Like the Rat being termed a guilty pleasure. I have a JAM Pedals Rattler that is a modification of the original circuit. It never ceases to put a smile on my face. Distorted or fuzzy, it's a blast to play.
Robert - you said it: the Rat does not work great with every amp! It IS a classic hard rock sound through a Marshall, but I struggled to get good distortion with a Rat into a Vox Night Train. Great video.
the rat is a legend in it's own right; the big hair bands of the early/ mid 80's wouldn't of happened without it lol. i think like most distortion (or overdrive pedals) it all depends on how well they play with the amp and settings you're using.
One of my favorite ways to use a RAT pedal has been using it to fatten up my guitar’s signal for leads and solos. I don’t really have a need for an overdrive in my own rig because i’m usually using the gain from the amp alone, so i usually wind up using an EQ to tighten up my amplifier and adjust specific frequencies to achieve the sound i’m looking for, and then i use a RAT to boost into solos and make heavy riffs sound heavier by adding a ton of saturation to my amp’s signal. It’s also really cool for using it to add feedback, and i’ll wind up having the amp feed back when i’m not playing. So worth using it as an on/off boost for saturating a signal chain.
Great video. I love the fat rat!!! Was ready to do a mod on my rat to make it beefier (I play with single coils) then they came out with the fat. The mosfet clipping switch is a nice option too that gives another flavor on the palette though I usually use the stock clipping with the fat switch on.
I made the same mistakes with fuzz! it took me 20+ yrs but I figured it out. Thank You Josh Homme. square waves can be tricky. a candle is hot to the touch but emits a warm light. My DOD American Metal can sound warm and soft when tweeked a certain way. the Dimarzio Super Distortion can be Super Clean if ya set it up right.
@@Gorgamation For price, the rat 2. For features and what not, the life pedal. Easiest to put on a board (smallest footprint) Chicago stompworks. The fat rat is damn good though.
I'm more of a Fat Rat or Turbo Rat guy, more so the latter than the former. Rat pedals work great as a boost in front of amps, or as a preamp if you boost them with an overdrive or something like an HM-2/MT-2. I used to hate Rat pedals, too. Boosting a Rat with Blues Driver, Tube Screamer, or Precision Drive with the gain on the gain turned up on the boost with the Rat as a preamp or into a clean channel and it honestly sounds very much like a low gain Marshall or Laney depending on where you set the filter, and with some clean channels it sounds more like an SLO or Mesa. It works really well as a boost, and you can layer them in recordings to great effect. My favorite is using a Rat with an HM-2 type pedal either in a double or triple boost into a Marshall or Laney amp, or as the preamp boosted by a an HM-2 style pedal, and then in either case I pair it with another amp.
Dolamo sold me on a 3-in-1 Rat clone for 18 dollars. I'm still trying to get used to it (my main distorted sounds come from a Metal Zone or Op Amp Big Muff) but it definitely has its place. I've found setting the distortion barely on with the volume up and the filter low really brings out the jangle in single coils. Makes me feel like I'm on a Dead Kennedys record playing my strat through the Rat on a dirty amp haha
I too heard a Rat when I was younger and thought it was the worst, most crappy sounding distortion possible .. Didnn't really think of the pedal again, except for a few years when I had a Visual Sound (now True Tone) Jekyll and Hyde on my guitar board (the one channel is a Rat clone) .. 25 years later I ended up playing bass in a neo-grunge band with a singer/guitarist who had over a dozen pedals on his board .. I caved to peer pressure and decided to add some pedals to my chain and for some reason (probably it's popularity) tried a Rat again .. What happened blew my mind .. Running my bass (63 Hofner) into the rat, with fairly mild distortion (unlike young me) into my Sansamp Bass pre-amp rack into various different amps I owned / used during that time, the tone, to me, was mind-blowingly awesome .. Now I'm really curious about the JHS Packrat
Robert, have you played any of the Jet Guitars stuff? (I don't recall a video of you doing so.) If not, I thought about having my rep try to get you one to try. As for this video, it took me years to understand the Rat. I used to talk crap about them but have recently understood how to make them sound good.
