I was near to buying an NF53 before this one came up. How do you fine they compare in sound? Super glad to have found a nice NF3 at a decent price (FINALLY!) but still have that NF53 in my mind for a future look.
You can tell the NF53 is from the same family tree , to my ear it is louder but not hotter if that makes sense. Like the regular NF the 53 takes gain really well and is smooth and full sounding clean.
DC3 and Mesa V by 
NF53 with Boogie by 
IMG_8813 copy by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/
NiceJust a short new guitar day post welcoming my new-to-me 2011 Natural Korina NF3 to the guitarsenal! I did a quick play on it acoustically straight out of the case, and it really sounds open and sustains well… such a good sign. There’s some tarnish on the hardware that might not clean up completely, so I’ll call that the PRS-level relicing. Also, there is some residue from a stand/hanger here and there, which is cleaning off nicely with no discoloration. I’m really pleased with the guitar, and looking forward to an amplified test drive shortly. In my experience, a guitar that sounds good unamplified sounds great through an amp, so I’m expecting to be smiling. 100% a great deal so far.
By the way, the wiggly lines near the knobs are reflections from the window, not scratches.
More to come…
Thanks, Amigo! After spending a day on it, I'm really happy with the purchase. It's a great player, and a good sound match for my other NF3. Slightly different. perhaps the maple board or just the subtle difference from guitar to guitar, but a good match.
You can tell the NF53 is from the same family tree , to my ear it is louder but not hotter if that makes sense. Like the regular NF the 53 takes gain really well and is smooth and full sounding clean.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2oUPwBL]
Changed the pickguard
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2prKmds]
Well, that's almost freaky...
I haven't measured in a while, but I want to say my NF3 is right in the range of yours as well. Pretty consistent!
Looking back, it’s a strange journey to finally getting them paired up, much of it due to my own personal thoughts and boundaries I’d set for myself in the search. I’d all but given up on finding one sub-$1500 in good condition. It seems folks have accepted the value at $2k and up. I admit, in all fairness, I have paid that and more for guitars I liked less. The fact of what I’ve paid for them in recent memory argues against that in my brain though…. It became a fight-the-fight challenge to beat the “pandemic pricing.” I did pay just shy of $2k for the white NF3, and don’t regret it. One last thought on cost is that both of them together cost less than the discounted price I paid for my 594 HB II new. Value is a weird thing to nail down in our own minds, methinks.
The NF53 is a taste brighter than the NF3 , I really like running both pickups on the NF53 for cleans for gain it just sounds good !!!
