Demos in the Dark // RAT WEEK DAY 6: LM308 RAT SHOWDOWN!

[@kickstartonly2527]

I’ve still got my 1998 rat 2 and it’s still my favourite pedal ever! RATS rule 🤘🏽

[@rahzark]

Thanks a lot. My new sound is 6 rat pedals stacked into each other.

[@DemosInTheDark]

HAHAHA

[@elnachovi_plantix]

actually someone must design a pedal with that sound!

[@boxwes]

It is hard to top the OG though, still going strong 30+ years later!

[@DemosInTheDark]

it definitely holds its own!

[@kickstartonly2527]

Agree 👍🏽

[@EricMarinko]

I love how you ended back on the original to bring it back to the baseline. Honestly I'd be happy with any of these but to my ear the proco sounded the most open and the Wood Cutter had the most interesting voicing of the bunch.

[@DemosInTheDark]

i needed a refresher for myself too!

[@felixiiisoriano116]

Love my Jam Rattler. It get's gnarly when gain dialled all the way up but what I like even more is at the low gain settings. It's retains brightness and very usable.

[@whistlingskull]

Truly wonderful ending to an incredible series! Thank you for all you do!

[@DemosInTheDark]

THANK YOU!

[@emmobrien]

God I love how Rats sound with the distortion cranked and getting into that heavy fuzz territory

[@DemosInTheDark]

totally!

[@garethbyrd5860]

A really clever review idea. More weeks like this please!

[@DemosInTheDark]

thanks!

[@Speedomodel]

Now I want a Wood Cutter...

[@DemosInTheDark]

well yeah...

[@dgeekay1494]

Ryan, that was a serious stacking in the end!! Skinner Box what an angry aggressive rat!! Wood cutter and Greer very pleasing and nice low gainers too... walrus good but I think some mojo is missing.. Rattler nice as an overdrive... kinda very polite for a rat... Your vintage Rat best dry crisp of all of them.. Viva el LM308!!! (Metal can;))

[@DemosInTheDark]

viva el lm308!!!

[@MrTDembinski]

Great close to the week Ryan. Looking forward to the non-LM308 week. Thanks a bunch

[@DemosInTheDark]

thanks man! it was a blast to do!

[@ryanwilliams8420]

Rat Week was great. Your content is some of the best in demos on KZbin. Keep up the great work brother.

[@DemosInTheDark]

thanks man, i appreciate it! i had a lot of fun putting this together!

[@palodine1]

this series was so awesome. thank you. the Rat was my first pedal back in '83. it must have been one of the earliest models because it was much larger and boxy looking than any other I've ever seen since. Unfortunately I didn't keep it 'cause I was a kid and had no idea what was good or not good. These days I run through Chase Bliss Brothers and RC boosters, often to end up getting a similar sound.Maybe I should sell the lot and start from scratch! Thanks again and I just subscribed.

[@DemosInTheDark]

it’s funny how stuff can embed into us, isn’t it? i recently posted a review of a seüf guitar build where i asked them to, essentially, recreate my first strat. 😂

[@user-oq1ec7ui8m]

my favorite is the wood cutter! now i just gotta find one. the rattler sounds more vintage and thinner to me.

[@markferguson3745]

A contest of snarl ,rasp, and bite. It's a funny thing, as I was discussing with a acquaintance that plays mostly Metal( I prefer Fuzz, generally), about how sometimes the more signal, the more diminished the returns.He insists on high output ,active pickups, which I think aren't helping him; IMO, there really needs to be a BALANCE , which I think applies here.Pickup type, amp style? That's going to determine which of these you want. When I first started, the Rat was a go to, and it's a great circuit, - but it dosen't do the volume clean up, - the reason I prefer Fuzz. There is def a lot of overpriced dreck out there, that relies on brand and packaging, but this lot is legit.Solid options.2021, personally, I wouldn't drop the coin on a vintage Rat, however.

[@bastian6755]

The iron horse loses the challenge when switched to "Low Gain" mode where it remains mosquito-like. The most similar to the Rat in all its modalities are the Rattler and the Gorilla

A great series! Loved it!

[@DemosInTheDark]

thanks! i had fun doing it!

[@Cesiumswimsuit]

Danish Pete AND John Mayer? Blown away man

[@DemosInTheDark]

still think it’s kinda weird that john doesn’t blink...