@@RobertWJackson They're like $200 on average, new, but have roasted maple necks and play like a mid to upper level Fender. There's not many dealers in the USA yet but they're popping up all over the world. They smoke the Harley Benton stuff.
J Yuenger used a Randall amp and a Rat pedal on White Zombie's LaSexercisto Devil Music Volume 1 album, and the band Obituary used Marshall Valvestate amps with a Rat. The tone between the two is about the same to me and I think Rats only work well with the best solid state amps not tube amps and surely not crappy sounding solid state amps. In 1992 I bought a Pro Co Turbo Rat from the Music Emporium catalog and didn't keep it long because it didn't make my Crate G40 or Fender M80 sound any better
As a boost into the metal zone actually gets you a nice hm2 type sound. I still prefer stacking the hm2. But if you’re not into that sound it’s a nice alternative
I bought a Joyo Rat clone (the Splinter) and it has a couple of mod switches on it that drastically alter the gain structure. It’s cheap, and you my want to try it out. Especially with the fat switch on, it adds a huge low register thump which I really dig, really percussive . You might dig it!
The Rat is definitely a love it or hate it pedal for most people. VERY rarely do people warm up to it. Glad to see you finally found out how great it is. My favorite use is just into a flat sounding clean amp/power amp as a cheap substitute for a Marshall amp. If set right, it can be pretty convincing, especially with PAF style pickups. My personal favorite is the Turbo Rat. Not much different from the Rat/Rat 2 but just enough to give it the leading edge for choice. Said it once and I will say it forever, RAT IS KING
I use the Nux MG400 with the Rat in front of the VH4 sim playing in Drop B. I dime the volume and but the distortion between 9 and 10 o'clock with no filter control. Gives it an overly saturated overdrive sound that just kicks you in the face with a low tuning. If I tune lower and it starts to get muddy I just throw my EHX Soul Food on in front of the MG400 and it cleans and tightens it all back up. Another great video, Robert. I was in the same boat with the Rat but have come around to its uses. May Dio be with you.
The Rat is not a fuzz. It's more "fuzz like" and only when the gain gets at about 3 oclock or higher does it crawl into fuzztortion territory (minus any dynamics and the wall of sound vibe). The idea of the Rat was to emulate the power amp section of a tube amp going into oblivion and if you have ever cranked an amp that loud you know they get insanely compressed and the bottom end tends to fill out a bunch.... kinda like how a Rat sounds.
Rats taste really good. Fried rat with hot sauce? Delicious!!! Just kidding. Seriously, I've heard for a long time that these pedals are supposedly the definitive 80s hard rock sound, but every time I've tried one it sounds nothing like a cranked JCM 800 (which in my opinion IS the 80s rock tone). Rat pedal IMO sounds like a half decent fuzz pedal. Unless I don't know how to dial one up right.
Not to sound harsh , but you don't know how to dial it in then. Rats are one of the OG "Marshall in a box" pedals. The key is to keep the gain between 9 o'clock and noon and the filter between 9 and 3 o'clock. If set right you can get very convincing Plexi/JCM tones without having to take out a mortgage. Slap a SD1 in front of it and you got your 80's shred.
I am pretty new to the Rat circuit as well but have really been digging them. I run a TC Electronic Magus Pro which is basically Rat, Fat Rat, and Turbo Rat in one. I agree that these pedals are extremely amp dependent. Mine works great with my old Randall RG80 and my DSL100H but it's flat out terrible with my SLO modded Jet City 50. There's something magical in the low end thump that the pedal adds to an amp. Great vid!
Bought a Flat Iron because of a comparison you did with about five different pedals. Just sounded better than the rest. Love the comparisons when you leave it up to us.🤘🏻🤣
Yeah, not one of the tones you use all the time but has its place. I use mine to get the Obituary tone. Can get a good tone for old 80's hardcore as well.
Had the first rat lil and big muff originals and leaned on the bigger muff... Now I really can't stand them..but as it was the rat is the num one pedal seller of all time
I used to hate rats also it and a dod supra distortion always seemed to be the extra distortion pedal laying around at clubs when something of mine would take a crap so instead of just relying on my amp distortion id always end up having to use one of the damn things and it was always pretty bad the rat was better than the supra distortion but until like ten years ago I started trying to find an Ibanez fat cat distortion I've always kinda liked and everyone was like oh that's just a modded rat so I got a cheap mosky black rat and loved it and now I got a modded you dirty rat and a few other variants that sound great on everything but fender amps then it's a fuzzed out mess yet a big muff sounds like a rat should on my fender amps go figure
Um...yeeee-aaaa......yuck! The RAT on it's own sounds horrid (always has to me)! But used like a TS type of pedal? Now you're cookin' !! Nuno has been using them for years and his tone is probably one of my favorites because of it's percussive nature. Anyway...just my 2 cents. Thanks, Robert.
huh, because it is fuzzy un less you use it as a boost to a gain channel? :) Just saying lol The Ratsbane from Wampler is phenomenal btw, but it is still a Rat
@A4ALifetime it's my favorite record from Metallica as well! Guitar wise, it's raw and in your face aggressive...but that tone!!!!! So thick and articulate!
BTW- Kurt mostly used a Boss DS-1.. there are documentaries on it.. almost everyone else has used a Rat see JHS video on it. From Metallica to Arctic monkeys..
I was no fan either, initially, but only because the first clone I bought was utter gash…since then, I’ve bought others and realised how amazing they can sound. If you’re not going for an original ProCo, I’d defo recommend the Dolamo Vintage Distortion (it’s horrifically brown but also dirt cheap, very versatile and sounds great) 🤘😆🤘
RAT sounds like crap..like it is the first Distortion pedal ever made in Russia. That being said, i had a Russian fuzz that was awesome, so it's not all bad in the east.
Rats do everything!
Clean boost, overdrive, crunch, high gain distortion, fuzz, all of it.
Like the Rat being termed a guilty pleasure. I have a JAM Pedals Rattler that is a modification of the original circuit. It never ceases to put a smile on my face. Distorted or fuzzy, it's a blast to play.
Nuno won't play if his trusted Ratt's not there. Guess he barely turns it up..that it adds a percussive thump to his fretting hand...
RAT = Awesome. Just accept it.
Robert - you said it: the Rat does not work great with every amp! It IS a classic hard rock sound through a Marshall, but I struggled to get good distortion with a Rat into a Vox Night Train. Great video.
the rat is a legend in it's own right; the big hair bands of the early/ mid 80's wouldn't of happened without it lol. i think like most distortion (or overdrive pedals) it all depends on how well they play with the amp and settings you're using.
One of my favorite ways to use a RAT pedal has been using it to fatten up my guitar’s signal for leads and solos. I don’t really have a need for an overdrive in my own rig because i’m usually using the gain from the amp alone, so i usually wind up using an EQ to tighten up my amplifier and adjust specific frequencies to achieve the sound i’m looking for, and then i use a RAT to boost into solos and make heavy riffs sound heavier by adding a ton of saturation to my amp’s signal. It’s also really cool for using it to add feedback, and i’ll wind up having the amp feed back when i’m not playing. So worth using it as an on/off boost for saturating a signal chain.
RAT Pedals sound best as a clean boost and tone filter.
I have a 6505 for high gain sound I do put an OD in front and it's amazing
Great video. I love the fat rat!!! Was ready to do a mod on my rat to make it beefier (I play with single coils) then they came out with the fat. The mosfet clipping switch is a nice option too that gives another flavor on the palette though I usually use the stock clipping with the fat switch on.
Always liked RAT pedals! It adds that bit of FUZZ and grit. It's greasy, it's dirty and it's ROCK AND ROLL!!!
I made the same mistakes with fuzz! it took me 20+ yrs but I figured it out. Thank You Josh Homme. square waves can be tricky. a candle is hot to the touch but emits a warm light. My DOD American Metal can sound warm and soft when tweeked a certain way. the Dimarzio Super Distortion can be Super Clean if ya set it up right.
Love the Rat! I've been able to use it for many different things, both lead and rhythm applications, just by tweaking the filter and distortion knobs.
Hey Robert, try the JHS multi rat. Somewhere in that pedal is a sweet spot. I'm still looking.
I'm up to 4 rats. A rat 2, a fat rat, a chicago stomp works, and an earthquaker life pedal.
favourite one?
@@Gorgamation For price, the rat 2. For features and what not, the life pedal. Easiest to put on a board (smallest footprint) Chicago stompworks. The fat rat is damn good though.
Distortion pedals are cool but I prefer the dirty channel of a good amp. I’ll throw in an OD or two but that’s about it.
Oh really?😮
Me too, actually. LOL
I'm more of a Fat Rat or Turbo Rat guy, more so the latter than the former. Rat pedals work great as a boost in front of amps, or as a preamp if you boost them with an overdrive or something like an HM-2/MT-2. I used to hate Rat pedals, too. Boosting a Rat with Blues Driver, Tube Screamer, or Precision Drive with the gain on the gain turned up on the boost with the Rat as a preamp or into a clean channel and it honestly sounds very much like a low gain Marshall or Laney depending on where you set the filter, and with some clean channels it sounds more like an SLO or Mesa. It works really well as a boost, and you can layer them in recordings to great effect. My favorite is using a Rat with an HM-2 type pedal either in a double or triple boost into a Marshall or Laney amp, or as the preamp boosted by a an HM-2 style pedal, and then in either case I pair it with another amp.
Dolamo sold me on a 3-in-1 Rat clone for 18 dollars.
I'm still trying to get used to it (my main distorted sounds come from a Metal Zone or Op Amp Big Muff) but it definitely has its place. I've found setting the distortion barely on with the volume up and the filter low really brings out the jangle in single coils. Makes me feel like I'm on a Dead Kennedys record playing my strat through the Rat on a dirty amp haha
I too heard a Rat when I was younger and thought it was the worst, most crappy sounding distortion possible .. Didnn't really think of the pedal again, except for a few years when I had a Visual Sound (now True Tone) Jekyll and Hyde on my guitar board (the one channel is a Rat clone) .. 25 years later I ended up playing bass in a neo-grunge band with a singer/guitarist who had over a dozen pedals on his board .. I caved to peer pressure and decided to add some pedals to my chain and for some reason (probably it's popularity) tried a Rat again .. What happened blew my mind .. Running my bass (63 Hofner) into the rat, with fairly mild distortion (unlike young me) into my Sansamp Bass pre-amp rack into various different amps I owned / used during that time, the tone, to me, was mind-blowingly awesome .. Now I'm really curious about the JHS Packrat
I have an axion label there's just something special about an Ibanez with a reverse headstock
Robert, have you played any of the Jet Guitars stuff? (I don't recall a video of you doing so.)
If not, I thought about having my rep try to get you one to try.
As for this video, it took me years to understand the Rat. I used to talk crap about them but have recently understood how to make them sound good.
Nope, I’ve never played one. Honestly, I don’t really know anything about them.
@@RobertWJackson They're like $200 on average, new, but have roasted maple necks and play like a mid to upper level Fender. There's not many dealers in the USA yet but they're popping up all over the world. They smoke the Harley Benton stuff.
@Metalbass1979 I’d love to check them out sometime!
@@RobertWJackson Let me try to see what I can do. 😉
J Yuenger used a Randall amp and a Rat pedal on White Zombie's LaSexercisto Devil Music Volume 1 album, and the band Obituary used Marshall Valvestate amps with a Rat. The tone between the two is about the same to me and I think Rats only work well with the best solid state amps not tube amps and surely not crappy sounding solid state amps. In 1992 I bought a Pro Co Turbo Rat from the Music Emporium catalog and didn't keep it long because it didn't make my Crate G40 or Fender M80 sound any better
As a boost into the metal zone actually gets you a nice hm2 type sound. I still prefer stacking the hm2. But if you’re not into that sound it’s a nice alternative
I bought a Ratt around the same age quickly returned it lol.
I bought a Joyo Rat clone (the Splinter) and it has a couple of mod switches on it that drastically alter the gain structure. It’s cheap, and you my want to try it out. Especially with the fat switch on, it adds a huge low register thump which I really dig, really percussive . You might dig it!
It’s actually a Rat, Fat Rat, and Turbo Rat all I’m the same pedal. th-cam.com/video/TtjkT2MUJr0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=uqzs85kci0Zf6vU4
Boss SD-1 boosting a RAT has been my sound for years. I play a lot of black/death metal and crust punk though and prefer nastier sounding tones.
The Rat is definitely a love it or hate it pedal for most people. VERY rarely do people warm up to it. Glad to see you finally found out how great it is.
My favorite use is just into a flat sounding clean amp/power amp as a cheap substitute for a Marshall amp. If set right, it can be pretty convincing, especially with PAF style pickups. My personal favorite is the Turbo Rat. Not much different from the Rat/Rat 2 but just enough to give it the leading edge for choice.
Said it once and I will say it forever, RAT IS KING
I use the Nux MG400 with the Rat in front of the VH4 sim playing in Drop B. I dime the volume and but the distortion between 9 and 10 o'clock with no filter control. Gives it an overly saturated overdrive sound that just kicks you in the face with a low tuning. If I tune lower and it starts to get muddy I just throw my EHX Soul Food on in front of the MG400 and it cleans and tightens it all back up. Another great video, Robert. I was in the same boat with the Rat but have come around to its uses. May Dio be with you.
I have tons of distortion and overdrive pedals but no rat. I duzz not like fuzz Now I'm gonna buy to try out thanx to your video.
The Rat is not a fuzz. It's more "fuzz like" and only when the gain gets at about 3 oclock or higher does it crawl into fuzztortion territory (minus any dynamics and the wall of sound vibe). The idea of the Rat was to emulate the power amp section of a tube amp going into oblivion and if you have ever cranked an amp that loud you know they get insanely compressed and the bottom end tends to fill out a bunch.... kinda like how a Rat sounds.
I love my Donner Dark Maus
At first I thought "this pedal is not for me", then you turned on the Randall gain and used the pedal as a boost and I got GAS.
Pretty badass as a boost, isn’t it?
@@RobertWJackson It really is, I was impressed.
I tried a Rat once. I was expecting something extremely brash and strident and obnoxious but it was just sorta 'there'. I should have tried a Big Muff
The Rat is cool one to have on hand for sure.
Cheap and effective.
Plus many cool clones available.
please have a demon on the FX loop using that pedal
I love the rat. Never owned one though...
Go pick one up. They’re cheap!
Rats taste really good. Fried rat with hot sauce? Delicious!!! Just kidding. Seriously, I've heard for a long time that these pedals are supposedly the definitive 80s hard rock sound, but every time I've tried one it sounds nothing like a cranked JCM 800 (which in my opinion IS the 80s rock tone). Rat pedal IMO sounds like a half decent fuzz pedal. Unless I don't know how to dial one up right.
But all you get is one rat with the pedal then you're done 😂
Not to sound harsh , but you don't know how to dial it in then. Rats are one of the OG "Marshall in a box" pedals. The key is to keep the gain between 9 o'clock and noon and the filter between 9 and 3 o'clock. If set right you can get very convincing Plexi/JCM tones without having to take out a mortgage.
Slap a SD1 in front of it and you got your 80's shred.
