Proco Rat distortion pedal???

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basher000000

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I've heard a lot of good things about this not-exactly-very-well-known distortion pedal. Is it very good?

also if its not, whats a pedal where i could get a wide range of distortion sounds, from nice fuzz to bluesy very slight distortion to heavy typical modeern distortion??? thanks a lot
 
yeah, it's sounds good. similar to a big muff but not as muffy and certainly not as noisy.
 
It is cool but it's a one trick pony. I don't think you are going to find a distortion pedal (in the traditional sence) to do everything that you want. You might find a few pedals that you can put together to get all the sounds you want, but it would be cooler (and more cost effective) to get an amp that does what you want.
 
yeah i dont have any money yet... im probably gonna get it around november or december cuz by then i should have money.

I'm just looking for a distortion pedal that can get a typical sound and one that can get a fuzz sound. Whether it's the same one doesn't matter. I'm definately looking for a total of under 100 dollars. thanks again.

oh yeah, and i cant get a new amp cuz a. really really small budget b. i need to be able to switch between clean and distorted while playing
 
The Rat rocks!Sounds great...cool thru a Fender or Marshall..I used one with a Boggie also..MXR Distortion+ is a nice choice also more "vintagy"..Ya gots to try 'em yourself to see what works for ya...good luck :)
 
basher000000 said:
I've heard a lot of good things about this not-exactly-very-well-known distortion pedal. Is it very good?

i've seen this a lot, being a guitar player and getting into recording... a lot of things we take for granted as standard, are sometimes not by recording folk. different jobs, different tools i guess.

guitarist: "try the muff through the tube screamer"
engineer: "i will do none of the sort!"
 
basher000000 said:
also if its not, whats a pedal where i could get a wide range of distortion sounds, from nice fuzz to bluesy very slight distortion to heavy typical modeern distortion??? thanks a lot


During my death metal days it was 81 EMGs to RAT -> EQ/Comp to a JCM800 Lead. Pretty brutal sound, if you want something heavy with bite you will definately need to add an eq/comp in there.

Wouldn't use it for blues though.
 
I am a traditionalist in tone. In other words, what many of the fine recording folks here feel are important regarding recording components' tone, quality, or function (such as Cranesong, Manley, Empirical Labs, etc.) versus some recording components generally considered inferior (like Behringer, Nady, etc.), is similarly the way I fell about guitar components' tone, quality, and function. If your guitar tone is important to you, get an amp with a tone you like and buy effects with tones you like, and avoid all-in-one solutions. That said, I have used Rat pedals and they are very nice for the price. Nice saturation range and good tone, and would recommend one. I personally (and this is subjective and applies only to MY tone, which may or may not be YOUR preference) like the Ibanez TS-9 because of the inherent heavy midrange. Only, it will not send a clean signal over the top, but with a moderately overdriven signal (such as from my JCM800 2204) it will send that into a Metallica level of saturation. I also use a B.K. Butler Tube Driver if I need total saturation from a clean signal (such as from my Super Reverb). Sorry if I'm getting carried away with this...it's the guitar player side coming out of me. As decent distortion pedals I would recommend the following: ProCo Rat, Ibanez TS-9 or TS808 or comparable Maxon models, MXR Distortion Plus, used or new all within your price range.
 
I love the filter on the rat. It's fun to hit a chord, let it sustain, and sweep the filter. (Gotta admit-took that trick from Jeff Beck, master of the Rat)

DO NOT get the turbo Rat. Big thumbs down.
 
Seeker of Rock said:
ProCo Rat, Ibanez TS-9 or TS808 or comparable Maxon models, MXR Distortion Plus, used or new all within your price range.

have you heard the new 808 reissue? i've been interested in upgrading from my ts-7 and was wondering if i'd notice much difference between the ts-9 and 808.
 
The 808 is not as 'aggressive' as the TS-9, a little smoother sounding overdrive perhaps minus some of the excessive (though I love it) mid that the TS-9 has. The 808 is an excellent pedal. Check one out.
 
I really wanted a Pro-co rat years back but at the time they'd stopped making them so I copied the circuit and built my own :o) nothing special in them and it cost about $20 make. From memory (id have to get my shcematics out to be 100%) the Turbo Rat has only one component different and thats a different value resistor costing about 5 cents. So its easy to mod a Turbo to standard Rat or vicer versa. Turbo gives a bit more gain but thats it. Also in the years before you could get Big Muff reissues I built me and my friends a batch of them too! Another really cheap,easy and simple circuit to copy. I also came up with some mods to get some really ridiculous gain boosts out of the big muff, totally uncommercial and very funny. Sonic Youth would be proud. :oP
 
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