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ProCo Rat for Bass? Yes or No.
- Thread starter FunkyFever
- Start date
Is the cat tail available in a smaller enclosure?
I'd like it with a clean blend and maybe a feedback mod....
Id still get a kid painted mxr distortion if I had the funds....
I tried an LM308 Rat on bass and didn't like what I heard. On a drop tuned geetar, however......
I am currently using a Proco Juggernaut. The original owner wasn't a huge fan of it, and it wasn't performing well as a lone distortion, used better to put hair on things with the blend knob.
Gave it to a friend to mod, he returned it with two vintage LM308's put into the circuit and now this thing is an absolute BEAST. Its a thick, harmonically rich distortion that goes from smooth and bitey to strait out aggressive noisey clacky fuzzland and it actually DISTORTS THE LOW END WITHOUT COMPROMISING IT.
ProCo Juggernaut Bass Rat Distortion Pedal
Gave it to a friend to mod, he returned it with two vintage LM308's put into the circuit and now this thing is an absolute BEAST. Its a thick, harmonically rich distortion that goes from smooth and bitey to strait out aggressive noisey clacky fuzzland and it actually DISTORTS THE LOW END WITHOUT COMPROMISING IT.
ProCo Juggernaut Bass Rat Distortion Pedal
For my taste, I would never use either without a blend. Those are some pretty high-and-dry distortions.
My guitar player let me borrow his Rat, and it was awesome, at least in solo context.
I got a MXR bass distortion, and didn't love it.
But I'm also more of a light overdrive guy.
I got a MXR bass distortion, and didn't love it.
But I'm also more of a light overdrive guy.
Ive got the Broughton Locust Star which is a bit of a rare bird but it sounds amazing and covers a TON of sonic ground.
I've got a Way Huge Pork Loin and a Fairfield Barbershop. The Barbershop is new to me, and I'm really digging it after my last gig.
If you never turn it off you can kind of tailor the amp's eq to suit it, but pretty much what everyone else said. It lops off a lot of low end. I would go for a bass-specific version with a clean signal blend.
The ProCo will lose low end. They all do. But there are some out there that are better than the ProCo's. The Fuzzro rat tail and the Damnation Para Drive are my two fav rats for bass. The Mosky Black Rat is pretty decent as well in Turbo mode. You can use a ProCo all you want. And I think they sound great. They just suck your low end right out.
If you're just looking to get a drive or OD, I can't recommend the MBD1 enough. Killer OD. If you don't want to spend that much, check out the new MXR Timmy too.
We used RATs in the 80s and 90s bc there were tons of guitar pedals in the $20 used bin but the bass specific pedals that came out later were $$$ and not that easy to get.
I tried the BSP when it was new, we all thought it was a bit too much, and kept using a RAT.
Tube Screamer was cool with J pickups and Bass 400, svt not so much.
Funny how I got older and tons of scooped clank and grit isn’t my bag anymore.
I tried the BSP when it was new, we all thought it was a bit too much, and kept using a RAT.
Tube Screamer was cool with J pickups and Bass 400, svt not so much.
Funny how I got older and tons of scooped clank and grit isn’t my bag anymore.
My favorite is the Iron Pig by Earthbound Audio. Beats out the handful of other Rats I’ve played by a mile. Those include the Volt Thrower, Blower Box, and the Myomorhpa (one of the mini clones).
Hell yeah. It's actually a real Timmy. Just mass produced by MXR. I'd like to pick one up myself eventually. Classic, full range drive pedal. It also has a bass and treble control so you won't be losing any low end with that one.
I've owned this for a few years and refuse to sell this. Its always-on for crystal clear drive. I also like their Accountant compressor....its idiot proof which for me comes in handy...just a volume, 3 choices of ratio, and 3 levels of dB cut.
I like the MXR M80, it has a nice clean tone, blend, and decent distortion. It would be even better if the distortion didn't cut so much low end or if it had a separate EQ for the distortion.
The clean out is a good bootleg bi-amping option. Plus it's a DI.
Nick Harmer from Death Cab For Cutie uses a RAT (duecetone) and it sounds great live. Their song "Doors Unlocked and Open" is the best example to hear this in. Personally, I think worrying about low-end loss really depends on the context in which you'll be using any particular pedal. That being said, the RAT isn't the worst pedal for bass retention out there.
IMO, they can be found cheap enough that it's worth trying out before considering picking up a high end "bass friendly" version.
IMO, they can be found cheap enough that it's worth trying out before considering picking up a high end "bass friendly" version.
It's a fuzz, not a distortion but, I really like the swollen pickle on bass. I believe there's a bass version now. The guitar version gets such a wide variety of sounds. It is very square wave sounding though.
