DGT 15 - Big disapointement...

[ma6699ma]

Hi, am I the only one totally disapointed with this new DGT 15 amp ?
I was looking at the promo videos with all those lush overdrivres texas style.
I told myself, wow! what a nice little head, packed with many features like a master volume, a reverb and a tremolo that can deliver sweet crunch at a very friendly price.
What a deception I had when I got the amp and I finally realized that to get this sweet sound you have to crank the master volume way up at 11 (making an anoying "no-more headroom" noise) and trying to get a reasonanble family friendly volume by adjusting the pre-amp gain...which is totally counter-intuitive. I get the point that David Grissom likes to get his crunch directly from the power tubes, but this is really not what I expected. I consider impossible to get any overdrive sound from this amp at bedroom volume since the master volume is not made for this...big disapointement...The clean, reverb and tremolo are very good by the way. But don't count on this master volume...

 

[László]

What a deception I had when I got the amp and I finally realized that to get this sweet sound you have to crank the master volume way up at 11 (making an anoying "no-more headroom" noise) and trying to get a reasonanble family friendly volume by adjusting the pre-amp gain...which is totally counter-intuitive.

The problem isn't the amp; the problem is it wasn't designed to do what you want it to do. The best way to buy an amp is to go into a store with your own guitar, and try it out to see if it's for you. Then you won't be disappointed if it isn't.

Grissom has always made the point that his amps are designed to be run flat-out. You can't get his tone unless the output tubes are saturated. He plays loud, he plays live, and he records in real studios, not bedrooms. Just the way it is.

However, he uses pedals a lot. The amps were designed to be used with them, and they sound great with the right ones at lower volumes.

I have the DG30, the hand-wired big brother. I bought it at the time of its introduction in early 2014. It's without doubt my favorite out of several very fine amps. I run it with the master volume all the way up, like Grissom, and I use the volume/gain knob old-school as a volume control.

Amps like Mesas that depend on preamp tubes for gain often sound fizzy unless they're turned up a bit (I have a couple and have owned many, as well as some very high end stuff like Two-Rocks). No tube amp sounds its best in a bedroom. They're designed to be played with a band.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I have no experience with the DGT15, but with what you’re describing, it must truly be very similar to the DG30.

I’d say 90% of the people that I personally know that bought one came to this very conclusion, and the majority of them ditched the amp.

You may want to look into the HDRX or something, but I wouldn’t give up on the DGT right away.

The DG30 was/is an “expert level” amp that kinda requires you to spend some time with it, it’s not an immediate gratification amp.

 

[Greywolf]

I love my DG 30 but High gain Isn't it's thing , add a good pedal and it is Awesome. ( Xotic Super Sweet really makes it shine)
If I want high gain I just turn to the Blue Sierra 50 or my Boogie through the Marshall 4x12

 

[Bogner]

4x12's And Volume Are Your Friend. I Always Say This And 99% Of Guitar Players Want Those Results (That Sound) By Trying To Go A Million Other Ways To Get It And It Just Doesn't Work Like That.

Bummer You Are Disappointed, That Is Never A Good Thing. Hopefully You Can Find A Solution (Or Another Amp) That Works For Your Wants And Needs. A Fryette Power Station Could Be A Great Help But Likely Counter Productive FinanciAlly Which Is Why Most People Buy The Smaller Amps.

Side Note, I Have A Few Amps And None Of Them Sound Good At Low Volume (Or As Good As They Do) At Volume. The Lower Wattage Of Some Of These Amps Is A Bit Confusing. By This I mean A 50 Watt Amp Isn't half As Loud As A 100 Watt Amp...Etc. There Are A Lot Of Smaller Amps Being Made 15 To 20 Watts Or So Range And They Are Still Quite Loud.

An Amp Designed In A Way That Also Has A Very Good Master Volume Is The Way To Go For Volume Sensitive Players. Friedman Has Good Master Volume Amps And They Sound Nice At Low Volume. My BE-100 Sounds Great At Whisper Quiet Volume. The Best Sounding Amp I Have Ever Owned Or Played At Low Volume Is A Diezel Herbert. That Is 180 Watts Or So Depending On What 6 Power Tubes You Use And Sounds Absolutely Amazing At Low Volume Or High Volume.

I Say All This To Say You Are Likely On The Wrong Amp For Your Needs Based On How It Was Designed. The Amp Is Fine, What You Want Is Fine. You Are Simply Both On A Different Page And That Is Really Unfortunate.

 

[DISTORT6]

There needs to be a Bedroom Amp Company.
I don’t want anything from them, though.

 

[László]

The DG30 was/is an “expert level” amp that kinda requires you to spend some time with it, it’s not an immediate gratification amp.

True. It took me a month or two of experimenting to dial in exactly what I was looking for. But once I got there, man, oh man. I love it.

I've found that several pedals work well with it, and obviously there are many more I haven't tried with it. But those that have worked very well are the Xotic BB, the OCD, and my current faves, the Pettyjohn Chime and Edge pedals.

