4 RAT Style Pedals (ProCo RAT 2, Mooer Black Secret, Arc Soothsayer, Little Bear R.Attack)
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- A thorough comparison of the classic 1978 ProCo Rat2 Distortion pedal, and three clones which also include LED clipping found on the Turbo Rat, as well as a few other clipping modes, between them.
ProCo RAT 2
reverb.com/p/p...
Mooer Black Secret
www.osiamo.com/...
Arc Effects Soothsayer
arc-effects.com...
Little Bear R.Attack RT-2
reverb.com/p/l...
Gear:
Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster (both pickups)
EHX 720 Looper
Boss Katana 50w amp (Clean channel)
mic'd with a Sennheiser e609
into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Recorded in GarageBand, edited in Final Cut Pro X
I got a used Rat 2 for $40 and I'm pretty happy with it.
Next time can you just talk for ten, or fifteen minutes then play some blues licks?
Robert Keith I understand. I'll try my best.
@@ThePedalBored don't forget to show the packaging and read the manual to us and make those blues licks as generic as possible.
Robert Keith I wish I'd had this advice sooner.
@@burntumber you got a stupid suggestion here. Most of us want a demo like this. No talks just pure demo about those pedals and he put informations too in the vid. You can read manual by your own, and want blues licks on RAT demo?? Come on! You still stuck in your old days?
@@jccrayon6712 ua-cam.com/video/guJigs2XJhk/v-deo.html
Everything about this demo is great -- complete list of the signal chain using decent but unremarkable gear, a consistent loop for a signal for exact comparisons, no talking but somehow still gives insightful and humorous commentary, realistic riffs and licks that non-blues soloists might be playing... a sub for sure.
Transistor amp though. Useless demo imho.
@@skypekai I think you should probably add an 'ns' before the 'h' of that 'imho'...
I get this opinion a lot: 'using a solid state / transistor / modelling amp instead of a valve amp makes this demo shit / useless / wrong / invalid'.
Here's my long answer from my Klon video: ua-cam.com/video/3PL9fxMJmS4/v-deo.html&lc=UgwVumdoH6gfiuA3WBV4AaABAg.8ubO8FTD9BN8ubk2BkI9G9
(read my replies to the first comment)
TL;DR:
1. Most drive pedals are designed to emulate the overdrive or distortion from an amp. Using transistors. Like those amps you don't like.
2. It's not the '90s anymore. Solid state / transistor / modelling amps are no longer absolute pieces of shit.
3. These videos are comparison videos. It's not the base sound that matters, it's how they compare to each other. The differences between them are the same regardless of the amp.
4. Lots of people have non-tube amps, likely many, many more than have tube amps, and they use / would like to use pedals.
Hope that clears it up.
The boss katana is fine man. It does what it needs to do in these demos
Yeah, unless someone demos gear with a Dumble and other unobtainable accoutrements not suitable for the unwashed masses, their opinion and observations are invalid drivel.
holy shit that mooer pedal is so much closer to the original rat than the other two.
The looping riff has its moments
I'll take that as a compliment :)
+1 - its actually my favourite one so far.
Standing Ovation man! You are pushing, turning, exactly what "WE" want!
This guy's review is amazing. He packs 10 times the stuff you'll get from some other hour-long UA-cam videos. What I learned from this vid might paid me years to figure out myself.
That Pedal Show! 🥱
I got the Little Bear R.Attack based on this vid after hear-seeing this:
- The Vintage Rat mode was indistinguishable from the RAT 2 to my ear.
- Dirty Rat Mode has usurped my only dedicated Fuzz pedal, an Ibanez Big Muff clone (SF-5)
- Turbo Mode, with it's LED's just starting to flicker and clip offers a pleasing substitute for my Blues Driver clone (BO-100). It's a shame that wasn't demonstrated as it really shows what a versatile range that little R.Attack has; from bluesy edge of breakup to full on germanium fuzz - all for just £$€40-50 !
Interesting
Now that's how you do a proper shootout.
Thanks!
I compared the Mooer vs an 80's RAT. At bedroom volumes the Mooer was amazing, pretty much identical. In front of a cranked 100w Marshall the Mooer was a bit noisy. Real RAT wasn't noisy.
