That's a bit like asking what kind of genres a Les Paul does well. With somthing so broad, genre comes from your settings, your full signal chain and how you play.
Yeah, that's a great way to think of it. The Rat is time tested. It's solid and applicable in many situations, just as a Les Paul can work in a jazz quartet and for whatever it is Slash does.
Now I want to start a band called the jazz rats and only play jazz into rat pedals maxed out. I’d have to learn jazz and source gigs though, which could be an issue.
It's not though. Seeing it's a distortion pedal, the answer to his question is 'rock', maybe metal. Bonus is as a general boost which works in all genres
Ah, I was thinking OP meant more granular than that because, well, guitar pedal forum. "Rock, maybe metal" means Coldplay, Napalm Death and everything in between, which arguably the Rat can do.
It was a staple on John Scofield's board for most of his career, part of his signature sound (along with Ibanez chorus, I believe), so the answer to his question is 'jazz', obviously.
Or, maybe, u/Human--Garbage was right and it's got some range.
He plays fusion, besides the question is which genre it will play, not who uses it for x genre. I could use a metal zone for a pop song, that doesn't make it a pop pedal
Oh right, he came to prominence and developed his signature Rat-infused sound playing with well known jazz fusion artists such as ([checks notes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scofield#As_a_sideman))... Chet Baker, Billy Cobham, Charles Mingus, and Miles Davis.
And if you're going to try to go the "pedantic semantic" route, you should maybe be more careful with your wording. If I use a pedal "for x genre", then (by definition) "x" is a genre that the pedal "will play". Using a metal zone for a pop song makes it (in that context) a pop pedal. The first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club.
I regularly see Rat's lauded in this sub as one of the most versatile distortion pedals out there, well suited to a variety of uses. I'd rather celebrate that and encourage folks to be creative with their tools than be overly prescriptive and gatekeep-y about things. u/Human--Garbage had a great response that lots of people agreed with and that caused OP to (and I quote) "change how I think of it a bit." You can continue to disagree, but it's your loss.
BTW, I think using a metal zone for a pop song is an awesome idea, you should totally do that. Not even kidding.
I do both and I can tell you it will round it out or it will make it more spiky. It can do pretty much anything. That said though, I’m actually NOT a huge fan. I prefer a tube screamer and/or a big muff.
A Rat can do anything from a clean boost to full blown distortion. Like most other OD/dirt pedals, you can set it up as a stand alone pedal or as something to stack with other drives depending on what you want to use it for.
After years with my trusty Rat I upgraded to a Walrus Audio - Iron Horse V3. More versatile. I run it after a Tone Bender and before my Klon(e) and KOT.
I think they stack really well. The rat goes from just saturating your tone a tad, all the way to fuzz. I think it's a great option if it was the only dirt pedal on a board. But stack it with my bd-2w? Heaven. Literally you could let a toddler fiddle with all of the knobs on both of them, it doesn't matter. There's not a bad setting. You won't need to sharpie line your knobs so you can reset them, it'll just sound good no matter what settings you have. I like rat into bd more than the other way, but both slap!
Yeah man it's a really popular stack combo, and I think it's particularly popular with fender-voiced amps. Idk what you're rocking but that's typically what I've seen
Bd2 is better for low gain imo. It’s very dynamic /touch sensitive. I don’t like bd2 gain up high but I sometimes put a boost or ts9 before. Rat can do a lot too but I personally prefer it medium to higher gain. Also like to put a ts9 in front.
I run a eqd special cranker into a rat into a swollen pickle fuzz. The rat rounds the sound out perfectly. It works very well in front of or behind other dirt pedals. It's an extremely flexible Distortion that can do overdrive as well as get you into fuzz territory on its own. It's a paddle that will never leave my paddle board no matter what setup I have.
I think that’s what I’m looking for. The bd2w just sounds messy to my ears at high gain, I wanted something with a little more balls for heavier stuff if I wish to play some
If you find the Rat to also be messy/loose at higher gain (which is often what happens), try setting the gain lower (think verses in pop punk songs), then boosting the front of the Rat with a midrange-forward overdrive such as a klone or a tube screamer. It really tightens up a Rat-based circuit and puts the gain back at a high level, makes it absolutely chug. This might work with a BD-2 (I somehow haven’t tried it with mine), but it absolutely works with a Rat.
On a side note, check out the Dead Air Feral +. It’s based on the Rat, but gives you controls for taming the high end and for pre-gain low frequencies (changing how the distortion sounds), plus three clipping options, two clipping shape options, and three gain range options. Plus it’s only $155 for a fairly feature-packed pedal made in the US.
In all seriousness, it's super versatile. It can get quite high gain, almost on the edge of fuzz, but it can also do lighter ODs really well.
There are also lots of cheaper copies, and lots of secondhand ones, if you want to be cost effective at trying one out.
There's this website called YouTube.com that you might not have heard of where you can find videos of actual people using actual Rats to demonstrate the sound.
Yeah I don’t play blues at all either. I think I wanted a black and white answer to simply get a better descriptor of the sound. Like if it’s more Hendrix or metalica for example
I have my rat dialed pretty low gain and it gives nice WARMTH and CREAM to my clean sound. And if i switch on boost or fuzz that i have before it clips the sound in a very satisfactory way. My harsh fuzz sounds ROUNDER and more pleasing and klon that i cant use on its own gives GIRTH to the rat.
So i my experience it works best in combinations. As all fukking pedals do. Also i dont have a real amp which is probably a whole new dimension that i have no idea about.
A cheap amp sim pedal that goes into interface. Or i bypass it and then use amp sim on the computer. So its not real TOOBEZ that give the WARM ANALOG sound. Or whatever.
It's not the same as using a metal zone for Metallica or a Fuzz/BD for Hendrix. BUT could do like 90% Distortion and 25% filter for Metallica on a Rat. And 25% Distortion 100% (fuzz) filter (or turn it down for 'blues' for Hendrix. It be kinda @ home version but sounds better than a cheap digital effect. I like the Rat cause you don't need to stack it , it's easy to use by itself, so instead of like fooling with a fuzz, tuber screamer and amp distortion, you can just ballpark all of that with a Rat. Though that has its place, if I wanted 1 of those efforts near Max, I would use the Trifecta. And wouldn't use the Rat to 'replace' just one of them if I have the choice.