I should point out that I use pedals more for saturated color than extra gain, but with them you can substantially lower the volume and still get a feeling of 'push' that you get with output tubes.

As it happens, I have a recording of the 30 done with the Xotic BB a few years ago, used at very low gain, just to give the tone a hint of saturation. I've posted it many times, but I did use the Master for this recording, set pretty low. The first melody line is the 594 Soapbar, the second line is a 594 with humbuckers.

I wasn't going for a Grissom tone - not my thing to cop someone else's tone - but it does sound good (I'm an 'edge of breakup' guy).

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman%2Fmessy-22

 

[Prina]

I had the same issue with the 2 channel Archon, the clean channel wouldn't give anything close to a nice plexi style distortion and the lead channel only wanted to do high gain sounds. It wasn't until I just let the amp do what it was designed to do, a great lead and a great clean but not a fantastic EOB/crunch that I really started to appreciate it.

 

[JTB]

I ordered a DGT15 without first having played through one. I don't usually buy before I try. The DGT15 is a great sounding amp, but turns out not for my style of playing. I purchased from a store that has a return policy. There's no doubt that somebody could make that amp sing. I snagged a Fillmore 50, which is a much better fit for me. I've played tube amps for decades. They have to be cranked up a bit to sound good, even if my wife doesn't believe it.

 

[Bogner]

There needs to be a Bedroom Amp Company.
I don’t want anything from them, though.

+1

Spark
Boss Waza Headphone Thingy

 

[11top]

Kemper

 

[gush]

There needs to be a Bedroom Amp Company.
I don’t want anything from them, though.

Getting amped up in the bedroom sounds like a great plan!!!!!

 

[DISTORT6]

+1

Spark
Boss Waza Headphone Thingy

Not Corck-sniffery enough. Needs some teenie-weenie exotic tubes to make the big bucks at low volumes.

 

[László]

I ordered a DGT15 without first having played through one. I don't usually buy before I try. The DGT15 is a great sounding amp, but turns out not for my style of playing. I purchased from a store that has a return policy. There's no doubt that somebody could make that amp sing. I snagged a Fillmore 50, which is a much better fit for me. I've played tube amps for decades. They have to be cranked up a bit to sound good, even if my wife doesn't believe it.

The Fillmore 50 is a very good amp. I have one and really like it.

After I got it I replaced the preamp tubes with NOS G.E. and RCA. It made the amp sound much better (to me). Recently I installed Telefunken output tubes, which was another significant improvement.

I run it into one of Mesa's recently-introduced 4x10 cabinets with Creambacks.

It doesn't do what my DG30 does, but it does some things the DG30 doesn't do, so I have them both.

 

[Rider1260]

I was one of those folks that didn't get the DG30 ( how to make it work for me ) but I came from Mesa and amps that got there sound from Preamp gain. Also used to multi channel amps , that said I now have a couple of small wattage single channel amps and have learned how to make them sing for me. Unless you have already given up dial in a nice cleanish tone with the guitar volume at 5-6 then add a nice lite overdrive or boost pedal and last roll that volume up I think you will be happier

 

[D k Souther]

Get a nice load box/ attenuator. I use an OX box with my DGT15 and I can run it cranked but have control over the volume. I can also run it into studio monitors and rock out at bedroom levels if needed.

 

[gush]

I am interested in this dg15. I would use my attenuator as I do with my HDRX20.

 

[JTB]

Get a nice load box/ attenuator. I use an OX box with my DGT15 and I can run it cranked but have control over the volume. I can also run it into studio monitors and rock out at bedroom levels if needed.

I just read about the OX Box because of this post. It looks like a powerful solution. I have not yet crossed over into the power attenuator realm.

 

[ruger9]

From the demos I have seen of the DG15, I suspected exactly what the OP describes (low headroom), which is why I didn't jump on it when it came out. It also didn't sound exactly like the DG30 to me, so I wasn't sure it would "scratch that itch". (altho I do wonder if you put the same mil-spec 7189's in it the DG30 has....)

I'm quite happy with my Hot Cat, after swapping a couple of the preamp 12AX7s for 12AY7s, which makes it much more of a "crunch" amp than high-gain amp. Also, it has a fantastic master volume that really does sound great at lower volumes (Bad Cat's "K-Master".)

I would still love a DG30 someday, but for it to satisfy me I think I'd have to get the DG 2x12, and even better... swap the V30s for Greenbacks (which is what Grissom records with; altho his is an old Marshall 4x12). But by then it's just too damned loud for my home.

 

[JTB]

The Fillmore 50 is a very good amp. I have one and really like it.

After I got it I replaced the preamp tubes with NOS G.E. and RCA. It made the amp sound much better (to me). Recently I installed Telefunken output tubes, which was another significant improvement.

I run it into one of Mesa's recently-introduced 4x10 cabinets with Creambacks.

It doesn't do what my DG30 does, but it does some things the DG30 doesn't do, so I have them both.

I agree. Great clean tones, workable drive tones. I have not been able to find tones that I like in the Hi gain mode. It seems to be a little too much sizzle for me. Have you any suggestions on dialing in the Hi mode?