[@Cesiumswimsuit]

@@DemosInTheDark he comes across a bit stiff in videos..

[@skweetis]

If I were in the market for a LM308 moustortion, I think I'd go with the Big Ear or Jam. I don't think you could go wrong with any of these stompboxes though! Loved this series, the RAT is a great circuit

[@DemosInTheDark]

absolutely! had a ton of fun with this!

[@drad8266]

Having a Rat and Rattler on the same board I would go with the Rattler. It doesn’t come through on KZbin, but on 3 amps I thought the Rattler did everything just a tiny bit better. Not dramatic, and that IMO is testament to the quality of the Rat. It’s just a solid, well built, great sounding pedal, and so are the various flavors based on it. Any would serve well.

[@DemosInTheDark]

heck of a statement! 🤘

[@normanroses8115]

wood cutter very percussive. Jam very smooth. Original rat should come with some build in noise gate.

[@barefootbeardedwizardry]

After that I still really like the Skinner Box, but the Wood Cutter would be my 2nd pick

[@DemosInTheDark]

the heart wants what the heart wants!

[@HondoFelder]

Great end to a great week.

[@DemosInTheDark]

thanks bud!

[@matt_ess153]

Thank you for all your efforts and coordination in putting this video series together! Would love to see your thoughts on the 1981 Inventions Drive and how it would stack up against the Proco Rat and the 5 other pedals.

[@DemosInTheDark]

i have a few drv’s (i know, i know, the colors are so dang cool tho) and it’s a different thing entirely. started as a rat and took on a mind of its own. that said, i love it. i have one on my board at all times!

[@matt_ess153]

@@DemosInTheDarksidebar... I know you know about Kingtone.....I have become a bit of a fanboi for them. I bought their Octaland and I have had nothing but good times with it. Three more pedals later I can't say one bad word about them. They even like the Euna!

[@DemosInTheDark]

@@matt_ess153 oh yeah, i’m well aware of kingtone. i just wish kingtone was aware of me! hahaha

[@innocentoctave]

Well, after the side-by-side demo, I still think that the Woodcutter would be the one. Congratulations to Big Ear, because clone pedals don't always improve significantly on the original. This one stays true, and where it departs it sounds a little better and offers modern features and almost certainly better component quality. The vintage unit is still great, but those prices...

[@lp7064]

Which one would you say is the most responsive to pick attack?

[@bigstick5278]

The Jam sound a bit different from all of them, nice woody tone but a little more mid bark. The Woodcutter had more gain than all of them..

[@ddl508]

Jam rattler🎉 cool

[@rainbow5871]

I was really fascinated with the Iron Horse (only in internet reviews), now I’m not that sure, what do you recommend me by?

[@markferguson3745]

In a mix, or live, - especially with a little delay or verb, - you will not be able to hear ANY of those subtle nuances you get hung up on in demos.The Ironhorse is a solid choice, and will cut the mix.

[@keithb5612]

I have heard that the Iron Horse V2 gives better midrange and treble clarity when compared to the Rat. The V2 seemingly performs best with single coil pickups into a clean amp. There is now a V3 however....

[@rainbow5871]

@@keithb5612 fuck me, I just buy the V2 hahahah

[@keithb5612]

@@rainbow5871 V2 is a good choice. V3 has a clipping blend knob control rather than the V2 dip switch control for compression.

[@recklesstoboggan]

Only one pedal matched the high-gain, spitty, collapsing-high-end, and saturation of the OG RAT, and that was the JAM. Who TF plays a RAT with low gain?!? 🤣 Just kidding. Best I've found for low gain RAT is the 1981 Inventions DRV. Love my OG RAT...and the 5 other RATs I own too...and my 1981 DRV...and my EHx Flatiron. Thanks for this comparison.

[@DemosInTheDark]

hahaha i’m with ya on the low gain thing. i also love the rattler. they did a great job!

[@michaelmoran7416]

Scofield does

[@windowsoflife]

Thanks!! I ordered the iron horse!

[@DemosInTheDark]

you'll love it!

[@keithb5612]

Michael.. Can I ask.... Have you found that the V2 Iron Horse performs best with single coil pickups into a clean amp? Thanks

[@windowsoflife]

@@keithb5612 I bought and sold it too fast to experiment. Didn’t get to push an amp w it, only clean. Pickups, we’ll I have various assortments but wasn’t won over enough to keep it for my uses. For a Rat style pedal, it’s great though.