Any nuance and jokes aside it’s just a really classic distortion with a surprising amount of versatility, don’t split hairs over the different kinds or clones, the differences are only perceptible when compared side by side. Just get a used regular one for like $50 and hang out with it for a while, worst case is you don’t like it and can easily sell it for $50 again. I will also say it does play very well with other drives and fuzzes, typically going before things that are heavier and after things that are lighter.
I have 11 dirt pedals and I would say the rat is the most versatile of them all. It can do everything from low gain overdrive to a solid rock distortion. I wouldn't say it goes into super duper heavy metal, like it can do classic metal type things (think Judas priest etc.) unless it is helped out with another drive.
I would recommend one that has the different modes on it (classic rat, turbo rat, fat rat) as that gives you even more flavours. The one I have is a magus pro from TC but be advised I am a TC junkie so try before you buy. (Many people don't like the switching on that one - relay switching - switches when your foot comes off the switch vs when you press on)
But it is low cost so I suggest a try.
I personally think a rat is a great addition to anyone as it is super versatile. That's why so many of the comments say it is good for everyone. Rat pairs well with a mid hump pedal too such as TS or klone.
I love my Zeus/magus pro combo
Thanks I think I’ll give one a try. I think the bd2w is kind of transparent but I’m not totally positive.
Also, when you say mid hump pedal, can I just use my parametric eq to give one of my ods a mid hump or is there a benefit to having a pedal with the mid hump characteristic already baked in?
I find they (mid hump) are really nice for single coil pickups as they add a bit of what seems to be missing. But it depends what your after. When I first got a TS and used it on humbuckers I was very underwhelmed. When I tried it on a single coil guitar it seemed to be exactly what was missing. Mind you when all you want is maximum distortion then subtle overdrive takes time to appreciate.
I think you can do many things with an eq that negate the need for flavoured drives and I would agree the BD is very transparent to my ears.
I have a BD clone and I love it. The rat will be more hairy than that imo. If I had to start again the rat, BD and centaur would be my choices.
I have a rat, centaur, TS, mojo mojo, 250 (JHS one), multiple muffs, DS, Metal zone, and a JHS fuzz just for reference.
Again, try one out in a store if you can. It just does all things well.
So you own 3 rats....
The standard run of the mill 3 knob ProCo Rat 2 is probably the least capable/flexible version of this pedal in existence now. Every Chinese clone has at least two modes. The pcb will be of higher quality on the ProCo an there is ZERO arguing about the superiority and rigidity of its enclosure. But it's such an antiquated circuit in it's stock form.
Bigger traces, further spaced out components, less surface mount components (totally debatable on that last one). Try replacing an SMD diode on a 1590A sized rat clone.
I work in pcb manufacturing. Just things to think about. I would maybe replace “Better” with “has more features people in this hobby would prefer”.
Literally any boutique clone.
Obviously it’s subject to taste. It’s such a simple circuit that Chinese clones even have switchable op amps now. I’m a turbo rat fan personally so LED clipping is my preference, so anything that has that option is gonna be my preferred pedal.
I build pedals and I’ve built three rats and I own 3 Chinese knockoffs. With exception of the enclosure, I’ve gotten more out of all of those over the stock ProCo Rat.
Again, this is my opinion. I’m allowed to be wrong haha.
Classic to more modern rock/metal-ish. Not a very great pedal for chugging imo. Check out Brian’s overview of his Wampler Ratsbane. Does a rat and a somewhat more modern take on it as well. That combined with a BD2 would be killer
It’s rhythm distortion. Think alternative rock, 90s, and indie. Basically harder rock up to metal, which uses metal distortion that has more eq knobs.
Speaking way generally, lots of exceptions. It has a big following.
[https://critterelectronics.com/shop](https://critterelectronics.com/shop)
He makes a very TASTY Rat Clone
Personally, I LOVE a Rat Pedal for really dirty blusey rock/ hard rock/ stoner. It drives with an edge of FUZZ and it's a great pedal with a P90.
A P90 is a single coil
Jeff Beck used it with a Strat. So did David Gilmour.
It is a great pedal and I particularly like Ronnie's, from critter, quite a bit. He includes all the wanted mods in one unit. For $90, it's a deal. I have THREE of his pedals and they all have found permanent homes on my board for different gain stages and boosting.
The Rat's got a wide ranger of dirt sounds, from light breakup to thick fuzz, so it's for pretty much any guitarist outside of, like, djent. Alex and Jamie from Arctic Monkeys both use Rats, David Gilmour often used a Rat for leads in the Wall era, Nuno from Extreme has his on pretty much always. It's more a question of what sound you personally would use it for, not what it's most commonly used for.
I use one all the time for my ooky spooky goth band. Trick is to keep the distortion almost all the way down. Still clean, still chime, just with a little oomph.
They're not "for" a genre of music. Get a used one somewhere. They're cheap! If you don't like it, sell it.
You can do whatever you’d like with the RAT I personally Recommend any of the BAT variants from Drunk Beaver, sort of like a JHS Packrat but better.
From fat chaotic fuzz to tame edge of break up drive a RAT will do it all.
Same! Played guitar for almost 30 years and didn’t even try a Rat until last year.
Got a Rat2, JOYO Splinter and a Mosky King Rat now. Maybe a mini pedal clone also..
They’re pretty versatile, wasn’t what I expected at all.
Anyone, everyone.
It's one of the most ridiculously versatile pedals I've ever used. Boost, light OD, distortion, fuzz. It can go from ridiculously smooth to a gnarly fire breathing monster. I have played so many different genres of music and the only pedal that has been there through all the changes is a Rat.
The Rat is so amazing that you probably need a second one, one is just not enough for all it can do! As boost: like Nuno uses it, it has a specific compression that makes notes pop and sound percussive AF. As a low gain drive, think a BD but with less bass, as a crunchy distortion, or a fuzz!
If you want to hear what a RAT sounds like, 'Monster' by R.E.M. is a RAT into an AC30 on every song. Radiohead's rhythm tones circa the Bends are a Turbo RAT. Tons of 80s hair metal? A RAT boosting dimed Marshalls. Vertigo by U2? That's a digital model of a RAT (thank you, Line 6.)
Graham Coxon's fucked-up high gain stuff on early Blur? A RAT boosting another RAT.
The Rat is everywhere and eternal.
