ProCo RAT!

[S. Cane]

So, I've often tinkered and tweaked around trying to make my classic SSS stratocasters sound heavy. You know, I'm something of a purist and putting a humbucker on a strat is not an option to my own sense of taste.

I tried many things, compression, amp settings, messing with the tone knob, using the dirt pedal through the dirty channel... Nothing worked well. the guitar sounded either dull and muddy or way too shrill.

Well, it happens that our fellow Old Ranger (some of you might be aware of the fact that we're good friends, too bad he doesn't post much anymore), after reading me mention that, KINDLY sent me a ProCo RAT.

This pedal is very expensive and hard to find here in the neck of the woods where I live.

Wade promptly said that he'd send me his own RAT, as a gift. I was glad with his gesture, but declined, 'cause I didn't want him to part with one of his own guitar pedals, and besides I wouldn't give anyone the trouble of mailing it.

He insisted and sent the pedal by mail (along with a Mouse clone for a wider tonal range).

I often say that I'd much prefer to live back in the seventies forever, but one thing I must say is better nowadays: we can make real good friends much faster and effectively than when everything was done by letters in the mail.





I already thanked him a lot, and jammed and gigged with that evil artifact.

Now that is one MEAN dirt pedal. It turns my strats into roaring dragons, without needing any extra compression or anything. That "filter" knob can do some tonal miracles.

My favorite pedal now, by far.

[Franklin]

Awesome story!!


Always wanted one. Great pedal. There is a similar pedal on my dirty bucket list, The Black Cat OD-1 (a.k.a. Freddie Fuzz).

Some day, when money is no object. Or maybe when Old Ranger reads this thread and has one lying around?

[chuckocaster]

I'll let you in on a secret that DON and I know, the RAT is a killer Boost pedal too!!! Shhh, don't let anyone know how versatile these actually are! LOL

But seriously, I own 4 different RAT's! 1983 original big box, a Little Bear RatAttack, and a couple clones I built and tweaked. The original is stock, sounds good as is. The RatAttack is a killer clone with a socketed IC, clipping diode selector switch, and a couple other mods. The clones I tweaked in different ways. One is setup to function better as a boost, it will do the RAT distortion thing, but it gets really loose and squealy. I'm running very little negative feedback on it, so the circuit isn't as stable as a normal one. It also has less distortion than stock, but that's the whole idea behind it. My other clone is modded to be better with bass guitar. A RAT is an awesome bass pedal, and I simply tuned it to work better in that application. It still sounds great on guitar, but especially good for bass.

[Don]

I love my Rats! I just bought a secondhand Deucetone Rat a couple of weeks ago. That's two, TWO, Rats in one! I'll post a pic later.

[Franklin]

G.A.S. kicking in.......

My mind is telling me I need a RAT because I am not getting any younger.... I already have 5 dirt pedals on my board, so one would have to go.

So, clone or original?

[Offshore Angler]

Vindication!

For years now I've been extolling the virtues of the RAT. I got crapped on by everyone because it wasn't the boutique "must have" cork sniffer approved tone machine.

I'll take a good ol' RAT over any other distortion any day. A RAT is unique in that you can dial in "the butter" and it still cuts through the mix. It might not sound perfect in your bedroom - but man, onstage in a mix, I defy you to find a better distortion. They're seemingly bulletproof too.


Chuck

[Don]

They're seemingly bulletproof too.

That seems to be the case. Here's a pic inside of my '90 Turbo Rat. It worked fine except the status LED. One of the legs of a diode had rusted through. The pots are even quiet. I didn't replace anything except the diode. Oh, and I soldered the battery snap. The wires were just twisted and taped. I paid $20 for this Rat without getting to play it first and thought I might've gotten ripped off when I peeked inside.



The pedal-

[Don]

Here's the Deucetone Rat. Twice the fun! It has modes for a dirty Rat (germanium diodes), vintage Rat (silicon diodes), turbo Rat (LEDs) and clean Rat (no clipping diodes). It's dirty even without clipping diodes.

[Franklin]

Sweet! I had one that I lost in a fire, which was right before I really started playing tube amps and playing out. I remember loving it and the old AC15 I had.

