I Need To Talk About My DGT.

László

László

Too Many Notes
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
34,607
Location
Michigan
You know how a "certain someone" here loves the Santana? I'm down with that. Great guitars.

But I'm forming a very special bond with my DGT. In fact, I'm a bit surprised by how much I love playing it. I figured it'd be a niche thing in my studio, a guitar that I could make sound a bit like a Tele or Strat (close enough for my purposes, anyway) in addition to the McCarty kind of things I spend most of my time with, plus all the PRS touches.

However, it's become the essential PRS here at Studio Craptastic. Surprise! It's the ideal inanimate object/human romance!

I try to rotate through my little handful of guitars on a daily basis, but each day I lean a little bit more toward the DGT than my PS guitars. That's saying something - I adore those guitars.

I kept the stock .011s on it, and got used to them very quickly. It seems I'm a manly man even among the manly men here - who knew? I always figured my light touch, no-metal-zone and obsession with studio decor ruled that out. ;)

The neck fits my hand really well, even though it's different from the others. I no longer even notice the bigger frets. It just feels right. Hell, it IS right.

The tone is to die for.

[Author's Note: At my age 'to die for' might be a bit too literal an expression :oops: but it does sound stellar.]

Maybe I got lucky and simply landed a winner. Or maybe they're all that good. I've only played a few, so I have no idea. I sure like this one. The DGT is a wonderful guitar. I wish I'd gotten one sooner.
 
László said:
You know how a "certain someone" here loves the Santana? I'm down with that. Great guitars.

But I'm forming a very special bond with my DGT. In fact, I'm a bit surprised by how much I love playing it. I figured it'd be a niche thing in my studio, a guitar that I could make sound a bit like a Tele or Strat (close enough for my purposes, anyway) in addition to the McCarty kind of things I spend most of my time with, plus all the PRS touches.

However, it's become the essential PRS here at Studio Craptastic. Surprise! It's the ideal inanimate object/human romance!

I try to rotate through my little handful of guitars on a daily basis, but each day I lean a little bit more toward the DGT than my PS guitars. That's saying something - I adore those guitars.

I kept the stock .011s on it, and got used to them very quickly. It seems I'm a manly man even among the manly men here - who knew? I always figured my light touch, no-metal-zone and obsession with studio decor ruled that out. ;)

The neck fits my hand really well, even though it's different from the others. I no longer even notice the bigger frets. It just feels right. Hell, it IS right.

The tone is to die for.

[Author's Note: At my age 'to die for' might be a bit too literal an expression :oops: but it does sound stellar.]

Maybe I got lucky and simply landed a winner. Or maybe they're all that good. I've only played a few, so I have no idea. I sure like this one. The DGT is a wonderful guitar. I wish I'd gotten one sooner.
Click to expand...
That's fantastic! DGT is a guitar I want.
 
I’m an admitted Santana fan, but the DGT and McCarty 594 intrigue me. Does the DGT get close enough to Tele and Strat tones? I’m not so sure my S2 Studio does, but I really like what it does. If I ever decide to add to the pair of electrics I have, I’d want something pretty versatile. The Santana covers humbucker rock guitar well for me.
 
Love love love playing my Wood Library DGT!!!

It doesn't just look great... It sounds and plays great, too!
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I think it is the bigger frets that let me get along with the narrow nut width on the DGT. I like the thicker PRS necks and was afraid I would not like the DGT neck due to it being just a little narrower than the W/F. I also have a couple of guitars with the regular neck carve and was afraid of that at first too but didn't have an issue with it. Almost all of the guitars I have owned and played since I started playing have had a 1 11/16 nut width so I am very used to that. I bought an EBMM Axis about 11 years ago and could never get along with that neck. It was way too thin. I was afraid these other PRS necks were going to be like that. Thankfully they are nothing like that.

I have a spare pare of DGT pickups in the parts collection that I had thought about putting in my SAS just to give them a go. I had it out recently and still like the 57/08s in it so I left it alone. I may still do it at some point. I am very curious as to how they will sound in that guitar compared to my DGT. The pickups measure very close to the ones in my DGT.
 
dmatthews said:
I'm an admitted McCarty, and 594 fan, but both the Santana and the DGT intrigue me...
Click to expand...
aamefford said:
I’m an admitted Santana fan, but the DGT and McCarty 594 intrigue me.
Click to expand...