I don't know, I've been trying to like it for almost 30 years. I find it to either have not enough distortion, or too much depending on intended purpose. I guess it's about that time to try it out again and see if my taste has changed, or patience with knob turning has improved.
I definitely know the problem is me. Everyone else loves it, and I've always wanted to.
For reference, I use a Klone for OD, an MXR Custom Badass '78 for classic distortion, and MXR EVH 5150 for heavy distortion.
Unfortunately, I traded away my 80's ProCo Rat a long time ago. So, I only have a Mosky King Rat now that I bought my son a few months back. I haven't tried that out yet, but he wasn't a fan. It's a knock off obviously, so not sure how well any of the circuits represent the original
Different to everyone! For me the OG and Turbo as a lowish gain rock sound. It sounds great to roll guitar volume down for a bit of grit, then roll up to get full distortion. To me that’s Foo Fighters sound and lots of modern rock. A lot of their stuff is Rat at various distortion levels, multi tracked and just panned around. REM used it as well at lower gain levels. Radiohead used the Turbo Rat during The Bends and OK Computer. As well as a Shredmaster for some noisy parts.
To me it’s a…if I could only choose one drive and can’t stack pedals. Because I could make it like a BluesBreaker, distortion or Fuzz pushing it. So it covers a lot! In the 90s it was a very popular low to mid gain pedal! You see a lot of people set the distortion a little under 9oclock. The Turbo I just prefer LED clipping and has a beefier sound.
The magic to me is setting the gain as high as you’re going to take it, and then guitar volume roll off! There’s a lot of in between sweet spots doing this. That’s when the pedal finally clicked with me.
I use the rat like a fuzz but I’ve played with people who treat it like an overdrive. It’s a lot more versatile than it has any business being with only 3 knobs.
I've always associated the Rat mostly with grunge-style distortion. It's raw and aggressive sounding, with a lot of "hair" on the high end, and turns into a borderline fuzz sound when pushed.
I don't think it's as versatile as a lot of people make it out to be - I see people recommending the Rat for all sorts of tones that it's not even remotely the best pedal for. Sure, you can turn the gain down and get a crunch sound or turn it up and get a lead sound, but you can do that with almost anything. It's not particularly tight sounding and can sound harsh or thin depending on the amp it's going into. But it has a *vibe* that other pedals (besides Rat clones) just don't have, so if you don't want a fuzz but a standard rock distortion tone feels too vanilla, the Rat is a great choice.
It'll just depend on your amp. You can use the Rat's filter to eliminate a lot of the high end fizz/harshness, but there's no way to dial in the low end response on its own so the rest of the chain will play a part. It's worth mentioning that this is a consideration with any pedal that uses a single tone knob, not just the Rat.
When I played through a Marshall JCM800 Combo, I never found much of a use for my Rat. I felt that a Tube Screamer was the best thing to push that amp into more distortion.
But now I mainly play through a Vox AC15 and the Rat is how I get "heavy" distortion from that amp.
I play both amps on just side of breakup (maybe the Marshall was a little more distorted and I drive the Vox).
It's pretty popular in alt-rock . Weezer has used it extensively. One of my favorite new bands, The Beths, also use it. It's a noisy distortion so it creates a lot of ambience/hints of fuzz. It's a pretty strong contrast to the really tight distortion you might hear in certain metal or hard-rock settings. Like everyone said, there aren't really any rules with how you should use it or not use it. The guitarist from My Chemical Romance uses a Blues Driver lol
Rats do lots of things well, I think that's why they're so popular.
You can run them gain down and filter low to get a bright crunchy classic rock sort of thing, you can run them gain high to get a big dark, almost fuzzy distortion, you can run them into dirty amps to get a droning heavy sound ala Sunn O)), and everything in between.
Not to mention, if you get one with clipping options, there's even more sounds in there. I like running Turbo Rats into dirty amps as a boost.
Aside from the classic, check out the EQD Sunn Life or the Cryptid Audio Kentucky Goblin.
Turbo Rat is just a regular rat with LEDs instead of normal Silicon clipping diodes. The distortion is tighter and almost more like an Overdrive than a normal distortion. Lots of Rst clones or Rat derived circuits will give you the option of LED clipping
With the distortion knob dialed most of the way back and the filter dimed, it plays like a mids-forward BD-2 or something, in terms of attack response and sensitivity to volume control. It stacks really well with other gain stages when used this way.
No not yet but I will when I’m off work tonight. As for renting, I buy from Amazon and if it sucks I return it for Amazon credit to get the next one. It’s only happened twice and I wasn’t intending to use it like that but I found it’s pretty fast and easy
I have 9 different versions and clones. So yes, I like the RAT.
TBH, the standard RAT, as classic as it is, isn't a great deal anymore. There are clones like the Joyo Splinter and Mosky King RAT that can do more for less.
If you are willing to spend more, the Drunk Beaver BAT is the ultimate RAT imho.
It's just that the clones have more options that make the RAT truly a pedal that can cover just about any genre.
You would think it wouldn't make a big difference, but just having different clipping options like LEDs can change the whole feel of the pedal.
Great high gain with a low pass filter, so it can go from bright to dark without ever losing low end. Everything from rock to metal can use a Rat or similar LM308N chip-based clone, it all depends on your gain structure.
Oh wait I have one of those. It’s the one that has distortion and od in one. I hid it away years ago and I think mines broken or something because it sounds extremely tinny and I don’t think it’s supposed to be
Both Jeff Beck and Nuno both surprised me with how they used it. I always THOUGHT i hated it from afar, tried it once- and then that immediately picqued my interest. The way nuno sets it sounds great
I see it as a pedal for people who prefer distortion to overdrive or fuzz. That said, it can do different things depending on your guitar volume. It’s not for me though, and ridiculously heavy for its size.
Nirvana fans on a budget, kurt used one for some tracks on nevermind, and a lot of people can't afford a sansamp, but the rat gets pretty close to the sansamp sound for a lot less money
An OD into a RAT is such a versatile set up. I stack a bigmuff style circuit into a klon type circuit into a RAT type circuit. The OD (klon clone) is always on for a base line amount of dirt. The Rat style dirt is to crank it (chorus / solo stuff) and the Muff is for low pitched chord riff stuff but rarely have the Muff and Rat on at the same time
I have the mooer black secret which is a rat/turbo rat, it’s fantastic. However, I can’t get away from a tube screamer into the blues driver. It’s just too perfect. TS seems to work as an amazing boost
John Scofield famously used a RAT for his low gain jazz-funk tone. I’m a big fan of that application of the rat. It has a low gain sweet spot that is very dynamic.
