Interestingly, my latest, inspiring secret weapon is a RAT on low gain. I learned the RAT has the same frequency hump as a Klon but I find it easier to get great edge-of-breakup tones from the RAT. I boost the volume and filter almost all the way, then turn the distortion knob all the way down and roll it up just until I hear the clipping diodes click on. I’m relatively new to RATs but they’re quickly becoming my favorite dirt variant.
I have a couple of old white face rats... 1984 I think. Guitarists constantly come up and tell me I have the best tone ever. My secret? I turn the distortion down to 9 oclock and use picking dynamics. If I pick soft it's almost crystal clean, if I dig in it gets a nice bit of dirt. I leave the rat on all the time with single coils! If I need more I run a boost pedal into the rat.
@@putz1313 yep. Just recently embraced the fact that I treat the RAT like a preamp pedal. I idealized the idea of having my perfect clean tone come from the amp alone - then finally accepted that I just like the way everything sounds more with the rat on
I got my first Rat around '86 and used it with all sorts of amps rocking clubs from the Sunset Strip to Culver City. It's a great, simple pedal but it's not a one trick pony and it works for every style. I used it in those days to strike a nice balance between the classic rock of the 70s I grew up with and the metal I was playing in those days. I used it with my JMP, then with several Fender and Peavey and Marshall combos. It always delivered. One thing I love about the pedal is how organic it sounds and feels. It's very tube-like, but it never feels like it's fighting your amp for dominance. My advice with the Rat is to dial it in very lightly and use that filter carefully. It works miracles. The knobs are very responsive. I prefer it to more modern, chuggy, ultra gain pedals. The Rat is not overly compressed like many modern pedals nor is it brittle like an MXR. It's a masterwork of a pedal.
Hi Shawn, to answer your "secret weapon" question....Someone heard me playing on the radio many years ago and thought that an op amp Big Muff was what I was missing. This gentlemen sent me his old 70's op amp fuzz and I've ended up using it somewhere on every single project I've done over the last 20+ years. It just records beautifully for me.
Freshly purchased a Bat - a handmade Rat clone from Poland with the LM308 chip, SI / GE / LED mods. Needless to say, I'm floored. That specific type of circuitry really tickles my fancy: it can do the "organic blues" thing all the way to the full heavy rock stuff. Stacks nicely and can roar quite nicely with a simple transparent booster in front. Win win win.
That Bat's features sound a lot like the Little Bear R.Attack I use. It has visible LEDs that I set to just start flickering as a base edge-of-breakup tone in Turbo-rat mode. I was chuffed to bits with the dirty "organic blues" I get out of it this way... good, filthy Hound Dog Taylor stuff... from a RAT! Who knew !? And then the germanium clipped Dirty Rat mode takes us towards Smashing Pumpkins realms... Who needs new fangled boutique gear? The Rat got it right.
nice demo ! my favorite dist pedal ever (i have the jam version really great) for some reason the "fuzz" character it has brings it in the marshall territory better than any other drive, and the mids the pedal have is perfect live !
Apparently Nuno Bettencourts secret weapon too! Although he has a unique way of using it. Thanks for the vid and awesome demo! Might be this the video that convinces me to get the RAT!
Sweet! I have an old big box rat on my board and a flat top small box waiting in the wings if it dies. Not usually my first choice but it just plain works in a live band mix.
It's quite amazing, because i have and have bought every overdrive/distortion under the sun! But it always goes back to a few basic classics, which everything else seems to be based on. A fuzz face, a big muff, a Rat, a boss SD1/ or tube screamer and a marshall governor! And the Rat can do almost all of what the others can do to some degree! I have the Wampler Ratsbane now, because it's small and gives me an extra option of a mid boost, but it's essentially still, the Rat! It just works
I've come to the same conclusion but thankfully without going down the boutique rabbit hole. I started with a cheap zoom multistomp which I used as a taster before upgrading to real world versions of the "classic pedal" emulations I liked. A Blues Driver, A Rat, and a Boss FZ-1w - Job done! The Boss offers vintage and modern (Fuzz face and Muff like) modes that are super responsive to pick attack and guitar vol adjustments - premium Boss price tag perhaps? I got mine for £140 and no buyers regret whatsoever. Regardless of their designation of Overdrive Distortion and Fuzz they all cover each others ground really well so it's like I'm getting nine tone category options from three pedals I have a Bad Monkey (TS10 clone) too but that mostly serves as a clean boost with hi/lo tone shaping). The old Multistomp still fills in for modulation and delays. I'm sorely tempted to one day upgrade that to Brian Wampler's Triumph overdrive pedal. It blends Bad Monkey and SD-1 and adds more EQ options. What more could one ask for eh?
