Top-tier session player and PRS endorsee David Grissom has joined forces with the company once more to create the “small but mighty” PRS DGT 15 – a tube amp designed to rival Grissom’s favorite vintage amps.
It builds on the heritage of their previous creations, the PRS Custom 30 and 50 amps, which were crafted over a highly collaborative three-year period, and offer rich, multi-layered tones that are at their liveliest when turned up to high volumes. The DGT 15, on the other hand, aims to deliver the same personality, but at a lower volume and price.
The amp, built from the ground up, comprises two EL34 power tubes, plus three 12AX7, and a single 12AT7, preamp tubes. A Tremolo and Boost function – tweakable via a three-way toggle – are two new features, while a three-band TMB tone stack and a three-position Bright switch come positioned alongside an on-or-off Reverb, with additional controls for Top Cut and Presence alongside the Boost and Tremolo.
There are dials for Input and Master Volumes, with the latter also getting a three-way switch, which can be viewed as a way to control the level between boosted and non-boosted tones.
The tri-powered Bright switch – which offers versatile scope when partnered with its Boost control – allows players to tailor the amp’s top end to their exacting wants.
There is also an option to automatically disengage the Bright switch when Boost is applied, as Grissom doesn’t like his Boost to be overly bright.
The Tremolo, which operates on a power tube bias circuit, has controls for its Speed and Depth, and can be switched on, off, or activated only with the Boost.
Before dialing in a tone, PRS recommends doing as Grissom would; turn all the dials to noon but max out the Master Volume.
The amp comes with a matching 1x12” cab with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, and a three-button footswitch to control its Boost, Reverb, and Tremolo features.
PRS’s Amp Designer Doug Sewell, who worked with Grissom on this new model and its Custom amp predecessors, has hailed the DGT 15 as “one of our most feature-laden designs to date,” belying its unassuming wattage.
The pair have been collaborating since the late ‘80s, before turning their attention to amps in the early ‘00s, with this latest amp following on from a PRS SE David Grissom signature guitar released early last year.
Grissom, who has toured and recorded with Buddy Guy, John Mellencamp, Robben Ford, and John Mayall, used his decades of experience to pack plenty of ambition into the amp's tiny package.
Tonally, he explains that most of the amp’s “heavy lifting” was done making the DG Custom 30 with Sewell, who he praises for “how thoughtfully the DGT 15 was designed.
“Doug was very meticulous and creative with updating some of the features while remaining true to the DNA of the Custom 30,” Grissom explained. “From the first time I played through it, I was blown away.”
The DGT 15 amp head is available for $1,199, or $1,648 with the matching cab.
Head to PRS for more details.
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