594 vs DGT

[garrett]

I appreciate all of these comparisons and experiences. A particular guitar is going to respond relative to the amp and how you configure it, as well as the material and how you play it. Please state the rest of your rig when making a tonal analysis because a DGT will be a different animal with an Archon than it would be with a Dallas...as will almost any other guitar.

That is a good point. I did my testing through a Dr. Z Mini Z 1x10 combo. Nothing but a volume control, so the character of the guitar is what it is. It was set up with a low-ish breakup. I always run through some rock and blues riffs and licks. I also like to play full barre chords all over the neck to judge note separation and intonation.

I do think the split tones on the 594 suffer a little due to the short scale. Not as snappy on the neck pickup, so less of a Strat simulation. Split bridge is great for twangy country stuff, though.

 

[Maertl513]

I appreciate all of these comparisons and experiences. A particular guitar is going to respond relative to the amp and how you configure it, as well as the material and how you play it. Please state the rest of your rig when making a tonal analysis because a DGT will be a different animal with an Archon than it would be with a Dallas...as will almost any other guitar.

As I did my comparision I used a Mesa Boogie Mark V combo in the guitar store. First I adjusted it clean and the equilizers neutral. I started with the DGT and it sounded dull. There was nuance difference in sound by switching from HB zu coil tapped voicing.
Then I turned it to crunch/overdrive: same behaviour.
On the other hand side my own guitar reacted the same like with my rig at home.
Maybe that particular DGT has been finally assembled at Private Stock Division on a lousy Monday. It is of course only my singular experience.

 

[JoJo]

My testimony is based on experience with my Fender Princeton Reverb Reissue (clean and boosted by a JRockett Archer) and my Orange Thunderverb 50 (channel 1 almost clean, channel two set to mild Vintage/British-voiced overdrive).

Funny enough, my troubles with the stock DGT pickups were most prominent on the PRRI. The TV50Hs compression took out a bit of the (in my ears) too agressive treble tones, smoothed out the mids and cleared up the bass a bit.

@Maertl513: I still wonder about that particular PS DGT.
Had it sported strings from an earlier century?
Which had been played for decades with sulfurous sweaty hands?
Or has it really been put together by new guys (with a really bad hangover) on a successive series of murky Monday mornings?
Or did it suffer from depression from being neglected and underestimated (I've got some experience in that field)?
We'll never know...

I test-played a bunch of (Core) DGTs in a rural warehouse within Lisbeth's fading Kingdom. Not one - including the one that I own now - of them sounded dull...

 

[Maertl513]

@JoJo, as a repetition for our forum members not being part of our "native speaker's" forum in a country, where it's already SUN close to noon.
Maybe I gave a statement regarding my experience in an other thread before. However!
At that moment of the comparision my guitar wore D'Addarios 10-46 NYXL for almost one year (they are still on), nearly been played every day for minimum of half an hour. They weren't fresh indeed.
My INTEL (OSINT by interviewing the head of the custom shop departement of that instrument store) came to the result, that PRS guitars receive very low attention by the customers. I was told that I was the first guy in months, who asked for the acceptance, taking a PRS off the wall for testing. On the other hand, even very expensive models by Gibson or Fender have been taken off the hook on a daily base. In that period I was comparing, five customers grabbed Paulas, Teles, Strats.
That being said, this PS DGT is from 2014. For average guitarists it's from my point of view not a real competitor for purchasing a guitar. If you wanna sell a guitar Paulas, Teles, Strats (custom shop level) keep their price, it's difficult with such a PS.
I don't know when they restrung that DGT.
Maybe new strings would have lead to an other experience.

 

[oceantracks]

I know this is an old thread...but..not been able to play a 594 in person but it looks like everything I would want.
I had a DGT for awhile a few years back. Had to sell over some debts, but while I had it this is what I found.
For clean sounds, and half dirty sounds, it was one of the best guitars ever. It made recordings I make jump up a few notches.
But...I noticed that it did not sound good on overdriven modern alternative stuff. My son put it through his Marshall and said the same thing. It's like it had an odd buzzy haze over it,
unlike a PRS C24 would have with the same distortion. So not my favorite for heavier alternative stuff. But for clean it ruled. Someone said it was like a 335 meets Telecaster, and I thought
the same thing...."this is a Gibson/Fender morphing guitar." I really liked it. But because the weirdness I experienced with the heavier overdriven sounds (not LEAD lines, but chords)...I think
the 594 is going to be great for me...

 

[Rider1260]

I've been playing some 594s lately and got to play a DGT also ( my amps Mesa MK2b and PRS H with PRS 2x12 cab ) also got to play the 594s on a Kemper and a Bogner
Here is my take
594 - ( both single and double cut ) Large round neck - nice meaty tone - nice splits that are more of a volume change than a strat ish sound very vintage and gibson like and a GREAT sounding guitar its the best short scale PRS I have played ( Santana excluded , a 594 Santana would be an instant buy $$$ for me )
That said it is not a guitar for me -- what drew me to PRS was the ease with which they played , I aways had to fight my Fenders and Gibsons and others a bit when I won the fight things were good but more often than not I lost the fight. I feel some of that same fight in the 594 guitars its far better than my old F and G guitars but the old vintage vibe it there so is the tone but it does not sing for me like the 25" and 25 1/4" PRS do.
So that brings me to the DGT - I have a pretty good section of guitars with nothing lacking but there is something different with the DGT the 11s the big frets and the 2 Volumes do work having the bridge volume be the first one you reach is really cool when playing in the middle position, the 11s play so easy and something interesting is they stay put no flopping around when you hit it its there to be hit again right away there is just a bunch of control.
The DGT I played was as close as any guitar has come to my MEII for attack and projection , it won't make me give up my Customs or 513 or 408 but it will have a place in my collection ( prob a gold top )

 

[bodia]

The DGT I played was as close as any guitar has come to my MEII for attack and projection , it won't make me give up my Customs or 513 or 408 but it will have a place in my collection ( prob a gold top )

You can have it when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

 

[Boogie]

You can have it when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

I understand that sentiment. And approve.

