Hey LocusLarsen! re: Rat pedal

B

beaverbiscuit

New member
LocusLarsen said:
I use a Rat. Its probably my favorite pedal. You can get some nice heavy distortion out of it, or you can just up its output to over drive your amp. I have to say that a Rat belongs in every pedal collection.
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I see you're a fan of the Rat, and I was wondering what the allure is.

My only experience with one was over 10 years ago when our band's lead guitarist had one that he never used, at least not live. I've always had the impression that it was a second-rate pedal, but your endorsement makes me wonder if I missed something.

Like silver_rye, I am also looking to buy my first tube amp; right now my eyes are on the Cornford Harlequin 6 watt combo. I'm curious as to how the Rat would work with an amp that's probably a bit more aggressive than a Fender. (No disrespect to Fender amps, BTW — I'm talking about in terms of Fender not being typically considered a "heavy" amp, you know what I mean?)

Anyway, any info you can pass along would be great. Anybody else reading this, feel free to jump in, y'all.
 
I'm not LocusLarsen, but I can say the Cornford Harlequin probably doesn't need a Rat--that is one highly distorted amp. However, I also firmly believe that every collection should include a Rat, and it will definitely put an already distorted tone "over the top." I mean, a Rat is like the cost of 2 or 3 guitar cables, and it's got a pretty fantastic, unique tone to it. The thing to beware of with the Cornford (and the reviews they post on their website point this out too) is that it really does not have a great clean tone. But for recording distortion of all types, I think it's a lock.
 
jeff beck used to love the rat.....

i used one from 1981 til about 86.......

it has a different kind of "grind" to it....

it was no more noisier than any other distortion pedal i've ever used......

i almost used it more as a boost, than a pure distortion pedal....

i used it through a mesa boogie mark2b head, into a pair of 1x12 cabs.......

it gave the boogie a harder edge, made it approximate the marshall-style grind more.......

so for me, it was the best of both worlds....

i am more of a fan of pure amp distortion now...
but do use a boss DS-1 on certain leads.......
 
Thanks for the replies, y'all. Yeah, the Harlequin distortion is pretty sweet, judging by the sound clips at their site. Still, I also have an old Randall head that would benefit from the Rat, I think, and I might be able to make it work with the Harlequin (if I can ever scrape up the dough :rolleyes: ).
 
I like it be cause it is a little bit more "filthy" than most distortions. I don't really use a full on distortion, more about 10 o'clock, then up the output for a nice overdrive that just saturates whole note power chords and the like. I do think that if you start to play to many notes at once it will muddy up, but the DIRT behind it........mmmmmmmm..........

Now if I back off the gain to about 8 or 9, I can up the output to sheer sonic bliss.

I have to agree with Charger though :eek:, you might not need it if your amp is overdriven that easy....but it will put it over the top.
 
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I love my rat - in certain circumstances! It sounds better to me on lead/single note stuff than chords. It certainly can push amps over the edge. Vernon Reid used a Rat on Cult of Personality, and I love that sound. Of course, it was probably going through his 2 racks that were the size of large refridgerators too though...

Gives me options with amp/jstation/tubescreamer/rat/metal zone (only used very rarely for those horribly annoying radiohead high scratchy ultradistorted sounds) (and I got it second hand in an auction with a bunch of good stuff) (think of this as a bit of a disclaimer about owning the metal zone :D )

Steve
 
beaverbiscuit said:
I see you're a fan of the Rat, and I was wondering what the allure is.

My only experience with one was over 10 years ago when our band's lead guitarist had one that he never used, at least not live. I've always had the impression that it was a second-rate pedal, but your endorsement makes me wonder if I missed something.

Like silver_rye, I am also looking to buy my first tube amp; right now my eyes are on the Cornford Harlequin 6 watt combo. I'm curious as to how the Rat would work with an amp that's probably a bit more aggressive than a Fender. (No disrespect to Fender amps, BTW — I'm talking about in terms of Fender not being typically considered a "heavy" amp, you know what I mean?)

Anyway, any info you can pass along would be great. Anybody else reading this, feel free to jump in, y'all.
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I also bought a Rat way back in the early 80's....i was only playing guitar a few years back then....but I really liked the sound. I used it as my main distortion pedal. I used it through both solid state and tube amps.

I recently sold it on ebay...it certainly held its value, It was the orginal boxy looking Rat...first generation.

Now i use distortion either cranking my sovtek mig 50 or through the gain knob on my Tube carvin amp from the early 90's.

I also use a orginal Sans amp to record direct which sounded awesome through the board at a studio with my hamer special.

Sly
 
LocusLarsen — Thanks for giving up the reasons why you likes it. :D

SteveMcB — Hey, if Vernon Reid used it, I'm in! Didn't know that tidbit about "Cult of Personality."

msly — Thanks for the input. Glad it resold well for you.

On a related note, anyone have any experience with the Rat DeuceTone? Looks like a pedal I could really enjoy playing with.
 
Much like any gear, you have to get the right year. The first generation was a good pedal. Anything after that is questionable. I loved the first generation I had. The second generation one I had I used to hold up my Marshall cab when the wheel broke off. Was the only thing it was good for. Now that I use Boogie....I need no stinkin' pedal!!! However, a good vintage Ib tube screamer would be nice on it.
 
.........mmmm...........

I just woke up so i changed my mind.

Here ya go........this pretty deep and thought provoking......




"Much like any gear, you have to get the right year."

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................ ............................. ............................................... .................................. ...................................... ........... ........sorry.............I am just waiting for Fender to get rid of the hum from my single coil and still keep the tone................................ ........................ ............................................. ...........
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Getting rid of the hum from your fender and keeping the tone is easy. First learn how to play it, then try to develop an ear, then I'll tell you how.
 
Toker41 said:
Getting rid of the hum from your fender and keeping the tone is easy. First learn how to play it, then try to develop an ear, then I'll tell you how.
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Newbie:o

Learning how to play has nothing to do with the hum. ...and don't toss out Bill Lawrence as the way to get rid of the hum, the hum is a physical part of a single coil.
 
You were the one with your guns blazing. Like I said, when you learn how to play that Fender (not to mention grow a hair on your pompas a**, because your ignorance show's your age.) I'll tell you how to get rid of the hum and keep the tone, because your way off base. Until then, doesn't matter what it sounds like. Not being a "newbie" doesn't mean you know your sh*t.
 
That wasn't for you, msly:cool:




Now for you, Toker41

You don't know my age......and the fact that age is something of concern to you shows yours:p

What does your name represent anyways? Are you a 41 year old pot head? If so I am so sorry for you.

Grow hair on my pompas ass?!?!?!??! ...another indication of your age. But since I don't want to look too old....

Fuck you you fucking pig shit licker.

You had your guns blazing first oldman (or young pre-teen)....I simply disagreed with your statment made earlier. You then, decided I didn't kow how to play my guitar, and must be young. Even further evidence of your age.
 
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