A Different Box of RATs.

[sunvalleylaw]

@duhvoodooman*** , I saw this vid come up on my YouTube feed today, and I needed to check in as it seemed interesting as a different take on what for me is STILL my favorite pedal in my collection, my DVM Rabid Rodent v2 build you did for me so long ago. In watching the vid, I seem some things that are slightly similar, such as there being a Red LED “Turbo” version included, and I think an asymmetric setting. But also kind of a different approach going for specific ProCo versions, along with a couple variations. So, just wanted to point it out here and call your attention to it to see if you had seen it and had any thoughts. Cheers, all!!

https://youtu.be/B_jtDX1_FZg

[duhvoodooman]

Yep, Josh Scott has done these mega-settings pedals a couple of times before with variations on the Big Muff (JHS Muffuletta) and the Tube Screamer (Bonsai). I can't imagine how complicated the switching must be on these circuits to get so many circuit variations in one standard size box, but Josh is a very talented guy and he has a killer lineup of pedals. There's certainly some overlap between my Rabid Rodent v.2 and the JHS Packrat, but not all that much. The RRv2 has 6 clipping settings, but only three of them use "hard" clipping like the various Rat circuits do. The other three are "soft" clipping, like that used in the Tube Screamer and countless other overdrives, and have a less aggressive edge. None of that style is included in the Packrat, from what I heard. The RRv2 also incorporated a switchable "Ruetz modification" which changed the frequency filtering in the tone (filter) control and used JFET clipping on a couple of the settings. So certainly more differences than similarities. More details on the RRv2 here: http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/RRv2.htm

Glad to hear that you still like the old Rabid Rodent so much, Steve!

[Robert]

Dang I sold mine, and I regret it now. How can get I another RR?

[duhvoodooman]

Dang I sold mine, and I regret it now. How can get I another RR?
The BYOC Mouse kit upon which the Rabid Rodent was based has been replaced with a new version, so an exact copy of your previous RR is no longer available. But the new version is still an excellent distortion pedal and offers three different clipping flavors, including the original Rat and the Turbo Rat, as well as a third mode with more saturation and a fuzzy edge to it. The three "soft" clipping modes have been dropped, but since I'm sure you own several overdrive pedals that cover that territory, that shouldn't be a significant loss. It also has a continuously variable "Ruetz mod" presence control, where the RR2 only had an on/off switch. And as far as where you can get one pre-built, "I know a guy...." ;)