DVM's Rabid Rodent BYOC Mouse v.2 Proco Rat Clone review

[duhvoodooman]

Thought I'd post a few "progress pics" for the pedal build I'm doing for Sunvalleylaw. This is the new-for-2008 BuildYourOwnClone.com Mouse vers. 2.0 kit, which is a modified clone of the famous ProCo Rat. For this new version, BYOC owner/effects wizard Keith Vonderhulls added an extremely cool new feature--a 6-way rotary switch to give the pedal 6 separate signal clipping modes. Three use the Rat's stock clip-to-ground distortion circuit, but the other three run through the pedal's feedback loop to the operational amplifier (opamp), like the Tube Screamer and its many imitator overdrives use. This gives a lesser degree of distortion with a smoother tone and less compression and sustain. The combination of the two clipping schemes makes for a very flexible pedal--basically a hybrid distortion/overdrive. Smart design!!

Of course, I couldn't just build it stock--perish the thought!! So I changed a couple of the clipping modes to give the pedal a greater range of tones. In stock form, the 6-way switch positions give the following clipping configurations:


Symmetric silicon diode distortion (stock Rat mode)
Symmetric red LED distortion (sometimes referred to as "Landgraff" distortion mode)
Asymmetric silicon diode distortion
Symmetric silicon diode overdrive
Asymmetric silicon diode overdrive
Symmetric MOSFET (BS170 transistor) overdrive

With four of the six modes using silicon diode combinations, I thought it would be a good idea to mix it up a bit more, so I altered positions 3, 4 and 5 to give the following:


Symmetric silicon diode distortion
Symmetric red LED distortion
Symmetric JFET (J201 transistor) distortion
Asymmetric silicon diode overdrive (1x3 1N914 diode array)
Symmetric red LED overdrive
Symmetric MOSFET (BS170 transistor) overdrive

That gives a mix of silicon diode, LED and transistor clipping on both the distortion and overdrive sides of the rotary switch.

I also added another popular Rat circuit modification known as the "Ruetz mod", after the guy who originated it. It's ridiculously simple, involving a SPST toggle to switch a resistor/capacitor pair in and out of the circuit. When switched out, it cuts the pedal's gain, flattens the frequency response, and gives a warmer, smoother tone--a nice counterpoint to the stock Rat's more raucous distorted sound. So, in combination with the v.2 Mouse's 6 clipping mode setting, the Ruetz switch doubles the pedal's available tones to 12. You can see what I mean about flexibility!

So with that as background on the pedal, here are a few photos taken at various points during the build (which is still underway, at this point):

PCB in process of being populated with components. Almost done, except for some of the clipping arrays, and the opamp hasn't been installed in its socket yet:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/PCB_in_proc.jpg

Fully assembled pedal. The top knob is the 6-way rotary, then volume on the left, gain on the right and tone on the bottom. Note the toggle on the left side down low for the Ruetz mod:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/topshot.jpg

Another shot of the assembled pedal--the obligatory "gut shot". You can clearly see the solder connections (12 in a circle, 2 in the middle) for the rotary switch. The clipping sections are at upper right (1 - 3, the "distortion" clippers) and left (4 - 6 , the overdrive arrays).

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/gutshot.jpg

More to follow....

[marnold]

I lay my soldering iron at your feet. Cool stuff as always, DVM.

[duhvoodooman]

After assembling the pedal, it's time to take it back apart and paint and decal the enclosure. As I type this, that's underway, but not yet finished. Here's a few more photos of this phase of the build:

Here's a shot you won't see too often--the "guts" when the pedal is disassembled for painting. And if you didn't think a pedal outside of the enclosure is functional, guess again. Look at the second shot--that power LED is lit! You'll have to take my word for it that it sounded just great...

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/guts_only.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/look_ma_no_case.jpg

I call my modified version of the BYOC Mouse the "Rabid Rodent". Here's a look at the printed decal, before application to the (not yet) painted enclosure:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/decal.jpg

Lastly (for now) are two shots taken during the enclosure painting process. The first shows it primed with flat brown primer, and in the second it's painted with silver metallic Krylon enamel:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/primed.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/painted.jpg

I'll post a couple of final pics when I get the pedal decaled, clearcoated and reassembled in a couple of days...

[warren0728]

very cool vood! thanks for the progress pics....definitely a nice clean job! :bravo: :master:

ww

[markb]

"Tone" not "Filter"? Out of interest does that tone control work backwards like the Rat's?

[duhvoodooman]

"Tone" not "Filter"? Out of interest does that tone control work backwards like the Rat's?
No, it works like most tone controls, more treble clockwise. The kit is set up that way, though you can always wire that pot backwards to mimic the Rat. I wasn't going for vintage -correctness on this puppy, though. With all those modifications--both by BYOC and the ones I added--it would seem pretty pointless!

BTW, I have the original version of the BYOC Mouse myself, and it is wired per the Rat "filter" control in that one.

[sunvalleylaw]

looking very cool Bob! Thanks for posting the progress pics. That one with it in the chain, guts only, cracks me up. I have been over at a block party where I got to listen to, then play with some guys doing pretty decent cover music. I got to play an Eric Johnson strat through a Tube Driver pedal into a mic'd Blues Jr, also plugging my strat into the same rig, then play my own rig to finish up. The EJ was nice, but I honestly liked mine just as well. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait til the next time I get to and have some sick tones dialed up out of my new Rodent!