[chuckocaster]

So, clone or original?

Get a Little Bear RatAttack! After getting one I refuse to pay big money for a RAT. Socketed IC, clipping diode switch, true bypass, all for around $40! Sounds as good as the majority of RAT's I've played.

[Franklin]

Get a Little Bear RatAttack! After getting one I refuse to pay big money for a RAT. Socketed IC, clipping diode switch, true bypass, all for around $40! Sounds as good as the majority of RAT's I've played.

Nice! I almost built a RatAttack. Maybe it's time I do!

[renderit]

I gots to try one! Thanks a butt load. Gear fever...

[S. Cane]

I gots to try one! Thanks a butt load. Gear fever...

Once you go RAT you don't ever go back

[chuckocaster]

Nice! I almost built a RatAttack. Maybe it's time I do!

I didn't know they came as kits? There are companies who sell Rat clone kits, MadBean is who I usually prefer for PCB's.

Here's a killer deal for anyone wanting a good RAT clone

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Litt.../dp/B01MTJWMK2

[Don]

I have a Rat clone that I built several years ago with a Tonepad PCB. It was a nice PCB. The pedal sounds great.

[ch willie]

Love my Rat. I got it new about 3 years ago and have used it a lot over the last six months. There are areas in the filter that I don't like too much, but as long as I dial in the sweet spots, it's golden.

[Franklin]

I didn't know they came as kits? There are companies who sell Rat clone kits, MadBean is who I usually prefer for PCB's.

Here's a killer deal for anyone wanting a good RAT clone

https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Litt.../dp/B01MTJWMK2

I was thinking Small Bear, not Little Bear!

I put one in my Amazon cart the other day to check out later and my wife bought it. So I'll know in a few days if I like it.

I am trying to downsize the dirt on my board. I have:

Sunlion > Double Muff > AM modded SD1 > Zendrive > AM Modded SD9


The Sunlion is one of my fav pedals. The only issue I have is the unreliability/instability of it. Even with the bias knob I have trouble at times. The treble boost side is indispensable to me. It is my solo boost.

The Double Muff is great, but only when I use the Zendrive used after it set to 0 gain. The Zen cuts off the lowend and really sounds kick ass when they are used this way. I was filling out the paperwork to have JHS mod it for a tone knob, then they decided to not mod them (ad a bunch of other pedals) anymore.

The Analogman modded Boss SD1. This is my forever OD pedal.

Zendrive is only being used as a (zero gain) boost at this time.

The Analogman modded Maxxon SD9. While I do love this pedal, it is the potential one for the chopping block.

[chuckocaster]

I thought of that later. I'm thinking you might really like this clone, I know I do and I've played quite a few RAT's.

I'm still back and forth on modding pedals, and guitars for that matter. I just can't seem to decide whether I'm a leave it stock or change everything kind of guy. Seems like I always go back to modding, guess I can't change old habits? LOL

Best of luck to your tone adventure!

[Franklin]

I thought of that later. I'm thinking you might really like this clone, I know I do and I've played quite a few RAT's.

I'm still back and forth on modding pedals, and guitars for that matter. I just can't seem to decide whether I'm a leave it stock or change everything kind of guy. Seems like I always go back to modding, guess I can't change old habits? LOL

Best of luck to your tone adventure!

Thanks! I will be coming back with my findings.

[chuckocaster]

In response to the rest of the other post: I've been on a Zendrive and Bluesbreaker clones kick as of late, with a SHO clone tacked onto the end for a lead boost. While the Zendrive isn't the most neutral of OD's, I love the way it sounds set to a light breakup. The Bluesbreaker I have set to "mean"... The SHO is for when I want to push whatever I am playing over the edge. I'm still infatuated with RAT's, but have also been using a Sonic Titan for the "heavy" stuff too. I have SO MANY OD's, and rotate them on and off my board in various configurations. Lately, I've been trying to nail down my "desert rock" tone. I'm going for a "dry and airy" base tone, that's kind of tight but not in any way like Metal. IDK if that makes any sense, and it seems like Queens of The Stone Age always gets referenced. But the sound I'm going for would be the feeling you get driving a loud V8 down a desert road at 100mph with the sun setting and the sky that gorgeous red/purple hue...

