RAT

Jonathanthomas83

So are we saying that the RAT2 is as good as an original? How different does it sound?

I'm contemplating a Soothsayer and a WFR, but won't bother if the RAT2 does a good enough job.

StrummyBrummie

I have decided to go for a mid nineties big box reissue with the LM 308. I'll be getting it next week when my credit card /PayPal issues have been resolved. It should give me a decent taste of what the Rat is about & I'll go from there.

Magnetic_Effects

Jonathanthomas83 said:

So are we saying that the RAT2 is as good as an original? How different does it sound?

I'm contemplating a Soothsayer and a WFR, but won't bother if the RAT2 does a good enough job.

@Jonathanthomas83 I have a couple of Rat 2's and have modded some WFR's. The WFR were exaclty the same as the Rat2 just without a LED.

timmysoft

Jonathanthomas83;1086612" said:

So are we saying that the RAT2 is as good as an original? How different does it sound?

I'm contemplating a Soothsayer and a WFR, but won't bother if the RAT2 does a good enough job.

I'd say the latest rat2 is as good and the controls are slightly more responsive.

Sassafras

StrummyBrummie said:

I have decided to go for a mid nineties big box reissue with the LM 308. I'll be getting it next week when my credit card /PayPal issues have been resolved. It should give me a decent taste of what the Rat is about & I'll go from there.

A wise choice.

I've had quite a few different versions and that one is my favourite. It sounds especially good on slide guitar.

StrummyBrummie

@Sassafras I'm looking forward to getting my paws on it.

Jonathanthomas83

Thanks @timmysoft and @magnetic_effects, RAT 2 sounds like a winner then, why pay more. Starting to really understand why this forum has a better rep than TGP...stock answer there would have been the most expensive one usually!

@magnetic_effects, out of interest, what kind of mods were you doing on WFRs and would the RAT 2 have benefitted from similar mods?

baddog01

Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Branshen

@baddog01 the first person who springs to mind is John Scofield.

StrummyBrummie

baddog01;1087308" said:

Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Gilmour,Thom York, James Hetfield, through to Buzz Osborne & the bloke from Melt Banana. The list is long as your arm.

stickyfiddle

StrummyBrummie said:

baddog01;1087308" said:

Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Gilmour,Thom York, James Hetfield, through to Buzz Osborne & the bloke from Melt Banana. The list is long as your arm.

Majority of the early Foo Fighters records too.

Magnetic_Effects

@Jonathanthomas83 A couple of the WFR's I modded to add a LED  and another one I tweaked the eq.

Like a lot of classic pedals the Rat is ripe for many mods but, in its stock form, it is still a great pedal. I used a stock one for years. I recommend trying a stock one before looking into mods. Hard to know what changes you want, if any, before trying the real deal.

For the current Chinese production Proc Co Rat I recommend making sure it is built to the correct spec. I have seen a few with the wrong parts values. 

Jonathanthomas83

@Magnetic_effects, that's good advice! Thank you!

ThePrettyDamned

stickyfiddle;1087321" said:

StrummyBrummie said:

baddog01;1087308" said:Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Gilmour,Thom York, James Hetfield, through to Buzz Osborne & the bloke from Melt Banana. The list is long as your arm.












Majority of the early Foo Fighters records too.

Yeah, when I hear the old school foo fighters I tend to think ac30 and rat or Marshall and rat. Though I confess I don't know what rigs they used.

hobbio

I can't remember what mine is. @Megii, what did you sell me again?

Which ever one it is, I love it. I took a while to work out how to get it sounding good though.

english_bob

baddog01 said:

Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Er... yeah.