EDIT: Of course you are going to do some clips before you send it off, yes? I would ask for strat and Dot, since those would be the closest to my rig and soon to be rig. I feel it only fair that you test drive it and record it some to share with the faithful here.

[duhvoodooman]

Of course you are going to do some clips before you send it off, yes? I would ask for strat and Dot, since those would be the closest to my rig and soon to be rig. I feel it only fair that you test drive it and record it some to share with the faithful here.
But, of course! :AOK: :dude: :rockon:

[tunghaichuan]

Bob,

That pedal enclosure and PCB look killer. :AOK:

Excellent work. I've been following the various completed enclosure threads on the BYOC BBS, but your builds look much better than most of the finished pedals I've seen there.

I've never tried out any of the various Rat circuits. How do they sound in comparison to the various Boss OD/distortion circuits?

tung

[duhvoodooman]

Thanks, Tung--always appreciate the encouragement. :AOK:

A big part of a neat & clean build is a high quality PCB, and I've never seen better than the BYOC boards. Very easy to work on & very forgiving.

To be honest, I really don't have much experience with the Boss distro pedals. The only one I've played (briefly) was a DS-1, which I really didn't care much for in stock form. Too harsh & trebly, IMO. I really bought it just to try one of the Allums mod kits (which, BTW, are very nice & reasonably priced, I thought), which turned it into a much better sounding pedal. Smoothed and filled out the tone very noticeably. Mudcat ended up buying it from me, so maybe he can comment.

As far as the Rat circuit goes, I find it to be kind of the quintessential '80's distortion sound. It doesn't have the thick bottom end a lot of fuzz pedals do, but still has gobs of smooth distortion & sustain. I particularly like to use it with a neck humbucker with the guitar's treble rolled way off--it mimics the famous Clapton "woman tone" almost perfectly. Of the distortion boxes I own, the original version of the BYOC Mouse is my overall favorite--but this new v.2 kit is even better, with the added clipping options. I may have to build one of my own--it's that good. :rockon:

[sunvalleylaw]

With the Reutz mod, it should have a "Phat" mode as well. Maybe not as much as a Fuzz, but I have a fuzz so this is looking like a great add to my pedal line. The DS-1 may get lonely for a while, though I imagine I will still want to use it to Cobain up in combo with my chorus.

[sunvalleylaw]

The other distortion box I was considering was the Marshall Guv'nor, but I could not pass up the opportunity to order this cool pedal from DVM. I bet with the mods, I can get a Guv'nor tone out of it, or something close. :AOK: :rockon: I am also thinking of the Tom Petty dirt tones that were happening at the block party yesterday and thinking that this pedal will be all over those.

[marnold]

Some folks call the ProCo Rat a fuzz box, but to my ears it sounds more distortion-y than fuzzy.

By the by, here's a review of the Rat from everybody's favorite reviewer:
Grol8Vr84o8

[M29]

Top notch all the way DVM:rockon: I always love a good gut shot:AOK:

[ted s]

AAHHHHH not the gear wire guy !!!!
Nooooo, not the box !!!


Excellent job VoodooBob ! (hey, that rhymes)

[duhvoodooman]

AAHHHHH not the gear wire guy !!!!
Nooooo, not the box !!!

I share your pain! Two minutes on the box, two minutes on the effect. :thwap:

[sunvalleylaw]

I am glad he covered the all important note of how to register online, and the catalog showing the other Rats that were not being reviewed. :thwap: :rotflmao:

I like his coverage of the tones, and how the "filter" knob, which I now know is equivalent to a tone knob wired backwards, works.

tung, he also does a Boss DS-1 review, so you could compare, since you were asking.

[tunghaichuan]

I am glad he covered the all important note of how to register online, and the catalog showing the other Rats that were not being reviewed. :thwap: :rotflmao:


Really, it's like: "Dude stop futzing with the box and just play the friggin' thing already." No one cares about the box. :thwap:



tung, he also does a Boss DS-1 review, so you could compare, since you were asking.

Cool, thanks for the heads up, I'll have to check that out when I get home from work.

tung

[duhvoodooman]

Will post the last couple of pics in this posting, as available:

First, waterslide decal applied to painted enclosure:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/mouse_v.2/decaled.jpg

[sunvalleylaw]

Looks great! I like the new rodent graphic very much! It allows the imagination to fill in the details. Could be Bugs Bunny playing, could be Mighty Mouse, could be Itchy! :AOK:

[duhvoodooman]

I like the new rodent graphic very much! It allows the imagination to fill in the details. Could be Bugs Bunny playing, could be Mighty Mouse, could be Itchy!
Just to be accurate, rabbits are not rodents, they're part of another mammalian order called lagomorphs. See how educational this place is!?! ;) :D

Could be Mighty Mouse (which is the original BYOC name for the kit, BTW!), or Itchy, or maybe even The Brain! Perhaps it will take over the pedal world! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!!

[duhvoodooman]

Pedal clearcoated and reassembled. Hope to record a demo clip tonight to show off some of the various distortion/OD settings. In the meantime, here are a couple more photos:

http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/7448da3ad49c342.jpg http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/7448da3ad4af81e.jpg http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/7448da3ad4c1578.jpg

[warren0728]

man you do a nice job on those pedals vood! :bravo: :beer: :master:

ww

[sunvalleylaw]

Looking great! Can't wait to hear it!

