Tell me about the MDT

[Deleted member 5962]

I have read about this amp before. In fact, read some comments a couple years ago about someone famous trying several PRS amps and saying the HX/DA was great, the 2 Channel H was great, the DGT was great, etc. but the one that they couldn't stop thinking about and that blew them away completely was the MDT. By the time I read that, the MDT was out of production. But going back and finding the demo clips and some others on YouTube, this thing sounds great!

Who has one? (Come on Dusty!) Who has played one? How does it compare to the HX/DA? PRSh chose this for his amp while he was making HX/DA's (which we KNOW he loves) so that says a lot! How do they compare to the other PRS amps I already have, meaning, can the Custom 50 or Archon do those tones or close? Or is it another one of those "it is it's own thing and you need one, DTR" type things?

And lastly, if it's as great as it sounds, why the heck doesn't Les have one????

 

[veinbuster]

I have one packaged as a 4x10.

Before getting it I spent a couple of days playing all of the PRS amps at the time. I really liked the H and the Blistertone. I don't really remember what else was available back then - I'll call it 2011. I think I tried a Sweet Sixteen and a variation of the Dallas.

It migh be meaningful that I had a Mark III and a Mark V at home. Both can give really nice cleans and, for me, an excellent bluesy sound. I was interested in something a bit more edgy. The MDT and the Blistertone were the ones I settled on being the most interesting. Both had a dirty, street fighter sort of edginess to them. Sorry, I don't really have the vocabulary to describe it musically. After debating with myself for ages, I picked the MDT because I felt like I could dress it up for dinner if I needed to.

I don't think I've played an HX/DA or an Archon, but I think the MDT is its own thing at a point in time in PRS/Doug amp building.

 

[shinksma]

Hmm, I spy a used MDT in the used section of a certain Guitar big box retailer / Center for what seems like good price. Guessing it is a 50W version, could be 100W.

EDIT: actually, a 100W is avail on Reverb for a touch less. While other MDTs have a much, much higher price tag. Weird.

I have my amp GAS currently reserved for an HX/DA, otherwise I might snap this up.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I have one, also packaged as a 4x10, which I basically stole. I don't know common tone words, but it's paisley and delicious and juicy like a young red wine.

Unfortunately, my cats knocked it down (I had it on top of another 4x10 cab, which made the entire stack top heavy, and when they're playing follow the leader, they have a lot of horizontal momentum). It's probably fine, but the jack got bent, and I haven't had a chance to have it serviced to make sure it's alright. So can't compare it to my HX/DA. Mine has one HX/DA switch, so there's probably something in common at the foundation, but to me it has a different tonal profile (maybe due to the 4x10 vs. the 2x12 I was running out of the HX/DA), and it does cleans amazingly well, due to me retubing it with "late breakup" power tubes. The Parker PDF something that was under it didn't survive so well.

But yeah, up until the accident, I wasn't playing nuthin' else. It's still my favourite PRS amp.

I'll be honest -- I'm not sure you need both.

And Les only buys new, that's why he doesn't have one.

 

[veinbuster]

I'm with DC, except for the not needing both bit - that's just silly. Even stopping at both is silly. I mean both is only two. Two might be ok for cars, but not for guitars, amps, or pedals.

I do kind of think the HX/DA is the evolution of the platform. Mine doesn't have an HX/DA switch though. It has a mini toggle of the back with a 'gain boost' sticker above it.

 

[bodia]

I'm with DC, except for the not needing both bit - that's just silly. Even stopping at both is silly. I mean both is only two. Two might be ok for cars, but not for guitars, amps, or pedals.

I do kind of think the HX/DA is the evolution of the platform. Mine doesn't have an HX/DA switch though. It has a mini toggle of the back with a 'gain boost' sticker above it.

Wait, wait, wait.....do,you even have two pedals? And if you do, are they connected to something, or on a shelf?

 

[veinbuster]

Wait, wait, wait.....do,you even have two pedals? And if you do, are they connected to something, or on a shelf?

Yes I have three which are connected to a guitar from time to time.

 

[Atomic]

Yes I have three which are connected to a guitar from time to time.

 

[László]

It's a cool sounding amp, based on clips I've heard. If memory serves, it's got a different tone stack from the amps based on the 25th Anniversary platform, such as the HXDA.

When it came out I was still committed to Two-Rock amps, and that particular style of amp. So I wasn't looking at other amps.

I didn't know a thing about PRS amps until I heard HXDA clips on the PRS site, and decided to try one. That's what caused me to go all-in and add the DG30.

At this point I'm quite convinced that Doug Sewell is a genius amp designer. He's also a super-nice guy.

I'd like to try the JMOD.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

So are we thinking it's closely related tonally to the HX/DA? Or not? Interesting if it is, since the used ones I see are around half the HX/DA price. But I'd suspect there are some differences given that the MDT grew into the Pauls Amp and he was making them and HX/DA's at the same time. We know exactly what the HX/DA is but he says the MDT is a blend of the three letters. VERY interesting to hear that some of them have HXDA switches on them.

I'd sure like to play one. The clips I've heard sound great!

 

[tiboy]

I don't know if he visits here much anymore, but Aristotle is the man from whom to get some great MDT insight.

 

[László]

So are we thinking it's closely related tonally to the HX/DA? Or not? Interesting if it is, since the used ones I see are around half the HX/DA price. But I'd suspect there are some differences given that the MDT grew into the Pauls Amp and he was making them and HX/DA's at the same time. We know exactly what the HX/DA is but he says the MDT is a blend of the three letters. VERY interesting to hear that some of them have HXDA switches on them.

I'd sure like to play one. The clips I've heard sound great!

Aristotle once posted a direct HXDA/MDT comparison clip, if memory serves. Both amps sounded great; but definitely a bit different, though not hugely so.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

So are we thinking it's closely related tonally to the HX/DA? Or not?

Not, I'd say. I think they're based on the same platform, but that's like saying the Subaru Crosstrek is built on the same platform as the Outback Sport. It is, but you end up getting a completely different result.

And I stand by "you don't need both", even though they're very different. I think most of us would try to dial them in similarly. I just don't have the ear for a lot of subtleties in guitar playing and "toanz". I mean, I know what I like when I get it, but I don't know how to tell the difference between a MDT and a Paul's or even the HXDA.

I mean, unless you haven't completed your amp fort. If you haven't completed your amp fort, then you definitely need one. Mine is beginning to look like a giant Jinga game. Or Tetris, since they're all up against a wall now, to prevent further catastrophes.

Of course, I could be all talking out of my butt. I think the thing to do is buy one and try it long term, spend the time and the effort dialing it in.

 

[veinbuster]

I spent years thinking I needed one of those.