I polished up my 57/62 pup'd AmStd sunburst Strat last night for my little weekly gig. Used the Rat for distortion. Didn't like that so switched back to an OD. Didn't like it, so went back to the rat. I had to have one or the other for what we were doing, and the Ratt did it's job perfectly.
But... I hate covering over the wonderful clean sounds of that Strat. I don't mind the natural OD when my DRRI is cranked, but I like effects less and less--except when recording, where some songs call strongly for it.
I'm not a puritanical purist about it, and I certainly use all manners of effects with my keyboard...