Holy crap this pedal demo is literally perfect. So much information, so time- efficient, such a complete look at each pedal, such a cool piece used to test them
I'm going to have this printed on my business card.
Your pedal comparison videos are hands down the best on youtube. Thanks mate.
No thank you for the compliment! Much appreciated.
This is one of the best shootouts ever freaking seen. Kudos! Also the mooer sounds perfectly identical in this video.
I have a little bear and it's fantastic, probably my favourite pedal tbh. Works great as a bright drive at low gain settings as well
My two-penneth. Arc Soothsayer for all-round versatility. Mooer Black Secret just on price alone for getting that RAT sound nailed.
Buying black secret and subscribing.
The loop was really, reeeeally fun, and very inspiring, thank you
You know, actually I am going to get Katana 50 mkii first, lol
I've been through countless guitar pedal reviews on UA-cam and yours are by FAR the best. When you directly compare pedals with the exact same looper sound, one immediately after the other, it's actually really easy to hear the difference between them! Most reviewers on UA-cam fiddle with their guitars between turning off and on pedals, or play different things with different pedals and it completely ruins the comparison. Your approach is way better.
Also sick riff 👍👍👍
This is exactly why I made them :) It's so difficult to compare when people stop in between pedals. I could never remember what the previous one sounded like, so I thought I'd try a different way of doing it, and I'm glad people seem to like it.
Best pedals shootout I've ever seen! Very informative. I bought the Mooer, best bang for the buck imho.
One of the best pedal comparison videos i've seen. Thanks!
Searched for the little bear review on YT and found this. Duuuude, awesome video - you know what you are doing! I subscribed within 1 minute of this. Keep on rocking in the free world, thanx!
Kenneth Lorentzen ah, that's great to hear. Thanks!
FYI - This AMAZING video took me from not knowing what the Back Secret was to buying one by the end. Please keep making more videos.
You raised the bar for pedal demos so high. Subbed
very impressive stuff from the mooer. absolutely as good as any of them
Just found your videos a couple days ago and I just want to say thanks for finally being the pedal demo resource I've always wanted. Keep up the good work!
Don’t ever change your style. Your videos are perfect. They are entertaining, informational, top quality, minimalistic, everything. First video I watched watched was the Bluesdriver video, I enjoyed it so much on my headphones that I had a dry mouth afterwards.
Ha! This is a lovely response, thank you.
I fear I am becoming a fanboy of this channel, liked before I watch. Never gone down the RAT route until now, eBay here I come......
Get a hold of yourself, man!
You won't be disappointed with the Rat 2. It's the most useful distortion pedal I've ever owned. Because it can make the bridge pickup on a strat or tele sound like huge Pete Townshend power chords, where most other distortion pedals need a humbucker to really get that classic rock tone. It sounds great with humbuckers too, and p90s. Whatever you plug into it, it'll make it sing. Actually that's given me an idea, I wanna try plugging in my bass into this thing and seeing what happens
Everyone says you must own at least one Rat. This excellent demo proved to me that I don’t need one, lol.
Ha! Glad to help 😉
I'm convinced. Just went on Amazon and bought the R.Attack. great Demo!
hey man I jus wanna say I love your demos they’re very minimalistic but shows everything important, keep it up
very cool test congrats! The Black Secret of Mooer is really cool
thanks to this channel i decide to bought RAT2 and Black Secret lol
i was ask how it sound a year ago in comment section and he kindly replied
after that i ordered both lol
Keep up the good work! The format of demoing and comparing is really helpful and different. This channel is gonna blow up!
Very nice to read such positive comments - thank you!
I rarely comment on videos, but kudos on your form. This is one of the most thorough pedal comparison videos I've ever seen AND... you A/B as simultaneously as possible! I'll never understand when folks in other videos follow this pattern: A... talk... B... talk... A...
Right? How are you supposed to remember what A sounds like when you're listening to B if someone blabs away in between? Makes no sense. Thanks for the kudos!
Really nice demo format with the looper- much easier to get a grasp of the A/B! Thanks and subbed!
How Mooer is so close to the original is very scary! Wow!
I always come to this channel when I am looking for pedals, i very much enjoy the video style.
I'm the proud owner of a 1989 Turbo Rat (first year of production). Kills every other distortion pedal i've ever tried.