Whoa! I just totally went weird on everybody!!!

[Franklin]

lol!!!


It may be my SHO I break out of the closet and pull the Sunlion off the board. I like the way the treble boost pushes the other drives and really cuts through. I hope the SHO can replace it. No need to haul around such an expensive pedal to crappy gigs!!

[chuckocaster]

I run my boost after the OD, as I want more volume and less break up. This works best for me. But, I do sometimes run a BiFet in front

[Franklin]

Alright. I've had the Little Bear now for a few days and have a few hours with it. It really does a great Rat sound, and like I thought, I'm liking the led clipping mode the best. I bumped the Maxxon SD9 off the board for now.

It doesn't clean up well with the guitar is volume knob, but using it for rhythm I like it with the gain cranked up @ 2 and then punch it with the Beano Boost for leads. While it still doesn't clean up well using the boost, you can roll back the volume on the guitar and get a range of boost of out the Beano.

I'm liking it so far.

The two other pedals I have on my radar for dirt, then I'm done for a while is the Analogman King of Tone (to replace the Boss SD1 or Zendrive) and (to replace the Double Muff) either the JHS Muffuletta or the ThorpyFX Muffroom Cloud.

[chuckocaster]

I had someone ask me to build them a RAT clone, I told them to just buy the RatAttack... I can barely just buy the parts for what it costs. Told him we can always mod it if he wants. I've played quite a few and this one is up on the list pretty high. I'm not a knob fiddler, so IDK how the cleanup compares to others. But beings the RAT is a distortion, and gnarly one at that, I don't think they're going to cleanup like a TS, Bluesbreaker or something like that.


And as for the KOT, and this is in NO WAY putting down Mr AnalogMan (I have HUGE respect for Mike), but you could build yourself 2 Bluesbreaker clones and stuff them in 1 enclosure. MadBean sells the "8 Ball", which is a very well executed Bluesbreaker clone. The KOT is 2 modified versions of that circuit, I think the difference being clipping diodes and 500K gain pot on the "high gain" side. I've built several of them and everyone really loves them. You can also check out the JHS Morning Glory as it's another modded clone.

[Franklin]

There are several nice Bluesbreakers clones out there now, the Analogman has a good resale value if I don't want it.

[S. Cane]

I had someone ask me to build them a RAT clone, I told them to just buy the RatAttack... I can barely just buy the parts for what it costs. Told him we can always mod it if he wants. I've played quite a few and this one is up on the list pretty high. I'm not a knob fiddler, so IDK how the cleanup compares to others. But beings the RAT is a distortion, and gnarly one at that, I don't think they're going to cleanup like a TS, Bluesbreaker or something like that.


And as for the KOT, and this is in NO WAY putting down Mr AnalogMan (I have HUGE respect for Mike), but you could build yourself 2 Bluesbreaker clones and stuff them in 1 enclosure. MadBean sells the "8 Ball", which is a very well executed Bluesbreaker clone. The KOT is 2 modified versions of that circuit, I think the difference being clipping diodes and 500K gain pot on the "high gain" side. I've built several of them and everyone really loves them. You can also check out the JHS Morning Glory as it's another modded clone.

I get some real good creamy overdrive from mine, just by lowering the volume of the guitar, or reducing the distortion on the pedal, it sounds very good with the SG. With single coils it's another thing.

Like I said before, It is a wonderful tool to beef up a strat for heavier things, but it sounds a bit too harsh for crunchy blues. If I'm playing a strat, I'll add a smoother drive pedal in the chain.

[Don]

Alright. I've had the Little Bear now for a few days and have a few hours with it. It really does a great Rat sound, and like I thought, I'm liking the led clipping mode the best. I bumped the Maxxon SD9 off the board for now.

It doesn't clean up well with the guitar is volume knob, but using it for rhythm I like it with the gain cranked up @ 2 and then punch it with the Beano Boost for leads. While it still doesn't clean up well using the boost, you can roll back the volume on the guitar and get a range of boost of out the Beano.

I'm liking it so far.

