PRS SE DGT David Grissom Signature
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The SE DGT's beveled design and smooth gold finish looks awesome, similar to the double-cut McCarty design. With coil-splitting, you get a pretty wide range of sounds, as one would expect from PRS electrics. I could do the heavier percussive tones or the Strat-like lead runs, and most anything in between. This is a flagship PRS for just about any style, whether you're a David Grissom fan or not.
BEST FOR: All styles, rhythm/lead hybrids, heavy blues, rock, recording, heavy distortion if you add some thicker gauge strings.
TONE
95
CONTROL
95
FLEXIBILITY
98
PRICE/VALUE
94
- The body contour has core PRS vibes
- Major tone distinction when coil split is engaged.
- Fantastic price point/value.
- Can span a wide style range.
- Heavy gain sounded really nice and full.
- Moon inlays are a nice change of pace.
- There's legitimately NOTHING to complain about.
David Grissom's neck design is pretty unique, with higher frets and a distinct "DGT" neck shape. I'm probably not appreciating the nuance as much as I should, because it felt similar to a McCarty neck (knowing me it's probably nothing like a McCarty neck). Come to think of it, the look is McCarty-esque as well, which I believe is what the design is based on. Anyway, it's a sharp looking guitar that's in the $800 price range, which is an absolute steal given the quality of this instrument, with no notable downsides. My hands-on review follows.
Birds for moons. Seems like a fair trade.
DGT Tone and Style
I've played a lot of guitars (including PRS SE models) where the coil-tap doesn't really seem to change much. That's not the case with the DGT, at least to my ear. The coil split tone was almost Strat-like, with more snap and a lot more nuance, while the regular dual humbucker configuration was expectedly warm and percussive with a lot of chunk. This is what I love about PRS HH guitars, but the variety from the coil-tap in the SE DGT gave me a lot more room to work than what I'm used to. Impressive.
I've just begun to psych up.
Control and Versatility
So yes, the coil-tap on this guitar makes a big difference. I don't know much about the "DGT" pickups, though I'm sure they're different from the pair on Grissom's core model signature. The price difference makes it virtually impossible for them to be the same.
Still, they gave me plenty of flexibility to work with. I could almost say that I got more variety from the coil-tap as opposed to the pickup selector itself.
Off to the races.
With the entire control system, you have a total six different onboard tones to work with.
This gets you into that heavy blues style that Grissom is known for, so they clearly did a good job - even with the lower-cost SE model - getting this to fit a unique playing style and not just plaster David's name on another SE.
Gold is skyrocketing.
Cost and Overall Value
There are a few different versions of the SE DGT, but they all have these pickups and a contoured Maple top. But this gold version is the most popular and cost less than $800 at the time of my review, while the other two were both less than $1000. This price honestly feels too low for how good this guitar sounded, so I certainly have no complaints. Comparables in the market are typically between $900 and $1200, so the value is high, even among similar PRS SE models.
In case you're skimming, I'm good with the asking price.
PRS SE DGT Review Summary
I spent several hours spanning a couple of days with this guitar and truly found nothing to complain about. Though this is something I've come to expect from the PRS SE series, as they continue to be some of the best-value instruments on the market. For buyer context, the DGT is definitely a heavier guitar with a good high-gain profile, but the coil-tapping gets you into that bluesier hybrid style that Grissom pulls off so well. If that's your wheelhouse, you can buy very confidently.
More Electric Guitar Reviews
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Reviews
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Reviews
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