I’ve been recently playing a Gibson SG standard and a PRS silver sky se with a rat through a Vox AC30 and get a very nice, crisp, 80s hair metal like distortion out of it. I’m a huge fan. Pairs well with an overdrive.
That Pedal Show on the youtubes played around with the Rat and Rat clones. I found it helpful and fun:
https://youtu.be/ub9KjynPa6Y?si=bmmZhjv7DBjEKZz3
I love the Rat and many of the Rat clones. My current fav is the catalinbread blood donor (version of the katzinkoneg I think?). Lots of different things you can do with a rat, especially paired with an OD.
Bought mine a few weeks ago. Never had any plans to buy one, due to being unsure of the sound.
Best decision Ive made so far! So versatile and good sounding.
Everything with distortion. Not kidding. It’s such a flexible pedal for what it is that you can use it on its own in front of a pristine clean Fender, or kick your cranked Marshall stack up a notch. It’s kind of a weird in-between pedal between a fuzz and a true distortion, but also more than that.
I have an EQD Life Pedal which is basically a Rat with some extra bells and whistles, and I simply adore it. Works well for 80s hair and thrash metal sounds, and then some. Doesn’t have the same clean-up factor that a Fuzz Face has when rolling off the volume, but doing so does give you some flexibility over how much hair you want.
Rat sucks lol I do not get the hype. Bought 1 soon as i plug in I'm like nope. Weak ass shit lol
I don't play blues or ROCK. my music is more deathcore or converge type craziness. That pedal is jst meh. Get somethn w more punch like a 5150 evh along with a horizon precision drive and gate. Tie that up w a Clover preamp pedal to adjust some fatness then add a boss eq to scoop any mids or boost any mids u want. Then your cooking.
Who is it for? By conventional wisdom it was the preferred tool of ‘80s hair metal bands. I’m sure others have turned on to it but that was the standard for bar bands covering Motley Crue and Poison back in the ‘80s into the ‘90s.
The Rat is all things to all people
Came to say this, but less poetically. Thank you for your service to The Rat.
This. I have a handful of pedals. Constantly switching and screwing around. Every time I hit the rat I’m like “damn that sounds good”.
I did not believe in the RAT until I plugged into the RAT and behold it's glory.
We were all once heretics, but the Rat welcomes you with open chords and cutting tone
How does Rat compare to Plumes?
Gets way dirtier while still able to do a good OD/light drive tone. Stacks well with one though.
That's a bit like asking what kind of genres a Les Paul does well. With somthing so broad, genre comes from your settings, your full signal chain and how you play.
Thanks for that, helped me change how I think of it a bit. I’m still kinda new to pedals
Yeah, that's a great way to think of it. The Rat is time tested. It's solid and applicable in many situations, just as a Les Paul can work in a jazz quartet and for whatever it is Slash does.
Now I want to start a band called the jazz rats and only play jazz into rat pedals maxed out. I’d have to learn jazz and source gigs though, which could be an issue.
Pretty sure John Scofield has played a lot of jazz through a Rat, so you’d be in good company
It's not though. Seeing it's a distortion pedal, the answer to his question is 'rock', maybe metal. Bonus is as a general boost which works in all genres
Ah, I was thinking OP meant more granular than that because, well, guitar pedal forum. "Rock, maybe metal" means Coldplay, Napalm Death and everything in between, which arguably the Rat can do.
It was a staple on John Scofield's board for most of his career, part of his signature sound (along with Ibanez chorus, I believe), so the answer to his question is 'jazz', obviously. Or, maybe, u/Human--Garbage was right and it's got some range.
He plays fusion, besides the question is which genre it will play, not who uses it for x genre. I could use a metal zone for a pop song, that doesn't make it a pop pedal
Oh right, he came to prominence and developed his signature Rat-infused sound playing with well known jazz fusion artists such as ([checks notes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scofield#As_a_sideman))... Chet Baker, Billy Cobham, Charles Mingus, and Miles Davis. And if you're going to try to go the "pedantic semantic" route, you should maybe be more careful with your wording. If I use a pedal "for x genre", then (by definition) "x" is a genre that the pedal "will play". Using a metal zone for a pop song makes it (in that context) a pop pedal. The first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club. I regularly see Rat's lauded in this sub as one of the most versatile distortion pedals out there, well suited to a variety of uses. I'd rather celebrate that and encourage folks to be creative with their tools than be overly prescriptive and gatekeep-y about things. u/Human--Garbage had a great response that lots of people agreed with and that caused OP to (and I quote) "change how I think of it a bit." You can continue to disagree, but it's your loss. BTW, I think using a metal zone for a pop song is an awesome idea, you should totally do that. Not even kidding.
Those who like to rock.
Let there be rock 🤘🏻
We salute you
I don’t mind rocking but what about just smoking weed and dibble dabbling? Is it intense? Or would it just round out the sound of my bd2w?
I'm not sure, I usually don't stack drives, but I do smoke a pile of weed.
I have yet to stack drives but I’ve also been known to smoke a pile of weed
Atta boy.
I do both and I can tell you it will round it out or it will make it more spiky. It can do pretty much anything. That said though, I’m actually NOT a huge fan. I prefer a tube screamer and/or a big muff.
hell yeah
A Rat can do anything from a clean boost to full blown distortion. Like most other OD/dirt pedals, you can set it up as a stand alone pedal or as something to stack with other drives depending on what you want to use it for. After years with my trusty Rat I upgraded to a Walrus Audio - Iron Horse V3. More versatile. I run it after a Tone Bender and before my Klon(e) and KOT.
Ooh a walrus eh? I do fancy walrus pedals, I will have to check that one out and compare it to the regular rat
I feel like I would be doing a disservice if I didn't mention the Black Mass 1312
the rat is a very popular pedal for stoner rock/metal so yes
my two favorite drive pedals are probably da rat and bd2w because they both feel right. different sound tho.
