Doom Metal Pedals: The Proco Rat

[@kurtisacevedo5911]

Hats off to the Acid Bath riff out here in the wild.

[@moonicproductions]

Oh wow, that 'Filter control and EQ curve' bit was super interesting!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thank you so much man!

[@JordanSeal]

Yeah, now that I’ve seen that segment, I want something like it in every drive demo.

[@ryanmperry]

Seeing the EQ curve changes in real time definitely let’s you see the pedal from a different perspective. Awesome video man! Take care!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thank you Ryan! I am very excited about that tool (:

[@therewasascene]

Yeah thanks very much for that - explains why I like the settings where I do

[@GOAT-rl2uq]

Absolutely one of my favorite pedals. It's nuts how well the rat maintains clarity while having so much bottom end.

[@RangyJoe]

Yeah even if you fuckin dime the distortion it's still somehow pretty articulate. Great little pedal!

[@xXSTYLExSNYPESXx]

Absolutely had to drop a like for the Acid Bath. Another great Rat style pedal is the 1312 Distortion from Black Mass. Love the vids keep it up!

[@djohnson2499]

Nirvana, Tad, and Jesus Lizard were the first bands I was aware of using a Rat that I loved for sure.

[@DonHugo92]

The best Band with a Rat is OBITUARY!

[@jackko21]

And morbid angel

[@corntoes]

sleep*

[@MetalHermit83]

There live tone is fuckin great too

[@sparepartsfordeadpeople]

Together with Morbid Angel

[@LeftHandedRightHanded]

Took the cock right outta my mouth

[@jrdoughty13]

I believe past 6 on the distortion, its not just the diodes clipping, but the op-amp, which is part of the crazy flub. Loved hearing you put that to full utilization, I'll have to try that on my own.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

excellent point!

[@brandonburke4320]

Jason that was sick! I really liked how you show the EQ curve and the signal view on the O-scope. Rad as always.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Really glad you liked it!

[@wayneb6128]

Goatsnake is probably my favorite band that uses a RAT. Love that tone!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

such a good tone

[@PhillipGolden-t3o]

Thanks for the recommendation, will be checking them out

[@brianbrain2627]

Fun fact: Hank Williams III used a Rat and Matt Pike's Green Matamp heads and cabs when he recorded the album for his project, Attention Deficit Domination.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

that is so cool to know!

[@BigWilly332]

HWIII did a song with the Melvins, he is über based

[@crazylegslife]

I haven't played in years due to disability but when I did, I used a Rat from 1991. This video was amazing, especially when you show the EQ curve and how the different knobs affected it. For real, that's killer and the same with the oscilloscope showing the wave getting squared the more you turned up the distortion. Way to go! This should be a blueprint on how to do pedal reviews.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Sorry you haven't played since your injury and so glad you liekd the demo!

[@matthewcrutchfield3877]

This is one of the best gear reviews I've watched. It's perfect how you show eq curve and how the RAT can mold the sound. Thank you!

[@UltimoCactus]

I'd never seen a video about a pedal get so much into the technical aspects, the EQ and the circuit etc... Very interesting. 👍🤘

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thanks for watching!!

[@zisiskoutsoumbas4352]

The video that the whole universe was waiting for. Great sound and riffs.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thank you!

[@FuzzEvil]

Love the Rat I have used it on all of our recording

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Hell yeah drop a link so folks can hear it ⛓️🔈✌️

[@FuzzEvil]

@@FuzzlordEffects kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqmpnp5-hLuihKM

[@mattvanmantgem8600]

Phoenix, AZ here- Now, you are talking my language! Wow, this is a real pedal demo- When I've been in bands, I tend to be rhythm guitar, so the Op Amp style dirt box is my "go to" so that I'm leaving frequencies "open" for lead players, and singers- so, years ago, the "standard" for me was a MXR distortion +, and a Rat of some description. These days- I'm pretty loyal to my Walrus Iron Horse ( and a DOD 250 variant of some sort)- I can get the "Sunn Beta on the verge of death" sound pretty easy that way, which is great for providing a sonic bed so the "sexy" players can stand out.

[@DoomManJJ]

i find my self always coming back to your channel for reviews because you show the eq graph. i love the visual feedback

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thanks for letting me know that! I have forgot to do it on a few demos and will make sure the ones in future always include this 🙏🔊

[@DoomManJJ]

@@FuzzlordEffects yea it honestly helps so much to understand what the real difference is and gain an understanding on how it can effect your tone in way you other wise may havent thought of using.

[@LittrellyK]

Really enjoyed this new format! I would enjoy a video showing this type of a deep dive between other Rat variants, including the Drone Master.

[@thirstin_more6429]

I love that you looked at the EQ curve and then the o-scope.

[@slankyjanky9483]

Use this pedal, the OP07 model, for my powerviolence gigs. Distortion cranked up, volume cranked up, and turn that filter knob just a tiny bit. Play every song in B Standard, and it is HEAVY. Amazing pedal for Doom and Hardcore!

[@tomydelore]

Probably my favorite pedal that I own. I have the newer one, and I love it, I occasionally boost it with a EQD plumes. Good Midwest sludge sound

[@jubjub567]

Man that was so cool to see the waveform on the oscilloscope

[@radgestudios]

You have no idea how much seeing that live EQ curve helps! Muchos gracias!!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

De nada!

[@Marko9801ZG]

Great video, thanks for the EQ curve! I've modded my TurboRAT with diode selector, Ruetz and halfRuetz mod and added SuperHardOn circuit with its own footswitch and colume control... Now its almost EQD Life pedal. Cheers from Croatia!

[@BelialHexed]

Obituary is the first band that comes to mind, love their Rat tone

[@FuzzlordEffects]

didn't know they used one!

[@AlexRamosDrTaz]

They use the Rat like a heavy OD IMO, you can hear it on for sure but a lot of the distortion comes from the Marshall JCM 800 with the gain cranked. Nonetheless, awesome crushing tone!

[@CABALDRUMMER]

I know not Doom, but OBITUARY!!! that tone is so filthy 🥰

[@FuzzlordEffects]

So filthy!

[@jackko21]

Morbid angel aswell they used a rackmount version of this pedal with thr volume max distortion and filter pretty low that's a badass tone love it

[@pedalpunk7876]

I fell back in love with the rat a while back, and it will be on pretty much all guitar parts on our upcoming Exhausted Cocks album. Take care from Sweden.

[@oldmanandguitar]

Love the video format, ie the eq curve demo.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

🙏

[@Dan-O-mite]

Anyone that starts off a demo vid with Acid Bath, I'm sold. I have a rat clone and I run it through the "cleanish" channel of my DSL. Absolutely brutal. I hadn't heard the 1981 until this demo. I like that one too. Great channel. I'm subscribed now!

[@saxonevansbitch]

Paired one of these with a green Russian. Took me a couple weeks to settle on something but I got it. I can get multiple doomy tones out of that combo, just my volume knob is my clean tone from here on out. lol Was a nice treat to hear acid bath on this channel too

[@jasperjones5995]

This is EVERYTHING I want in a pedal examination. Well done indeed. I subbed.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thank you!!!

[@morrinsville23]

I love my rat! Its great on drum machines and bass, ive been meaning to mod my rat with a parallel clean boost for playing bass.. such a great circuit

[@lukeyduke79]

really well done explanation of this great pedal, probably the best I've seen so far.

[@victorcampos6865]

Amazing video as always, Jason. Really nice to see the EQ and Distortion curve on the screen. Greetings from Brasil!

[@ethanmcmahan5846]

Just ordered one from Sweetwater earlier this week! Should be in today actually. Can’t wait!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

nice!

[@yummyklown9226]

My favorite distortion of all time......and Boss DS-1. IMHO. I still have my DS-1 since I was 16....built in October of 1981.

[@TerranMacKay]

Glad to see more uploads back !

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Doing my best (:

[@Tenitus_atl]

The Blue was a perfect riff choice broo!!💪🏾🤘🏾🖤🤌🏽🔮

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thank you!

[@Adrin1117]

Great video! I love how dark that Drone Master sounded compared to the other pedals...I'm definitely gonna have to scoop one of those up!

[@agrojim1975]

I'll get even more out of my favourite pedal thanks to this quick video.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

so happy to hear that!

[@eightfootmanchild]

I have a Pine Box Motel, which is a modified Rat circuit. I love it. It’s never leaving the board.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Didnt know that was based on the rat that’s badass!

[@atarimetalhead]

MORE TECH EXPLAIN VIDS! Im new to the fuzz sound, exploring tones for my band - that kinda stuff helps folks like me understand the whys and whats...great demo vid!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

More coming soon!

[@PsykosomatiC]

Amazing video. I am trying to learn about pedal components and what they're doing to the signal. This helped me so much. Thank you for everything 😁

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thanks for watching!

[@FoundryStreetJason]

I used my RAT in the late 1990s in my Stoner Band. Then I used it again in antoher band I was in around 2010. Now I'm gravitating back to it once again. I like the Acid Bath riffage. My band covered that song (on my RAT :)) Thanks for the great video. Watching from Virginia!

[@eamonntimmons3211]

Very cool video. Nobody does pedal vids with this kind of information

[@FuzzlordEffects]

I really appreciate you watching!

[@ItsOnYea]

Dude, just bought this pedal and the first riff I hear is Acid Bath... now I know I made the right choice haha. Great video man!

[@mistershabadoo]

Always dug Cobain’s Rat sounds when he’d use them; one of my favorite pedals for sure! I feel like at times cats can forget that they’re super useful as a lower gain overdrive! Mooer’s Black Secret is a great budget option that’s got a Rat/Turbo switch. Of all the inspired pedals I’ve seen though, your Drone Master is at the top of my “want” list. Great explanation of what’s under the hood and super tasty riffs, Jason! Cheers!

[@JeffMC1020]

Agreed, it's great for low gain. With the distortion barely on and the filter at 9 o-clock, it sounds very fendery.

[@antonioacien1326]

I saw Mono live yesterday and they used a Rat just like this, I was surprised how they used such a fuzzy and heavy pedal for their music (which can get pretty aggressive at times, but it's certainly not sludge).

[@EricMerrow]

All hail the RAT!! Great video, Jason!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thank you Eric (:

[@palmmoot]

Windhand riffs always sound great through a Rat, even though iirc he's a big muff guy. Awesome video Jason! Would love to see you do this type of video for just about any pedal. My favorite Rats are ProCo's FatRat, Fuzzlord's Drone Master, and Frost Giant's The Mountain.

[@TheChadPad]

Love the tech info! Would love to see this with more pedals! I did hear a difference in that demo, but....I like both!

[@misterknightowlandco]

I love the Rat. It’s my favorite dirt box. You can get anytime out of it and it’s great. Certainly not a one trick pony.

[@dronefinger]

Hail, Fuzzlord! I would have thought the angle on the leading/trailing edge of square wave would have been more pronounced, but i guess that little rounded corner is why Rats sound the way they do… 🤔 Another great Fuzzlord analysis. Thanks, Jason.🤘

[@FuzzlordEffects]

pretty cool to see it on the scope! Germanium would likely look a little smoother

[@blind519]

Carlos from Florida. The rat drones and dooms. Totally hits the spot with sunn o))) and sleep riffs. Love this pedal.

[@draganbalzic4493]

I run thru a low gain two channel amp. The Rat into one channel, a Metal Core into the other and mixed for a cacophony of destruction into 3 4x12’s and a 4x15.

[@AcidFink666]

Thanks for the info. I recently got a Sunn O))) Life Pedal and love it but find myself randomly twiddling knobs without really knowing what's happening inside those rat guts 🐀 this video is really helpful!

