Yet Another DG30 Experiment.

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Too Many Notes
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Apr 26, 2012
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I've been remiss for a long time in failing to experiment more with my DG30. 99% of the time I've run it with its Boost switch on, the way Grissom does it live. It's very loud that way, but sounds freakin' awesome. Anyway, I decided today to switch the boost off, turn the Master nearly full up, and use the Volume (gain) control to set the amp's volume levels, old-school.

I don't think I tried this in a very long time, maybe since I first got the amp and was using it with a different cab (I now use it with the Grissom ported 2x12 cab that matches the head).

Anyway, not only did I love the tone, but it wasn't very loud at all. In fact, it was downright bedroom-friendly with the Volume (gain) control just a little past 12 o'clock. I could control the crunch with the guitar volume, but importantly, the amp sounded great not only without pedals, but also with a boost pedal, an overdrive, and a compressor (each separately for this test, of course).

I've previously stated here that the DG30 is a loud amp, not suitable for bedroom volumes. Turns out that isn't true, unless you crank the volume (gain) control quite a bit, even with the Master full up.

Moreover, the amp really sounds great with the Master full up, as the Master is pre-phase-inverter, and affects how the gain control works in terms of tone. I think I like it best this way!

Les
 
All your talk about this amp SERIOUSLY makes me want to get it to match my DG 2X12
13938147_10153706081166837_8998189813395242992_o.jpg


Or maybe another Archon 100 in the DG blonde tolex and wood color???
 
All your talk about this amp SERIOUSLY makes me want to get it to match my DG 2X12
Or maybe another Archon 100 in the DG blonde tolex and wood color???

I love my DG30. It's not your everyday amp, it certainly has its quirks, but it's one of my two favorite amps, ever. And I've had some stellar amps over the years.

It's also beautifully built, and after I'm dead, my son MUST use it for his rockin' band (their record had its "World First" premiere today on Apple's Worldwide Beats 1 Radio, see pic).

 
OK, I'm really digging this amp on the Normal setting with the Master wide open. It's absolutely as good as my HXDA in a different way.

Also...haven't used the Mesa Lone Star much lately since going back to this setup. Not that the Mesa isn't good...I just prefer this.
 
OK, I'm really digging this amp on the Normal setting with the Master wide open. It's absolutely as good as my HXDA in a different way.

Also...haven't used the Mesa Lone Star much lately since going back to this setup. Not that the Mesa isn't good...I just prefer this.
You know I've never played a Mesa amp before............
 
Yes. Different guitars are fun diversions, but different amps are game changers. I learned that lesson the hard way, a long time ago. Go explore.
++1

Previously I was a 2 channel Mesa Boogie amp guy then I discovered the beauty of the PRS single channel amps and their incredible interactivity with my various pickups, pick attack and my guitar's volume and tone controls. It changed the way I play! Now I use a wet/dry rig with an HXDA 100 watt and PRS 212 cab as my foundation and I run my reverb and delay through an Ashby 50 watt Custom 2x10 combo. This setup preserves the incredible responsiveness of the HXDA without getting muddy with the amount of delay and reverb I sometimes crave.
 
I'll say this about guitars and what they do before returning to the topic of amps:

After many years playing, when I got into PRS guitars in 1991, my interest in guitar increased and I started playing more. Maybe it was just the comfort level, maybe it was the tone, but I wanted to play more, so I did play more. As a result, my playing improved. I know, owning a guitar doesn't really make a person a better player, but if owning it makes a person play more, and there's some want-to attached to the process, you can't help but become better at it!

As my favorite maniacal coach Jim Harbaugh says, you become better at football by playing football. Same is true of guitar.

I've heard players saying that they want to fight the guitar when they play; I don't. I want to express myself and do subtle things if I can manage them.

So while I think the amp is indeed hugely important to the electric guitar's gestalt, to dredge up my often-expressed synth analogy, the guitar is the oscillator, and the amp is the filter. Sure, a synth's tone is often defined by the filters, the ADSR envelope, the LFOs, and other processors, but if the oscillators don't sound good, the synth is hamstrung and will never sound truly great.

This is why I remind myself sometimes that there are an awful lot of things that factor into all of this guitar stuff.
 
I'll say this about guitars and what they do before returning to the topic of amps:

After many years playing, when I got into PRS guitars in 1991, my interest in guitar increased and I started playing more. Maybe it was just the comfort level, maybe it was the tone, but I wanted to play more, so I did play more. As a result, my playing improved. I know, owning a guitar doesn't really make a person a better player, but if owning it makes a person play more, and there's some want-to attached to the process, you can't help but become better at it!

