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lets talk about Rats. the Proco variety.

whats your fave? why?

one time i had an 80's whiteface that i got for $40 cuz the ground wire on the battery snap had broken and the store that had it was like "lol idk it broek?" but i didnt appreciate it enough in my low gain overdrive days so i sold it for like $200 like an idiot.

anyway, yeah

here's a thread i started a while ago: viewtopic.php?f=149&t=45003 there are probably others you could find on here too.

i'm still pretty obsessed with them, i switched from using tube amps to only using solid state amps and most of my dirt pedals didn't sound right but to me RATs are awesome with both.
right now i have a mid-90s big box reissue and a USA Turbo RAT, both with LM308N, also have an 80s RAT1 on its way. had a new RAT2 previously.

i think overall so far i like the big box reissue best, it's the least harsh-sounding i've had, never gets tinny or crackly on the high end. the filter knob range isn't huge so its easy to dial in. not stupid loud but loud enough.
the Turbo has a really nice timbre to it which i like a lot, but it has this slightly nasty clipping on the high end on lower gain settings that i can't seem to dial out, i haven't had it for long so i still need to test it more but i think it might be better suited to tube amps. it has a ton of volume and gain on tap.
the RAT2 is cool IMO, even chinese made ones with the OP07 chip, they just lack a bit of warmth compared to the others. i've seen plenty of bands use them to good effect.
they all cut low end in one way or another, i think if they didn't they wouldn't be what they are so if it bothers you try pairing it with an EQ, i always run a Boss GE-6 with a scooped EQ boosting the lows and highs before a RAT, it makes it sound way more full and articulate to me.

ahh thanks for that!

I saw Toe recently and I had been thinking I would love to hav another rat, seeing what the guitarist who plays a jazzmaster got out of his rat made me realize its probably something I would really use a lot.

ya Toe and a bunch of other japanese bands get sick sounds from them and it's usually like a stock RAT2 and a boss super overdrive or something basic like that.
its easy to overlook when you're used to messing with more boutique shit but it sits in the mix so well live, and especially in 2-guitar bands the low end cut can be beneficial if anything.
jazzmaster + RAT is always a good combo.

My fav: Turbo Rat.
Why? Less compressed when distortion is set past 12, and that's makes it "cut" better when ther's another guitar and bass.
The reissue The Rat I had was more compressed and it didn't sound as ballsy as the Turbo.

I could use any if I just wanted a Rat as an overdrive, even the cheap Roadkill I still have.

...I still need to try one. If anyone has one for sale or trade let me know.

my very 1st Pedal
i can't remember the year. in the 90's.
i was playing through a solid state Fender Deluxe 90 and and Epiphone Fat Strat copy with a bat-wing head stock

not a proco, but the Mooer Black Secret is a darn good Chinese copy.

I had a RAT2 in the 90's I stupidly sold off. Now I just bought a Fat RAT because I missed having one and got a pretty good deal on it. It's the RAT sound I remember plus the Fat switch is kind of a cool option. Most of the time I leave it on the stock setting though. I haven't swapped out the chip for the LM308 but it sounds fine as it is to my ears. RATs are definitely my all time favorite pedal.

I've had:
Turbo Rat
3-way modded Turbo Rat
Rat 2
Rat ? (unsure of exact model) clone with Ruetz Knob
90s big box Reissue
And I just got a Rat Tail.

Rat Tail seems very promising. I didn't like the Turbo before I modded it, but I didn't have a good amp setup. The Rat 2 was okay, but wasn't very inspiring. The big box was pretty awesome, but lack of LED was a deal breaker. Also I bought it cheap with a broken footswitch and turned a solid profit after fixing it. The Rat Tail seems really nice so far, we'll see what I think after tonight's gig. Also it uses a mojo as fuck tin can lm308, so that's cool. The other clone is my forever pedal my friend built. I always keep it around even when it's not on board.

I owned a rat a while ago and sold it. I just recently ordered an Earthbound Audio Iron Pig and am excited to try it out!

I really liked the stock Rat. No idea what year/make but it has the LM308thingbob.

Slightly OT, but has anyone tried the Keeley Stahlhammer? I've been wanting to try out a Rat clone and accidentally just bought one from an ebay seller in the USA. Apparently it's a Rat with a different tone stack?

Rats where awesome in the 80s and maybe even the early 90s, when it was one of the few decent high-ish gain distortions available. The pedal deserves its name and fame, but imo nowadays there's a TON of better options out there that don't sound as scratchy and thin, and don't kill your low end.

A ruetz'd Rat still sounds more than decent though, depending on the amp you use it with. If I had to choose, I'd prefer the regular american made LM308 Rat. Not that the newer IC versions sound THAT different to me though.

frigid midget wrote:and don't kill your low end.

That's the beauty of it when used in a band and your purpose is to not "disappear". There's a reason you can see Rats (and clones) in a lot of venues, and obscure "cool" sounding stuff stays on internet ppl's bedroom/basement/whatever.

to me the Rat just works. Not the best godly toanz, but always useable. 3 knobs and the truth.