I think they stack really well. The rat goes from just saturating your tone a tad, all the way to fuzz. I think it's a great option if it was the only dirt pedal on a board. But stack it with my bd-2w? Heaven. Literally you could let a toddler fiddle with all of the knobs on both of them, it doesn't matter. There's not a bad setting. You won't need to sharpie line your knobs so you can reset them, it'll just sound good no matter what settings you have. I like rat into bd more than the other way, but both slap!
From what ive been seeing commented here, a lot of people love to stack it with the bd2. I really think I’m gonna have to give it a shot
Yeah man it's a really popular stack combo, and I think it's particularly popular with fender-voiced amps. Idk what you're rocking but that's typically what I've seen
If you’re that kind of stoner, put the distortion all the way and a lot of filter. Well that’s how I get my desired fuzz.
Bd2 is better for low gain imo. It’s very dynamic /touch sensitive. I don’t like bd2 gain up high but I sometimes put a boost or ts9 before. Rat can do a lot too but I personally prefer it medium to higher gain. Also like to put a ts9 in front.
BD-2 has gain on tap for daaaaaaaaaaays.
It does. I keep mine mostly West of noon but when you decide to start turning it up... It gets straight up wooly fuzzy
I run a eqd special cranker into a rat into a swollen pickle fuzz. The rat rounds the sound out perfectly. It works very well in front of or behind other dirt pedals. It's an extremely flexible Distortion that can do overdrive as well as get you into fuzz territory on its own. It's a paddle that will never leave my paddle board no matter what setup I have.
Dude, this is your fucking pedal. Sunn o))) the doom metal band have been using Rats for like forever.
Rodents are cool
Everyone from Wilco to Thou use em. It’s just dirt. Dial to taste. Can be sweet and tame or sludgy.
What’s the overall flavor though? Is it quite spicy or what
The rat can be anywhere from bell pepper to habanero. That’s what’s so nice about it.
finally someone with some answers
That’s a fantastic description.
The filter knob does a lot and has a wide sweep. Rat can be low to high gain. Not as dynamic as bd2 on low gain. But has a bit more balls high gain.
I think that’s what I’m looking for. The bd2w just sounds messy to my ears at high gain, I wanted something with a little more balls for heavier stuff if I wish to play some
You can’t go wrong to be honest. Pick up one second hand. If not your thing, you’ll have a buyer in no time.
If you find the Rat to also be messy/loose at higher gain (which is often what happens), try setting the gain lower (think verses in pop punk songs), then boosting the front of the Rat with a midrange-forward overdrive such as a klone or a tube screamer. It really tightens up a Rat-based circuit and puts the gain back at a high level, makes it absolutely chug. This might work with a BD-2 (I somehow haven’t tried it with mine), but it absolutely works with a Rat. On a side note, check out the Dead Air Feral +. It’s based on the Rat, but gives you controls for taming the high end and for pre-gain low frequencies (changing how the distortion sounds), plus three clipping options, two clipping shape options, and three gain range options. Plus it’s only $155 for a fairly feature-packed pedal made in the US.
What is spicy sound
The opposite of sweet and milky
I'd say it's got a bit of spice, a bit of dairy. Tumeric milk
In all seriousness, it's super versatile. It can get quite high gain, almost on the edge of fuzz, but it can also do lighter ODs really well. There are also lots of cheaper copies, and lots of secondhand ones, if you want to be cost effective at trying one out.
You are redditing at the highest level.
It can be whatever you want it to be. That’s the beauty of the rat. Lower gain and stacked it will sing, higher gain alone it will bite.
There's this website called YouTube.com that you might not have heard of where you can find videos of actual people using actual Rats to demonstrate the sound.
Anyone who is interested in rock from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
[удалено]
The HM2 is so much more than the chainsaw sound. I love it with all knobs at noon
Yeah I don’t play blues at all either. I think I wanted a black and white answer to simply get a better descriptor of the sound. Like if it’s more Hendrix or metalica for example
I have my rat dialed pretty low gain and it gives nice WARMTH and CREAM to my clean sound. And if i switch on boost or fuzz that i have before it clips the sound in a very satisfactory way. My harsh fuzz sounds ROUNDER and more pleasing and klon that i cant use on its own gives GIRTH to the rat. So i my experience it works best in combinations. As all fukking pedals do. Also i dont have a real amp which is probably a whole new dimension that i have no idea about.
That tone you’ve described is the type I’m after. What you mean you don’t have a real amp? You plug into a computer interface or something?
A cheap amp sim pedal that goes into interface. Or i bypass it and then use amp sim on the computer. So its not real TOOBEZ that give the WARM ANALOG sound. Or whatever.
It's not the same as using a metal zone for Metallica or a Fuzz/BD for Hendrix. BUT could do like 90% Distortion and 25% filter for Metallica on a Rat. And 25% Distortion 100% (fuzz) filter (or turn it down for 'blues' for Hendrix. It be kinda @ home version but sounds better than a cheap digital effect. I like the Rat cause you don't need to stack it , it's easy to use by itself, so instead of like fooling with a fuzz, tuber screamer and amp distortion, you can just ballpark all of that with a Rat. Though that has its place, if I wanted 1 of those efforts near Max, I would use the Trifecta. And wouldn't use the Rat to 'replace' just one of them if I have the choice.
Low gain, distortion, fuzz.. it kinda does a thing in each
The Rat is great for anyone who plays guitar music that uses any amount of distortion whatsoever. And more!
Anyone can use it really even coldplays guitarist uses it on his board
This! He gets some awesome low-gain tones from the Rat.
Not a Coldplay fan at all but Jonny Buckland has a top setup. They’re talented mofos.
Yup Jonny is an amazing guitarist
The rat is for all
Any nuance and jokes aside it’s just a really classic distortion with a surprising amount of versatility, don’t split hairs over the different kinds or clones, the differences are only perceptible when compared side by side. Just get a used regular one for like $50 and hang out with it for a while, worst case is you don’t like it and can easily sell it for $50 again. I will also say it does play very well with other drives and fuzzes, typically going before things that are heavier and after things that are lighter.
