NGD SE NF3 with slight mods

[littlebadboy]

Very nice guitar with the upgrades!

 

[shimmilou]

Looks great!

 

[Broseph]

Spent the past few days touching up the frets even more. Nice and level now. I smoothed the edges of the frets too and slightly rolled the fretboard. Just the finest of the details that I expect to come with my PRS USA automatically.

I’m very pleased with the result. For those that like to do their own bench work: this SE is highly rewarding. I’m very much enjoying mine. Tossing on locking tuners was a must for me. But I will say this guitar is very unique in the PRS lineup and worth the work to fine tune it. It doesn’t feel like an SE to me now.

 

[dmatthews]

Gorgeous, congrats!

 

[Broseph]

Slight further mods: went with core knobs so it fits the silver/black theme.
And then my tremolo arm was replaced - The SE arm was too low and kept hitting the volume knob. I found a USA Strat arm that was designed for their modern 2 pt bridges - worked like a charm. Sits higher and matches the bridge better. A win win

 

[d^rren]

That looks fantastic. I need to get one of those arms for my Tremonti SE as I have the same issue. The bar is just too low to the face of the guitar when it's in the neutral position.

 

[Daryl Jones]

Oh drool that's niiiiiice!
*edit
I should know better than coming on here when I have a whole day to dwell on things when my day's project list gets thrown wonky for whatever reason.
Suffice to say I let that &]%$ing GAS affliction get the better of me. I just got off the phone with the closest shop to me and ordered the Ice Blue/maple fretboard model. Sue me, I'm weak!

So please don't hate me @Broseph but I'm going to copy the knobs and pick guard like yours. Were the core knobs a simple/direct swap from the stock SE ones? The amber ones on my Hollowbody were. I won't get too carried away with anything else (yet?) but I'll get the knobs and pickguard right away so I can swap them when the guitar gets here. No definite date on arrival but should only be a few weeks (2-3 I hope) getting here.

 

[Broseph]

I’ve been playing a lot the past weeks with partcaster builds. I’ll tell you what tho. This SE is up there. Very convincing single coil sounds. No hum. And plays better despite hours of me working on frets on the other guitars. This guitar is very under appreciated for what it is. It’s incredible work and tech

 

[Daryl Jones]

I’ve been playing a lot the past weeks with partcaster builds. I’ll tell you what tho. This SE is up there. Very convincing single coil sounds. No hum. And plays better despite hours of me working on frets on the other guitars. This guitar is very under appreciated for what it is. It’s incredible work and tech

I'm really liking mine even though I've had it less than a week.
Question for you on the pick guard though. Can I just remove the screws on the old one and drop the new on in place? It looks really tight where the neck sits and the neck pickup is very close. I don't want to have to remove the strings and/or loosen the neck mounting screws. I'm not that comfortable with the idea of doing that. I will see what happens with the trem arm when I put the lampshades on...

 

[Broseph]

I took the strings off to swap the pick guard. It’s far easier that way.

 

[RedGuitars]

Where did you get the pickguard?

 

[Mark Ray]

I may pull the trigger on a Pearl White, maple fretboard model.

Looking for suggestions for a replacement guard with a bit more pizzazz. LOVE what OP did with his Gun Metal Gray!

 

[Broseph]

Where did you get the pickguard?

Seller on reverb. Easy to find. He originally started doing them for the silver sky

 

[Daryl Jones]

I took the strings off to swap the pick guard. It’s far easier that way.

I figured that...(sigh), but did you loosen the neck too? Pretty tight on room...
I may take a run at it, I've done scarier things without having done certain things before. I should probably put NYXL's on it anyway, not really a fan of the PRS strings.

 

[Broseph]

I don’t losen a neck for string changes or when working electronics.

 

[Mike Duncan]

Love the TRC!

 

[Daryl Jones]

I don’t losen a neck for string changes or when working electronics.

That makes me feel much better, thanks. I'm very much a rookie with working on my guitars, but I'm learning slowly and determinedly.
I shook like a dog crapping razor blades when I soldered the battery holder leads back on my HB-II. But it's a 4 hour round trip (and no guarantee he could do it when I got there) to my PRS dealer so I did it myself.
I have taught myself many things with maintaining and working/troubleshooting with my race bike, it's all a matter of doing and getting the appropriate information to do a job correctly. Working on mechanical devices and machines are a whole lot different than being a meat cutter. You can always make a decent burger out of a mistake with a chunk of beef...

 

[RedGuitars]

Last question, what kind of locking tuners? Thanks

 

[frankencat]

I wish they had put this bridge on the SE SS rather than the 2 post one. Cool guitar.

 

[dogrocketp]

The answer for an easy tuner swap is John Mann SE tuners.