellecasters Strat, one Fender Custom Shop USA JJ Double silver sparkle telecaster, and an SC 30 Matchless. 😊Would buy a new Brent Mason Telecaster
But it was heavy. Just had major emergency back surgery and it did not sound like a Tele. Since I am still here on this planet I want to get a great sounding regular Tele. All suggestions are welcome. I do not like anything but thinner necks.
I also own the MIJ Jerry Donahue tele with upgraded Duncan pick ups, - recommended by Jerry, the JD fender Strat, the Will Ray MIJ Jazzacaster and the Fender Will Ray Custom Shop Hellecaster Tele. Hmmm guess I am a fan!
@@mrbuttons1243❤John J
The reluctant admirer. Love the honesty.
I love the single coil guitars that PRS is coming out with in recent years. I'm not a fan of the fingerboard birds, but thats just me. I'm holding my opinion on what I what I think of the new nearfield pickups. From the many videos I've seen they seem to be a bit thin sounding.
Nicely done. Insightful review.
Thank you kindly!
Very cool. The guitar sounded better than I expected. Pickups sound really good. Wish it was string through though. And a guitar of that price should definitely come with hard shell case. Just my opinion, especially considering that their lower price SE version guitars also come with gig bags. Good demo Zac.
Thanks!
Thanks Zack, you’ve a great style!
Great review Zac.
Love everything with the body and bridge design. Prefer the original Tele headstock.
I think the prs would look absolutely amazing with a dark rosewood neck ... that old George harrison rosewood tele colour scheme. The headstock might look less conspicuous that way with the slimming effect of the dark wood
Great honest review, Zac. Thank you for posting this video.
Hey Zac, hope you are well brother. My name is Henry, I live in Greenwood SC. Retired truck driver after 27 years on the road. Never learned to play guitar. I have recently been purchasing music gear. I own a mint dual professional six string fender vintage 1955 in close to mint case. I can't play it, but I purchased it because it is just a beautiful instrument. I also purchased a new Deluxe reverb hand wired 22 watts. I have several guitars, but I am awe struck over the simplicity of the telecaster. I fear I may never learn to play at my age my old fingers don't bend as good as they used to. My question to you is if you were purchasing a new tele which one would you choose to stay as close to the original look and sound. I am also fascinated with Leo Fender journey from radio and tv repairman to setting the standard for guitar. I would like to purchase vintage but that is probably out of my price range, and I also would be afraid of not getting what I was paying for. I really don't like new things. I am kind of a history buff so it would be cool to own a vintage tele. Thank you Zac, I really enjoy your content and the calm manner in which you deliver it.
Road Worn
Love so many PRS guitars. I prefer a headstock with tuners all on the left - maybe a product of playing Fenders for decades. I wish Paul would do a left tuner headstock option for all of his bolt ons.
Zac I’d love to see an episode where you talk about some of those cool books behind you!
I finally got past the birds when Sweetwater dropped the price on the SE 594 right after Christmas. The pickups sound so good, the neck is so good, i love my PRS. The 594 has a wide neck which i prefer over the Fender thinner necks, however, I'm an engineer and work in thousandths of an inch on a daily basis with my work. The difference between Gibson and Fender nut width is 0.0375". If you take that dimension and divide it by 5, the number of between string gaps, you get 0.0075" or about the width of two or three human hairs. It sure feels like 10X that when you go from a Tele to a Gibson, but it's not. It's incredibly tiny. So why does the difference feel so big?
I never could get interested in PRS. I tried really hard ,but I couldn't. I like the classic designs because of their flaws. The same reason why "Paul Sheldon" in "Misery"(1990) drove that beat up ol mustang it helped him think. LOL Boom! Misery reference. LOL
Great episode, been a subscriber for a long time (bought a hat) and now its time to step up on Patreon. Thanks Zac
Awesome, thank you!
I liked those skinny tiny frets on those old fenders- know you know !