What's so flipping great about a PRS DGT?

DrJazzTap

I always think I'll take an SG and a strat to band practice, and always take the DGT. 
I'm playing atmospheric/noisey style music atm, and I felt a bit self conscious about a flamey guitar for that style of music. Nobody else cares, why should I? 
The DGT gives me great single coil tones, a trem that doesnt go out of tune and it feedbacks really well. 

Just wish I'd have gone for a standard. 

dcg

Well, I couldn't agree more: I've had four DGTs, all with moons - and still have two!  The standard went, and so did the perfect dirty yellow flametop.  The first keeper is a 2008 goldtop, the second a 2015 (I think) whitetop; the necks are different (the white guitar is slightly wider at the nut and the end of the fretboard), and both are unbound.  A genuine do it all guitar, comfortable, and devoid of the bling that (for me) spoils other PRS guitars.  It's a dignified guitar, and sounds great in any musical context.  If only PRS could offer the dignity option on every guitar they produce - and a case that weighs less than a car - I might consider more of their guitars.

tone1

I was originally looking for a Goldtop one with moons, but the standard with the hollow birds just looked fantastic to me. I can’t do shiny glossy guitars either. I hear that the DGT originally shipped with 11’s, which aren’t my normal gauge. What do you guys use gauge wise?

tone1

Mine’s also a 2012 model with the V12 finish. It’s got the same colour McCarty burst on body & neck, which is great as I don’t like red back guitars. I had read that the early nitro got a bit sticky

DrJazzTap

tone1 said:

I was originally looking for a Goldtop one with moons, but the standard with the hollow birds just looked fantastic to me. I can’t do shiny glossy guitars either. I hear that the DGT originally shipped with 11’s, which aren’t my normal gauge. What do you guys use gauge wise?

I play with 11s anyway, when I found out it comes with 11s as standard I thought "that's the guitar for me".
The dual volume pots sold it to me, even if they are back to front for my tastes.

tone1

I think I’m going to change the volume pot locations. Actually the one I have has been rewired to only have one master volume with the 2nd volume pot disabled. I would like both operational really and the neck volume in the traditional place rather than DGT spec.

Onpar

Isn't the DGT basically a McCarty with a trem? So why doesn't the McCarty get as much love?

I could be wrong here though. Just now starting to look at PRS guitars again. 

guitars4you

Onpar said:

Isn't the DGT basically a McCarty with a trem? So why doesn't the McCarty get as much love?

I could be wrong here though. Just now starting to look at PRS guitars again. 

The DGT came from the McCarty chassis - I recall DG also had an involvement with the initial McCarty as well

Obvious comment is to the trem - but the pick-ups are significantly different as well - Plus the neck carve/profile but that certainly is a  matter of taste

Strat54

guitars4you said:

Onpar said:

Isn't the DGT basically a McCarty with a trem? So why doesn't the McCarty get as much love?

I could be wrong here though. Just now starting to look at PRS guitars again. 

The DGT came from the McCarty chassis - I recall DG also had an involvement with the initial McCarty as well

Obvious comment is to the trem - but the pick-ups are significantly different as well - Plus the neck carve/profile but that certainly is a  matter of taste

That's right, he requested a PRS with more of a Les Paul influence around the time he briefly replaced Dickie Betts in the Allman Brothers and the McCarty came from that. Most of the ones Grissom had around then were McCarty Trems and then he famously ended up with the 1994 gold top McCarty Trem that was originally built for Robben Ford who returned it. 
I asked David about his pickups and he said none of his guitars ever had the stock pickups in them, right from the get go he was experimenting with Paul. I asked if the ones in his own DGT's were stock and he smiled and laughed in a way that said not really. He then said every guitar he gets goes straight to Ed Reynolds in Austin who replaces the nut and 'attends' to the frets etc etc. Like most pro's he's incredibly particular and exacting. 

danny_777

I never understood the hype either until I played a Private Stock-built Ltd Ed DGT a few weeks back. Bought it on the spot. A spectacular guitar in every way. Rings like a bell, super resonant, and endlessly versatile.

tone1

@danny_777 I think you had one up for grabs a while ago with the push/push pot which looked ace

SimpleSimon

guitars4you said:

Onpar said:

Isn't the DGT basically a McCarty with a trem? So why doesn't the McCarty get as much love?

I could be wrong here though. Just now starting to look at PRS guitars again. 

The DGT came from the McCarty chassis - I recall DG also had an involvement with the initial McCarty as well

Obvious comment is to the trem - but the pick-ups are significantly different as well - Plus the neck carve/profile but that certainly is a  matter of taste

Personally i'd prefer a McCarty Trem as I prefer the neck profile over the DGT, but I can see why PRS don't go down that avenue as the DGT is such a big seller for them. To be fair they share a lot of identical attributes but the DGT just has its own thing going on and the pickups are some of the best out there.

tone1

DrJazzTap said:

tone1 said:

I was originally looking for a Goldtop one with moons, but the standard with the hollow birds just looked fantastic to me. I can’t do shiny glossy guitars either. I hear that the DGT originally shipped with 11’s, which aren’t my normal gauge. What do you guys use gauge wise?

I play with 11s anyway, when I found out it comes with 11s as standard I thought "that's the guitar for me".
The dual volume pots sold it to me, even if they are back to front for my tastes.

I’ve just got mine back from the wonderful Phill at Project music  who has worked his magic and rewired mine to give me the neck volume pot nearest the nut and the bridge pot nearest the rear....

I need to try a maple capped DGT too...