I do prefer that Turbo sound.
I picked one up on Ebay for $35 a few years back.... it replaced a fuzz face, ds1, and sd1 on my board. Probably the most versatile drive pedal ever.
Class demo mate
Holy crap. Mooer ftw, I literally hear no difference when switching
Yeah, they really get it right with some of their pedals.
Moore is more compressed, the proco sound is more opened. Little bear sounds almost identical.
@@ThePedalBored what other Chinese pedals are worth looking into? I love your channel, and I'm grateful for your HQ reviews 👌🤘
@@mrbungle8493 Nah man that Little Bear is really inconsistent. The QC on that thing is crap. Some are awful.
@Django Fett Mosky Demon. Best TS clone for the $$, hands down.
Best pedal-comparison video of all time.
i bought black secret in gamble 3 years ago
and until now thats my no. 1 fav. in pedal board along side Jemini
Interesting! (What's a Jemini?)
@@ThePedalBored hemmmmmmmm Ibanez steve vai's signature pedals, JEMINI
Annnnddd... another amazing loop..
I used to have a Pro-Co RAT 2 but I never quite gelled with it. Of all of those, I preferred the ARC with asymmetrical clipping.
Repo Thanks!
I got the Black Secret because of this review. And I love it.
It's definitely an excellent pedal.
Good demo! I have the mooer black secret and sounds pretty good👍. My next pedal is the proco turbo rat 🔥
Thanks for the solid comparison demo. Nobody cares about the package or wants to hear someone talk about the pedals. Just a simple one to one experiment
Best shootout ever! Sounds like your budget and space on pedalboard is the deciding factor as they sound that close!
The video that helped me choose a Black Secret as my Rat-alike! Thanks Pedal Bored, I love that thing. Probably the only time your damn channel SAVED me money.
Nate Steere Ha! You’re welcome 🙏
Did you just tag me on r/guitarpedals too?
@@ThePedalBored not me dude. Glad to hear you're getting love for these vids though, it's beyond deserved.
I'm THIS close to buying a Solar Bender and a Fuzz War because of you though, you son of a bitch.
This is how to do a gear demo. THANK YOU!
I've spent a fortune on pedals to get "that sound" (haven't we all?) and upon my soul, the Mooer Black Secret got me there in a straight line at rocket sled speed for almost NOTHING. Most bang for the buck EVER...
Cool demo, that Mooer sounds really good to me...
It's super versatile for the price. I love the LED/Turbo RAT sound best of all, and it has both
Fabulous comparisons!!!! All shoutouts should be done this way!! Brilliant. If each paragraph that pops up stayed on screen for just one second longer, it would be even better. I'm quite a fast reader but was struggling at certain points to keep up. It's one thing to speed read and another to read for enjoyment and let it all sink in, and everything you wrote was 100% pure enjoyment to read
Thanks! I try to get a good balance between ease of reading and more information but it’s tough. I appreciate some stuff can get missed, and it’s hard for me to judge because I know what it says already 😆
I have the Little Bear and I absolutely love it.
It's good - my only problem is the build quality. But if you're lucky and get one of the better-made ones, it's amazing for the money.
And the winner iiiss...(for me)..little Bear ..! And for little money!!great video.
I bought the Little Bear used from someone on FB Marketplace for $25. I've been quite happy with it.
The Soothsayer already open blew my mind, total plot twist
Love the way you review! Just a loop, testing knobs and writing the description on screen. No bullshit, just the actual facts! Subscribed and telling about your channel to friends. Thanks a lot!!!
Thanks! Spread the word!
Thanks for posting. Just picked up a Little Bear for $40 off Ebay. I use to have a vintage Rat back 90's. The Bear sounds pretty damn close. Love that pedal.
Awesome review! Every pedal comparison should be like this.
Excellent shootout man! I think the Rat and Soothsayer both have that low mid push that the others don’t, but otherwise they’re all super similar
Thanks! You have ears that are clearly more attuned to this kind of thing than mine. I can't ever really tell that sort of stuff with any certainty.
This is one of the best pedal videos I've ever seen. Also f yeah Neil Gaiman!
It only just struck me that I kept the cover of Neverwhere out of shot and it has a rat on it!