[@legoharry100]

Rats on bass are ungodly. Hands down my favorite pedal to use with bass, besides chorus.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

such a versatile pedal!

[@magneticaudio8387]

Very interesting video, especially the demonstration of the EQ curve was very informative. And by the way: killer guitar! Greetings and fuzz ahoy!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thank you thank you!

[@moonbeen101]

Heard that Acid Bath in there! 🤘🤘

[@RiffsageDoom]

Great video Jason! Was just thinking about picking up one of these the other day. Makes my decision alot easier. Cheers man 🤘🏿🤘🏿

[@mykneeshurt8393]

Great video Jason. I love the Rat pedal.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

cheers!

[@caljerm]

Very cool video - love seeing the effects of the controls on the EQ curve on the oscilloscope. I agree - the old chip vs new chip thing is pretty much beyond our ears, at least mine anyway. I sold my old RAT for a good amount based on demand from the chip hype

[@SpaceJockey805]

Steve Von Till from Neurosis. His main tone is the Rat into a Mesa Mark IV… with about 30 other effects surrounding it 😳

[@davidbouchard2499]

Great video! Keep on the good works! Cheers from Québec, Canada!

[@stevewills735]

I heard a slight difference between the rat's compared, but that may have been a slight gain staging difference. I DO own the drone master and highly recommend it for any rat lovers who want more versatile tones. cheers! and thank for always interesting content.

[@josephguillermo3007]

YES! Playing Acid Bath! Badass!

[@iradole8362]

Listening from southern Vermont....I use a catzenkonig which is a combination of the rat and a tone bender mk2.....it's glorious

[@joshww2339]

Kinda crazy the Rat did Acid Bath so well!

[@evanstanish1130]

Great video Jason, really informative!!!

[@אריאלחורין]

Great video! Could you do the same video but for the big muff? Thanks!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Yeah I will do that in the future (:

[@chriscurran1967]

Great video Jason!!! I really like Rat pedals, I used to own one about 25 years ago, foolishly I sold it. Now the only version I have is the Behringer Distortion Modeler, it has a DS 1, a Rat and an MXR Distortion as options on a slide selector switch. It’s pretty cool, but not the real thing. What I really want is a Dirty Rat, the germanium diodes sound really cool. Anyway, keep up the great work!!!🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@EOAW25]

Really great video. That mid hump makes a lot a sense. Since I like pairing a rat with a big muff. So the muff gets more pronounced.

[@alemarchitelli1866]

2:18 The Blue 💙

[@cesarguerraortega1556]

Acid bath?

[@dinmentor]

That last part in the EQ curve explanation, when you turn up the volume... You sure you werent just overloading the input of your interface? Seems strange that the volume would change the EQ, since its last in the circuit before the output jack.

[@Ritual_Gaze]

As soon as I heard Acid Bath I hit like. Good one!

[@97stratocaster21]

The RAT is pretty amazing. One really cool way to use it is to get your distortion from your amp, and then set your RAT with the volume at max, and the distortion and filter all the way down. It gives your distorted tone from your amp more definition and clarity.

[@jeffcomeau4680]

Great content. Digging the explanations on how it all ticks. I’m new to the channel. Thanks (Connecticut, USA)

[@FuzzlordEffects]

thanks for watching Jeff!

[@frontcentermusician]

Had the Rat since it came out. My fav pedal. Lot's of great control. Run it through my peavey Bandit. what a combo.

[@Loki_Morningstar666]

Currently favorite distortion pedal for bass.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

🙌

[@digger68]

Long time RAT addict. My favorite will always be my trusty RAT 2 from 88ish. I love the modded rats from kinnatone and the old jhs mod pack rat.. the new jhs rat pack is incredible as well. I've been using a catalinbred katzenkonig lately but before that I was running a Raiden from Gremlin Noise Machines with a tin can 108 transistor, it is KILLER, a little saggier than a 308 and a little more wooly. Sounds incredible as an od with lower gain settings, I often ran it into the front of my rams head

[@Eliphas_Elric]

The long hair is looking good on you man.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Thanks!