[@keithb5612]

@@windowsoflife Cheers. Thanks for your reply and info.

[@rooftopboxer5970]

Man, I absolutely loved these rat videos, but let’s get real, where did you get that awesome hat?!!!

[@DemosInTheDark]

my caps are made by walz caps. they're cycling caps. i don't bike. hahaha!

[@Jaysteenn]

👍👍👍

[@MYGAS21]

Question: Why isn't the Pettyjohn Electronics ROUS participating in your rat week? (ROUS = Rodent of unusual size ) ;)

[@DemosInTheDark]

two things: 1. i did private polling to compile the list over the course of a few months and that model didn't come up. 2. i don't believe that pedal is a LM308. maybe i'm wrong, but my goal was to cover what my polling revealed as the LM308 equipped rats the most people were interested in hearing.

[@MYGAS21]

@@DemosInTheDark I don't know what to tell you......Josh of JHS just aired a PettyJohn episode....and he talked about the ROUS pedal being "a genious" take on the RAT ....other than that, I have no opinion on the matter. But for some reason it seems like this one got away. Maybe you could do an honorable mention or something. I don't know ....whatever.

[@DemosInTheDark]

@@MYGAS21 this series is limited to lm308 chip distortions and i don’t believe the petty john uses that chip. future series will not have that restriction.

[@MYGAS21]

@@DemosInTheDark Yes I got it the first time you said it my friend.....but it seems you're not shure if it has the chip or not. Just sayin ....you know what's best for you.

[@BIGEARpedals]

@@MYGAS21 In DITD’s defense.. The ROUS would not have come up during his polling (regardless of how good it is) because the ROUS didn’t exist til June of 2020 and this project was started earlier in the year! We were contacted about this video series in April.. So the polling would have happened prior to that! Also, just since you two were wondering, it does not use an Lm-308! I have a picture somewhere, but if I recall correctly it uses three or four different op amps, versus just the one 308 in a traditional RAT build.. It’s a very different pedal! ...that said, I still want one!! (But who am I kidding..? I want ALL the pedals!!)

[@roxanataginya783]

ALL ON!! lmao

[@DemosInTheDark]

gotta!!!!

[@kosmicwizard]

5 is perfect, 6 is just too much

[@DemosInTheDark]

you're right. moderation is the key to happiness.

[@mrcoatsworth429]

How do Rat-type pedals sound with an already crunchy Orange or Marshall?

[@DemosInTheDark]

great! think puppets era metallica. you may have to dial back the mids on your amp a little to balance the mids on the rat, but it's delicious!

[@mrcoatsworth429]

@@DemosInTheDark Awesome! Thanks, man!

[@JinxRemoving]

@@mrcoatsworth429 Just here to second Ryan's reply, sounds absolutely awesome. I've found it's great for nailing Kill Em All era Metallica too, basically just awesome thrash sounds.

[@GuitarBob6]

Cool - the all pedals on was not the mass of static and farts I was expecting!

[@DemosInTheDark]

yeah, i was expecting worse myself!

[@bigstick5278]

Real shit starts at 3:03..

[@wibblegorm]

They honestly all sound the same, lol.

[@DemosInTheDark]

haha! yeah?

[@Michiel1972]

Hi, last week Andertons did The Ultimate RAT Pedal Blindfold Challenge and Pete's favourite pedal was the Rattler. It was also my favourite of the bunch. Though in your comparison video there are some other RAT clones which were not in the challenge of Andertons. I have a RAT pedal myself, but it's kinda noisy pedal and want to replace it. In the challenge they say the Rattler is the most silent pedal of them all. What is your experience when it comes to noise with the 6 pedals you demonstrated?

[@user-oq1ec7ui8m]

to my ears the walrus was the worst sounding one!

[@windowsoflife]

Do you have a fav? Hearing your amp is really different than Apple ear buds 😉

[@DemosInTheDark]

i'm probably not supposed to say... haha!

[@nardcalls]

Laugh at the beginning was creepy m8

[@DemosInTheDark]

down here we all float.

[@noisecode5867]

PETE!!

[@DemosInTheDark]

right?!