I know this has been beaten to death, but I cant help it..

[KissThaRing]

So I been playing bass for about 7 months now, so I'm still an uber noob here, but I had a question about the Fuzzorcious Rat Tail. I'm really crackin' down and starting to learn some of my favorite songs all the way though, mainly RATM and Tool, and I have no pedals whatsoever. Yes, I've read the FAQ and did alot of research, the problem I'm having is I just don't understand alot of jargon and lingo, so I'm running into all types of confusion on what to buy exactly and if it will work. I think I need overdrive and distortion, so will the rat tail work for that? I been hearing how pedals suck the bottom end off so I dont wanna make the mistake of buying something lame here. My setup is very beginner, I have an Ampeq BA115Hp and an Ibanez SR300, as of right now with just "striking" the strings and having my trouble and mids cranked up, I can get a pretty clanky/gritty tone which I like, but I want alittle more.

So any tips? Recommendation? I'm hoping to stay under $200. Thanks for any info

[MilkyMcMilkMilk]

The Earthbound Audio Iron Pig is a great rat clone.
Or Dr. Scientist The Elements.
Both awesome pedals and both can do slight overdrive to full on distortion

[knumbskull]

the Rat Tail is capable of sounds very similar to RATM and Tool

i believe Justin Chancellor uses a Rat in his signal chain, and the Rat Tail is pretty much a turbo extra amazing Rat .

as for Tim Commerford, there are all kinds of crazy rumours about his effects setup, but to my ears the overdrive part of it is definitely within the scope of the Rat Tail. kind of dark, gain-y, quite mid-heavy.

low end loss - some pedals so have this, yes. The Rat Tail does not suffer from it, or at least not so you will notice in a band mix. I tried it recently in conjunction with a clean blend (Boss LS-2) to add lows, and i prefer it without.

(yes, I'm a Fuzzrocious fan. but with good reason!)

[franksgbass]

For playing stuff like RATM and Tool with the gear you have, you might have better results with the Oh See Demon. It holds more low end than the rattail for the type of riffs your probably trying to play. The Rattail is an amazing pedal, don't get me wrong. It has a very distinct high end slicing sound that cuts through the mix, which means when your playing with a band your bass doesn't get drowned out. But if your just doing some bedroom jamming, you might get a more pleasing overdrive/distortion sound with the OSD. If you have any specific questions on bass "jargon and lingo" just ask. I was new to this not long ago, and it was TB that helped me figure out what I needed(and then some) So don't hesitate to ask.
Most important though. Get tight!!! Play to RATM all the time if thats what you like. That is a great band to learn grooves and bass/drum chemistry from. Figure out what sound you really wanna go for, then it will be easier to pick pedals. But to start, you'll love the Oh See Demon. Good luck dude.

[NoxNoctus]

Originally Posted by knumbskull

low end loss - some pedals so have this, yes. The Rat Tail does not suffer from it, or at least not so you will notice in a band mix. I tried it recently in conjunction with a clean blend (Boss LS-2) to add lows, and i prefer it without.

(yes, I'm a Fuzzrocious fan. but with good reason!)

Rat Tail has no low end loss?...

[KissThaRing]

Wow thank you for the responses. So the OSD would be better for bedroom jamming and the Rat Tail for like gig situations? I know this might sound stupid, but is there a way to make the Rat Tail sound like the OSD (if you messed with the knobs enough) I guess this is where I start to get confused, because after listening to the samples, to my untrained ears, they kind of sound similar, except the OSD is alittle more bassier, but if you dialed back the rat tail to just kind of "sprinkle" it into your clean signal, would that kind of be the same thing? I was reading in a thread that I found during my search where a guy mentioned doing something like that to give the rat tail an "overdrive" feel, which kind of sold me on the rat tail due to its range with the right tweaking, which is what I want. (so incase in the future if I need full on nutso distortion, i have the range to do it)

[Gasman]

Both of the bassists for the bands you are talking about use multiple amps, multiple pedals. It's gonna be tough to reproduce their sound with one pedal. They run clean and dirty channels, which let's them keep their low end while adding OD or distortion. I'd recommend a Sansamp BDDI, Sansamp VT, or a Voodoo lab Sparkle drive as simpler, yet versatile, pedal that can get you close. The BDDI and Sparkle have blend knobs, which allow you to dial in your clean/dirt level. I confess I haven't played a Rat Tail or OSD, but I have a Rat and 5 other OD, fuzz, and distortion pedals. I use an Xotic X-blender to blend my dirt/clean sound, but I'd recommend that for you down the road.

[franksgbass]

Not that Gasman's advice is not good, he makes a good point. But you mentioned your playing seven months. You have a ways to go before your messing with pre-amps and blending your signal. Get the rattail. From what your saying, it seems like that will make you happy. And to answer your question, yes, you could use the rattail as a light overdrive or as a pretty aggressive distortion.

[tracer03]

The Joyo Ultimate Drive is an OCD clone that holds the low end really well, and has some dynamic sensitivity that could work for you.

I picked mine up used for $30 locally, and I'm really digging it.

[LSMFT6]

If you have a specific song by each/either band that really captures the sound you want to achieve with this pedal purchase, we could give you some more specific recommendations.

Justin from Tool does use a Rat but it makes up, at most, like 10% of his overall sound at any given moment. Good bass idol to have though, especially as a beginner.

[KissThaRing]

Thank you all again for the feedback. Yeah, I'm only 7 months in, but I'm having a blast. I jam with a younger guitarist friend of mine and we just sit around for hours noodling and throwing on tracks on the speakers and trying to play it by ear (sounds like hell but its fun) Gasman your absolutely right, those guys run multiple amps and pedals, I know theres no way I can get there tone, I don't have the budget or expertise, lol, like frankgsbass said, I'm basically just looking for 1 pedal to throw me into the ball park. Nothing flashy, just something to "get me on my feet" as far as the fuzz/distortion world goes. I also didn't wanna go too cheap, as in something i would toss in a few months, so I figured the rat tail gets enough praise and it seems to be a keeper for most enthusiast here.

LSMFT6 - A good example of the tone I'm trying to get close to is the at the very end of the song "wake up" by RATM, where the bass really comes to the front as Tom's soloing, I really desire that sound. Also the song "Snakecharmer" especially the chorus, the bass just seems very heavy and fat. As far as tool goes, I really LOVE the Salival version of "Pushit Live" the last 6 min or so when the band goes into that long jam, the bass is super heavy and gritty. Theres are basically the only tones I really aim for, I try my best to do it with fingers and EQ but only so much you can do, haha.

[JimmyM]

I think you want the Rat Tail, so I say get it. The Ampeg amp will do some cool breakup, but not hard stuff like the Rat. A good Rat is still my favorite heavy non-fuzz distortion pedal.

[omie]

Rat Tail can be set for low end loss... but why would you? Some of the settings I've found that do lose some minimal lows are replaced by a savage distortion that will absolutely maul most mixes. This a well crafted bass distortion pedal.
Also my experience is that the RT does not shine thru a practice amp at bedroom levels. If that's where your RT lives, try plugging it into a big rig and "feel the g's."

[MADChuudoku]

Rat's into ampegs are a great sound and the fuzzrocious is loads better than a standard rat, if you go for the Rat Tail, pay the little bit extra for another distortion setting on a second footswitch.

then you basically have two distortions in one box that you can swap between

[Lebowsky]

get the Rat Tail. This is an awesome pedal to have just one distortion pedal at the beginning of your learning, you'll be able to keep it a very long time before wanting anything else.