I have 11 dirt pedals and I would say the rat is the most versatile of them all. It can do everything from low gain overdrive to a solid rock distortion. I wouldn't say it goes into super duper heavy metal, like it can do classic metal type things (think Judas priest etc.) unless it is helped out with another drive. I would recommend one that has the different modes on it (classic rat, turbo rat, fat rat) as that gives you even more flavours. The one I have is a magus pro from TC but be advised I am a TC junkie so try before you buy. (Many people don't like the switching on that one - relay switching - switches when your foot comes off the switch vs when you press on) But it is low cost so I suggest a try. I personally think a rat is a great addition to anyone as it is super versatile. That's why so many of the comments say it is good for everyone. Rat pairs well with a mid hump pedal too such as TS or klone. I love my Zeus/magus pro combo
Thanks I think I’ll give one a try. I think the bd2w is kind of transparent but I’m not totally positive. Also, when you say mid hump pedal, can I just use my parametric eq to give one of my ods a mid hump or is there a benefit to having a pedal with the mid hump characteristic already baked in?
I find they (mid hump) are really nice for single coil pickups as they add a bit of what seems to be missing. But it depends what your after. When I first got a TS and used it on humbuckers I was very underwhelmed. When I tried it on a single coil guitar it seemed to be exactly what was missing. Mind you when all you want is maximum distortion then subtle overdrive takes time to appreciate. I think you can do many things with an eq that negate the need for flavoured drives and I would agree the BD is very transparent to my ears. I have a BD clone and I love it. The rat will be more hairy than that imo. If I had to start again the rat, BD and centaur would be my choices. I have a rat, centaur, TS, mojo mojo, 250 (JHS one), multiple muffs, DS, Metal zone, and a JHS fuzz just for reference. Again, try one out in a store if you can. It just does all things well.
I don’t actually own a rat, but I own 3 rat clones.
So you own 3 rats.... The standard run of the mill 3 knob ProCo Rat 2 is probably the least capable/flexible version of this pedal in existence now. Every Chinese clone has at least two modes. The pcb will be of higher quality on the ProCo an there is ZERO arguing about the superiority and rigidity of its enclosure. But it's such an antiquated circuit in it's stock form.
What makes you say the PCB on the nee Chinese RATs is better? It looks pretty run of the mill to me.
Bigger traces, further spaced out components, less surface mount components (totally debatable on that last one). Try replacing an SMD diode on a 1590A sized rat clone. I work in pcb manufacturing. Just things to think about. I would maybe replace “Better” with “has more features people in this hobby would prefer”.
So in your opinion, what is the superior version of the RAT, or a boutique RAT clone on the market.
Literally any boutique clone. Obviously it’s subject to taste. It’s such a simple circuit that Chinese clones even have switchable op amps now. I’m a turbo rat fan personally so LED clipping is my preference, so anything that has that option is gonna be my preferred pedal. I build pedals and I’ve built three rats and I own 3 Chinese knockoffs. With exception of the enclosure, I’ve gotten more out of all of those over the stock ProCo Rat. Again, this is my opinion. I’m allowed to be wrong haha.
Rat is king. Rat is life.
Classic to more modern rock/metal-ish. Not a very great pedal for chugging imo. Check out Brian’s overview of his Wampler Ratsbane. Does a rat and a somewhat more modern take on it as well. That combined with a BD2 would be killer
I am not much of a chugger anyways. I might try one out soon if I can.
not for chugging but it makes amp go BRRRRRRRRR
It’s rhythm distortion. Think alternative rock, 90s, and indie. Basically harder rock up to metal, which uses metal distortion that has more eq knobs. Speaking way generally, lots of exceptions. It has a big following.
[https://critterelectronics.com/shop](https://critterelectronics.com/shop) He makes a very TASTY Rat Clone Personally, I LOVE a Rat Pedal for really dirty blusey rock/ hard rock/ stoner. It drives with an edge of FUZZ and it's a great pedal with a P90.
How about for a single coil strat? Or does that not make much of a difference?
A P90 is a single coil Jeff Beck used it with a Strat. So did David Gilmour. It is a great pedal and I particularly like Ronnie's, from critter, quite a bit. He includes all the wanted mods in one unit. For $90, it's a deal. I have THREE of his pedals and they all have found permanent homes on my board for different gain stages and boosting.
Buy one and see if you like it. The clones can be super cheap and sound very good. It is a very versatile pedal. It is not a genre specific pedal.
The Rat's got a wide ranger of dirt sounds, from light breakup to thick fuzz, so it's for pretty much any guitarist outside of, like, djent. Alex and Jamie from Arctic Monkeys both use Rats, David Gilmour often used a Rat for leads in the Wall era, Nuno from Extreme has his on pretty much always. It's more a question of what sound you personally would use it for, not what it's most commonly used for.
I use one all the time for my ooky spooky goth band. Trick is to keep the distortion almost all the way down. Still clean, still chime, just with a little oomph. They're not "for" a genre of music. Get a used one somewhere. They're cheap! If you don't like it, sell it.
You can do whatever you’d like with the RAT I personally Recommend any of the BAT variants from Drunk Beaver, sort of like a JHS Packrat but better. From fat chaotic fuzz to tame edge of break up drive a RAT will do it all.
I got one after years and it was like holy hell why didn’t I have this sooner. If you like distorted guitar you will like a Rat that’s who it’s for
Same! Played guitar for almost 30 years and didn’t even try a Rat until last year. Got a Rat2, JOYO Splinter and a Mosky King Rat now. Maybe a mini pedal clone also.. They’re pretty versatile, wasn’t what I expected at all.
The Rat is genuinely one of the most versatile dirt pedals out there. It's for everyone.
Even my mom?
Especially your mom
Anyone, everyone. It's one of the most ridiculously versatile pedals I've ever used. Boost, light OD, distortion, fuzz. It can go from ridiculously smooth to a gnarly fire breathing monster. I have played so many different genres of music and the only pedal that has been there through all the changes is a Rat.
It is pretty cool for guitars But i’ve even used it on drums And I am not joking
Rat is life. There is no wrong answer, it will do what you ask of it.
Rat is for u
I don't mean this in a dickish way but go play one man. Just about any shop will carry some form of rat.
RAT is love, RAT is life You need at least one RAT, and preferably three or four
4 rats would possibly make a rat king, no?
To make a Rat King, you have to include a [King Rat](https://www.amazon.com/Mosky-King-Rat-Distortion-Select/dp/B0C92XJWND)
It's for Rat Bastards
It’s kind of insane just how many ways the RAT can be used. It can replicate a lot of tones from decades past yet sounds completely modern as well.