Proco have a list, but it's far from comprehensive:

http://ratdistortion.com/artists/

Jeff Beck (Solo)
Joe Walsh (Solo
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Elliot Easton (The Cars)
Peter Buck (REM)
Andy Summers (The Police)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
Frank Black (Pixies)
John Ashton (The Psychedelic Furs)
Pat DiNizio (The Smithereens)
Graham Coxon (Blur)
Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead)
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)
Justin Chancellor (Tool)
Derek Whibley (Sum 41)
Kris Roe (The Ataris)
Johnny Buckland (Coldplay)
John Scofield (Solo)
Peter Holmstrom (Dandy Warhols)
Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo)
Tom Linton (Jimmy Eat World)

Wikipedia's list is better:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Co_RAT#Notable_users
Ichirou Agata of Melt-Banana 
John Ashton of Psychedelic Furs
Jeff Beck
Matt Bellamy
James Dean Bradfield
Nuno Bettencourt
Peter Buck
Bernard Butler
Jerry Cantrell
Nels Cline of Wilco
Justin Chancellor
Lawrence Chandler
John Christ
Kurt Cobain
Graham Coxon
Francis Dunnery
Kevin Eubanks
Robert Fripp
Bill Frisell
David Gilmour
Dave Grohl
James Hetfield
Scott Kannberg
John Linger of Neils Children
Stephen Malkmus
Thurston Moore
Krist Novoselic
Sunn O)))
Buzz Osborne
Paranoid Time
Joe Perry
Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls
Kurt Rosenwinkel
John Scofield
Sonny Sharrock
Justin Shekoski
Kevin Shields
Andy Summers
Alex Turner
Joe Walsh
Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx
Thom Yorke.

So, you know. One or two.

hobbio

Everyone mentions Jonny Greenwood when naming Rat players, but I don't think he does (or ever has).

http://thekingofgear.com/jonny

Same deal for Ed.

http://thekingofgear.com/ed#pedals

 

Johnnyseven

StrummyBrummie" said:

[quote="baddog01"]Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Gilmour,Thom York, James Hetfield, through to Buzz Osborne & the bloke from Melt Banana. The list is long as your arm.

[/quote]

Thom Yorke used a Turbo Rat, as does Thurston Moore.

StrummyBrummie

Johnnyseven;1087590" said:

[quote="StrummyBrummie"][quote="baddog01"]Are there any well known players that use Rat pedals in there rigs? Just wondering ....

Gilmour,Thom York, James Hetfield, through to Buzz Osborne & the bloke from Melt Banana. The list is long as your arm.

[/quote]

Thom Yorke used a Turbo Rat, as does Thurston Moore.

[/quote]


Be sure to tell Wikipedia.
:P

Heartfeltdawn

Magnetic_Effects said: Yes, factory error. Probably were out of stock of Log pots so just threw in whatever else they had in stock. Bound to have happened to more than one pedal. 

Wow. And I thought I'd just got a knackered battered used one. Most interesting. 

Jonathanthomas83 said:

So are we saying that the RAT2 is as good as an original? How different does it sound?

As a serial Rat geek who started this year with a double figure collection, I'll offer up some thoughts. I will make reference to this link:

http://ratdistortion.com/history/#

-LM308 versus ODO7: I don't think the chip matters one bit. Other factors (component tolerances, slight changes in compotent values etc) are more important. 

-The Chinese Rats sound brighter than other Rats. They have a bit more clarity, not quite the same bottom end, and they don't have the same fuzziness you can get with a big box reissue for instance. There's absolutely no reason at all why a Chinese-made Rat won't work for you: it all boils down to what you want soundwise. 

-Personally my favourite Rat ever is a vintage box big reissue. It's fuzzier than any other Rat I've played (I have two more reissues: they don't have quite the same fuzz factor), dialed right up it's almost into Big Muff territory. It sounds huge and perfect for my shoegazey shit. 

-I've not played a bad Rat pedal. The Deucetone has some really good sounds in it (prices have shot up over the last year, a long way removed from the £50 I paid for one a few years ago). I could get by with a Chinese Rat quite happily. You don't necessarily have to pay out huge money for a good Rat if you keep your eyes open. Start with a cheap Rat. If it works for you, stay with it. If not, then go for a USA RAT 2. 

-Rat mods: I think they're shit. Takes away what makes a Rat so much fun. 

-As said previously, there are USA Rats with the ODO7DP chip. This came toward the end of the USA production period prior to production moving to China. I've recorded a very quick comparison between a USA-made ODO7DP chip RAT2 versus my fave LM308 USA big box reissue. All the knobs were at 12 o'clock, all recorded DI into Reaper.