Gaiman is the best!
38 euros for the Little Bear !
That's the one I'm buying. Tks man!!
You’re welcome!
The little bear is really well-made with solid components and enclosure! I use it since 3 years now it's flawless...
Soothsayer sounds amazing!
For sale here - reverb.com/item/17806099-arc-effects-soothsayer-rat-style-distortion-mint-w-box
Your shootout vids are just amazing and very helpful - thank you so much for your great work and sharing with us 👍🙏😊
Thank you! 🙏
Best pedal comparison I've seen, bravo!
Very kind of you.
Great video
You play guitar like a riot!
Ha! Middle-age, not Teenage though.
Been pointed out to me by a helpful Redditor that of course the current RAT2 doesn't actually have the LM308 op-amp in but instead uses the OP07DP!
The Soothsayer does have the LM308, and the Mooer seems to (though that's disputed). Not sure I can tell the difference though.
(It also says 'This the current version' rather than 'This is the current version'. So annoying that you can't upload corrected videos over the originals!)
The Mooer definitely has the LM308 - I have one, opened it up to double check.
Brian Wampler already told how op-amps are very very close to each other in the matter of sound. Diodes, in the other hand, are way different one to another.
:( my Rat has the old timey knobs and its flat footed and has a smaller proco logo on its front-bottom but alas, Its from the late 90s so it has the new chip. it still sounds awesome though. kept it forever. id have to imagine the original chip cant be all that much better. at the very least it fits me fine. I got a JHS modded one too. it uses a different chip then both im told. its really good too. better? i dont know. for some stuff definetly. its got the 3 position switch too so its got range but theres no way im getting rid of my first Rat. That little Mooer one looks practical as hell though.
@@felipeuchida3378 no not really. The LM308 has a low slew. Pretty distinct. Read all about it: www.electrosmash.com/proco-rat
@@MrLivebynight it’s not a real lm308. It’s a SMD part for one. Possibly a replica, but likely just a bit similar and then labelled as a lm308
maybe the best pedal review i ever saw
Thanks! (Unless you've only seen one other pedal review)
Best demo on the net !!!! Please do a shoot out between the tc electronic dark matter and the mooer black secret
Great demo of the pedals, but man I love those riffs!
The little bear one is great. The footswitch on mine is a bit dodgy but what you get for the money is amazing.
Yeah, the build quality is my only problem with it. Mine glitched and stuttered at maximum distortion on Turbo mode when I was trying it out before I shot the video. I think quite a few of them get sent back for replacements.
@@ThePedalBored It would make a good enclosure if mine ever died.
Thanks for providing this video: it's a public service. :) I've been meaning to get a Rat for a while: now I know my options. Very useful commentary. Good to know that the Mooer sounds so close to the "real" thing -- and that the "boutique" pedals have the addt'l option of asymmetrical clipping. --GG
what an awesome demo! might be the best pedal demo I've seen. Allows us listeners to listen to the difference(s) ourselves and make up our own minds. that being said, I bought the Mooer on Amazon about 2 minutes into the video. ha
Sam Mason Ha! That is excellent.
@@ThePedalBored yeah! and I dig the guitar riff too..
Great comparison. You have a knack for nailing the settings, making them sound almost identical. I'll stick with my RAT2, though. Love that thing!
Sometimes I wonder if it's more useful to highlight the differences, but I think in the end it helps to know whether you could save $100 and get basically the same sound.
I love my Rat 2. It actually makes the bridge pickup on my strat useful, it sounds absolutely huge doing big power chords on that little single coil, and flip to the neck and you get pure SRV tone. It's so good. The only problem I have is there's no option to power it with a 9 volt battery, so I'm looking for a clone that CAN be battery powered. Also I wanna see what happens if you use two of them at once lol
Awesome video. Just wish you also had a Mosky Rat for the shoot out.
Guilherme Carvalho From what I hear, the Mosky is the same as the Ammoon, which is the same as the Eno, which is the same as the Mooer I tested.
The Pedal Bored * I think you are right but my Mosky didn't sound like your Moore which sounds just like the RAT so congrats.
I own a Rat2 that has a permanent fixture on my board. I think all of them sound pretty identical to be honest. The Soothsayer being basically a Rat but LOUDER. You can’t go wrong with any of these pedals. It’s got that Magical Distortion we’ve all heard on countless records and is used by so many pros even today.
