Help me pick out a Rat for bass please.

[andymac]

Seconding all the IdiotBox BlowerBox Deluxe recommendations. That pedal has been a game changer for me. The best part for me is the way in which the blend is implemented. It is not a straight blend: it has just enough blend to keep the bass in your bass, but enough sauce on the "dry" to not sound like you are playing two separate instruments.

I haven't tried any fancy boutique rattish pedals, but the BlowerBox Deluxe is better than any of the other under $300 pedals in my opinion.

 

[Ian774]

MXR M85 Bass Distortion or Jam Rattler Bass.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Straight up.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

ProCo makes a good one. Why fix what ain't broken?

 

[pedrodelawasp]

Jam Pedals Rattler Bass gets a vote from me

 

[donahue]

Is the Cat King the super Cat Tail?

 

[Hypocrite]

Something that will crush and have good non-muddy low end. Something that won't overly compress and get sputtery under high gain and volume.

Are you sure you want a RAT?

 

[Nunovsky]

Blower Box

 

[MascisMan]

Big Booty Judy

 

[Pulverizor]

Why choose one?

PACKRAT

In 1978, one of the most versatile distortion pedals of all time was invented in Kalamazoo–the ProCo RAT. Scott Burnham and Steve Kiraly had the idea after playing, repairing, and modifying all distortion pedals on the market. They wanted something that didn’t exist yet at MXR, DOD, or BOSS, a...

jhspedals.info

 

[erratick]

I use an 88 or 89 proco rat. A little adapter from Proco style to the boss style power brick.

Dial in a little grit, and instant John Wetton from Red era King Crimson.

 

[Bleezar]

Something that will crush and have good non-muddy low end. Something that won't overly compress and get sputtery under high gain and volume

At least two of the mentioned pedals have filters allowing to control the amount of gain impacting the lows and the rest of the spectrum.
The Volt Thrower have 2 trimpots and the Cat Tail have external controls for that. By decreasing the control impacting the lows and increasing the other to taste you'll get a more clearer / less spongy distortion, it is their secret weapon to me.
The VT's headroom also helps (up to 36v from a 18v power supply) it is a bit more difficult to get but there is 2 of them atm on Reverb, and Magic teased a new batch a while ago now. There is also some good and affordable clones (look for the "Pepper box" circuit).
Getting one killed my gas on Rat for good (tried the Blower Box, Cat Tail, Jam Rattler, Proco, Life v2 and a few more clones / derivates...)

The Lusithand Ground & Pound could also be a fit because it seems a more "modern" sounding take on the circuit but I never tried this one.

 

[zanzibar jorge]

Jam pedals rattler was my all time favorite distortion pedal

 

[projectapollo]

Pulp and peel. Get a great comp, rat, buffered input, and di box all in one.