When I think of PRS guitars, there are certain words that pop into my head: Distinctive, gorgeous, player’s dream. Generally, PRS guitars come at a price, but from the guitars I’ve had the chance to play in the past, I know they’re well worth the money.
So here I was perusing through my new issue of Premier Guitar, and came across a great article about the two new PRS models: The Mira (pr. “mee-ruh”), and the DGT (David Grissom Trem). After reading through the interview with David Grissom about how he helped design the DGT, I just had to go to the PRS web site to see a demo. I wasn’t disappointed. Check out the video of J Hayes from PRS giving a demo:
For those of you familiar with David Grissom, you know he’s played a PRS McCarty for some time. At first blush, you might think that the DGT is just a modded McCarty. It’s not. While it has the classic lines of the McCarty, I think it has an even richer sound. It’s kind of a different animal altogether. PRS has used a glossy nitro-cellulose finish on the body, and according to David Grissom, this has a huge effect on the tone.
I have yet to play this guitar, though I will be remedying this quite soon. In any case, here are some standout features that really turn me on about this guitar:
- The neck length lies between a Strat and a Les Paul. This is actually really cool because the DGT is strung with higher gauge strings (.010 to .049), but with neck length plus the larger frets, bending is apparently very easy on this guitar.
- Several PRS guitars employ coil taps, but I think PRS has definitely hit a home run with the DGT. I’ve played with guitars that use coil taps in the past, and I’ve typically stayed away from them because the single coil mode sounds way too bright. But with the DGT, you get a thinner tone that has incredible balance and expressiveness without being too bright. This is what appeals to me the most about this guitar. It’s incredibly versatile!
- I love the narrow, C-shaped neck. That’s always been my preference, and this has it.
- The DGT also comes with independent volume controls for each pickup. This makes it possible to dial in a variety of sounds by altering the balance of signal coming from each pickup. Yowza!
I want this guitar. Period. But at $2500, it’ll be a difficult proposition to convince my wife that I want yet another axe… Oh well, time to save my gig money!
BTW, here’s DG doing a demo at NAMM 2008. I just love the way he plays – simple, straight-forward, in your face blues.
Guitar Gear 
I’m glad I watched the second video, the demo video really doesn’t do this guitar justice but watching DG you really get an idea of what a great sound it has. What a great guitarist too!
I love PRS guitars, I’ve been playing them for 18yrs. I ordered a DGT in August 07….It’s now March 08 and I still dont have it. Come on guys, this is a little ridiculous. You started advertising these guitars on your website in July 07, yet you were not ready to deliver (by a long shot)… You sure know your guitars, but PRS, you need to learn a little more about customer service. I’m really pissed about the wait, to say the least.
No kidding! Hope your wait isn’t too much longer! Have you called them? I’d bug ’em myself. After all, they have your money.
They have my money is right – I traded an Anderson Cobra on this guitar. I’ve called ’em, I even talked to PRS himself at a seminar in November (who predicted Feb delivery). Now they’re telling me a mid to late April delivery. Take it for what its worth… Im not holding my breath. I just felt obligated to warn my gear-slut bretheren. 9 months is way too long.
That’s just so surprising to hear. I feel for you, man!
I’ve had a chance to see three of the DGTs so far. They’ve all been ‘bursts. Maybe they’re having problems running goldtops in nitro. I dont know. It’s just a damn shame that this ridiculous wait is souring the excitement out of getting a new axe. Thanks g-dawg for listening to my rant, like you, when I read the specs, I knew I had to have one… recovery is doubtful.
[…] I don’t feel as comfortable with buying the gear. Take, for instance, this review about the PRS DGT. A reader, Jimi Ray Clapton, had been waiting 9 months for his new DGT, and it still hadn’t […]
the best prs ive ever played i bought it right away!
I waited 11 months to the day for my goldtop to arrive. Other than having to go back to the factory for the g and b strings pulling sharp everytime the trem was used or the strings were strummed, it’s been a wonderful and worth the wait.