Your input needed, guys and girls..

[alantig]

Soo.... How come no one has mentioned the DGT? ;-) People seem to think is pretty darn versatile and with great single coil tones too... Any owners here?

Owner. It's probably #2 behind my 408. A more vintage tone than the 408. The only reason I didn't mention is that you listed metal second on your list, and it's not my favorite guitar for that, mainly because the bigger frets don't work for me for that style. The pickups can get there for more classic metal, though.

 

[Dancing Frog]

Soo.... How come no one has mentioned the DGT? ;-) People seem to think is pretty darn versatile and with great single coil tones too... Any owners here?

I have the first production one that arrived in the Washington, D.C. area. Great guitar, bad memories. Has more harmonic bloom than I have heard on any guitar.

 

[Michael_DK]

Alantig: Yeah, much of the modern metal is not really "me", I think, at least with regards to the guitar tones. It's not what I play most of anyway. The jumbo fret wire might be something that is not for me, however.

Dancing Frog: What do you mean by "bad memories"? (provided it has something to do with the guitar )

Thanks for your input (and patience!)

 

[Michael_DK]

...And how are the single coil (tapped) tones on the DGT?

 

[Dancing Frog]

Dancing Frog: What do you mean by "bad memories"? (provided it has something to do with the guitar )

The only part that has to do with the guitar are heavy strings, light picks, and injuries. It's extraordinarily easy to bend heavy strings on the DGT because of the jumbo frets. The 11's feel like 10's, except they aren't. If you are not used to bending heavy strings, you can get tendinitis like I did. Mine was also wired backwards at the beginning, but all that's sorted out thanks to PRS and Chuck Levin's excellent customer service.

 

[Egads]

Don't let the structure of the 513 pickups fool you into thinking it doesn't do real humbucker tones! The clear humbucking tones are amazing and the heavy humbucking tones I'll rock your socks off!

I feel a little like I'm yelling! I'll stop using so many exclamation marks! Sometime!

 

[Michael_DK]

Wow... Damn, tendonitis is no joke. Hope you have recovered OK!

Egads: Yeah... I'm not sure what it is about the 513. It just doesn't speak to me I guess. Logically, since I'm not ready to go all-out single coil on my next guitar, I really should look at the 513. There's just something about it that doesn't really rub me the right way. Maybe it's just something as stupid as the visual part of it, either the pickups or the finishes available from my dealer. I know that what matters is the sound and playability, but still... The DGT available to me is not really hitting me the right way either, but I have to consider all the options thoroughly.

Speaking of which... How is a "regular" Custom (22 or 24) for single coil tones?

(Yes, I know I'm just being a pain in the neck now )

 

[Dancing Frog]

I am o.k. now.

BTW, if your playing a 513 in the showroom, it's got the wrong strings on it. PRS strings are not the best for it. They can make them sound brittle and thin.
The other thing is that most of the 513's have a sweet spot with volume and the tone rolled off to about 7. Turned full up they can be a bit muddy, because they have more turns than a humbucker typically in order to get good single coil tones.

 

[Chester]

Speaking of which... How is a "regular" Custom (22 or 24) for single coil tones?

Passable (I have a bunch of 24's and love them), but the most convincing single coil tones come from the Studio or 513. Until I owned both of these, I didn't know what I was missing in feel, versatility and response

 

[Michael_DK]

Chester - how would you describe the differences between the studio and the 513?

 

[Michael_DK]

Passable (I have a bunch of 24's and love them), but the most convincing single coil tones come from the Studio or 513. Until I owned both of these, I didn't know what I was missing in feel, versatility and response

(replying with a quote this time, hope you see it )

How would you describe the differences between the studio and the 513?

 

[garrett]

I tried a Studio and the stand out feature for me was the Narrowfield pickups. The sound is not quite humbucker, but not quite single coil, yet not quite mini humbucker or P-90 either, but they sounded 100% awesome. Popular as the 57/08 pickups are, the Narrowfields just out-shone the bridge pickup. You could replace it, but that will send you down the rabbit hole of trying to find the best match for the Narrowfields.

As if you didn't have enough options already, if you like the humbucker sounds of the Les Paul, an NF3 would fill in the other tonal textures well.

 

[Michael_DK]

I tried a Studio and the stand out feature for me was the Narrowfield pickups. The sound is not quite humbucker, but not quite single coil, yet not quite mini humbucker or P-90 either, but they sounded 100% awesome. Popular as the 57/08 pickups are, the Narrowfields just out-shone the bridge pickup. You could replace it, but that will send you down the rabbit hole of trying to find the best match for the Narrowfields.

As if you didn't have enough options already, if you like the humbucker sounds of the Les Paul, an NF3 would fill in the other tonal textures well.

Thanks! Interesting last point too.

Other people have suggested messing with the tone and volume controls to get a more single-coilish sound out of the narrowfields. I'm curious to know if this is something you have tried as well?

 

[garrett]

Thanks! Interesting last point too.

Other people have suggested messing with the tone and volume controls to get a more single-coilish sound out of the narrowfields. I'm curious to know if this is something you have tried as well?

I had seen that in reviews as well. I tried rolling down the volume a little bit and it worked well to get more of the single coil sound.

 

[Michael_DK]

OK, at this point I'm pretty much set on the studio. It's the one I keep coming back to in my mind, and the one I keep thinking about "losing out on" when considering other models. So if I haven't changed my mind in the first quarter of the new year, I think I will post a "NGD: PRS Studio" thread at that time Feel free to try to convince me otherwise in the meantime, but thanks for all your input so far - I appreciate it!

 

[garrett]

OK, at this point I'm pretty much set on the studio. It's the one I keep coming back to in my mind, and the one I keep thinking about "losing out on" when considering other models. So if I haven't changed my mind in the first quarter of the new year, I think I will post a "NGD: PRS Studio" thread at that time Feel free to try to convince me otherwise in the meantime, but thanks for all your input so far - I appreciate it!

Do it! I really did like the one I tried out. It's on my my shortlist. But sadly, my shortlist is only hypothetical unless I come into some unexpected money. :bawling:

 

[Michael_DK]

Well well well..... Decide on the Studio, then up comes another likely bachelorette........

http://www.thomann.de/dk/prs_swampash_studio_scb.htm

Totally contrary to previous concerns regarding tremolos, maple and bolt on necks, this has now caught my eyes (and ears). I have not been able to find reviews of this or many videos (mostly Japanese with too high gain), but the ones I have heard (including SAS Narrowfields for the neck and middle pickups) definitely sound sweet.

Right now I am thinking this would actually be the wiser choice, as it is more different from my Les Paul. And I really dig that "satin-like" neck too, if it feels anything like the one on my bass. It's also a bit cheaper than the regular studio, although that is not really the point.


Actually, maybe the point is that I should REALLY stop surfing gear...........