Yes, that is a RAT on my pedalboard. Really. 

More Ratt on the Rat please!

Interestingly, my latest, inspiring secret weapon is a RAT on low gain. I learned the RAT has the same frequency hump as a Klon but I find it easier to get great edge-of-breakup tones from the RAT. I boost the volume and filter almost all the way, then turn the distortion knob all the way down and roll it up just until I hear the clipping diodes click on. I’m relatively new to RATs but they’re quickly becoming my favorite dirt variant.

I got my first Rat around '86 and used it with all sorts of amps rocking clubs from the Sunset Strip to Culver City. It's a great, simple pedal but it's not a one trick pony and it works for every style. I used it in those days to strike a nice balance between the classic rock of the 70s I grew up with and the metal I was playing in those days. I used it with my JMP, then with several Fender and Peavey and Marshall combos. It always delivered. One thing I love about the pedal is how organic it sounds and feels. It's very tube-like, but it never feels like it's fighting your amp for dominance. My advice with the Rat is to dial it in very lightly and use that filter carefully. It works miracles. The knobs are very responsive. I prefer it to more modern, chuggy, ultra gain pedals. The Rat is not overly compressed like many modern pedals nor is it brittle like an MXR. It's a masterwork of a pedal.

Hi Shawn, to answer your "secret weapon" question....Someone heard me playing on the radio many years ago and thought that an op amp Big Muff was what I was missing. This gentlemen sent me his old 70's op amp fuzz and I've ended up using it somewhere on every single project I've done over the last 20+ years. It just records beautifully for me.

Rocking that Qui-Gon Jin hair style and sounding great as ever! You get lots of good sound from just one pedal.

Freshly purchased a Bat - a handmade Rat clone from Poland with the LM308 chip, SI / GE / LED mods. Needless to say, I'm floored. That specific type of circuitry really tickles my fancy: it can do the "organic blues" thing all the way to the full heavy rock stuff. Stacks nicely and can roar quite nicely with a simple transparent booster in front. Win win win.

Love the RAT - never found an overdrive/distortion pedal I've liked better. My secret weapon though: the Digitech DOD 440 Envelope Filter. Always adds a "woah" factor.

nice demo ! my favorite dist pedal ever (i have the jam version really great) for some reason the "fuzz" character it has brings it in the marshall territory better than any other drive, and the mids the pedal have is perfect live !

The rat is an under appreciated pedal. Users from David gilmour to heavy grunge players can’t be wrong.

It's quite amazing, because i have and have bought every overdrive/distortion under the sun! But it always goes back to a few basic classics, which everything else seems to be based on. A fuzz face, a big muff, a Rat, a boss SD1/ or tube screamer and a marshall governor! And the Rat can do almost all of what the others can do to some degree! I have the Wampler Ratsbane now, because it's small and gives me an extra option of a mid boost, but it's essentially still, the Rat! It just works

My secret weapon has been the Dhyana Drive (Zendrive) model in my helix. I've never tried a real one, but for beautiful singing sustain in solos you can't beat it.

I use mine always. Bought it used back in 86 for 35 bucks ,been on my board ever since.1986 model. Distortion set at about 2 o'clock ,filter around 9 and volume at about 9 or 10.

If you can consider “always on” pedals to be secret weapons, I guess I have a couple. I’ve got an old Danelectro Dan Echo that has a high cut control to roll treble off of the repeats - I have that pedal permanently on at the end of my chain, set to a slapback (between 110-120ms) with the treble rolled all the way off the echo and the echo level just barely in the mix. It just thickens the sound. You don’t even notice how much it is adding to the sound until you turn it off. The other one, that may not *always* be on, but it’s always there, ready to use, is a Sonic Maximizer. The bass and treble controls are rolled all the way down on it, but it still just makes everything sound richer and more articulate, without really being noticeable. Again, you don’t even realize how much it’s adding until you switch it off. I have an old Rat that I typically have set to edge of breakup tones. One thing that surprised me in your demo was how much yours cleaned up when you rolled the guitar volume down, even with the gain at 2 o’clock. One my nit-picks with the Rat is that it doesn’t clean up as well as I’d like, but I guess I have to do some more experimenting there.

Sweet! I have an old big box rat on my board and a flat top small box waiting in the wings if it dies. Not usually my first choice but it just plain works in a live band mix.

For the answer at the end of the video. My secret weapon is a pair Lexicon PCM70s and my Lexicon PC42 and 41 Delays. The 41 does an insanely awesome chorus/flanger/doubler sound in conjunction with my vintage Marshalls and the verbs and delays in the PCM70 are just plane charming even in modern mixes.

One of the great things about the RAT is that it works with single coil guitars as well as with those with humbuckers. And in the humbucker domain it doesn’t matter if their hot or not. Most other distortion FX are problematic in this regard.

Awesome tones with the Rat, I’ll have to try one now! My secret weapon is the Formula B Univibe. Not a lot of people know about this boutique company, but I absolutely love their damn pedals.

I absolutely love the RAT pedal, It's honestly one of my fav pieces of kit ever, I'm a sucker for the big sludge tones it can go into especially when boosted with a big muff... I was super interested to hear how they would play with either the D20 or G20 amps as I'm currently strongly thinking about picking one up as part of a new mobile rig. Also super curious how various preamp pedals behave with the G20, stuff like the EAE Model Fet and the Kuro T120 in particular.