I use mine always. Bought it used back in 86 for 35 bucks ,been on my board ever since.1986 model. Distortion set at about 2 o'clock ,filter around 9 and volume at about 9 or 10.
Love the RAT - never found an overdrive/distortion pedal I've liked better. My secret weapon though: the Digitech DOD 440 Envelope Filter. Always adds a "woah" factor.
My secret weapon has been the Dhyana Drive (Zendrive) model in my helix. I've never tried a real one, but for beautiful singing sustain in solos you can't beat it.
Awesome tones with the Rat, I’ll have to try one now! My secret weapon is the Formula B Univibe. Not a lot of people know about this boutique company, but I absolutely love their damn pedals.
@@massi2403 I haven’t tried the SuperPlexi, what kind of amp do you have? I have a Mesa Mark V, so I’m skeptical whether I’d truly need a pedal that is essentially an amp in a box. Unless, if it’s really that great I’ll look in to it some more!
@@danieljoseverde7666 I think you’re right: I’ve got a Revv D20 (topically, around here! 🤣), so the SuperPlexi’s great for bringing some of that “British” character…. (Oh and it’s got a nice boost, too)
If you can consider “always on” pedals to be secret weapons, I guess I have a couple. I’ve got an old Danelectro Dan Echo that has a high cut control to roll treble off of the repeats - I have that pedal permanently on at the end of my chain, set to a slapback (between 110-120ms) with the treble rolled all the way off the echo and the echo level just barely in the mix. It just thickens the sound. You don’t even notice how much it is adding to the sound until you turn it off. The other one, that may not *always* be on, but it’s always there, ready to use, is a Sonic Maximizer. The bass and treble controls are rolled all the way down on it, but it still just makes everything sound richer and more articulate, without really being noticeable. Again, you don’t even realize how much it’s adding until you switch it off. I have an old Rat that I typically have set to edge of breakup tones. One thing that surprised me in your demo was how much yours cleaned up when you rolled the guitar volume down, even with the gain at 2 o’clock. One my nit-picks with the Rat is that it doesn’t clean up as well as I’d like, but I guess I have to do some more experimenting there.
My Boss OD3 is possibly my secret weapon. just makes me play so articulate and reacts so beautifully with my Budda V20 superdrive combo. Great video as always Sir. I can listen to you play for hours. Cheers
Od3,my favorite for blues to medium heavy rock,excels in neck positions to my ear. Rat takes off the rock up a notch,and with eq's both front and after,any metal chug tone.Both Od3 & Rat are amazing in that setting.Salute
Oddly enough I have the original 1986 version of the RAT you have in the video that I bought new back then. I used to get more compliments on my sound using that pedal through a Dean Markley CD-60 Tube combo than any other amp/pedals I ever used. Ran the Dean Markley thru a 2x12 cab with two 300 watt Gauss speakers. Guitar at the time was an 82 Gibson Flying V2 with the Dirty Fingers humbuckers, not the V shaped pickups. That was my killer rig at the time. IMO the original 80's Dean Markley CD60's may be one of the most underrated amps ever. Pristine Cleans and a great dirty channel.
Ahh yes...The Rat. Most people either love them or hate them. I've discovered that the players that hate them don't know how to use them because Guitar Player's are knuckleheads.
Recently discovered the joy of boosting an OCD with an Xotic EP Boost (before the OCD)... I swear its a gorgeous distortion tone, especially when playing a Gibson style (hum buckers) My new "secret weapon". However, the RAT is absolutely my favorite distortion of all time. It just sings (if you know how to use it)..
My secret weapon is a DOD FX40 6-band eq from the mid 80’s. Even with the level barely bumped up, it adds this grit that other eq’s I’ve tried simply don’t have. Sounds great w/every amp I’ve tried it with. Turned all my “playing” friends on to it!
For the answer at the end of the video. My secret weapon is a pair Lexicon PCM70s and my Lexicon PC42 and 41 Delays. The 41 does an insanely awesome chorus/flanger/doubler sound in conjunction with my vintage Marshalls and the verbs and delays in the PCM70 are just plane charming even in modern mixes.
I finally bought a 7 string strandberg and it changed the way I play. That additional low string and the new shapes to take advantage of it made me approach the guitar in a different way.
One of the great things about the RAT is that it works with single coil guitars as well as with those with humbuckers. And in the humbucker domain it doesn’t matter if their hot or not. Most other distortion FX are problematic in this regard.
