I'm not a high gain player either, but I am looking for Grissom tones at home volumes (this is what I call "reasonably loud"... far louder than bedroom volume, actually still probably too loud if someone is trying to watch tv upstairs, but it's not cranked up to rehearsal/gig levels.) But Grissom's level of dirt is also my "base tone"... so that's why I'm asking about the MV. I like getting most of my dirt from the amp.
The official PRS demo of the DG30 (with Dave and Paul), sounds ok... Dave said the MV was "at like 2" (and Paul was already complaining), and it's a nice but pretty muddy tone at that point... with my Hot Cat's "K-master" I can actually get a very similar tone, at "home" volumes, it doesn't need to be up at gig volume. That fact that people feel the need to use something like the OX make me think this isn't a great MV?
I disagree with Pete that the amp needs an attenuator, but I also don't feel that the 30W HXDA needs one like he does (I explain why below). And he's using the OX with all of his amps, as I understand it, so take that into consideration.
I don't use an attenuator with any of my amps. I often run them at near-gig volume when I record (this includes my Mesas as well), but let's face it, I'm well paid to get the very best tone out of my amps. For just screwing around and practicing, they still sound very good at what we might agree to call "home volume".
If you're getting the tone you like with your current amp, you don't need a different amp, so this discussion is probably academic. I've owned the Hot Cat, and it's a fantastic amp, however fact remains that its tone is very different from the DG30!
The Hot Cat is much more in the Vox family of tone, despite having EL34s. Incidentally, my Hot Cat was truly the loudest amp I've ever owned, including a several 100 Watt Fenders and Mesas (one of which I have now), but it sounded glorious at high volume - and goodness, it needed high volume. In that respect, it is very AC30.
The DG30 is perhaps more in the Tweed family of tones, and it breaks up at a lower volume than the Hot Cat.
But you have to put in a bit of time to work with it, and learn how to set it up, because the DG30's mode of master volume operation is different from most amps. Why?
The DG has a pre-phase inverter MV design. Most MVs are post-phase inverter. This matters!
With a pre-PI MV, the master volume affects the gain of the preamp, it doesn't just make the sound less loud.
That makes it a little harder to dial in, because what you expect is that you set the gain control level you want, like on most amps, and simply lower the master and you're in business. But that's not how to get the best result with this amp!! I think you need to put in the time with the amp, and that the amp rewards that with great tones.
Most folks who've tried a DG30 didn't have a clue how to set it up and use it (and I didn't at first, either). So many of them walked away scratching their heads. It took me a few months to really understand the amp, and how to use it with each of my guitars. Pete hasn't had that much time with his, and for that reason, the attenuator he uses might be an excellent solution.
I'll never part with my DG30. I has richly rewarded the time I've put in with it, and I've used it on an awful lot of my paying projects, with wonderful comments from clients about how much they like the sound.
Still, I will never, ever claim any of my amps will work for anyone else. I'll state the case for why I like them, and not go beyond that.