 

[CatStrangler]

For me personally, there is a large difference between the tone, feel and attack between the two bridge types. I like the spanky punchy tones of the trem and tend to find the fixed bridge counterparts a bit more smoother and mellower. I have McCarty that scratches the fixed bridge itch. I don't find myself at all drawn to the 594, simply because I am not a fixed bridge guy, and lord knows I've tried. There's always room for one more DGT/McCarty Trem/Santana type in my house!

Sorry if this has been discussed - I did a search and couldn't find anything.

I've been through a bunch of PRS over the years and had different favourites over time. I finally settled on the DGT as the model that suited me best. My first proper guitar as a kid was a strat and my ultimate strat is a James Tyler. The DGT complements that so well and, despite having a number of different guitars, the Tyler and the DGT combo pretty much covers it all imo.

I think the DGT became probably the most universally acclaimed PRS model, but there is now a lot of fuss about the 594. So my question is, from a twin humbucker perspective, what are the opinions on the tonal comparison between these two?

 

[László]

For me personally, there is a large difference between the tone, feel and attack between the two bridge types. I like the spanky punchy tones of the trem and tend to find the fixed bridge counterparts a bit more smoother and mellower.

I think you're right; there's a difference - in sound as well as feel - and each has its strengths. Same with one piece fixed bridge vs two piece.

I grew up on fixed bridge guitars and use mostly finger vibrato instead of a trem, but I like playing all three types of guitar. To paraphrase esteemed member 11Top, I like blondes, brunettes and redheads.

 

[PeterK]

Get both

 

[PeterK]

I find that the 594's or 245 guitars nail the early Gibson tones (Clapton, Duane, and Dickey, ect) I just picked up a used stripped58 (substitute that in for a 594) to satisfy the need for those tones. I also use a Mccarty as my main guitar. It's just an all around good sounding guitar that sounds classic but isn't limiting in the lest bit. I find that with the 25 inch scale you get a tad more versatility out of the instrument because of the extra high end IMHO. I'll put it this way, I wouldn't ask my Mccarty (or DGT in your case) to do early Clapton tones but I wouldn't ask my stripped58 to do everything else under the sun. I'd say both of those guitars would be complementary to each other, especially since one has a trem hope this helps!!

Also, had the chance to ask PRSh about the difference between a 594 and a Mccarty and DGT and his response was that they were different guitars cut from the same cloth

 

[László]

Also, had the chance to ask PRSh about the difference between a 594 and a Mccarty and DGT and his response was that they were different guitars cut from the same cloth

So that's his secret. One gigantic piece of cloth.

(OK, it's like a joke, only smaller.)

 

[Rider1260]

You can have it when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

You just fueled my never ending GAS -- the hunt is on , the Mira slowed me down for a bit . I do lust for your DTG tho still

 

[bodia]

You just fueled my never ending GAS -- the hunt is on , the Mira slowed me down for a bit . I do lust for your DTG tho still

I made a little trade for something else you may lust after! NuGD to follow sometime today.

 

[sloanthebone]

I just sold my 594 hardtail because I just don't care for tom bridges. Beautiful guitar but didn't feel right to me. I also have a trem 594 which is awesome and feels perfect. I really miss the Dgt I had and regret selling it. I wish I had the Dgt and trem 594 at the same time because I think it would be a better comparison but one thing about the Dgt is that is sounded so great with those pickups in it. The Dgt is has a perfect recipe imo. I would love to grab a set of Dgt pickups and put them in the 594.

 

[Utkarsh]

Hi folks, I made a full video on this topic with my guitars. Hope it's useful and helps answer some questions

 

[JDutch]

I own a DGT, and I've played that guitar back-to-back with the 594.

The pattern vintage neck shape is what I spec'd on my private stock. It fit my hand like a glove, but I also find the DGT neck shape very comfortable.

The DGT pickups have considerably more personality to me, however. The 58/15 LT pickups sound sterile to me. Maybe I'd like the non-low turn 58/15s better, the same way that I've liked the 57/08s and 59/09s.

 

[ViperDoc]

My DGT pickups balance so nicely between mellow, rolled-down split tones and hairy hot gain-crushing rock, it’s crazy. Too many differences between DGT and 594 design to be fair, they’re both essential guitars, if you ask me. I was never a two volume player until my 594 and for many styles of music, the capability and flexibility of that setup has become critical. You should own both. I don’t care for the DGT neck, personally, so mine is a PS with a P22 neck carve and nut width. It’s sensational.

 

[Tonart]

Apart from doublecut and singlecut, I see the different models as the same guitar, just with different number of frets, bridge, scale length, string gauge, controls. These differences do subtly change the tone of the guitar, but they will do so regardless of the guitar make brand or shape. It is indeed a tremendous achievement in branding that these come to be seen as different ‘models’. It gives variety and makes it all more interesting for the players. Love it!