[duhvoodooman]

OK, here are links to a couple of quickly recorded clips. Both are recorded using my LP Std. on the bridge pickup into the Tweed 4x10 model of my Vox AD30VT. Only effect besides the Rabid Rodent is a bit of reverb.

The first clip starts out clean and then cycles through all six clipping settings of the Rodent. To reiterate what those are:


Symmetric silicon diode distortion
Symmetric red LED distortion
Symmetric JFET (J201 transistor) distortion
Asymmetric silicon diode overdrive (1x3 1N914 diode array)
Symmetric red LED overdrive
Symmetric MOSFET (BS170 transistor) overdrive

The recorded sequence that is repeated all 7 times starts with a Joe Bonamassa riff I've been learning, followed by some single note noodling. The pedal settings in "o'clock" knob positions are: distortion = 1, filter = 3, and volume adjusted to keep the recorded volume fairly constant. (Note: The two LED settings are very noticeably louder than the other four, and were turned down to keep the volume comparable to the others.)

The second clip is recorded with the same setup, but the distortion turned down a bit to 12 noon. This one demonstrates the impact of the Ruetz modification. A familiar Neil Young riff is played first with the toggle in the Normal position and then repeated in the Ruetz mode. This pairing is repeated two times--first on position 1 (stock Rat distortion mode) and then on position 5 (red LED overdrive). You can hear how the mid-range is flattened out, making the bottom end more prominent and giving very noticeably less gain/sustain and a smoother, warmer tone.

Here are the links:

6-way clipping demo (http://www.box.net/shared/rdlura04hn)

Ruetz mod demo (http://www.box.net/shared/t0elmbcedx)

[sunvalleylaw]

:D Way cool DVM! I am blown away and am listening as I type to get a feel for it. I heard a LOT of good sounds I really liked. I will take some time to decide on my favorites. Off the top, positions 1 and 2 grabbed me (2 is really grabbing me at the moment as I type), in normal position.

The overdrive positions are tremendously different sounding than the Bad Monkey, and I am sure will find a place in the tone quiver. The Ruetz mod sounds like a lot of fun to play around with as well, and will be really useful I think when the mix requires more bottom end and warmth. I am stoked to try it with my own gear and experiment. Thanks so much!:AOK:

[sunvalleylaw]

P.S. I have been listening some more and can't wait to get it. These are the distortion sounds I wanted to add to my chain. It might end up being named "Itchy". :D http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/itchy.gif


(I think I can give my pedal a nickname without getting anyone sued). ;)

[player]

as always DVM comes through once again like he did with that ZYS.best touch IMO is Effects by... nice touch and decal Bob.great pics and progress along the way too.have to believe Steve is gonna be happy :D

[marnold]

Quite a bit of flexibility in that pedal. Good choice for a Bonamassa riff too :)

[warren0728]

I think I can give my pedal a nickname without getting anyone sued
maybe laughed at....but not sued! :poke: :rotflmao:

ww

[sumitomo]

Very nice DVM and good playing too! Sumi:D

[sunvalleylaw]

I am sitting here listening again, and just licking my chops. I definitely am drawn to positions 1 (stock rat mode) and 2 (LED Distortion). Of the overdrive settings I am drawn first to the LED overdrive.

In the Ruetz mod, I like both Ruetz settings, and am struck by the organic, garage sound of the LED Overdrive with the Ruetz mode on. It sounds raw and fun. Can't wait!

[sunvalleylaw]

It's here!!

Arrived today, boxed very, very well, in first rate condition. Thanks Bob! Yardwork to do now, and play later. Will report back someday after getting to know it. :rockon: :R :DR :AOK:

[Katastrophe]

Boy, you have more will power than I do. On New Pedal Day ( or new guitar, amph, whatever guitar related day ), everything is secondary with the exception of immediate family needs.:D

Congrats, and post a clip!:bravo: :beer:

[sunvalleylaw]

Boy, you have more will power than I do. On New Pedal Day ( or new guitar, amph, whatever guitar related day ), everything is secondary with the exception of immediate family needs.:D

Congrats, and post a clip!:bravo: :beer:

EDIT: Thanks Kat for the congrats. I am very happy with the new pedal. Well, my poor wife has tweaked her lower back/leg and is in the middle of a way overdue yard project that she now cannot do, so it is just about an immediate family need. ;) But I did have some time to do some initial playing around, and will post a clip after getting a bit comfortable with the various settings. So far I am in absolute love with the red LED Distortion setting, with the stock Rat mode not far behind. That is as far as I have gotten into it so far. My DS-1 may still have a place for a different sound, but this is so much more full sounding. Don't worry, clips will come.

[Spudman]

I heard a bit of this pedal over the phone and I was very impressed. Great job Voodoo.

[Tone2TheBone]

You guys do phone demos? Cool how do I subscribe to this??? :)

[Katastrophe]

I sure didn't get a memo that there was a conference call!:D

[duhvoodooman]

Sheesh!! Ya'd think that they'd let the pedal builder know that there was going to be a live demo teleconference!! :flamemad: ;)

[Spudman]

Sheesh!! Ya'd think that they'd let the pedal builder know that there was going to be a live demo teleconference!! :flamemad: ;)

You guys haven't signed up yet.

