PRS DGT SE Guitar Review: Did I Set The Review Bar Too High?

JGT contributor Brad Jeter reviews the Paul Reed Smith DGT SE and compares it to a core PRS guitar he has owned for years.

Now that I have your attention… let me explain. Having just received the PRS DGT SE (Grissom) guitar for review, I decided to directly compare it to a core PRS that I have owned for some time now. It is a Modern Eagle II and yes, they are worlds apart, or are they?

Is it fair to compare? After all, one is a $899 guitar built overseas and the other is a high-end multi-thousand dollar instrument built at the PRS Maryland factory.

The answer to the question will be a bit surprising. Indeed, it surprised me. We’ll get to the specific playability and sonic comparisons towards the end of the review—the surprising stuff. Let’s address the obvious stuff first.

Of course, the DGT SE does not use the same quality woods as the Modern Eagle II. The DGT SE does not have a deeply carved, highly figured maple top. Rather, it has what PRS describes as a shallow violin carve. In other words, the sides of the top gently transition to a flat top. The top wood of the DGT SE is indeed maple but there is a thin, figured maple veneer applied for appearance. The body and neck of DGT SE are mahogany but how many pieces cannot be determined because of the opaque finish on the back and the neck. Also of minor note is the rear routes found on core PRS’ so that the control and trem plates are body flush are absent on the SE. The finish is relatively thin and I can’t imagine it having a detrimental sonic effect.

Okay. Still with me? Good! Moving on, the DGT SE sports a high-quality variation of the excellent tremolo bridge that works every bit as well as the core version. The tuners, although not locking, are accurate, smooth functioning, and do not slip. Tuning stays solid with tremolo usage. This also speaks highly of the nut and how well the slots have been cut and finished. Strings pass through smoothly with no string “pinging” when tuning or with trem usage. I am often disappointed with instruments at much higher price points with poorly cut and finished nuts. I find it unacceptable given that it really isn’t that difficult to properly do. It has a big impact on how the instrument’s action and tuning stability are presented. I have seen so many nuts with overly high slots. Every PRS I have owned or played whether core or SE have had properly cut and finished nuts. Kudos!

The tremolo bridge has that buttery action that PRS has always been known for. From the factory, it is set to float and will pull up roughly a half step. The intonation was within a few cents of spot-on and, again, speaks highly of the attention to detail PRS expects of their guitars. Action, specifically string height, was good straight out of the box but I found it just a bit too high for my liking. This really isn’t a problem for anyone with a good #2 Philips screwdriver and a wee bit of care and concentration. It is a six-screw bridge and I found that a half-turn down of each screw positioned the bridge for action that is, Wow! instead of very good. My technique for adjusting the bridge height is: loosen the strings enough to move them for access to the screws. I start with the two opposing outside screws (Low E and High E) and then the inner four. Just turn each screw exactly the same and there should be zero problem with success.

Now we come to where the rubber meets the road…

I plugged the two guitars into several amps but for critical evaluation of the tonal nuance and character I used a 70s Fender Princeton Reverb. I have always considered this gem of an amplifier the gold standard for lush clean tone. 

The DGT SE neck pickup was first up and it knocked it out of the park. Big, bold, and with harmonic richness—nary a hint of sterility or harshness. It is well balanced from top to bottom and when the volume is rolled back it maintains all those qualities. Compared to the Modern Eagle II, I think the DGT SE neck pickup has the upper hand by a smidgen (and let’s face it; many of us look for that little extra). It was a bit more dynamic and responsive to pick attack. Lightly finger-pick or kiss the strings with a pick and nothing is lost in translation. 

Moving on to the bridge pickup, as you would expect, there is more bite and presence but, similar to the neck pickup, it exhibited no harshness or sterility. Definitely no ice pickiness even when digging in and picking closer to the bridge. 

To digress just a moment but with relevance, I will say that the acoustic quality of the DGT SE, if I had to describe it in a single word would be: woody. By that I mean there is a resonant ever-so-slightly hollow pop to the notes. Long natural sustain is on tap and no frequency attenuation up and down the neck.

This woodiness is only enhanced by the pickups. The inherent character of the instrument is faithfully transmitted to the amp. 

I went back and forth between instruments over and over again and with each swap, I became more convinced of how good this guitar is. 

I then did the same comparison with overdriven tones (I used a PRS DGT 15-watt amplifier which I will be reviewing shortly). The DGT SE shone its brilliance in this capacity as well. Well-defined note structure; a full and rich tone with no harshness or spikiness. Much credit to the PRS team but I also know that David Grissom was the ultimate arbiter and judge of getting it right. Without question, David is a master of taste and tone and would not put his name on something if he wasn’t 100% satisfied. 

Probably the one thing that I would point out as really making this guitar exceptional is the neck, and, specifically the fretwork. World class, period. The frets are finished close to perfection and make for an absolutely silky feel under the fingers.

For $899 this is ridiculously good fretwork, as in, how can they do this at this price point?

I have no hesitation in recommending this guitar. If you haven’t had the opportunity to play or own the core version, rest assured, you are getting the essential DNA with this SE version. 

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