Let's talk about Rats.

[hulakatt]

Anyone interested in a Hartman LM308? I have one and always loved it in place of a Rat but I just don't really care for Rats anymore

[Shadoweclipse13]

Has anyone ever played a Basic Audio Shore Bird? I've gone through this thread several times, but it's been a while, so I'm sorry if that's been asked/answered before!

[fuzzjunkie]

Has anyone ever played a Basic Audio Shore Bird? I've gone through this thread several times, but it's been a while, so I'm sorry if that's been asked/answered before!

I like Basic Audio pedals. I have several and there are at least a couple more that I would want but I’m trying to downsize.

I haven’t tried the Shorebird because I have an old vintage Big Box Rat and don’t need another. The Basic Audio dude makes good solid pedals though. The wiring is immaculate and he usually adds something extra, a knob or a switch that makes it more versatile than the original.

[marqueemoon]

Y’know, I am in the ebb part of my love/hate thing with the Rat currently.

I think I know the reason though. Live is where I think it works best, and I haven’t played a show on guitar since May.

Provided I remain gainfully employed I’m planning to treat myself to a nice MK1 at holiday time though.

[MrShake]

Y’know, I am in the ebb part of my love/hate thing with the Rat currently.

I think I know the reason though. Live is where I think it works best, and I haven’t played a show on guitar since May.

Provided I remain gainfully employed I’m planning to treat myself to a nice MK1 at holiday time though.

That's fair. Good for you, realizing that it's an ebb. Good luck with that employment, always good to have a pedal to look forward to.

[thenewromance]

With all this talk of how a Rat is the best (TM) I got myself a Wampler Ratsbane and so far I'm happy with it. The amount of gain available is close to ridiculous for what I play, but using only about a fifth of what's on tap and employing the guitar volume knob the pedal becomes an extremely versatile and dynamic overdrive-distortion. It's well made and not too expensive (160 € I believe). Thumbs up!

[del]

In all my fiddling around, I'm not at all sure that older Rats necessarily sound better than newer Rats. A chip manufacturer here or a resistor value there... it's not that serious of a concern. But where older Rats excel is in appearance: beat up, rusted, or otherwise abused, those old Rats are tanks that wear their histories on their sleeves, yet keep on rocking.

[fever606]

All this talk of “Rat into Big Muff” recently convinced me to cop the least Rat-y Rat I could…



Let’s see what fifty bucks worth of LA Metal gets me…

[JSett]

In all my fiddling around, I'm not at all sure that older Rats necessarily sound better than newer Rats. A chip manufacturer here or a resistor value there... it's not that serious of a concern. But where older Rats excel is in appearance: beat up, rusted, or otherwise abused, those old Rats are tanks that wear their histories on their sleeves, yet keep on rocking.

And I thought mine was beat up!

[marqueemoon]

In all my fiddling around, I'm not at all sure that older Rats necessarily sound better than newer Rats. A chip manufacturer here or a resistor value there... it's not that serious of a concern. But where older Rats excel is in appearance: beat up, rusted, or otherwise abused, those old Rats are tanks that wear their histories on their sleeves, yet keep on rocking.

And I thought mine was beat up!

[JSett]

Glorious

[sal paradise]

Reminds me of the original double rat

[del]

Alas, the photo I posted isn't of mine.

Mine are old, but are of the Rat 2 era, with the plastic coating on the top portion of the case. The wear is more like scars and scrapes on top, with rust on the sides and bottom..

[JSett]

Here's a question for my fellow Rat enthusiasts: we all know the Rat is king of a live mix pushing a hot amp (what it was designed for really) but, in a recording situation, often doesn't sound the best - unless you want that thrash grind of course. What would be a good alternative that mixes better in a recording situation? Just a good 'transparent' overdrive?

It'll always be my go-to for playing on a stage but it has left me wanting a little in the tracking department.

[GreenKnee]

Here's a question for my fellow Rat enthusiasts: we all know the Rat is king of a live mix pushing a hot amp (what it was designed for really) but, in a recording situation, often doesn't sound the best - unless you want that thrash grind of course. What would be a good alternative that mixes better in a recording situation? Just a good 'transparent' overdrive?

It'll always be my go-to for playing on a stage but it has left me wanting a little in the tracking department.

I think with enough tweaking of the tone stack and amp you can get it to work nicely when recording as well, but it means scrambling your settings from what you would use in a live mix. Also double tracking with a fat clean/breakup tone to make up for the Rat's shortcomings helps quite a bit.

Monster by REM has Rat all over it and it sounds great (to my ears)