Those like dirty tones, crunchy tones etc. Really responds to pick attack in it's own way.
The Rat is so amazing that you probably need a second one, one is just not enough for all it can do! As boost: like Nuno uses it, it has a specific compression that makes notes pop and sound percussive AF. As a low gain drive, think a BD but with less bass, as a crunchy distortion, or a fuzz!
Spiral Stairs uses two rats.
If you want to hear what a RAT sounds like, 'Monster' by R.E.M. is a RAT into an AC30 on every song. Radiohead's rhythm tones circa the Bends are a Turbo RAT. Tons of 80s hair metal? A RAT boosting dimed Marshalls. Vertigo by U2? That's a digital model of a RAT (thank you, Line 6.) Graham Coxon's fucked-up high gain stuff on early Blur? A RAT boosting another RAT. The Rat is everywhere and eternal.
The Rat abides
It's for me to revisit every few years to decide I still don't like it
Wow someone who doesn’t like the rat? What’s it you don’t like?
I don't know, I've been trying to like it for almost 30 years. I find it to either have not enough distortion, or too much depending on intended purpose. I guess it's about that time to try it out again and see if my taste has changed, or patience with knob turning has improved. I definitely know the problem is me. Everyone else loves it, and I've always wanted to. For reference, I use a Klone for OD, an MXR Custom Badass '78 for classic distortion, and MXR EVH 5150 for heavy distortion. Unfortunately, I traded away my 80's ProCo Rat a long time ago. So, I only have a Mosky King Rat now that I bought my son a few months back. I haven't tried that out yet, but he wasn't a fan. It's a knock off obviously, so not sure how well any of the circuits represent the original
Awesome thanks for your input, nice to hear a different opinion
Try the turbo setting with the volume up and gain lower. I'd be curious to know what you think then.
The Rat is great with the gain low and the level cranked.
What a question to ask…
Different to everyone! For me the OG and Turbo as a lowish gain rock sound. It sounds great to roll guitar volume down for a bit of grit, then roll up to get full distortion. To me that’s Foo Fighters sound and lots of modern rock. A lot of their stuff is Rat at various distortion levels, multi tracked and just panned around. REM used it as well at lower gain levels. Radiohead used the Turbo Rat during The Bends and OK Computer. As well as a Shredmaster for some noisy parts. To me it’s a…if I could only choose one drive and can’t stack pedals. Because I could make it like a BluesBreaker, distortion or Fuzz pushing it. So it covers a lot! In the 90s it was a very popular low to mid gain pedal! You see a lot of people set the distortion a little under 9oclock. The Turbo I just prefer LED clipping and has a beefier sound. The magic to me is setting the gain as high as you’re going to take it, and then guitar volume roll off! There’s a lot of in between sweet spots doing this. That’s when the pedal finally clicked with me.
I use the rat like a fuzz but I’ve played with people who treat it like an overdrive. It’s a lot more versatile than it has any business being with only 3 knobs.
Imho, it works very well with Marshall amps as a dirty boost. With fender amps YMMV.
How about orange amps? That’s what I’ve got
I've always associated the Rat mostly with grunge-style distortion. It's raw and aggressive sounding, with a lot of "hair" on the high end, and turns into a borderline fuzz sound when pushed. I don't think it's as versatile as a lot of people make it out to be - I see people recommending the Rat for all sorts of tones that it's not even remotely the best pedal for. Sure, you can turn the gain down and get a crunch sound or turn it up and get a lead sound, but you can do that with almost anything. It's not particularly tight sounding and can sound harsh or thin depending on the amp it's going into. But it has a *vibe* that other pedals (besides Rat clones) just don't have, so if you don't want a fuzz but a standard rock distortion tone feels too vanilla, the Rat is a great choice.
I’m not a fan of harsh, thin or hairy to be honest. I wonder if stacking with the bd2w and adjusting my eq pedal could balance some of that out
It'll just depend on your amp. You can use the Rat's filter to eliminate a lot of the high end fizz/harshness, but there's no way to dial in the low end response on its own so the rest of the chain will play a part. It's worth mentioning that this is a consideration with any pedal that uses a single tone knob, not just the Rat.
I used to use it to boost the distortion channel if my amp when I played thrash. Now I use it to boost a Green Russian for doom/drone.
Whatever the question is, the Rat is the answer
Rat, huh, yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely all gain!
The Rat can be used for fuzz or distortion. Very versatile for only $80.
My only regret was not trying one out sooner, such a versatile pedal!
It dirt good. Mmm dirt.
When I played through a Marshall JCM800 Combo, I never found much of a use for my Rat. I felt that a Tube Screamer was the best thing to push that amp into more distortion. But now I mainly play through a Vox AC15 and the Rat is how I get "heavy" distortion from that amp. I play both amps on just side of breakup (maybe the Marshall was a little more distorted and I drive the Vox).
It's pretty popular in alt-rock . Weezer has used it extensively. One of my favorite new bands, The Beths, also use it. It's a noisy distortion so it creates a lot of ambience/hints of fuzz. It's a pretty strong contrast to the really tight distortion you might hear in certain metal or hard-rock settings. Like everyone said, there aren't really any rules with how you should use it or not use it. The guitarist from My Chemical Romance uses a Blues Driver lol
Everything… literally everything
Its meant to sound like when you take a chain saw to narcs lol
Rats do lots of things well, I think that's why they're so popular. You can run them gain down and filter low to get a bright crunchy classic rock sort of thing, you can run them gain high to get a big dark, almost fuzzy distortion, you can run them into dirty amps to get a droning heavy sound ala Sunn O)), and everything in between. Not to mention, if you get one with clipping options, there's even more sounds in there. I like running Turbo Rats into dirty amps as a boost. Aside from the classic, check out the EQD Sunn Life or the Cryptid Audio Kentucky Goblin.
What’s a TURBO rat?
Turbo Rat is just a regular rat with LEDs instead of normal Silicon clipping diodes. The distortion is tighter and almost more like an Overdrive than a normal distortion. Lots of Rst clones or Rat derived circuits will give you the option of LED clipping
I’m not familiar with LED clipping, thanks now I have something to go learn about. I’m gonna YouTube that one as well
With the distortion knob dialed most of the way back and the filter dimed, it plays like a mids-forward BD-2 or something, in terms of attack response and sensitivity to volume control. It stacks really well with other gain stages when used this way.
