Help with amp for a PRS DGT

DNH · January 2016

I recently bought a 2009 PRS DGT Goldtop (from Majorscale, great bloke to deal with btw). It is a fabulous playing guitar and sounded superb both clean and overdriven through the LJ20 I tested it on. However, having brought the guitar home I’ve discovered that it doesn’t sound as good through my amp, a Headstrong Lil’ King. I’m primarily a Tele player and the Lil’ King works great for blackface cleans and as a pedal platform with my Teles, but with the DGT there is far too much bass available even with the amp’s bass knob rolled right off. Clean tones are not too bad, but overdriven sounds really flub out, especially on the neck pickup.

I’d appreciate advice on ways that I could get the DGT working better with my amp, or whether I really need another type of amp to get the best from the guitar. I had been wondering about buying a second amp that will do JTM 45/Plexi type vintage overdrive tones, which might well suit the DGT more, so any recommendations along those lines would be great to hear too (I’d be looking for a combo, 20 watts max).

Cheers,

Duncan

koss59 · January 2016

I've played a lot of these DGT's now and was quite shocked when comparing one to my Les Paul thats one of the fattest Les Pauls I've ever heard. The DGT's were all a hell of a lot darker than the Les Paul. I think it's inherent in those guitars as you can hear it in all of Grissoms latest solo outputs. Anyway I recommend a Matchless or Badcat that can get them to sound brighter as I think it was probably Grisssoms best sounding period also. ( I'm aware he wasn't using DGT back then )

Check out the 15 watt Badcats as they're a Bargain compared to Matchless.

guitargeek62 · January 2016

As a simpler "fix" you could try some 1k ohm pots in there in place of the 500k* ones?

*presumably; if they're 300k ala Gibson then swap them for 500k 10% tolerance pots.

fretmeister · January 2016

Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups. Vintage but with loads of treble bite. Perfect for brightening a dark guitar.

Blueingreen · January 2016

Probably not the sort of thing you're interested in but I thought my DGT sounded magnificent through a Roland JC120.

DNH · January 2016

Thanks for all the responses. All great suggestions but I think for now at least I'd rather keep the guitar stock and experiment with amps. @koss59 I like the sound of a 15 watt Badcat. Coda have a few 15 watt models within my budget: the Black Cat 15, the Cub III 15 and the Hot Cat 15. Maybe I will take a trip there with the DGT this weekend. Any idea which of the 3 would be best for vintage Grissom style overdrive?

Cheers,

Duncan

Fez · January 2016

Jet City are bright amps so could be worth a try. Or try a treble booster like the Bigfoot Engineering Trouble booster or a Dallas Rangemaster clone (BYOC do a kit if you can solder).

koss59 · January 2016

Definitely go for the Blackcat 15, one of the best amps I've ever owned. Only sold it as I have the 30 too and needed the bigger headroom more often. You will not regret it, it's brilliant at classic Grissom tones.

octatonic · January 2016

Try a 22w Two Rock Studio Pro with a good distortion pedal.

monquixote · January 2016

I would think the cheapest and easiest solution would be a tube screamer type pedal to tighten the low end.

Sassafras · January 2016

I use an AMT F1 preamp for exactly this situation.

Gassage · January 2016

You could look at my Cornell Voyager 20 in the classifieds. It would do all that you need.

DNH · January 2016

A tube screamer would probably get the job done - but I must admit that I quite fancy the Black Cat. I'll take a trip to Coda this weekend to try the Badcats and if they don't work out then I've got the TS type pedal as a backup plan!

Cheers for all of the responses on this - really helpful stuff.

octatonic · January 2016

DNH said:

A tube screamer would probably get the job done - but I must admit that I quite fancy the Black Cat. I'll take a trip to Coda this weekend to try the Badcats and if they don't work out then I've got the TS type pedal as a backup plan!

Cheers for all of the responses on this - really helpful stuff.

Try the Two Rock while you are there.

I was looking at both Two Rock and Bad Cat and walked away with the Two Rock.

DNH · January 2016

octatonic said:

DNH said:

A tube screamer would probably get the job done - but I must admit that I quite fancy the Black Cat. I'll take a trip to Coda this weekend to try the Badcats and if they don't work out then I've got the TS type pedal as a backup plan!

Cheers for all of the responses on this - really helpful stuff.

Try the Two Rock while you are there.
I was looking at both Two Rock and Bad Cat and walked away with the Two Rock.

Will do - thanks for the tip!

Majorscale · January 2016

Duncan, I know that the DGT sounds amazing through a Magnatone as I gig a Twilighter. Coda has the Magnatone range too...

DNH · January 2016

Cheers Steven, I'll take a look at the Magnatone too (although it would be right at the top of my budget). I'm still really happy with the DGT, I just need to find the right amp to pair it with.

Majorscale · January 2016

There are smaller, cheaper & less powerful "maggies" in the range at Coda, certainly worth a dabble if you are there. Plus my lj20 is based on a tweed deluxe so that's another avenue. Interestingly I consider my lj20 to be a dark, warm amp yet it certainly was working with the DGT as you found out.

BGG · January 2016

I run both my DGT's through a 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb and they sound wonderful.

welshboyo · January 2016

Best Amp I ever had working with my DGT was either my JTM45 or JMP 50...doesnt help I know!!!

markj · January 2016

I play my DGT through a H&K Puretone head and matching 2x12 cab driven by a wampler euphoria. It puts a smile on my face every time.

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Help with amp for a PRS DGT

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