Great video Shawn. I always love watching your UA-cam channel. I have 2 secret weapon pedals on my board. The first is a MXR Carbon Copy analog delay. I primarily use it like you just explained how you use your delay pedal. The first time I set it up that way my entire board came alive & full sounding. I love it. The 2nd secret weapon pedal is my OCD overdrive. I normally always have my MXR on plus a J. Rocket Archer, then I’ll add a J. Rocket Majestic for crunch. But, when I want that smooth cream overdrive (or harder OD), that’s when I either add the OCD or turn off the Majestic & add just the OCD depending on what the song requires. Thx again for all the great videos & tips! Chet Puckett
J. Rockett Guthrie Trapp Overdrive (old big box) is a secret weapon that’s not always on the board. Whenever I plug it it in, I wonder why it’s not. Honorable mention to Keeley Katana; just makes everything sound 3D when it’s on.
The LIghtspeed with the Keeley Halo has been my latest inspiration combo...and I have my Revv Tilt hitting the Lightspeed. Those 3 together have become the heart of my board, surrounded by other situational toys (Tumnus, Mobius, H9, Ego comp)... Picked up the Wampler Ratsbane when it came out, I haven't owned a Rat since the early 90s. Lots of fun and I always have it in my bag of extras, just in case.
i used to have the Fairfield Meet Maude very early in my chain--before the overdrives, boosts, etc. im not sure what it was but the repeats seemed to glue together and sweeten once they were filtered through the gain stages. that was my secret weapon til i sold the meet maude. now it's the BBE sonic maximizer at the end of my chain
My current "secret weapon" is a bog standard Blues Driver, especially with a Tele, volume & gain at noon and tone almost at 0. On its own not a high fidelity sound, but so good in the mix and super fun. Plus it won't break the bank.
Nice playing. Back in the eighties in london, pedals for rock were mainly Ratt, ds1, SD-1 in front of a Marshall. Run on batteries. Secret weapon is switch everything off, if it sounds good acoustic then I find it easier to build from.
I'd go with my Pettyjohn Nutria for that "makes me come out with something different" thing. Coincidentally. also a RAT-inspired circuit. Perhaps not such a coincidence... :)
@@machnes agreed. Tbh could have picked out one of several PJE pedals, but thought that the Nutria was the “right” answer as had noticed myself playing differently through it. Just generally love their stuff though.
I have a 1981 Inventions DRV and man i plugged that just of curiosity and never left the board really versatile pedal... and Shawn is that a Nordvang 83 on you board!? ;)
I play a whole bunch of different styles, but if I'm just doing a sort of singer-songwriter Nashville-style thing for myself or a client I'm recording/producing/playing for, my Wampler Belle stays on all the time. As for something that makes me play different, probably my MXR Sub Machine. Traditional octave fuzz (switchable high octave) with a blendable low octave that you can either have in series (before the fuzz) or parallel (separate from the fuzz). Excellent for some stoner/desert rock stuff, makes for a MASSIVE tone!
I have one of the 85 whiteface reissues they did about ten years ago or more. They made about 100 with the correct chip. It’s not always on my board but I love it. I love how it can do a fuzzy tone, that nails the “spirit in the sky” riff. However, one trick is to use it as a light overdrive. It’s surprisingly great at that setting.
The PRS horsemeat is definitely my go to pedal now! It has the most amazing tones for a drive pedal. I literally haven't used a different pedal for drive, distortion etc since the day I got it which was the day after they were released. It sounds more like a natural distortion from an amp being pushed than a pedal distortion. That's not something I even knew was different before I got this thing. It's just incredible!If you haven't tried one I highly recommend checking one out! Paul knows tone!
Went to band practice last week, and being my lazy self, I left my pedalboard home and just brought a Jrocket archer and a Lovepedal purple Plexi, both with batteries. It sounded great, though the Nace Pro 18 I leave at practice. So it got me thinking one more drive and an Eventide h90,expression pedal and Volume pedal and I'd be happy. Maybe I'll get a Rat to be the 3rd pedal. What do you guys think? My other board has way too many options/ choices, although it works flawlessly (MIDI) it's a lot of stuff.
Hi nice video! Any suggestion for a distortion pedal to pair with an old combo peavey stereo chorus 400 ( similar to JC-120) as main crunch tone? Eventually the RAT is good also on Marshall's style or toom many mids? thank you very much
for boost purposes ive been using the parametric eq in my boss ms3 and it sounds great, its super adjustable and has loads of output which is nice, I also like the fender engager boost for the same purpose, nice clean boost but also sounds good without boosting and just using it as a simple 3 band eq
while its snake oil to some, its essential oil for me haha. my secret weapon would be the sonic maximizer pedal ss-92, lo contour at full and process knob depends on the situation. once you have it on you'll never go back.