[@adamjennings4270]

The difference that can be heard in that A/B with the lm308 and op07 is probably tolerance from all of the other parts rather than the chip. The only way to do a true A/B test is to switch only the chip in the same circuit so there is consistency in every part of the pedal other than the chip.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

I like your thinking!

[@thelaughingeyes6686]

Whenever I hear Rat, I automatically think “OBITUARY!”

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Yes!

[@AFTERLIFE419]

Amazing video!!! I was wondering, what is that shirt you're wearing with the old guy on the Buffalos?? I want one!!!

[@FuzzlordEffects]

Nebula Guitar Straps 🙏

[@AFTERLIFE419]

Thanks man!!!! 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

[@beastblood45]

Dope! I stack two RATs for drone tones at reasonable-ish volumes. Never really knew how they worked. Gonna have to go play with my settings later and see if they really are where I want them!

[@vilerebirth5115]

I have been using the Rat forever now. On this very band we wanted a doom/death sound and i ran it with full on distortion through an orange amp for the two Ep's. For the full length I changed it up by running distortion half way through my Randall for a more death metal sound. It is the most versatile pedal I have ever owned, and is the only pedal I need for distortion anymore.

[@Bloodofjesus4me]

I use a Proco Rat 2 in our band in Drop C tuning for Doom/Sludge/Stoner metal!!!

[@libertheme66]

One of my favorite pedals I have. It's always on.

[@nj1255]

Aside from being some of the best drive/distortion pedals for guitar, the RAT and it's younger sibling the Turbo RAT are also some of the very best bass drive/distortion pedals. If I could only keep one pedal in my bass rig it would easily be my Turbo RAT.

[@FearFrost]

Trey from Morbid Angel used a jcm900 and a rat!

[@williamweiss6128]

Remember all guitar players back in the day had a Rat and Tube Screamer.

[@davidsapp8119]

A Windhand demo! Love it!

[@ryanhey1154]

Ohhh thank you for playing acid bath!

[@jeffloucks2120]

That 1981 had some nice clarity. Still have a Keely modded Rat2 kicking around but haven't used it in some time. Had lots of Rat exposure pushing mighty amps on both sides of my noggin' a ways back while playing drums. Have to agree with others when I think Rat I think Obituary !!

[@gamezharks]

I did not know that the volume actually affected the mids like it does that's interesting for sure.

[@fabioguimaraes177]

Question, what's the setup on your amp while using the rat? Do you also use any gain or just clean tone + the rat with that setup?

[@FuzzlordEffects]

amp set clean with most knobs near noon other than volume and gain pretty low. Hiwatt DR103 style amp

[@gringogreen4719]

I have a ProCo Rat that's been modified by Alchemy Audio and love it! Its a nasty sounding piece of work. It also has a switch for different chips ans a knob for the Dead Bat to starve the pedal for voltage. I did not hear a big difference in the side by side. Too slight to really bother. A band I liked in the 90s who used a Rat was Elastica. Tele, Rat into a Fender Twin.

[@sloughboundrecordz]

I’m always reaching for the Rat and Void Master. Gives me the heaviness that I’m lookin for.

[@FuzzlordEffects]

hell yeah!

[@sloughboundrecordz]

@@FuzzlordEffects the tolex on my custom fuzzlord amp cab and head are starting to open on the edges. Barley. But still sounds killer! When would it be time to swap tubes? I notice there’s a hum.. in the beginning of owning it I think the was subtle.. what you think?

[@RangyJoe]

I built a Rat clone kit and from the first second I turned it on it's been my favourite for a heavy fuzzed out doom tone. I tried it on bass as well, but it was sooooooooo good on guitar that it stuck as a guitar pedal. Highly recommended!

[@RangyJoe]

Also, cool that you played Goatsnake! One of my favourite bands :)

[@maxnorton4893]

Incredibly versatile dirt pedal. With some chorus it's quintessential 80s Metal.