[sunvalleylaw]

No clips yet, too much yardwork this weekend to spend playing time setting up the recording stuff, but here is a pic.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/IMG_0012.jpg

That is a fun looking distortion chain, but the DS-1 may take a break for a while, after I am done comparing it with my new Rabid Rodent. This thing rocks! You will NOT be disappointed if you order one. :AOK: :rockon:

[sunvalleylaw]

I just spent a few minutes learning about the red LED overdrive mode. It gives me a sweet, slightly distorted overdrive that gives a good Mayer sound. (at least for me, doesn't improve the playing, but makes the tone that much better) Loving it!

[tot_Ou_tard]

It's here!!

Arrived today, boxed very, very well, in first rate condition. Thanks Bob! Yardwork to do now, and play later. Will report back someday after getting to know it. :rockon: :R :DR :AOK:
What no video of you taking it out of the box?!?

[sunvalleylaw]

Ok here is my attempt at a review. First, caveats. Someone who is a better player than I currently am could review this pedal better. I still do not know how to use distortion that effectively rhythm playing. I prefer to use it when lead playing, when I want an edge on the tone to cut through. I do not control my strings well enough with palm and other muting techniques to use this pedal to its potential yet in rhythm playing. (I am writing all this because I am going to post some clips later in this thread. :rotflmao: ) Ok, enough of that.

That said, this pedal DVM made me seems very diverse, and could be used in about a hundred ways or more. First, the clips. I recorded both my guitars, the Vik and the Strat, playing open E chords, followed by a little lick. I did this first with my Boss DS-1 for comparison, then on each "mutation" setting available. 3 distortion, 3 overdrive, as described by DVM above. I set the DS-1 as I typically do, with tone at 10, level straight up, and distortion at 2. I set the Rodent with Volume straight up, Filter at neutral, (which happens to be at 3 the way the pot is laid out), and Distortion at about 1:30 or 2. I turned down the recording level on both Red LED mutations because both those settings are louder and were maxing out the recording levels too much. I did not record the Reutz mod settings, as I have not used those much yet. DVM did record those settings above.

http://www.box.net/shared/5cyypgufu1 - Strat clips

http://www.box.net/shared/yhznmtllfk - Vik clips


Ok, review.

1. Fit, finish, etc. Excellent. Came well boxed, beautiful paint, knobs all work well, etc. I know nothing of pedal building and soldering etc., but the pics DVM posted above tell the story. Excellent all the way through, as you would expect from DVM.

2. How does it work? Well, let your ears be the guide but I think exceptionally well, and I have only scratched the surface. I would love to hear Spud or someone really rip it up with one.

I recorded the DS-1 to show you why I was interested in a new distortion pedal. When you listen, you might think "Yeah, that sounds pretty good" but I think it lacks depth and texture. It is like a hoppy ale that is so hoppy, you cannot get any depth or texture out of the flavors. All heat and no warmth, if that makes sense. Too thin and hissy, and not enough mid range might be another way of saying it.

Ok, now listen to the Rodent clips. The first three are the distortion settings in order. I like all three, but have been in love with the second, red LED one. It is so fat and warm. As I recorded this, I realized I had been overlooking the third setting as well and wish to explore that one. It seems to have some great sounds, and I really liked all the texture in the E chord with that setting.

The overdrive settings are fun as well. Set up just like this, they act more like distortion settings to my ear, but if you roll back the distortion to say 9 or 10, you get a sweet overdrive that is much more transparent and less warm and mid-rangey as compared to my bad monkey. A little more heat and a little less mid range I would say. A useful new sound for my arsenal.

I plan on using the distortion settings when rocking out or punking out, and also as a good lead boost with some great hair to cut through a loud mix, or when I just need to add some oomph. (EDIT)Anything from Social Distortion and Weezer or Offspring to Santana and Allman Brothers and Petty, and everything in between. I think you could dial in a reasonable Abbey Road - I Want You sound too by cleaning it up a touch. (end EDIT)

The overdrives I think I will use with the distortion dialed back as I said for a different overdrive sound.

In anycase, I think all of the six settings give me more interesting sounds than my un-modded DS-1. I may mod my DS-1 to give it more oomph. There are lots of mods out there, but it would not have the versatility of this pedal, and I may leave the DS-1 stock and use it with my chorus for some Nirvana sounds. It does that well. For everything else, I think the Rodent has it covered. Please feel free to comment, and DVM, please add anything you think I left out. I really like this pedal. Two thumbs up, :AOK: :AOK: , I would highly recommend it.

Blazes, hope that answers your questions, and if I can answer any others, please ask and I will do my best to answer them.

[warren0728]

excellent review steve....the clips really help....makes me want to order a few more dvm pedals and i haven't even got my first one yet!

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks Warren. One thing I wanted to add. Listen to the sustain. The DS-1 has sustain too, but there is just more in the sustained note from the Rodent. It almost eggs you on to hold the note just a bit longer rather than end it. Chords too. Anyway that is the way it makes me feel.