I completely agree that there is something about the rat pedal that is different from any other pedal I've tried the Box Sachin Ator Joe Satriani signature pedal I've tried the mxr custom badass modified OD and many other gain boost distortion pedals there's nothing like the original rat pedal which is what I have
Shawn, my secret weapon lately is running the right side of a Cornerstone Gladio Double Preamp into a Vemuram Jan Ray. The Gladio adds this crazy fuzz sound to the Jan Ray! It sounds like Clapton Crossroads! I use single coils in a strat but it sounds like a 335 into a marshall stack!
I implore you, no more Revv demo vids until you've shown us these things can do Sabbath and if they can't, how do we get your custom shop to make us something slow and sludgy? I need Revv in my life but this tight fizzy modern distortion is antithetical to my slow saturated fat and sassy guitar style. Seriously, give your engineer some edibles, have him design the Matamp killer Canada deserves then call me ASAP. Dead serious, cash in hand, lets make it happen!
I still really like the Dude pedal for sure but my ears have drifted away from that sound a bit. I'm sure I'll come back around to it because it's really one of the best OD pedals in the business IMHO.
When it comes to cork sniffing or picky gearheads, I say: go listen to the vids of Jeff Beck on a Boss Cube, Satriani on a fan's Fender starter kit and EVH on Chrissy Hyndes Tele. GUEES WHO THE !@#$% THEY SOUNDED LIKE? lol, HF
![How To Set Your Overdrive & Distortion Pedals [In A Band]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dfPOt7V9YR0/mqdefault.jpg)
More Ratt on the Rat please!
I see what you did there!! Thanks for watching!
Robbin Crosby in out of the cellar
Interestingly, my latest, inspiring secret weapon is a RAT on low gain. I learned the RAT has the same frequency hump as a Klon but I find it easier to get great edge-of-breakup tones from the RAT. I boost the volume and filter almost all the way, then turn the distortion knob all the way down and roll it up just until I hear the clipping diodes click on. I’m relatively new to RATs but they’re quickly becoming my favorite dirt variant.
Yes! I was just chatting with a friend of mine that runs his Rat pedal that way. Sounds cool!
Yep I like it just over 1/4 ish on gain, filter rolled back and high volume.
I have a couple of old white face rats... 1984 I think. Guitarists constantly come up and tell me I have the best tone ever. My secret? I turn the distortion down to 9 oclock and use picking dynamics. If I pick soft it's almost crystal clean, if I dig in it gets a nice bit of dirt. I leave the rat on all the time with single coils! If I need more I run a boost pedal into the rat.
@@putz1313 yep. Just recently embraced the fact that I treat the RAT like a preamp pedal. I idealized the idea of having my perfect clean tone come from the amp alone - then finally accepted that I just like the way everything sounds more with the rat on
1k to rule them all.
I got my first Rat around '86 and used it with all sorts of amps rocking clubs from the Sunset Strip to Culver City. It's a great, simple pedal but it's not a one trick pony and it works for every style. I used it in those days to strike a nice balance between the classic rock of the 70s I grew up with and the metal I was playing in those days. I used it with my JMP, then with several Fender and Peavey and Marshall combos. It always delivered. One thing I love about the pedal is how organic it sounds and feels. It's very tube-like, but it never feels like it's fighting your amp for dominance. My advice with the Rat is to dial it in very lightly and use that filter carefully. It works miracles. The knobs are very responsive. I prefer it to more modern, chuggy, ultra gain pedals. The Rat is not overly compressed like many modern pedals nor is it brittle like an MXR. It's a masterwork of a pedal.
Hi Shawn, to answer your "secret weapon" question....Someone heard me playing on the radio many years ago and thought that an op amp Big Muff was what I was missing. This gentlemen sent me his old 70's op amp fuzz and I've ended up using it somewhere on every single project I've done over the last 20+ years. It just records beautifully for me.
Rocking that Qui-Gon Jin hair style and sounding great as ever! You get lots of good sound from just one pedal.
Haha, thanks so much!
Freshly purchased a Bat - a handmade Rat clone from Poland with the LM308 chip, SI / GE / LED mods. Needless to say, I'm floored. That specific type of circuitry really tickles my fancy: it can do the "organic blues" thing all the way to the full heavy rock stuff. Stacks nicely and can roar quite nicely with a simple transparent booster in front. Win win win.