The two other pedals I have on my radar for dirt, then I'm done for a while is the Analogman King of Tone (to replace the Boss SD1 or Zendrive) and (to replace the Double Muff) either the JHS Muffuletta or the ThorpyFX Muffroom Cloud.

My name came up for the KoT in October 2013 and I never bought one. I bought a used Prince of Tone for $90 and I really like it. Sometimes I use the boost mode with the gain set high and other times I use the OD mode with the gain set lower. Either way, I'm trying to get the sound of a cranked amp from a clean amp.

I've got a second hand Blackstone Appliances Mosfet Overdrive coming on Monday.

[chuckocaster]

Ooh, those Blackstones are killer! First time I heard one was a guy playing a Strat into a Twin, sounded so good. I've never got to play one, only hear others play them.

[DanTheBluesMan]

I never tried a Rat, always associated them with hair metal and that just ain't my thing, y'know? Sounds like I might have missed out on a potential good pedal.

[S. Cane]

I never tried a Rat, always associated them with hair metal and that just ain't my thing, y'know? Sounds like I might have missed out on a potential good pedal.

Oh, no, my friend! Not at all!!

The RAT is indeed a classic 80s pedal, but it has been used by a very wide range of musicians since then!

Why don't you take a guess on whose pedalboard this is?



(Try to guess without looking up the address)

Hint: this was the pedalboard used in a GREAT mid 90s rock concert that is often regarded as one of the greatest concerts ever.

[DanTheBluesMan]

sorry, no idea

[S. Cane]

David Gilmour. That's the pedalboard he used through the Pulse tour

[ch willie]

I knew that one--I bought a Rat after I'd seen this pic.

He sure has a load of OD and distortion pedals. You'd think that a cranked Hiwatt, a Rat and an OD would do it for him.

[chuckocaster]

Different flavors, and he's such a "feel" player that I'm sure he made each one sound different yet like him.

[chuckocaster]

I never tried a Rat, always associated them with hair metal and that just ain't my thing, y'know? Sounds like I might have missed out on a potential good pedal.

That's just it! While they are great for that type of tone, they're way more versatile than people know. Growing up in the 90's, there were a lot of Grunge and Alternative guys using them, surprisingly enough. Probably because they'd gone out of fashion and could be picked up cheap. My first RAT was a big box RI I got for $40 at a pawnshop!!! Sounded so good, I was playing a Strat or Tele into a 68 Bassman, nowhere close to 80's Hair tone. LOL

My favorite way to use one is as a booster, gain around 9 o'clock and volume almost maxed.

[jrgtr42]

I've had a Rat for probably 20 years now, and as many other pedals I have, nothing has beaten that for the big distortion sound. I have a couple other pedals I swap in and out for light grit and overdrive sounds, but nothing beats that Rat.
I picked up a second one a few years later, but that one doesn't sound as good for the high-gain stuff, for a while I had the other in as the overdrive sound. Now it mostly sits on the shelf. I should pull that one out and play with it a bit.

[chuckocaster]

I find that they each sound a little different, I've owned probably 7?

[DanTheBluesMan]

yikes

I was afraid of that

[chuckocaster]

It's nuances, and drives me crazy!!! My first one almost had a "regal" tone to it, if you will. It would get "ratty", but had a beautiful smooth tone. None of my others have touched it, including clones I built with custom specs and IC chips. I think part of the "mojo" is how crappy the LM308 is! LOL I socket so I can try different ones, I have new and a little stash of pulls...

[HighPlainsDrifter]

I'll never part with my RAT. I'd also have to agree that it isn't at all a "hair-metal" one trick pony. I'm an OD-flavor junkie and have had several throughout the years. For what I play ( Gilmour, Trower, Santana, Zappa, etc, and an emphasis on gritty-blues and hard-rock) I've found the RAT to be quite versatile when paired up with other OD's. I've temporarily pulled my RAT and EHX Cock-Fight out of the chain but I'm sure that I'll rotate both of them back in at some point just to play around. Currently, my TC Electronics MojoMojo + Boss BD II are my dynamic-duo for a variety of sounds/ tones. For what it's worth, I use the Blues Driver with very little gain. It's a great pedal for clean boost. Anyway... pic of the chain: