DGT Custom 30 vs 50???

[Blackbear]

I will have to buy without trying first so which model to you guys recommend? I play everything from rockabilly to classic rock to blues in a three piece band, I have to have a good clean tone so I need at least enough headroom for that, I play with a Guild Starfire IV 90% of the time. For effects I use a Fulltone Clyde wah, Strymon El Capistan & Flint, for overdrive I use a Barber 1/2 Gainer. I need those who have played these amps to give their opinions.
Thanks!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Unfortunately very few of us have played the 50 -- so most everyone is going to recommend the 30 -- especially Les, as it's one of his favourites.

I even had a used DG50 in my possession for a short while, but ended up returning it to Guitar Center because I couldn't get rid of this extraneous noise. It was only when I hooked up a ~8 ohm cab to the 8 ohm output. The guy in the store checked it out in front of me, and it sounded fine...great even, but he used the 4 ohm tap (on an 8 ohm Marshall cab).

 

[László]

Unfortunately very few of us have played the 50 -- so most everyone is going to recommend the 30 -- especially Les, as it's one of his favourites..

Dusty's right, I haven't played the DG50, though I plan on getting one at some point and adding it to my little PRS amp arsenal. So I'm absolutely not qualified to compare the two amps.

What I can do is share info on the DG30. But before I do, I can recommend that you take a listen to Grissom's latest record, How It Feels To Fly. The 30 is all over that record, and the amp does what it does on that record, effortlessly. You can just take some quick listens on iTunes if you don't want to buy the whole thing. The reason I recommend doing this is so that you get a clear picture of what the amp was designed to do live and in the studio.

Though it is a versatile, pro level amp in every way, if you need high headroom, this is not your amp. What it gives you instead is the sweet, smooth gradual breakup that many amps promise but can't deliver.

Will it do beautiful cleans? Yes, absolutely, depending on the relative settings of the gain, master, and most importantly, your guitar's volume knob. Here's a clip of mine with a PRS 408, you'll hear differences as i play with the volume knob, and controls on the guitar. Toward the end I use it with some delay and modulation.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/dg-demo-track

There are a bunch of other short clips on my little Soundcloud site of the amp to demo various things. And the demo videos by Grissom on the PRS Product website are very accurate representations of what the thing sounds like.

I think the amp would be ideal for your music and guitar, but only if you can live with the fact that it's designed to break up rather quickly. If you're just not a guy who's going to put that guitar volume knob to use, I'd recommend one of the two-channel amps PRS builds. They truly sound superb, and have especially nice cleans.

Finally, if you decide the DG might be for you, it's an amp that requires a little bit of learning to dial in. The time spent doing that is worth it, but it's not a "set it and forget it" amp. The controls are very interactive, and are designed to be interactive with your guitar.

 

[Boogie]

I'd love to spend a couple of days comparing the DG50 to my Super Dallas. I'm very curious as to how much overlap exists between the two amps.

Otherwise, to Blackbear's question, I use very similar pedals...Flint, El Cap...but with a Klon, BB Preamp and EP Booster in front. They all work phenominally well with these non-loop amps.

 

[TJC]

I own both the 30 and 50 and they are fantastic. having used both quite a bit in my studio and the 30 on tour all of last year, I would highly recommend the 30. And here's why....With a good "marshall in a box" pedal you can cop the 50 tones and feel. The trannies in the 30 are stout enough to handle that low end that say a Box of Rock or OCD have. You can't get the 50 to sound like the 30 though. In now way am I saying they are similar on their own. BUT I will argue with anyone that when in a session, I can get the whole thing down with the 30 and a handful of pedals.

The 50 quintessential Marshall. So much so that I sold my 1973 50 watt lead and bass because the 50 did it. I tracked both together and got to where I couldn't tell them apart.

Both the 30 and the 50 are beautiful and Everyone should own both BUT I would urge folks to lean towards the 30 in most cases....

 

[László]

I own both the 30 and 50 and they are fantastic. having used both quite a bit in my studio and the 30 on tour all of last year, I would highly recommend the 30. And here's why....With a good "marshall in a box" pedal you can cop the 50 tones and feel. The trannies in the 30 are stout enough to handle that low end that say a Box of Rock or OCD have. You can't get the 50 to sound like the 30 though. In now way am I saying they are similar on their own. BUT I will argue with anyone that when in a session, I can get the whole thing down with the 30 and a handful of pedals.

The 50 quintessential Marshall. So much so that I sold my 1973 50 watt lead and bass because the 50 did it. I tracked both together and got to where I couldn't tell them apart.

Both the 30 and the 50 are beautiful and Everyone should own both BUT I would urge folks to lean towards the 30 in most cases....

TJC, this is a terrific post chock full of information, thanks!

As a DG30 guy, I've been definitely able to get very Marshall-flavored tones with the 30 and a good pedal, like the BB Boost or Plimsoul. I also have an HXDA that has the Plexi sound covered, but I wondered about whether to get the DG50 since I haven't played one and didn't have much info on how it sounds.

Have you compared the DG50 to the HXDA? I'd be interested in your take on the differences.

 

[Sekunda]

Have you compared the DG50 to the HXDA? I'd be interested in your take on the differences.

This is exactly what I was just thinking... I would be interested in this comparison as well. Even the HXDA and the DG30.

 

[László]

This is exactly what I was just thinking... I would be interested in this comparison as well. Even the HXDA and the DG30.

That one's easy: If you've heard a truly great 68-69 Plexi, you've heard the HXDA. Here's mine with the McCarty Singlecut, bridge pickup, no pedals:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/blues-ii-hotg

I went for kind of a Trower vibe with this one, 408 with a Leslie setting on an Eventide pedal, HXDA, neck pickup split:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/408-hxda-demo

The DG30 is completely different. It's more like a late 50s-early 60s American amp, but it's not a clone of anything. It makes me think sometimes of a Brownface Concert-Amp, but sometimes it can get a bit Tweedy, then too, there's a smidge of GA-40 in there for good measure. At least that's how I hear it.

Here's the DG30 with the same guitar, only this time the neck pickup pushed a little by a very low gain setting on an Xotic BB preamp:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/hammer-dg-30-custom-v2

Here's the DG30 with a variety of clean and low gain dirty sounds; I think I used a 408 for this. No pedals except delay here and there, just changes in volume on the guitar and different pickups switched in and out:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/dg-demo-track

The DG30 with a McCarty/Maple Neck, neck pickup, a little delay, ribbon mic for a warm, vibey clean sound:

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/mic-test-medium-distant-placement-on-guitar

Finally, all the guitar parts on this were tracked on the DG30 with a 30th Anni CU24. I added a Fulltone Plimsoul for the solos, and there's some kind of distortion pedal under the chords at the end because the client asked for "more heavy stuff" there. I don't remember which one I used, actually., except that in retrospect I don't like whichever pedal I used, and it's no longer on my pedalboard. This track was done when I was between the HXDA 50 and my new HXDA 30, so all I had was the DG for everything.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/fc-instrumental

Hope this helps!

 

[Tahlee]

...Hope this helps!

Great playing! Both of your amps sound really awesome...but, if you could only have one of them, which would you choose?

 

[G-Man]

I think I just wet myself.....Great playing Les!

 

[László]

First, thanks for the kind words, guys, but you can all outplay me with one hand tied behind your backs! My keyboard parts are the best things on those tracks!

but, if you could only have one of them, which would you choose?

I'm incapable of making that choice. I'd have a nervous breakdown. Just thinking about choosing made me take a Xanax.

I've actually contemplated buying a backup of each amp just in case something happens to either one of them, because what if PRS stops making them? And believe me, I don't throw coin around like that!

I was able to live with parting with a lot of great boutique amps over the last few decades for one good reason or another, but these...no. I couldn't part with either one.

 

[TJC]

I also have an HXDA and would take the DG50 all day.

The HXDA is fantastic and for that sound it's the best in the biz.

Where the DG50 takes it for me is the 4 34's and 2 rectifiers.

I can't stress enough how the feel of this amp affects the way you play.

With the bass off or on 1-2 and the mids and Trebs on 6 (bright switch on) you have the hxda for all intents and purposes. Great stiff feel like a "plexi".

Here is where she wins for me.

Turn that bass to 5-6 and the amp immediately gets this huge squish like a great old fender (we are talking feel not tone) and it just keeps getting more squishy when u you get on it.

The hxda doesn't do that "thing"

I love both but if I could have 1 it would be the 50.

 

[László]

I also have an HXDA and would take the DG50 all day.

The HXDA is fantastic and for that sound it's the best in the biz.

Where the DG50 takes it for me is the 4 34's and 2 rectifiers.

I can't stress enough how the feel of this amp affects the way you play.

With the bass off or on 1-2 and the mids and Trebs on 6 (bright switch on) you have the hxda for all intents and purposes. Great stiff feel like a "plexi".

Here is where she wins for me.

Turn that bass to 5-6 and the amp immediately gets this huge squish like a great old fender (we are talking feel not tone) and it just keeps getting more squishy when u you get on it.

The hxda doesn't do that "thing"

I love both but if I could have 1 it would be the 50.

Then it's clear I need all three. Life is short, can't have too many great amps!

 

[Sekunda]

Hope this helps!

Great samples! They all sound great. I tend to push my HXDA a little farther into the gain than you do Les. But I have really learned how to use my guitar volume to control it.

 

[László]

Great samples! They all sound great. I tend to push my HXDA a little farther into the gain than you do Les. But I have really learned how to use my guitar volume to control it.

Thanks!

For some projects I get a little gainier, too, just haven't got clips with the amp in higher gain settings, except for a few ads that I haven't got client clearance to post here.