Nice!!
That Bat's features sound a lot like the Little Bear R.Attack I use. It has visible LEDs that I set to just start flickering as a base edge-of-breakup tone in Turbo-rat mode. I was chuffed to bits with the dirty "organic blues" I get out of it this way... good, filthy Hound Dog Taylor stuff... from a RAT! Who knew !?
And then the germanium clipped Dirty Rat mode takes us towards Smashing Pumpkins realms...
Who needs new fangled boutique gear? The Rat got it right.
Oh, that one is on my list
nice demo ! my favorite dist pedal ever (i have the jam version really great) for some reason the "fuzz" character it has brings it in the marshall territory better than any other drive, and the mids the pedal have is perfect live !
There is a cool upper harmonic saturation for sure in that style circuit.
Apparently Nuno Bettencourts secret weapon too! Although he has a unique way of using it. Thanks for the vid and awesome demo! Might be this the video that convinces me to get the RAT!
The rat is an under appreciated pedal. Users from David gilmour to heavy grunge players can’t be wrong.
Yup!
Not so much any device but watching videos from you , AT, LA Sound Design etc - brings out different playing n gets me out of boxes n thinking more ..
The Rat!! One of my fave pedals ever !! Sounding awesome!!
Thanks for watching!!
Sweet! I have an old big box rat on my board and a flat top small box waiting in the wings if it dies. Not usually my first choice but it just plain works in a live band mix.
Yep!
It's quite amazing, because i have and have bought every overdrive/distortion under the sun! But it always goes back to a few basic classics, which everything else seems to be based on. A fuzz face, a big muff, a Rat, a boss SD1/ or tube screamer and a marshall governor! And the Rat can do almost all of what the others can do to some degree! I have the Wampler Ratsbane now, because it's small and gives me an extra option of a mid boost, but it's essentially still, the Rat! It just works
I've come to the same conclusion but thankfully without going down the boutique rabbit hole. I started with a cheap zoom multistomp which I used as a taster before upgrading to real world versions of the "classic pedal" emulations I liked. A Blues Driver, A Rat, and a Boss FZ-1w - Job done!
The Boss offers vintage and modern (Fuzz face and Muff like) modes that are super responsive to pick attack and guitar vol adjustments - premium Boss price tag perhaps? I got mine for £140 and no buyers regret whatsoever. Regardless of their designation of Overdrive Distortion and Fuzz they all cover each others ground really well so it's like I'm getting nine tone category options from three pedals
I have a Bad Monkey (TS10 clone) too but that mostly serves as a clean boost with hi/lo tone shaping). The old Multistomp still fills in for modulation and delays. I'm sorely tempted to one day upgrade that to Brian Wampler's Triumph overdrive pedal. It blends Bad Monkey and SD-1 and adds more EQ options. What more could one ask for eh?
I use mine always. Bought it used back in 86 for 35 bucks ,been on my board ever since.1986 model. Distortion set at about 2 o'clock ,filter around 9 and volume at about 9 or 10.
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Love the RAT - never found an overdrive/distortion pedal I've liked better. My secret weapon though: the Digitech DOD 440 Envelope Filter. Always adds a "woah" factor.
Absolutely insane video showing the sheer beauty and dynamics/cleanup of a RAT. Well done Shawn 🙂
Thanks very much!
My secret weapon has been the Dhyana Drive (Zendrive) model in my helix. I've never tried a real one, but for beautiful singing sustain in solos you can't beat it.
Nice! Can't go wrong with the Zendrive circuit!
Awesome tones with the Rat, I’ll have to try one now!
My secret weapon is the Formula B Univibe. Not a lot of people know about this boutique company, but I absolutely love their damn pedals.
Ah nice, love Formula B pedals!
@@massi2403 Really, which ones have you tried??
@@danieljoseverde7666 I’ve got their Univibe and SuperPlexi. Can really recommend that if you’ve not tried it. :)
@@massi2403 I haven’t tried the SuperPlexi, what kind of amp do you have? I have a Mesa Mark V, so I’m skeptical whether I’d truly need a pedal that is essentially an amp in a box. Unless, if it’s really that great I’ll look in to it some more!