There's something about it that's hard to put into words. Mine has a BRW fretboard; I can't quantify how much that little extra bit of snap matters. If you can find one with the BRW, you might want to try it vs the IRW model just to see which you prefer. It might or might not not matter much.

I've had two 594s, and they're wonderful guitars. I found that the McCarty Singlecut PS sounds so close to the 594 that it just didn't make sense to have duplication. I wanted to get leaner and have a little more variety, so I hung onto the McSC.

aamefford said:
Does the DGT get close enough to Tele and Strat tones?
Click to expand...

Close enough for you? No idea.

In my OP I said "I could make sound a bit like a Tele or Strat (close enough for my purposes, anyway)." "A bit like" is a relative term. I'm not suggesting it's a replica of those guitars.

"Reminds me of a Tele on the bridge pickup" is close enough for me. "Reminds me of a Strat" with the neck pickup split works for me. That's pretty convenient, because I've had Teles and Strats, and only used the bridge pickup on a Tele and the neck pickup on a Strat.

But I don't need to replicate those sounds, just be reminded of them.

Also, you need three pickups for quack, and the DGT has only two.
 
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László said:
"Reminds me of a Tele on the bridge pickup" is close enough for me. "Reminds me of a Strat" with the neck pickup split works for me. That's pretty convenient, because I've had Teles and Strats, and only used the bridge pickup on a Tele and the neck pickup on a Strat.
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The neck pickup tone on a Tele is one of my all time favorite tones. I like it better than the neck pickup on a Strat. I don't think there is a bad tone on a Tele. I don't know how Leo got that guitar so right.
 
JasonE said:
The neck pickup tone on a Tele is one of my all time favorite tones. I like it better than the neck pickup on a Strat. I don't think there is a bad tone on a Tele. I don't know how Leo got that guitar so right.
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We're all different!

I think the neck pickup tone on a Tele is "OK" but not a fave. I like the almost hollow, flute-like tone of the neck pickup on a Strat; the electronics recess under the pick guard might play an added role in achieving that.

My son has several good Teles and Strats that sound great, and he endorses Fender. But for me, they play like antiques. He's also got a Nash Strat that he likes quite a bit, and to him there's a difference in feel from a Fender Strat. But I can't tell any difference at all. Just plays like a nice Strat as far as I can tell.

Leo did a great job in 1952. Paul Smith is still out there doing a great job in 2023, and the guitars are (to me, YMMV) a quantum leap from a Fender.
 
László said:
We're all different!

I think the neck pickup tone on a Tele is "OK" but not a fave. I like the almost hollow, flute-like tone of the neck pickup on a Strat; the electronics recess under the pick guard might play an added role in achieving that.

My son has several good Teles and Strats that sound great, and he endorses Fender. But for me, they play like antiques. He's also got a Nash Strat that he likes quite a bit, and to him there's a difference in feel from a Fender Strat. But I can't tell any difference at all. Just plays like a nice Strat as far as I can tell.

Leo did a great job in 1952. Paul Smith is still out there doing a great job in 2023, and the guitars are (to me, YMMV) a quantum leap from a Fender.
Click to expand...
I will take that last statement even farther. I think Paul is making better guitars than ANYTHING else out there in the prices range and many that sell above the range. I look at these really expensive bolt on guitars and can't see the money in them. I have a nice custom built Suhr that I truly do love. I have felt that it cost way more than it ever should have, I still feel that way. When I see Strat copies that are 3k and over, I shake my head. I have purchased a number o good Strats new for around 1k. These new guitars are no different than the ones I was buying back then. When I look at these guitars the first thing that goes through my mind is that I can get a PRS with a set neck and nice wood for what they want and that isn't even a close competition to me.
 
This is one of the things that sometimes worries me. What if I do play a Santana and Bodia and Sergio are right??? :eek::eek::eek: Then I'd have 6 PRS guitars that I love, 3 of which my wife bought me, that would all be second class citizens while I plotted, schemed and sold to fund at least one Santana.

Truth is, this, or Jason's thread about the studio... we just don't know until we play the "ultimate guitar for us" what it is. And along the way, many other great ones may come along that "we think" is the best... until we find THE ONE.

I already have multiple guitars that are better than I deserve, so I don't obsess over this question, but I do wonder sometimes. The two that really have my "they could be the one" attention is the Santana or 594. But I am so in love with what I have, that I'm not on the constant hunt for something better, so maybe I'll never know what "my ultimate guitar" is.

Then again, it could be a Axis Super Sport. :p
 
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