[warren0728]

Thanks Warren. One thing I wanted to add. Listen to the sustain. The DS-1 has sustain too, but there is just more in the sustained note from the Rodent. It almost eggs you on to hold the note just a bit longer rather than end it. Chords too. Anyway that is the way it makes me feel.
i thought dvm's sounded better than the ds-1 overall too....i liked some of the settings better than others but all definitely sounded usable!

[sunvalleylaw]

i thought dvm's sounded better than the ds-1 overall too....i liked some of the settings better than others but all definitely sounded usable!


Curious as to which ones you liked over others. Just to see what someone else hears. Let me know if you don't mind.

[warren0728]

Curious as to which ones you liked over others. Just to see what someone else hears. Let me know if you don't mind.

ok....i'll have to go back and relisten and take notes! i liked the vik better than the strat....

[sunvalleylaw]

Ahem, you mean strat sir! :AOK:


I personally like both, for different reasons, but there certainly is a lot to explore with the combination of the Vik and this pedal for sure.

[warren0728]

Ahem, you mean strat sir! :AOK:


I personally like both, for different reasons, but there certainly is a lot to explore with the combination of the Vik and this pedal for sure.

oops....i edited it.... :thwap:

[Blaze]

Yes sir ,

Nice review Sun.. ,thanks to you for these demos recording ,appreciate that.I liked the comparison with the Ds 1 and the fact that you tried every byoc setting .

Tell me , would you say that with this pedal settings & adjustments you can create your own personnal tone.

I ll have some hearings of these demos and a discussion with the accountant of my low value canadian money (ha,ha ) and take my decision.

Awesome job , thanks again..

Blazes:AOK:

[sunvalleylaw]

Yes, I definitely think that one can many personal tones. I can think of one or two on the distortion side, and have already found one on the overdrive side I like a great deal that is new and different from the tones I used previously.

For consistency, I had the pedal set the same on every test clip, but each one could be varied a great deal. So far, the tone (filter) knob has been set to near neutral, but I could see getting a low, power chordy tone that just snarls for grungey/punky stuff, and one with more highs and bite for a different sound. Like I said, very versatile, and someone who really knew what they were doing could get much more out of it.

I aim to as I learn more. :AOK:

[Blaze]

I guess you ve tried the pedal on the clean channel of your peavy ,isn t .

Sometimes i play distortion or overdrive over the distortion channel of my amp , makes it compress and get some super sound variation rollin down the volume or the tone of the guitar ,same thing changing setting on the pedal obviously.
Nothing new there , but interesting .

Take care

Blazes:dude:

[sunvalleylaw]

I will try that! I never think of using pedals on my dirt channel. Oh, and I edited my original review with a couple more thoughts on sounds available.

[oldguy]

Sounds good, Sun!:AOK:
Nice that you gave the review and clips, and the clips having each setting.
Has a nice, full, round sound to my ears.:beer:

(I just gave another listen..... I think I like the Viking clips best also.):D

[duhvoodooman]

Nice job, Steve! Enjoyed the clips, esp. with the Viking. The Rodent sounds good with single coils, but I think it really shines with humbucker guitars, where that singing sustain really stands out. Just wish you'd played a bit longer on each setting--your playing is better than than you think!

Agree 100% with your assessment of the DS-1. Certainly has some useful tones, but I find it's stock sound rather thin and strident. You can see why there are such a variety of popular DS-1 mods out there!

[sunvalleylaw]

Ok, here is another clip demoing the red LED setting some more, and showing the Ruetz mod. Listen only if you don't mind listening to the Zep riff I have just been learning with my son, played like you hear it played at Guitar Center on Friday night. :rotflmao: But if you ignore that (the clip is really just supposed to let people hear the pedal), you can hear some more of the versatility of this pedal.

http://www.box.net/shared/oofay2lrk6

The first section of the clip is the Red LED setting, volume about straight up, Distortion straight up, filter just past 3 as before. I record the riff a few times, then play a coupla power chords. The second portion is exactly the same (except for a volume adjust, it now is at about 3 to account for volume difference between the mode settings), but with the Ruetz mod flipped on. That backs off the distortion and pumps up the mid range for a much warmer sound. Last, I repeat again, also with the Ruetz mod, but now turning up the distortion a bit. Distortion is now at about 1:30 or 2. I like this setting the best for this riff I think, and may pump up the distortion a bit more, but keeping the midrange up. The guitar is the Vik, after I re-attached the input jack after I loosened it stepping on my own cord. :thwap: :)


I hope that gives someone some more insight.

[Algonquin]

I can see the DS-1 gathering a bit of dust for a while I think.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah it might be. I am not going to get rid of it. It still gives me some grungey sounds I like in combination with my chorus pedal. But the rodent does a lot more. BTW, I had it wrong how the Ruetz mod works. Really, it actually flattens out the hump in the high-mids that the Rat circuit has and makes the bass and lower mids come forward, giving that warmer, fuller tone. I had said before that it gave bumped up the midrange, which is not quite accurate.

[duhvoodooman]

Glad to see/hear that you're continuing to "farm" new tones out of the Rodent. It's a very flexible pedal, as you're finding out. I'd like to think my "optimizing" a couple of the clipping options contributes to that flexibility, but the main credit has to go to Keith Vonderhulls at BYOC for a very clever design on this kit. It is just S-O-O-O much more versatile than the original ProCo Rat circuit upon which it's based.