@@danieljoseverde7666 I think you’re right: I’ve got a Revv D20 (topically, around here! 🤣), so the SuperPlexi’s great for bringing some of that “British” character…. (Oh and it’s got a nice boost, too)
If you can consider “always on” pedals to be secret weapons, I guess I have a couple. I’ve got an old Danelectro Dan Echo that has a high cut control to roll treble off of the repeats - I have that pedal permanently on at the end of my chain, set to a slapback (between 110-120ms) with the treble rolled all the way off the echo and the echo level just barely in the mix. It just thickens the sound. You don’t even notice how much it is adding to the sound until you turn it off. The other one, that may not *always* be on, but it’s always there, ready to use, is a Sonic Maximizer. The bass and treble controls are rolled all the way down on it, but it still just makes everything sound richer and more articulate, without really being noticeable. Again, you don’t even realize how much it’s adding until you switch it off. I have an old Rat that I typically have set to edge of breakup tones. One thing that surprised me in your demo was how much yours cleaned up when you rolled the guitar volume down, even with the gain at 2 o’clock. One my nit-picks with the Rat is that it doesn’t clean up as well as I’d like, but I guess I have to do some more experimenting there.
Awesome! I owned that same era Rat pedal and used it on everything back in the late 80' to early 90's. Killer tones and playing!!
I really need to get a rat style drive. I love the models I’ve tried in software, but there’s just something about having actual knobs to fiddle with.
My Boss OD3 is possibly my secret weapon. just makes me play so articulate and reacts so beautifully with my Budda V20 superdrive combo. Great video as always Sir. I can listen to you play for hours. Cheers
You're very kind! Thanks so much!
Od3,my favorite for blues to medium heavy rock,excels in neck positions to my ear.
Rat takes off the rock up a notch,and with eq's both front and after,any metal chug tone.Both Od3 & Rat are amazing in that setting.Salute
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with the rat circuit. Thanks for your insights Shawn!
I tend to be the same when it comes to Rat circuits but there are a lot of tones that can be drug out for sure!
1:16 I hear the 80's calling me for another round. HELL YEA I NEED A RAT!!
Haha, YEP!
Oddly enough I have the original 1986 version of the RAT you have in the video that I bought new back then. I used to get more compliments on my sound using that pedal through a Dean Markley CD-60 Tube combo than any other amp/pedals I ever used. Ran the Dean Markley thru a 2x12 cab with two 300 watt Gauss speakers. Guitar at the time was an 82 Gibson Flying V2 with the Dirty Fingers humbuckers, not the V shaped pickups. That was my killer rig at the time. IMO the original 80's Dean Markley CD60's may be one of the most underrated amps ever. Pristine Cleans and a great dirty channel.
I know I tried one of those amps back in the day!
My secret weapon is the Walrus Audio Eons. So many different fuzzy tones
Ahh yes...The Rat. Most people either love them or hate them. I've discovered that the players that hate them don't know how to use them because Guitar Player's are knuckleheads.
Recently discovered the joy of boosting an OCD with an Xotic EP Boost (before the OCD)... I swear its a gorgeous distortion tone, especially when playing a Gibson style (hum buckers) My new "secret weapon". However, the RAT is absolutely my favorite distortion of all time. It just sings (if you know how to use it)..
My secret weapon is a DOD FX40 6-band eq from the mid 80’s. Even with the level barely bumped up, it adds this grit that other eq’s I’ve tried simply don’t have. Sounds great w/every amp I’ve tried it with. Turned all my “playing” friends on to it!
Nice!! Yeah, that stuff sounded cool back then and it still does now.
For the answer at the end of the video. My secret weapon is a pair Lexicon PCM70s and my Lexicon PC42 and 41
Delays. The 41 does an insanely awesome chorus/flanger/doubler sound in conjunction with my vintage Marshalls and the verbs and delays in the PCM70 are just plane charming even in modern mixes.
You sir know the BUSINESS!!! Awesome!
FAB chorus, the plastic one from danelectro, thats my secret weapon
I finally bought a 7 string strandberg and it changed the way I play. That additional low string and the new shapes to take advantage of it made me approach the guitar in a different way.
That's great man! Sometimes switching things up is what brings the inspiration.
One of the great things about the RAT is that it works with single coil guitars as well as with those with humbuckers. And in the humbucker domain it doesn’t matter if their hot or not. Most other distortion FX are problematic in this regard.
yup. also that filter pedal works wonder for maintaining the balance between brighter single coils to darker humbucker.
Great video Shawn. I always love watching your UA-cam channel.
I have 2 secret weapon pedals on my board. The first is a MXR Carbon Copy analog delay. I primarily use it like you just explained how you use your delay pedal. The first time I set it up that way my entire board came alive & full sounding. I love it. The 2nd secret weapon pedal is my OCD overdrive. I normally always have my MXR on plus a J. Rocket Archer, then I’ll add a J. Rocket Majestic for crunch. But, when I want that smooth cream overdrive (or harder OD), that’s when I either add the OCD or turn off the Majestic & add just the OCD depending on what the song requires.
