Extra Special Offer - still new, set-up + full warranty - Was £1899 - Now £1599

A PRS DC3 in charcoal smoke burst joins our impressive showroom selection of PRS Guitars - Note, the finish is translucent, but no way do these pics do justice to the guitar - It looks far better in the flesh

In the late summer of 2010 PRS released 2 new models - The NF3 and the DC3 - They look very similar and to a large degree they offer the same performance characteristics with regard to feel and playability - The major difference is the DC3 has an alder body and a set of DC3 vintage flavoured pick-ups - The NF3 has a korina body and a hotter set of Narrowfield pick-ups - In short, if you like the vintage flavoured tones of Hendrix, Clapton, Gilmour, SRV etc etc etc, then the DC3 is for you

Click here , click here and click here to listen to a few video clips of the DC3 - Also click here to listen to a few minutes of a Fender Gilmour Strat and a PRS 305 going head to head - (note the PRS 305 has the same pick-ups as the DC3 and is pretty much an identical guitar to the DC3, hence it makes this shoot out very compatible) - So let me enlighten you with a few details regarding the DC3 :- The solid alder body retains the classic PRS shape, but now we have flat, non contoured body, complete with a scratchplate assembly, and a bolt-on maple neck - Add to this a 25.25" scale length and we have a guitar that has the tonal characteristics and vibe/feel of the classic S guitar from California

Various colours are available as is the option of a maple or rosewood fingerboard, but in this instance we have a translucent charcoal smokeburst finish and a maple fingerboard - A set of 22 jumbo frets (as used on the PRS DGT) are impeccably installed, contoured and polished to perfection to deliver the legendary PRS playing action, plus effortless and controlled string bending - The maple fingerboard is simply embellished with a set of ring dot inlays, whilst the headstock facia is simply left in its clear maple format - The neck and fingerboard receives a 'rubbed in' coat of 'oil that soaks into the grain of the wood, so no thick lacquer sitting on top of the maple - This ensures, that from day one, the DC3 feels nicely played in and user friendly - The neck is tagged as 'pattern regular' and is based on the original necks PRS used in the late 80's - In short it has a vibe about it that is found on the DGT and Al D necks, so if you've played one of these guitars you'll know what I mean - It possesses a similar width at the top nut to a Strat, but with enough depth to feel comfortable, yet enhance both tone and sustain, hence Fender based players will adore the way it feels

Hardware is all nickel and that includes the PRS locking tuners as well as the PRS modern fulcrum trem system - Unless you go in for some serious dive bombing, the PRS trem will give you a trouble free tuning package as well as having a smooth and positive feel to it - Hopefully the above demo clips have already given you an indication as to the tone that a DC3 can deliver - I can add to this that it is very responsive to how you play, so smooth and bluesy or crisp and funky are instantly available - Furthermore, set the amp up with some overdrive, then roll off the volume and tone pot, as required, to give you more dynamics, emotion and expression - It will clean up nicely until you find that magical sweet spot - Sure, a Strat based player will always look at buying a Strat, but if you want the build quality and ease of playability that a PRS offers, yet want a guitar that has a Strat-esq vibe about it, then test drive a DC3 - Does it offer 100% pure Strat-esq tones? - Maybe not, but that is only because there is no such thing as a pure Strat tone, as Fender's from different periods don't all sound the same, yet they have that Strat vibe and that is were the DC3 is coming from