Which Rat....?????

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somanytoys
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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by somanytoys » Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:06 am

ga20t wrote:
Thu Sep 12, 2019 11:07 am
I very recently picked up a Barber Gain Changer... it's actually been doing the low/medium/more gain thing better than my old LM308... It nails everything I love about the RAT, only with much more control and useable range... I was quite surprised as I've never seen them mentioned together and that's not why I bought it at all. Happy accident.
I have 2 Gain Changers, they are really nice pedals. I always use the low gain (LTD) side of it and not the higher gain Super Sport side, I think with the “Special Recipe” eq position. It has some very good sounds on high gain, but for what im doing, I feel I get better sounds from the LTD side pushing the amp .

I use the LTD side on a Deluxe style amp, and the Burn Unit side of his BUSS pedal on an AC15. Each pedal really seems to go along perfectly with the amp’s natural tone that it’s paired with, so that their sounds blend together really dynamically, just as well as they do clean or using other effects.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by marcello252 » Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:11 am

It's the first time in 30 years I put a RAT on my board and I really don't know why I didn't use it before, maybe because I had a Turbo Rat and never completely liked the huge volume and bottom end.

After trying the three (turbo, RAT 2 and YDR) I choose the You Dirty Rat, it has a 'growl' that the others have not, fit in that dist/fuzz territory perfectly

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by JVG » Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:58 pm

(Yeah i know this is an old thread :) )

A couple of years ago i bought a Soothsayer and didn’t bond with it. Can’t remember why, but it eventually led me to buying a Jam Rattler, which i loved, and still do.

Recently i was planning to cull my pedal herd, and the Soothsayer was on the chopping block. Then i did that thing where you give it one last chance, and you can guess what happened.....now i love it! Maybe my ears changed, or maybe it’s the combination of guitar+amp that sets it off, i don’t know.

Admittedly i have it set at very low gain/volume, and wish it wasn’t so loud, but it sounds bloody great through the Marshall with EL34s. Can’t see myself getting rid of it now!

Cheers
J.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:40 pm

I was almost the same. I loved my Soothsayer for the longest time, and then it just didn't do it for me anymore. I almost kept it when I played it on bass before selling it, but I ended up going a different route for my bass gain pedals.

Also, from the That Pedal Show video (can't remember which at the moment), the Jam Rattler sounds INCREDIBLE. I would love to try one some day...
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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by soggy mittens » Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:29 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:49 am
so how do people feel about running boost pedals into rats? i've been doing it for years now and i really enjoy it.

I've stacked a pedal into my (turbo) rat for a good five years now and the pedal in front has regularly changed but now I've settled on a mosky b-box (bb-preamp clone obviously, my preferred version of all I've tried) and it makes my rat do that gated fuzz splatter thing, it is my fav use of the rat! Only thing I put in-between them is my phaser as it creates the best blend sitting there, not too much not too little. :)
JVG wrote:
Wed Jun 10, 2020 6:58 pm
(Yeah i know this is an old thread :) )

A couple of years ago i bought a Soothsayer and didn’t bond with it. Can’t remember why, but it eventually led me to buying a Jam Rattler, which i loved, and still do.

Recently i was planning to cull my pedal herd, and the Soothsayer was on the chopping block. Then i did that thing where you give it one last chance, and you can guess what happened.....now i love it! Maybe my ears changed, or maybe it’s the combination of guitar+amp that sets it off, i don’t know.

Admittedly i have it set at very low gain/volume, and wish it wasn’t so loud, but it sounds bloody great through the Marshall with EL34s. Can’t see myself getting rid of it now!

Cheers
J.
There is one setting on the soothsayer that is heard in this video that has made me want a soothsayer sooooo badly. Creamy smooth, thick, powerful overtones, heavenly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvgnmyyXYsE

But they are always hard to fine and expensive so I try not to think about them. x)
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by JVG » Sat Jun 13, 2020 2:27 am

I didn’t realise the Soothsayer had become hard to find, there were quite a lot available when i got mine. My only issue with it, as mentioned before, is that it is very loud. I can’t see why it needs to be this way.