Thx again for all the great videos & tips!
Chet Puckett
Thanks for watching and chiming in Chet!
Your 2 secret weapon pedals are 2 of the most used pedals of all time..
J. Rockett Guthrie Trapp Overdrive (old big box) is a secret weapon that’s not always on the board. Whenever I plug it it in, I wonder why it’s not. Honorable mention to Keeley Katana; just makes everything sound 3D when it’s on.
Yeah that Rockett GTO is awesome for sure! Robert Keeley is one of the best builders in the business.
The LIghtspeed with the Keeley Halo has been my latest inspiration combo...and I have my Revv Tilt hitting the Lightspeed. Those 3 together have become the heart of my board, surrounded by other situational toys (Tumnus, Mobius, H9, Ego comp)... Picked up the Wampler Ratsbane when it came out, I haven't owned a Rat since the early 90s. Lots of fun and I always have it in my bag of extras, just in case.
Sounds like you got it dialed!!
i used to have the Fairfield Meet Maude very early in my chain--before the overdrives, boosts, etc. im not sure what it was but the repeats seemed to glue together and sweeten once they were filtered through the gain stages. that was my secret weapon til i sold the meet maude. now it's the BBE sonic maximizer at the end of my chain
The Fairfield stuff is cool!
My current "secret weapon" is a bog standard Blues Driver, especially with a Tele, volume & gain at noon and tone almost at 0. On its own not a high fidelity sound, but so good in the mix and super fun. Plus it won't break the bank.
Yeah, can't go wrong with that!
Nice playing. Back in the eighties in london, pedals for rock were mainly Ratt, ds1, SD-1 in front of a Marshall. Run on batteries. Secret weapon is switch everything off, if it sounds good acoustic then I find it easier to build from.
Right on, thanks for watching and chiming in!
my secret weapon is the MXR Modified OD pedal and the ibanez CF7 Chorus pedal
I like using alternate tunings to bring inspiration. But gear I love the wampler dual fusion.
I'd go with my Pettyjohn Nutria for that "makes me come out with something different" thing. Coincidentally. also a RAT-inspired circuit. Perhaps not such a coincidence... :)
My absolute favorite RAT variant. Pettyjohn’s stuff is next level…
@@machnes agreed. Tbh could have picked out one of several PJE pedals, but thought that the Nutria was the “right” answer as had noticed myself playing differently through it. Just generally love their stuff though.
I’ve got a Wampler Ratsbane and really like it. For secret weapons I’ve found my HXStomp and Spark40 to fill the bill lately. Thanks for the vid!
Wampler builds good stuff! Thanks for watching!
My secret weapon is the Origin Effects Revivaldrive. It sounds awesome and has so many possibilities.
Great sounding pedal for sure! I've still got one.
I've had the same rat box on my pedalboard since i got it in 1984.
How about a demo of the Rat and your Tilt pedal, should be a good combo.
Shawn, that was NOT terrible! That was nice melodic shredding!!!
You're very kind. Thanks so much for watching!
I have a 1981 Inventions DRV and man i plugged that just of curiosity and never left the board really versatile pedal... and Shawn is that a Nordvang 83 on you board!? ;)
That's a cool pedal! Is the '83 on my board? Hmmmmmm....
I play a whole bunch of different styles, but if I'm just doing a sort of singer-songwriter Nashville-style thing for myself or a client I'm recording/producing/playing for, my Wampler Belle stays on all the time. As for something that makes me play different, probably my MXR Sub Machine. Traditional octave fuzz (switchable high octave) with a blendable low octave that you can either have in series (before the fuzz) or parallel (separate from the fuzz). Excellent for some stoner/desert rock stuff, makes for a MASSIVE tone!
Sounds like you're dialed in!!
I have one of the 85 whiteface reissues they did about ten years ago or more. They made about 100 with the correct chip. It’s not always on my board but I love it. I love how it can do a fuzzy tone, that nails the “spirit in the sky” riff. However, one trick is to use it as a light overdrive. It’s surprisingly great at that setting.
Yeah if you back down the distortion and gun the volume it sounds really cool.
The PRS horsemeat is definitely my go to pedal now! It has the most amazing tones for a drive pedal. I literally haven't used a different pedal for drive, distortion etc since the day I got it which was the day after they were released. It sounds more like a natural distortion from an amp being pushed than a pedal distortion. That's not something I even knew was different before I got this thing. It's just incredible!If you haven't tried one I highly recommend checking one out! Paul knows tone!
