PRS Guitars and David Grissom unveil the PRS DGT 15 amp and matching 1x12 cab. This low-watt, all-tube amplifier is full of Texas tone and packed with tone-sculpting features.
David Grissom and PRS Guitars have been collaborating on guitar design since the late 1980’s and started collaborating on amps in the early 2000’s. Grissom’s extensive experience with vintage gear paired with PRS’s meticulous understanding of guitar and amplifier making have resulted in highly coveted gear.
“Working with David is very rewarding. His technical knowledge and vast musical experience push us to make guitars, and now amps, that players simply love to play,” said Jack Higginbotham, PRS Guitars COO. “Having brought his signature guitar to the SE Series last year proved yet again that we can deliver professional-level gear at a more affordable price. To recreate that access with this amplifier has been a pleasure. Hats off to Doug Sewell (PRS Amp Designer) and David on this incredible piece of gear.”
The Making of the PRS DGT 15 Amplifier | PRS Guitars
Designed to rival Grissom’s favorite vintage amps, the PRS DGT 15 is rich with character. With all the magic of smaller-wattage vintage tube amps, it is fully applicable in a modern setting thanks to its extensive highly-functional tone-sculpting controls. Starting with a 3-band TMB tone stack, the DGT 15 also includes a 3-position bright switch, boost, reverb, top cut, and presence front-panel controls. The bright switch can be set to on, off, or on except when the boost is engaged – so you can intricately manipulate the amp’s high-end. The Master Volume can be set to be on, off, or on only with the Boost. The tremolo circuit oscillates the power tube bias (old-school) and features speed and depth front panel controls to dial in to the exact preference.
“When it comes to the tone and features, we did most of the heavy lifting more than a decade ago with the DG Custom 30. I‘ve really got to give it to Doug Sewell and PRS for how thoughtfully the DGT 15 was designed. Doug was verymeticulous and creative with updating some of the features while remaining true to the DNA of the Custom 30. From the first time I played through it, I was blown away,” said David Grissom
The PRS DGT 15 comes with a three-button footswitch, controlling boost, reverb, and tremolo. There is also a matching blonde/salt and pepper 1x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. The 1x12 cab features a ported back for expressive tone that never sounds boxy.
To hear the PRS DGT 15 amplifier in action and dive deeper into its diverse features, visit www.prsguitars.com. Follow @prsguitars on Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, Facebook, and X to stay in the conversation.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
The Revv G3 revolutionized high gain pedals in 2018 with its tube-like response & tight, clear high gain tones. Suddenly the same boutique tones used by metal artists & producers worldwide were available to anyone in a compact pedal. Now the G3 returns with a new V2 circuit revision that raises the bar again.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