I am pretty new to the Rat circuit as well but have really been digging them. I run a TC Electronic Magus Pro which is basically Rat, Fat Rat, and Turbo Rat in one. I agree that these pedals are extremely amp dependent. Mine works great with my old Randall RG80 and my DSL100H but it's flat out terrible with my SLO modded Jet City 50. There's something magical in the low end thump that the pedal adds to an amp. Great vid!
Bought a Flat Iron because of a comparison you did with about five different pedals. Just sounded better than the rest. Love the comparisons when you leave it up to us.🤘🏻🤣
Yeah, not one of the tones you use all the time but has its place. I use mine to get the Obituary tone. Can get a good tone for old 80's hardcore as well.
it's the secret sauce
Own the first version of the Rat it sits in a box with others I've tried and set aside I still like my OD pedals
Funny / odd that you didn't like the Rat but love the Metal Zone. FWIW, I also love the MZ.
Sounded a little 'Fripp-o-tronic' ... For once i enjoyed some of your musical contenta! Thanks! (Genuine unexpected complement).
Umm… Thanks?
Had the first rat lil and big muff originals and leaned on the bigger muff... Now I really can't stand them..but as it was the rat is the num one pedal seller of all time
I used to hate rats also it and a dod supra distortion always seemed to be the extra distortion pedal laying around at clubs when something of mine would take a crap so instead of just relying on my amp distortion id always end up having to use one of the damn things and it was always pretty bad the rat was better than the supra distortion but until like ten years ago I started trying to find an Ibanez fat cat distortion I've always kinda liked and everyone was like oh that's just a modded rat so I got a cheap mosky black rat and loved it and now I got a modded you dirty rat and a few other variants that sound great on everything but fender amps then it's a fuzzed out mess yet a big muff sounds like a rat should on my fender amps go figure
Yeah I love the RAT pedal!
Um...yeeee-aaaa......yuck! The RAT on it's own sounds horrid (always has to me)! But used like a TS type of pedal? Now you're cookin' !! Nuno has been using them for years and his tone is probably one of my favorites because of it's percussive nature. Anyway...just my 2 cents. Thanks, Robert.
huh, because it is fuzzy un less you use it as a boost to a gain channel? :) Just saying lol The Ratsbane from Wampler is phenomenal btw, but it is still a Rat
That’s another one that I keep meaning to pick up. I love Wampler pedals.
Metallica - Kill 'Em All = RAT... just gotta dial it in.
The only Metallica record I like lol don't even mean that as a dis, but the main reason why I dug that record was the guitar tone
@A4ALifetime it's my favorite record from Metallica as well! Guitar wise, it's raw and in your face aggressive...but that tone!!!!! So thick and articulate!
@@marcgallant5270 couldn't have said it better lol gonna plug my big box rat in my mesa or jc hear shortly haha
It is definitely not a modern metal pedal but you can get Avenged Sevenfold type of tone
Never tried one.
I don't know, because you never liked Kurt Cobain?!
BTW- Kurt mostly used a Boss DS-1.. there are documentaries on it.. almost everyone else has used a Rat see JHS video on it. From Metallica to Arctic monkeys..
Just got the King Rat. Still dont know if I like it.
I dont like it,
To much gain.
Still doesn't sound good imho, just a big fizzy mess.
I did’nt like them either
I was no fan either, initially, but only because the first clone I bought was utter gash…since then, I’ve bought others and realised how amazing they can sound. If you’re not going for an original ProCo, I’d defo recommend the Dolamo Vintage Distortion (it’s horrifically brown but also dirt cheap, very versatile and sounds great)
🤘😆🤘
C'mon Robert, how about a little country?🤣🤣🤣...See, with old age comes wisdom, you're there!
😂😂😂
You must be new here…
@@RobertWJackson no, I'm old here
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I know you love country with a death metal edge
RAT sounds like crap..like it is the first Distortion pedal ever made in Russia.
That being said, i had a Russian fuzz that was awesome, so it's not all bad in the east.
Can I fart in your mouth while you’re talking?
Ill have to try my ratattack through my ironheart 120w now 😊😊😊😊😊😊🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