I have yet to try that pedal but glad you found something you dig! it's based on a Klon circuit correct?
Agreed, Ratz are pretty amazing pedals, i love mine. My secret weapon though: Walrus Audio 385 overdrive pedal. You'll thank me later
Best dirt pedal ever !
Went to band practice last week, and being my lazy self, I left my pedalboard home and just brought a Jrocket archer and a Lovepedal purple Plexi, both with batteries. It sounded great, though the Nace Pro 18 I leave at practice. So it got me thinking one more drive and an Eventide h90,expression pedal and Volume pedal and I'd be happy. Maybe I'll get a Rat to be the 3rd pedal. What do you guys think? My other board has way too many options/ choices, although it works flawlessly (MIDI) it's a lot of stuff.
I think the Rat would fit in nicely!
Hi nice video! Any suggestion for a distortion pedal to pair with an old combo peavey stereo chorus 400 ( similar to JC-120) as main crunch tone? Eventually the RAT is good also on Marshall's style or toom many mids? thank you very much
for boost purposes ive been using the parametric eq in my boss ms3 and it sounds great, its super adjustable and has loads of output which is nice, I also like the fender engager boost for the same purpose, nice clean boost but also sounds good without boosting and just using it as a simple 3 band eq
Nice, yeah, para EQs when used properly are awesome!
I only wish I would have discovered the Rat, or took it more seriously much earlier, It’s my go to dirt pedal for clean amps
Nice, yeah it's kind of a sleeper pedal these days but it seems that more and more builders are copying the circiut.
while its snake oil to some, its essential oil for me haha.
my secret weapon would be the sonic maximizer pedal ss-92, lo contour at full and process knob depends on the situation. once you have it on you'll never go back.
Nothing snake oil about it!
what pedal will you suggest to boost the rat for lead tone?
how do you deal with sag that a rat2 produces with humbucker equiped guitars?
I completely agree that there is something about the rat pedal that is different from any other pedal I've tried the Box Sachin Ator Joe Satriani signature pedal I've tried the mxr custom badass modified OD and many other gain boost distortion pedals there's nothing like the original rat pedal which is what I have
'Secret 'weapon: Boss DS1 into Plexi. See Marcus Deml.
I can here some Smashing Pumpkin tones 👍🏻
Yeah, I think that could work for sure!
"Yes, there is one of the most famous distortion pedals on my pedalboard. Really." Yeah no shit. The rat is famous for a reason.
Long Live The Rat
What's that riff he played on 1:33
I'm a Rat fan since the early 90's, and...
Longtime Rat fan tip... have a backup. Have two.
Nice!!
How did you manage to break these? They're tanks lol
Shawn, my secret weapon lately is running the right side of a Cornerstone Gladio Double Preamp into a Vemuram Jan Ray. The Gladio adds this crazy fuzz sound to the Jan Ray! It sounds like Clapton Crossroads! I use single coils in a strat but it sounds like a 335 into a marshall stack!
I implore you, no more Revv demo vids until you've shown us these things can do Sabbath and if they can't, how do we get your custom shop to make us something slow and sludgy? I need Revv in my life but this tight fizzy modern distortion is antithetical to my slow saturated fat and sassy guitar style. Seriously, give your engineer some edibles, have him design the Matamp killer Canada deserves then call me ASAP. Dead serious, cash in hand, lets make it happen!
Best pedal ever
I love the RAT!!
Thanks for watching!
@@ShawnTubbs never miss a video 😎
So, this RAT love.
Did this occur when your hair got past a certain length?
🙂
Pretty much.
JHS Pack Rat and the Boss OD-200 just kicks ass thru a Les Paul and a Marshall DSC 40. I melt faces with both!
RATs are awesome!
cool man, I'v got a Rat II
Right on!
everything at 2 ... TPS
That works!
Rat user since 83 ish
RAT is best.
Hi, so you have no use for The Dude these days?
I still really like the Dude pedal for sure but my ears have drifted away from that sound a bit. I'm sure I'll come back around to it because it's really one of the best OD pedals in the business IMHO.
When it comes to cork sniffing or picky gearheads, I say: go listen to the vids of Jeff Beck on a Boss Cube, Satriani on a fan's Fender starter kit and EVH on Chrissy Hyndes Tele. GUEES WHO THE !@#$% THEY SOUNDED LIKE? lol, HF
Yeah, those cats are the best of the best. RIP JB.
is that a james tyler guitar