I have to say I previously wasn't a fan of the RAT at all, but having tried all these out, I've kind of come round to it, especially the Turbo/LED clipping version.
The Pedal Bored my first Distortion pedal ever was a turbo rat and damn did I love that pedal! It got destroyed in a car wreck in 2005 (water damage, unit itself survived). They are difficult to find at a decent price, went with the Rat2 and was still supremely happy.
The R. Attack for £35 delivered has to be the winner here. I just ordered one...
Wow what is this? A Pedal demo that actually demos the pedals! Much better than some dude wanking for 45 seconds.
Thanks! Although I'm worried you've previously confused UA-cam with YouPorn.
Fantastic video!
Thanks!
I have a 70s Rat, the oldest pedal on my board. I use it mainly for solos, which isn't demo'd here, and I love it for that. For me the most useful gain settings are between 11:00 and 1:00.
I tried to demo the solo capabilities, by having louder lead tracks over the rhythm parts of the loop, but putting both through the same pedal at the same time isn't quite the same as hearing it in isolation.
Fantastic comparison!
Hurray!
dude, cool way to make videos, speechless, but with humorous comments. do more like this
I'm trying but I'm SO SLOW
If you did another RAT comparison video that included the DRV 1981 I would be so happy. I need to know if the hype is warranted.
That was a fresh, enjoyable, informative shootout. And bullshit-free! Well done 👍. BTW I'm a happy Black Secret user.
Nice and good video! Thanks for your time.
Thanks for watching!
I love the style of this video. Subscribed
Curtis Eaton Thanks!
Cool song!
Great demo - just got the little bear rat clone - love it 👍😊
Thanks man. About to drop a fiddy on the little bear. Think I'm gonna like it.
I liked the black one with the angry, mid-focused fuzzstortion sound.
You should check out my seven chorus pedal shootout - I think you might like the blue one. ;)
@@ThePedalBored Almost certainly!
That's a great demo. Keep up the great work!!!!!!
Thank you - I appreciate the kind comment
Very well done.
:D ive had a Rat first on my board for 15 years. love it to death. never heard of the soothsayer. looks like its pretty cool. awesome way to compare these as well. i feel informed. i shall subscribe
finally a no nonsense way to compare pedals, awesome. totally subbed. Thanks bud. extra kudos for the funny onscreen comments. oh and the books! :D
I got a Mooer Black Secret on the way to me. I hate mini pedals but this one sounds exceptionally good and I really like my Mooer Ninety Orange phaser so I figured I'd give Mooer a try despite my hate for mini pedals.
I have a new (circa 2018) Rat2 with the op07 chip, and an Eno clone that has the lm308. And despite what the blues lawyers on the gear forums say, I can't tell any difference when I a/b them. Which either means the lm308 chip in the Eno is a fake, or the difference between the two isn't noticeable or worth mentioning. I'd say it's the latter.
Well there are rumours that the LM308 in the Eno is a fake... But you're only really going to be able to tell if you've got them side by side, and even then, as you say...
@@ThePedalBored I've also talked to the guys at ProCo and they've mentioned that the tolerances years ago were not as tight as they are now, AND the sweeps on the pots were also not as exacting, so there could be a variance in sound/tone in different pedals built at the same time period, so if you ended up buying a desirable one in the 80's, it's possible you could've easily bought one that you don't like as much, it's all luck of the draw I guess.
Use these riffs for an album!!! XD
Cool comparison. The best I’ve seen. Would have been nice to add the jam rattler and the big ear woodcutter. For the future!
I looked at those too - and the Walrus Iron Horse - but they all were just straightforward takes on the original RAT2 whereas the Soothsayer has LED clipping, diode lift, and so on.
Awesome.
Keep up the great work!
Did I comment on this already? I dunno but once again I find myself watching one of your videos for reference. Anyway I just got one of the Little Bear pedals from a friend here where I live in the far east and HOLY CRAP it is cool. Frikken LOUD tho. How have I not owned a Rat style pedal before?? Lovin it!
There are no bad Rats. Apart from the furry kind.
What a fantastic video!!!
What a fantastic comment!