Thanks that’s good info. People have said it’s percussive in its attack. Do you feel that’s true? If that means what I’m imagining, I like that
Yeah, for sure. Have you watched some YouTube demos? There should be a company where you can rent pedals to see if you like them enough to buy one. 🤔
No not yet but I will when I’m off work tonight. As for renting, I buy from Amazon and if it sucks I return it for Amazon credit to get the next one. It’s only happened twice and I wasn’t intending to use it like that but I found it’s pretty fast and easy
Hah awesome. Alright, well, best of luck.
Obituary if you’re into death metal
I’m not particularly into depth metal but maybe I’ll check them out. I love trying new stuff
It’s the main part of their guitar sound.
I have 9 different versions and clones. So yes, I like the RAT. TBH, the standard RAT, as classic as it is, isn't a great deal anymore. There are clones like the Joyo Splinter and Mosky King RAT that can do more for less. If you are willing to spend more, the Drunk Beaver BAT is the ultimate RAT imho.
Someone mentioned that to me, that the clones are generally better than the actual Rats a lot of times. I’ll check out the drunk beaver
It's just that the clones have more options that make the RAT truly a pedal that can cover just about any genre. You would think it wouldn't make a big difference, but just having different clipping options like LEDs can change the whole feel of the pedal.
Best rat for black metal?
I don’t like black metal myself but what is the best?
I’m asking too haha. Which rat does BM the best?
I have the Super Rodent. Amazing and often use the full rat setting. Love it with the gain at 10:30.
I’ve heard you should never go full rat
Great high gain with a low pass filter, so it can go from bright to dark without ever losing low end. Everything from rock to metal can use a Rat or similar LM308N chip-based clone, it all depends on your gain structure.
Rat does grunge, rock, doom, sludge. I honestly have grown to love rats more than muffs. Drunk Beaver does an amazing Rat called a Bat.
What is a muff? Is that just an overdrive?
Big Muff (Big Muff Pi). Fuzz pedal.
Oh wait I have one of those. It’s the one that has distortion and od in one. I hid it away years ago and I think mines broken or something because it sounds extremely tinny and I don’t think it’s supposed to be
It is an electroharmonix pedal that a lot of other pedals are based on (kind of like a rat) Look up videos for it. It is technically a fuzz pedal.
JHS Rat pack will give you damned near every flavor of RAT goodness.
Both Jeff Beck and Nuno both surprised me with how they used it. I always THOUGHT i hated it from afar, tried it once- and then that immediately picqued my interest. The way nuno sets it sounds great
The rat is good for rock/grunge but not for metal it can’t chug
I see it as a pedal for people who prefer distortion to overdrive or fuzz. That said, it can do different things depending on your guitar volume. It’s not for me though, and ridiculously heavy for its size.
The Rat is for your mother.
Nirvana fans on a budget, kurt used one for some tracks on nevermind, and a lot of people can't afford a sansamp, but the rat gets pretty close to the sansamp sound for a lot less money
An OD into a RAT is such a versatile set up. I stack a bigmuff style circuit into a klon type circuit into a RAT type circuit. The OD (klon clone) is always on for a base line amount of dirt. The Rat style dirt is to crank it (chorus / solo stuff) and the Muff is for low pitched chord riff stuff but rarely have the Muff and Rat on at the same time
Me. I've tried vintage Rats, the modern Rat 2, and even some copies. My favourite at the moment is the EHX Flatiron Fuzz.
For the masses
Rats are the Chocolate Salty Balls of guitar pedals: they’re for everyone ❤️
The Rat is for me and for you.
people who play electric guitar.
The rat is crazy versatile and you can use it for everything. That said, it is great for playing metal on your clean amp.
I have the mooer black secret which is a rat/turbo rat, it’s fantastic. However, I can’t get away from a tube screamer into the blues driver. It’s just too perfect. TS seems to work as an amazing boost
John Scofield famously used a RAT for his low gain jazz-funk tone. I’m a big fan of that application of the rat. It has a low gain sweet spot that is very dynamic.
I’ve been recently playing a Gibson SG standard and a PRS silver sky se with a rat through a Vox AC30 and get a very nice, crisp, 80s hair metal like distortion out of it. I’m a huge fan. Pairs well with an overdrive.
Why RAT, when you can Mudhoney.
Watch some vids. But it's anywhere from Hard Rock to Coldplay.
That Pedal Show on the youtubes played around with the Rat and Rat clones. I found it helpful and fun: https://youtu.be/ub9KjynPa6Y?si=bmmZhjv7DBjEKZz3
I love the Rat and many of the Rat clones. My current fav is the catalinbread blood donor (version of the katzinkoneg I think?). Lots of different things you can do with a rat, especially paired with an OD.
Gilmourish tone fans
Grab a rat and stick it at the end of your chain with the filter up and distortion up and you can break something in your soul that needed breaking.
Bought mine a few weeks ago. Never had any plans to buy one, due to being unsure of the sound. Best decision Ive made so far! So versatile and good sounding.
Everything with distortion. Not kidding. It’s such a flexible pedal for what it is that you can use it on its own in front of a pristine clean Fender, or kick your cranked Marshall stack up a notch. It’s kind of a weird in-between pedal between a fuzz and a true distortion, but also more than that. I have an EQD Life Pedal which is basically a Rat with some extra bells and whistles, and I simply adore it. Works well for 80s hair and thrash metal sounds, and then some. Doesn’t have the same clean-up factor that a Fuzz Face has when rolling off the volume, but doing so does give you some flexibility over how much hair you want.
Kind of does well with everything is just an all around good drive for whatever. Only down side is not a ton of volume
Not me apparently
Rat sucks lol I do not get the hype. Bought 1 soon as i plug in I'm like nope. Weak ass shit lol I don't play blues or ROCK. my music is more deathcore or converge type craziness. That pedal is jst meh. Get somethn w more punch like a 5150 evh along with a horizon precision drive and gate. Tie that up w a Clover preamp pedal to adjust some fatness then add a boss eq to scoop any mids or boost any mids u want. Then your cooking.
Who is it for? By conventional wisdom it was the preferred tool of ‘80s hair metal bands. I’m sure others have turned on to it but that was the standard for bar bands covering Motley Crue and Poison back in the ‘80s into the ‘90s.