I sold my original v.1.0 Rodent a few days ago (thanks, Peachhead!) and I missed it this weekend! But the v.2.0 kit (along with CB's) is sitting on my work bench and the soldering will start in the next couple of days. You've got me psyched up to get it built & into my pedal chain!

[peachhead]

Not meaning to thread hijack, but the v.1 came today- looking forward to firing it up! Thanks DVM!

[Blaze]

I had a good try today at my new Rabid Rodent as i was at my tech s place ..

This pedal rocks and with all these rotary position options you can get all kind of tones from hard disto to classic rock goin in overdrives variation..

My tech recognise the Pro rat basic tone ,he liked the pedal a lot being a pedal builder himself ..He found that the rabid is an excellent build pedal,clean and solid made..

I still have to work on it to get my own personnal tone ,but we both like the dynamic and the nice compression you can get also from this DVM baby..

I should make a clip sometime...

I ll come back with more in the near futur..

Right on Bob ...:bravo: :bravo:

[markb]

I'm a big fan of old RATs (pre 2003). The trick with them is that the distortion and filter (tone) controls are highly interactive. You can get everything from warm boost to out and out fuzz with a bit of tweaking.

Having said that, I'm sure DVM can build a better one :AOK:

[sunvalleylaw]

Great! I am glad these threads are merged now so that the Rabid Rodent info and clips are consolidated and easy to find. I will be very interested in any more info and/or clips RylanMartin can provide, and maybe we will hear some more from Blazes too. Who else has one?

[duhvoodooman]

Great! I am glad these threads are merged now so that the Rabid Rodent info and clips are consolidated and easy to find. I will be very interested in any more info and/or clips RylanMartin can provide, and maybe we will hear some more from Blazes too. Who else has one?
Well, I know CB and Sumi each have one. Can't remember anyone else here who has one, besides you, Blaze, and now Rylan. But the ol' memory ain't what it used to be....

Hopefully, Rylan will be able to convince Robert that he needs a Rodent, too. I haven't been successful yet, though I think I may have him leaning that way. :poke: ;)

Next to the ZYS Mark II, I think the Rabid Rodent is my favorite BYOC "dirt" pedal. Although the Mega-Muff is right up there, too, if you like the Big Muff Pi style of fuzz. If you prefer the Fuzz Face style, then the BYOC Extra Special Vintage (ESV) Fuzz is amazing sounding, too.

[Robert]

Yeah, ok I AM leaning towards it.


http://www.cumberland.co.uk/neon/download/file/images/general/leaning_man_(s).jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Destitute_man_vacant_store.gif

[sunvalleylaw]

As an update regarding this very useful pedal, I wanted to state what I have been doing with my Rabid Rodent pedal from DVM lately.

Although I love the distortion settings, and have a lot of fun with them as described above, I have been using this very versatile pedal on the overdrive side of the mutate dial much more. My first pedal was my Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive, and it is still a favorite. But lately, the Rodent has taken over a lot of my overdrive use.

Specifically, I have long loved the more transparent, but "hot with some bite" overdrive, and the sustain it gives. It is no secret I love John Mayer's live tone. His Two Rock amphs help him produce that with his strats, and my C-30, nice as it is, is not a Two Rock. The Bad Monkey, which is a tubescreamer type overdrive with plenty of mid, is a bit too middy to give that articulate clean bite that Mayer gets.

Enter the Rodent! :greenguitar: I have been using the second overdrive setting a lot, which is the red LED setting, 5th on the dial overall. It has some more warmth than the other two, which is pleasing to my ear as I play by myself at home. Last night, I started using positions 4 and 6 also. Wow, that bite I hear in Mayer's live stuff is very present and obtainable. I had been thinking about a King of Tone type circuit for this, but it may be that the Rodent can do it well enough to forgo that plan.

Very cool all the things this pedal can do! :AOK :AOK

[rylanmartin]

I just spent the last few hours playing with my RR while it was opened up and watched the little led's and such on the circuit board light up while I was playing with it...it was pretty cool....

[Robert]

Rylan, sounds like you had Christmas All Over again! ;)

[sunvalleylaw]

Hey! Thought I would post something of a progress report, seeing as I am “rebuilding” my pedal board. I still have this as one of my very top dirt boxes. Though over the years, I had gotten kinda stuck in my settings.

I had added a Catalinbread Formula No. 5, and then a more versatile Formula No. 55 (with more tonal range) which is one of their foundation pedals, and is designed to recreate the 5E3 Preamp circuit of old tweed amps. I have come to love that pedal, and now am finding ways to use those pedals in combination with this pedal, kinda setting up the Catalinbread to be the base tone, and then stacking the Rodent closer to the guitar than the amp to feed the C-bread. Works great that way! And still on its own.

One of my favorite pedals ever!

[duhvoodooman]

Glad to hear that the ol' Rabid Rodent is still doin' it for ya, Steve. Hard to believe that you've owned it now for 12 years!

Unsurprisingly, there have been some really good pedal kits released by BYOC in the meantime. Here are some notables--I won't elaborate, just post links to the BYOC product pages where you can read all the details for yourself.

Crown Jewel boost/overdrive/distortion (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/crown-jewel/products/crown-jewel) (unbelievably flexible dirt box!)

Silver Pony 2 (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/overdrive/products/silver-pony-2) (Klon clone...and more!)

