NGD: DGT, struggling with brightness

It may just not be the guitar for you. No one is a bigger PRS fan than I am and they have been my #1 guitars for 25 years. The DGT and Santana models however just do not work for me. I can only get odd tones that I really dislike. Give me the McCartys, 594s, Modern Eagles or Cu22s and I am in heaven! That's why they make different models. Hope you can get it sorted to your liking though of course!
Thanks! Insight into others' experiences with PRS guitars like this really helps me. Based on what you say, I need to try the McCartys, 594s, and Modern Eagles. I may like those, as you did. I did own a Cu22 with P90s and liked it. Also a CE24. The DGT and S2 Custom 24 are the two where I've had tone issues.
  • Two DGTs: 2008 and 2020; had the brightness and vol/tone problems I've described. But my favorite neck/frets.
  • Custom 22 with P90s: loved its tone, but not the wide thin neck profile. Had no issues with the vol/tone knobs. I could have kept it though, but moved it only to justify other purchases.
  • CE24: The tone was good. The main problem was the rotary knob on the gig; and the neck profile. It was so nice, I didn't want to mod it. No problems with the vol/tones. I could have kept it too.
  • S2 Custom 24 - Sounds dull clean; vol/tone knobs work ok for me though. Neck profile is pretty good (Pattern Regular I think).
 
Spent the weekend exploring more amps with my DGT:
- bought a new Marshall SC20 Stealth Head and matching 2x12 Stealth cab
- AB'ing vs the Silver Jubilee Head and matching 2x12 cab, agree with others that SC20 is even more 'icepcick-y' than the Silver Jube. All of my PRS (408, 594SC, and new DGT) sounded better through the Silver Jubilee than the SC20, as did my Custom Shop Strat w/Ancho Poblano pickups.
- While I'm pretty sure the SC/SV/Jube 2x12 cabs are all the same internally/speaker-wise, I did try the SC20 through my Mesa Boogie Fillmore 2x12 and Orange PPC 2x12OB and while those cabs sound somewhat better, it wasn't a night-and-day difference (nor did I expect it to be)
- I've already returned the SC20 and matching Cab, and picked up a Mesa California Tweed head (after demoing it in-store with my DGT)

With the SC20 and cab gone already after less than 24 hours, I expect the Silver Jube and cab will follow suit shortly. Whether the Mesa California Tweed is a keeper or it isn't, I can't have ~$2,300+ tied up in a head+cab combo that doesn't sound at least pretty good with my (4) guitars, and/or has such limited setup parameters (EQ, etc.) that there's little/no tone adjustment that won't shift it into unacceptable range. I did note the 'magic' that seems to be my Wampler Tumnus Deluxe made the Marshall heads sound significantly more palatable to my ear, but I don't want to own an amp/cab that won't sound good enough on its own to make me go..."ok, that's sweet!". For now at least (after a DSL20H, 2525H, and SC20 + 2 2x12 cabs), I'm done with Marshall amps and will solider on with my Mesa Fillmore 25, Revv D20, and perhaps the Mesa Cali Tweed.

The DGT is a great-sounding and playing guitar through the Mesa Fillmore and Revv, and while my 594 and (to a lesser extent my 408) sounded great through the 2525H, it was no more so than through my other amps. It may be that the 'hotness' of the DGT pickups make it less versatile than some of the other core models. I'd be interested to find out what amps/cabs other DGT lovers are playing through - I had hoped to try my DGT in-store through a few of Fenders but time ran out...I have a generally high regard for Fender amps, though I do wish they'd make one with an effects loop to make switching between amps easier.

Frustrating that you can't search the PRS Forums for 'DGT', for even 'PRS DGT' in the post title, as the forum search engine won't take query tokens with even 6 characters...
 
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I have often found that PRS pickups can produce too much upper Mid's, when combined with Celestion speakers. I've also upgraded some of my amps to neodymium speakers, which only compounded the problem. It produced a harsh sound, that I couldn't dial out, even with 4 band EQ. So, I tried an Eminence Basslite speaker, that I had in another cabinet. it worked great.

What I would recommend, is trying other speakers with your amp, if possible. It's best if you can try, before buying.
 
Interesting, similar experience with DGT and Mesa TC-50. Couldn't recognize it's the same guitar. Sounded so cool and dark with Sonzera and unbelievably shrill with TC-50. The Mesa had EL34 as the aforementioned Marshall (sounded better with 6L6s) which might be a coincidence. And 594 semi-hollow sounded much better with TC-50 as well as Paul's.
 
The Silver Jubilee, as well as many other Marshall designs/mods, has got extremely pushed and extended highs compared to most amps. I haven’t really played a DGT but they are supposed to have very open and airy PAF style pickups which probably is achieved by a wind that extends the highs. I don’t find it too strange that the combination doesn’t work. I would use a Timmy or an eq pedal to cut the highs if I wanted to keep using the amp with the guitar.
Marshalls are wierd.
 
I’m also struggling with DGT tone vs my LP, 335, 336 tones across my Mesa V, Toneking Imperial Mk2, Iridium … it just doesn’t feel right. I guess the Grissom pups are a simply different beast altogether, and cannot be compared to my standard PAfs. So I’m considering replacing the pups with either Seymour JB/Jazz or Thornbuckers in the DGT to restore the bite and get rid of the mud, and hope that comes closer to what I want to hear.
 
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