As my favorite maniacal coach Jim Harbaugh says, you become better at football by playing football. Same is true of guitar.

I've heard players saying that they want to fight the guitar when they play; I don't. I want to express myself and do subtle things if I can manage them.

So while I think the amp is indeed hugely important to the electric guitar's gestalt, to dredge up my often-expressed synth analogy, the guitar is the oscillator, and the amp is the filter. Sure, a synth's tone is often defined by the filters, the ADSR envelope, the LFOs, and other processors, but if the oscillators don't sound good, the synth is hamstrung and will never sound truly great.

This is why I remind myself sometimes that there are an awful lot of things that factor into all of this guitar stuff.

I play more now that I have my Custom 24. I just love having it in my hands!
 
"I like to fight the guitar" oh man that's so funny! Something my friend said about his Melody Maker right before he quit playing guitar altogether..

I dont like fighting the guitar either. I don't want to concentrate on why my guitar feels like crap. It's already getting hard as it is just finding the time to play.
 
I just had this "fighting" discussion with a friend of mine who is a much better player than I. Basically he wants the guitar to have action high enough to allow him to hit the strings as hard as he wants without buzzing. Also when he bends, he wants the strings to basically top out at a whole step bend, with his innate bending force. He doesn't want to re-learn his bending force, or play light all of the time, so he wants the guitar to provide the boundaries.
 
I just had this "fighting" discussion with a friend of mine who is a much better player than I. Basically he wants the guitar to have action high enough to allow him to hit the strings as hard as he wants without buzzing. Also when he bends, he wants the strings to basically top out at a whole step bend, with his innate bending force. He doesn't want to re-learn his bending force, or play light all of the time, so he wants the guitar to provide the boundaries.

Any guitar (including a PRS) can be set up with a higher action, and a stiffer feel. In fact, the action on my PRS guitars is fairly high, compared to many other players, because I like to be able to not have the strings buzz, and to be able to push my fingertips against the strings fully for bends.

A few of my friends who've played my McCarty Singlecut were surprised at how stiffly it's set up - the tailpiece part of the bridge is low enough to keep the string tension pretty firm, so the 10s feel more like 11s. Sure, it'd be easier to play with a different setup, but I like it on the firm side.

But there are lots of subtle things I like about a PRS' playability and of course, tone.
 
Any guitar (including a PRS) can be set up with a higher action, and a stiffer feel. In fact, the action on my PRS guitars is fairly high, compared to many other players, because I like to be able to not have the strings buzz, and to be able to push my fingertips against the strings fully for bends.

A few of my friends who've played my McCarty Singlecut were surprised at how stiffly it's set up - the tailpiece part of the bridge is low enough to keep the string tension pretty firm, so the 10s feel more like 11s. Sure, it'd be easier to play with a different setup, but I like it on the firm side.

But there are lots of subtle things I like about a PRS' playability and of course, tone.
+1
 
Any guitar (including a PRS) can be set up with a higher action, and a stiffer feel. In fact, the action on my PRS guitars is fairly high, compared to many other players, because I like to be able to not have the strings buzz, and to be able to push my fingertips against the strings fully for bends.

A few of my friends who've played my McCarty Singlecut were surprised at how stiffly it's set up - the tailpiece part of the bridge is low enough to keep the string tension pretty firm, so the 10s feel more like 11s. Sure, it'd be easier to play with a different setup, but I like it on the firm side.

But there are lots of subtle things I like about a PRS' playability and of course, tone.

I totally understand.

I am on the opposite side of the spectrum, while still using 10's. I bend 3 half steps regularly, and play pretty light; in conjunction with a plexi/jtm styled amp, set to get clean with the guitar volume on 4-5. I vary pick pressure a TON. High action makes me pick harder, which reduces the clean/dirty spectrum of my amp.
 
I don't like high action, stiff feel, and I sure as heck don't want to "fight" my guitars. THAT is why I have always loved the looks, tones, and of course "history" of Strats, but don't love playing them. I came to PRS for one reason! They play and feel better than any other gutiars. At the time I got my first one, it did not sound as good as the Les Paul Custom I had, but it played and felt better.

As I get older and have arthritis issues with my hands to finger injuries from basketball, now more than ever I want PRS feel and action! I have a fantastic Taylor with a great setup, but still, playing those 12s kills me. Can't do it for long. PRS is the only guitar I can play and enjoy, with 10s. (I don't play a Les Paul). My strats have 9s on them or I don't like them at all. My PRS have mainly 9.5s on them but one still has 10s and it's fantastic. Any other guitar, 10s would be a PITA!
 
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