Phase Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/modulation/products/phaseroyal) (a killer phaser with four different phasing modules to choose from....or buy 'em all; unfortunately out of stock at the moment)

Echo Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/reverb-delay/products/echo-royal) (fabulous delay with a ton of features; also currently out of stock)

While I'm not back in the pedal-making business per se, I do have more time available since retiring 4 years back, so if anyone out there is interested in one of these, shoot me a PM and we'll talk! I can offer you great pricing and unbeatable workmanship.

[sunvalleylaw]

Glad to hear that the ol' Rabid Rodent is still doin' it for ya, Steve. Hard to believe that you've owned it now for 12 years!

Unsurprisingly, there have been some really good pedal kits released by BYOC in the meantime. Here are some notables--I won't elaborate, just post links to the BYOC product pages where you can read all the details for yourself.

Crown Jewel boost/overdrive/distortion (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/crown-jewel/products/crown-jewel) (unbelievably flexible dirt box!)

Silver Pony 2 (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/overdrive/products/silver-pony-2) (Klon clone...and more!)

Phase Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/modulation/products/phaseroyal) (a killer phaser with four different phasing modules to choose from....or buy 'em all; unfortunately out of stock at the moment)

Echo Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/reverb-delay/products/echo-royal) (fabulous delay with a ton of features; also currently out of stock)

While I'm not back in the pedal-making business per se, I do have more time available since retiring 4 years back, so if anyone out there is interested in one of these, shoot me a PM and we'll talk! I can offer you great pricing and unbeatable workmanship.

Cool! I am interested in figuring out how to create, either in my Line 6 M9, or otherwise, a Jangle tone like old 60's music and like Peter Buck used to do as well. Been learning more about compressors and boosts and such. Also, was exploring my ZYS again, which I used less after I got the Rodent. But especially with the built in boost circuit, and using the Screamer side differently, I am betting it has possibilities I never explored as well! Gonna be a long winter in a mountain town when we can't really go hang in our favorite pubs or anything, so will be more time to do some guitar exploring!

[sunvalleylaw]

Glad to hear that the ol' Rabid Rodent is still doin' it for ya, Steve. Hard to believe that you've owned it now for 12 years!

Unsurprisingly, there have been some really good pedal kits released by BYOC in the meantime. Here are some notables--I won't elaborate, just post links to the BYOC product pages where you can read all the details for yourself.

Crown Jewel boost/overdrive/distortion (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/crown-jewel/products/crown-jewel) (unbelievably flexible dirt box!)

Silver Pony 2 (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/overdrive/products/silver-pony-2) (Klon clone...and more!)

Phase Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/modulation/products/phaseroyal) (a killer phaser with four different phasing modules to choose from....or buy 'em all; unfortunately out of stock at the moment)

Echo Royal (https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/reverb-delay/products/echo-royal) (fabulous delay with a ton of features; also currently out of stock)

While I'm not back in the pedal-making business per se, I do have more time available since retiring 4 years back, so if anyone out there is interested in one of these, shoot me a PM and we'll talk! I can offer you great pricing and unbeatable workmanship.

Cool! I am interested in figuring out how to create, either in my Line 6 M9, or otherwise, a Jangle tone like old 60's music and like Peter Buck used to do as well. Been learning more about compressors and boosts and such. Also, was exploring my ZYS again, which I used less after I got the Rodent. But especially with the built in boost circuit, and using the Screamer side differently, I am betting it has possibilities I never explored as well! Gonna be a long winter in a mountain town when we can't really go hang in our favorite pubs or anything, so will be more time to do some guitar exploring!

[piebaldpython]

Hey! Thought I would post something of a progress report, seeing as I am “rebuilding” my pedal board. I still have this as one of my very top dirt boxes. Though over the years, I had gotten kinda stuck in my settings.

I had added a Catalinbread Formula No. 5, and then a more versatile Formula No. 55 (with more tonal range) which is one of their foundation pedals, and is designed to recreate the 5E3 Preamp circuit of old tweed amps. I have come to love that pedal, and now am finding ways to use those pedals in combination with this pedal, kinda setting up the Catalinbread to be the base tone, and then stacking the Rodent closer to the guitar than the amp to feed the C-bread. Works great that way! And still on its own.

One of my favorite pedals ever!

Hey SVL........long time no talk buddy. Nice to see you around.

I have the Catalinbread Form No 5 pedal and I use it with my Rabid Rodent too. The Catalinbread starts to get you into that jangly Ry Cooder-ish sound and their SFT foundation pedal gets you into Stones territory. That said, bearfootfx.com makes some superb foundation pedals.....they really nail the flavor of the old Tweed, Gibson, Silverface/Silvertone amps.

The RR is a pedal that was ahead of it's time with it's 6 different OD/Distortion settings. There are some high-end pedal makers, like Walrus Audio, that are now making a pedal with similar voiceings.

[sunvalleylaw]

Hey SVL........long time no talk buddy. Nice to see you around.

I have the Catalinbread Form No 5 pedal and I use it with my Rabid Rodent too. The Catalinbread starts to get you into that jangly Ry Cooder-ish sound and their SFT foundation pedal gets you into Stones territory. That said, bearfootfx.com makes some superb foundation pedals.....they really nail the flavor of the old Tweed, Gibson, Silverface/Silvertone amps.