I often put a germanium treble booster before mine, which gives another great sound option.

J.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by soggy mittens » Sat Jun 13, 2020 4:04 am

I guess I should mention I don't live in the US, hard to find where I live and international import costs makes it worse. :/
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by JVG » Sat Jun 13, 2020 4:25 am

I understand. It’s the same here in Australia, with our fairly weak dollar. It makes me simultaneously laugh and cry when i hear Americans complaining about equipment prices, because everything is at least 50% more expensive here.

Cheers
J

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by stevejamsecono » Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:19 pm

Just grabbed one of these used off Reverb for 50 bucks. Handmade in Chicago with the right chip and without the Mr Vermin name and art which I was less a fan of.

Image20200623_180341 by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

Sounds pretty awesome through my AC15 so far, and on surprisingly low gain settings to boot. Also cleans up decently which to my understanding is not something Rats are particularly known for. Way better than the old Rat2 I had about a decade ago.
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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:49 pm

stevejamsecono wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:19 pm
Just grabbed one of these used off Reverb for 50 bucks. Handmade in Chicago with the right chip and without the Mr Vermin name and art which I was less a fan of.

Image20200623_180341 by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

Sounds pretty awesome through my AC15 so far, and on surprisingly low gain settings to boot. Also cleans up decently which to my understanding is not something Rats are particularly known for. Way better than the old Rat2 I had about a decade ago.
Yeah, low gain and cleanup are not things I think about being very Rat-like. Interesting.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by stevejamsecono » Tue Jun 23, 2020 7:14 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:49 pm
stevejamsecono wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:19 pm
Just grabbed one of these used off Reverb for 50 bucks. Handmade in Chicago with the right chip and without the Mr Vermin name and art which I was less a fan of.

Image20200623_180341 by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

Sounds pretty awesome through my AC15 so far, and on surprisingly low gain settings to boot. Also cleans up decently which to my understanding is not something Rats are particularly known for. Way better than the old Rat2 I had about a decade ago.
Yeah, low gain and cleanup are not things I think about being very Rat-like. Interesting.
I'll keep you posted on it should I ever get to play with other people again, but it's certainly been a nice surprise. On the other hand the filter knob seems quite subtle at best and it mostly stays on the Trebly side, which is rather unlike my Rat2 which could get quite woofy.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by Severed Hand » Thu Jun 25, 2020 12:29 pm

I’ve got a 1986 Proco rat small box for $50 bucks a few years ago off Craigslist from a lady getting rid of her husbands old music stuff. If anyone’s curious and has an older rat try running it at 12v cleans it up a bit actually do that trick on a V5 Big Muff too.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Jun 26, 2020 12:01 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:49 pm
Yeah, low gain and cleanup are not things I think about being very Rat-like. Interesting.
I felt like my old Soothsayer could do that fairly well. When I sold my Soothsayer to fund a Magnetic Effects Lonely Robot, I was inspired because the Lonely Robot cleans up even better. I love the classic RAT sound, but something about a RAT that cleans up well is just beautiful to my ears.
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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:58 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Fri Jun 26, 2020 12:01 am
marqueemoon wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 2:49 pm
Yeah, low gain and cleanup are not things I think about being very Rat-like. Interesting.
I felt like my old Soothsayer could do that fairly well. When I sold my Soothsayer to fund a Magnetic Effects Lonely Robot, I was inspired because the Lonely Robot cleans up even better. I love the classic RAT sound, but something about a RAT that cleans up well is just beautiful to my ears.
Yeah, I’ll always keep a Rat around. Going to try a silicon Fuzz Face variant next though just for a little variety and to practice the riding the guitar volume thing.

I think a Rat-flavored dirty boost or something like the Plumes with Rat DNA would be awesome.

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Re: Which Rat....?????

Post by kaboodle45 » Tue Jul 14, 2020 2:43 pm

For me the Electrofoods Nepenthes is the ultimate Rat. It absolutely kills on bass

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