Nick Jennison reviews the PRS DGT 15 — a 15-watt, all-tube amplifier developed in collaboration with renowned guitarist David Grissom. Designed to emulate Grissom's favourite vintage amps, it offers a versatile tonal range from sparkling cleans to rich overdrive. Key features include a 3-band EQ, a 3-position bright switch, boost, reverb, top cut, and presence controls, allowing for precise tone shaping. The amp also incorporates a tube-bias tremolo circuit with adjustable speed and depth, providing a deep, vintage tremolo effect.
To say David Grissom's collaborations with PRS have been fruitful is an understatement. His signature guitar (the DGT model) has become a widely beloved extension of the broader McCarty family and a permanent fixture in the PRS range. Based on the few hours I spent with it, I can see his new signature amp going the same way.
The DGT 15 is a single-channel, 15-watt head clad in a very attractive blonde tolex with a matching open-back 1x12 cabinet, and feels like PRS's take on the very popular "blonde pedal platform" amp. Given it's powered by a pair of EL84s and sports a "Top Cut" control, you'd be forgiven for expecting "AC" tones, but the DGT 15 is distinctly American in its voice. It's round and even-sounding, with the kind of transient attack that can blow candles out in the front row. Seriously, the attack on this thing is absolutely bonkers! The click of your pick on the strings feels like the crack of a snare drum, but somehow it's still comfortable to play and easy to listen to. Quite the magic trick!
Despite its single-channel design, there's no shortage of tone-shaping options on the DGT 15. There are no fewer than FOUR ways to sculpt the high end alone – a Bright switch, a Treble control, a Presence control, AND a Top Cut knob. Surely at least some of these are redundant, right? Absolutely not. While all of these controls act on the amp's high frequencies, they each impact the feel and response in subtly different ways, allowing the user to dial in the perfect top end for their guitar, pedals, cabinet, room, and taste.
Accessible by either the front panel switch or the included footswitch, the boost function slams the amp's front-end for a warm, very natural-feeling overdrive. It's not far from the ubiquitous "green" overdrive pedal, with a pronounced hump in the vocal midrange, but without the stark reduction in low end. There are also two other features you can "tie" to the boost function – namely, the Bright switch and the master volume. Each of these functions can be switched individually with their own toggle switches, but you can also configure either to switch automatically when you engage the boost. This means you could set your core tone with the bright switch engaged and the master bypassed for maximum headroom; then, when you hit the boost, the bright switch will turn off, and the master will engage for a warmer, gainier tone at an appropriate volume level.
Speaking of footswitchable functions, the DGT 15 also includes a beautifully tuned reverb and tremolo, both of which can be accessed with the footswitch. There's a LOT of reverb on tap, but even with the pot maxed out, it's still very usable. The tremolo is a real power valve bias tremolo and gets ever so slightly distorted with the depth maxed out in a way that's extremely musical. It'll also slow down to a stop when you bypass it instead of switching off abruptly.
It's lovely to have all these features available at the click of a footswitch, but I do have a big criticism here – and it's with the footswitch itself! For some reason, PRS insists on using proprietary DIN-style footswitches. This means if you lose (or break) the original footswitch, you can't use a generic 1/4" switch in its place. It also precludes you from using a modern pedal switcher (like a GigRig G3 or similar) to control the amp's functions. It's a glaring oversight on an otherwise excellent amp.
The PRS DGT 15 is an amp that somehow manages to be simple and straightforward to use, yet also capable of deep and nuanced tone shaping. Every guitar, pickup, and pedal we threw at it handled with ease – all while retaining its unique sonic identity.
For more information, please visit:
We will never share your email without your prior consent. Please see our full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
We will never share your email without your prior consent. Please see our full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