The RR is a pedal that was ahead of it's time with it's 6 different OD/Distortion settings. There are some high-end pedal makers, like Walrus Audio, that are now making a pedal with similar voiceings.
Hey, PBP!! Nice to see you! I replied to your other post first, so did not see this and that you also have a F5. I love those little Howard Gee boxes, don’t you? I probably don’t need to have both the F5, AND a F55, even though I have two boards. So maybe I do, as I use them so much. As you know, but maybe others don’t, the F5 was intended to mimic the tweed 5E3 preamp circuit, and is very controllable and has a lot of nice touch that can be controlled with the volume knob, clean to dirty. Howard has a nice video featuring a SG guitar where he goes from jazz comping to rocking out, back and forth. That was what sold me on it. And as you likely also know, the F55 was the complete re-do after some parts became impractical or unavailable to keep making the F5. So the F55 is intended to do the same thing, but with more range, and the range can change from a “cleaner” set of tubes (green LED setting) to a hotter set of tubes (RED LED setting). At first, I found it easier to find what I wanted in the F5, and it is a great box. But now I have found how to get what I was liking out of the F5 out of the F55. I may switch the two of them back and forth between my two main tube amps, and continue to play with it, but I think I like this arrangement right now.

And both play nicely with the RR, which now is serving as distortion flavor on top of the foundation of the C-bread pedals. I still get addicted to that Red LED setting, and the first, most ‘stock” rat setting. Like going from RAT to Turbo-RAT as between them. And as said, stacks really nicely with the C-bread getting the amp in a good place to carry that additional distortion flavor.

I have not in a long time played with the last 3 settings on the RR, but will go back to that and explore more there as well, and maybe turn the C-bread off when doing that. I used to feel like I could get a nice Mayer tone using position 5 I think. But again, haven’t tried for that in years.

Glad to be back playing more and with a much more experimental mindset with regard to these tools I have at my disposal.

I am looking at getting a good ABY box too, to set up a Wet/Dry situation, which I think would be really fun. I just finished watching the episode on YouTube of That Pedal Show that goes over that. Seeing as I will be staying at home, and not going out for dinners or a night at the pub for too expensive beers in a nice environment this winter, I figure I may as well get the few additional tools I need to really explore these little boxes and bigger boxes with tubes in them. And a little SS box (Quilter Interblock 45) I can use easily for online playing/recording. As I posted elsewhere, I hope to build some remote social with people while we ride this pandemic thing out.

[sunvalleylaw]

Hey SVL........long time no talk buddy. Nice to see you around.

I have the Catalinbread Form No 5 pedal and I use it with my Rabid Rodent too. The Catalinbread starts to get you into that jangly Ry Cooder-ish sound and their SFT foundation pedal gets you into Stones territory. That said, bearfootfx.com makes some superb foundation pedals.....they really nail the flavor of the old Tweed, Gibson, Silverface/Silvertone amps.

The RR is a pedal that was ahead of it's time with it's 6 different OD/Distortion settings. There are some high-end pedal makers, like Walrus Audio, that are now making a pedal with similar voiceings.
Hey, PBP!! Nice to see you! I replied to your other post first, so did not see this and that you also have a F5. I love those little Howard Gee boxes, don’t you? I probably don’t need to have both the F5, AND a F55, even though I have two boards. So maybe I do, as I use them so much. As you know, but maybe others don’t, the F5 was intended to mimic the tweed 5E3 preamp circuit, and is very controllable and has a lot of nice touch that can be controlled with the volume knob, clean to dirty. Howard has a nice video featuring a SG guitar where he goes from jazz comping to rocking out, back and forth. That was what sold me on it. And as you likely also know, the F55 was the complete re-do after some parts became impractical or unavailable to keep making the F5. So the F55 is intended to do the same thing, but with more range, and the range can change from a “cleaner” set of tubes (green LED setting) to a hotter set of tubes (RED LED setting). At first, I found it easier to find what I wanted in the F5, and it is a great box. But now I have found how to get what I was liking out of the F5 out of the F55. I may switch the two of them back and forth between my two main tube amps, and continue to play with it, but I think I like this arrangement right now.

And both play nicely with the RR, which now is serving as distortion flavor on top of the foundation of the C-bread pedals. I still get addicted to that Red LED setting, and the first, most ‘stock” rat setting. Like going from RAT to Turbo-RAT as between them. And as said, stacks really nicely with the C-bread getting the amp in a good place to carry that additional distortion flavor.

I have not in a long time played with the last 3 settings on the RR, but will go back to that and explore more there as well, and maybe turn the C-bread off when doing that. I used to feel like I could get a nice Mayer tone using position 5 I think. But again, haven’t tried for that in years.

Glad to be back playing more and with a much more experimental mindset with regard to these tools I have at my disposal.

I am looking at getting a good ABY box too, to set up a Wet/Dry situation, which I think would be really fun. I just finished watching the episode on YouTube of That Pedal Show that goes over that. Seeing as I will be staying at home, and not going out for dinners or a night at the pub for too expensive beers in a nice environment this winter, I figure I may as well get the few additional tools I need to really explore these little boxes and bigger boxes with tubes in them. And a little SS box (Quilter Interblock 45) I can use easily for online playing/recording. As I posted elsewhere, I hope to build some remote social with people while we ride this pandemic thing out.