I really need to get a rat style drive. I love the models I’ve tried in software, but there’s just something about having actual knobs to fiddle with.

Absolutely insane video showing the sheer beauty and dynamics/cleanup of a RAT. Well done Shawn 🙂

Ahh yes...The Rat. Most people either love them or hate them. I've discovered that the players that hate them don't know how to use them because Guitar Player's are knuckleheads.

My secret weapon is a DOD FX40 6-band eq from the mid 80’s. Even with the level barely bumped up, it adds this grit that other eq’s I’ve tried simply don’t have. Sounds great w/every amp I’ve tried it with. Turned all my “playing” friends on to it!

Recently discovered the joy of boosting an OCD with an Xotic EP Boost (before the OCD)... I swear its a gorgeous distortion tone, especially when playing a Gibson style (hum buckers) My new "secret weapon". However, the RAT is absolutely my favorite distortion of all time. It just sings (if you know how to use it)..

I have one of the 85 whiteface reissues they did about ten years ago or more. They made about 100 with the correct chip. It’s not always on my board but I love it. I love how it can do a fuzzy tone, that nails the “spirit in the sky” riff. However, one trick is to use it as a light overdrive. It’s surprisingly great at that setting.

Apparently Nuno Bettencourts secret weapon too! Although he has a unique way of using it. Thanks for the vid and awesome demo! Might be this the video that convinces me to get the RAT!

Awesome! I owned that same era Rat pedal and used it on everything back in the late 80' to early 90's. Killer tones and playing!!

I’ve always had a love hate relationship with the rat circuit. Thanks for your insights Shawn!

I finally bought a 7 string strandberg and it changed the way I play. That additional low string and the new shapes to take advantage of it made me approach the guitar in a different way.

Oddly enough I have the original 1986 version of the RAT you have in the video that I bought new back then. I used to get more compliments on my sound using that pedal through a Dean Markley CD-60 Tube combo than any other amp/pedals I ever used. Ran the Dean Markley thru a 2x12 cab with two 300 watt Gauss speakers. Guitar at the time was an 82 Gibson Flying V2 with the Dirty Fingers humbuckers, not the V shaped pickups. That was my killer rig at the time. IMO the original 80's Dean Markley CD60's may be one of the most underrated amps ever. Pristine Cleans and a great dirty channel.

Not so much any device but watching videos from you , AT, LA Sound Design etc - brings out different playing n gets me out of boxes n thinking more ..

I've had the same rat box on my pedalboard since i got it in 1984.

My Boss OD3 is possibly my secret weapon. just makes me play so articulate and reacts so beautifully with my Budda V20 superdrive combo. Great video as always Sir. I can listen to you play for hours. Cheers

Nice playing. Back in the eighties in london, pedals for rock were mainly Ratt, ds1, SD-1 in front of a Marshall. Run on batteries. Secret weapon is switch everything off, if it sounds good acoustic then I find it easier to build from.

The PRS horsemeat is definitely my go to pedal now! It has the most amazing tones for a drive pedal. I literally haven't used a different pedal for drive, distortion etc since the day I got it which was the day after they were released. It sounds more like a natural distortion from an amp being pushed than a pedal distortion. That's not something I even knew was different before I got this thing. It's just incredible!If you haven't tried one I highly recommend checking one out! Paul knows tone!

1:16 I hear the 80's calling me for another round. HELL YEA I NEED A RAT!!

I'd go with my Pettyjohn Nutria for that "makes me come out with something different" thing. Coincidentally. also a RAT-inspired circuit. Perhaps not such a coincidence... :)

My current "secret weapon" is a bog standard Blues Driver, especially with a Tele, volume & gain at noon and tone almost at 0. On its own not a high fidelity sound, but so good in the mix and super fun. Plus it won't break the bank.

My secret weapon is the Walrus Audio Eons. So many different fuzzy tones

Agreed, Ratz are pretty amazing pedals, i love mine. My secret weapon though: Walrus Audio 385 overdrive pedal. You'll thank me later

I play a whole bunch of different styles, but if I'm just doing a sort of singer-songwriter Nashville-style thing for myself or a client I'm recording/producing/playing for, my Wampler Belle stays on all the time. As for something that makes me play different, probably my MXR Sub Machine. Traditional octave fuzz (switchable high octave) with a blendable low octave that you can either have in series (before the fuzz) or parallel (separate from the fuzz). Excellent for some stoner/desert rock stuff, makes for a MASSIVE tone!

J. Rockett Guthrie Trapp Overdrive (old big box) is a secret weapon that’s not always on the board. Whenever I plug it it in, I wonder why it’s not. Honorable mention to Keeley Katana; just makes everything sound 3D when it’s on.

Great video Shawn. I always love watching your RU-vid channel. I have 2 secret weapon pedals on my board. The first is a MXR Carbon Copy analog delay. I primarily use it like you just explained how you use your delay pedal. The first time I set it up that way my entire board came alive & full sounding. I love it. The 2nd secret weapon pedal is my OCD overdrive. I normally always have my MXR on plus a J. Rocket Archer, then I’ll add a J. Rocket Majestic for crunch. But, when I want that smooth cream overdrive (or harder OD), that’s when I either add the OCD or turn off the Majestic & add just the OCD depending on what the song requires. Thx again for all the great videos & tips! Chet Puckett

The LIghtspeed with the Keeley Halo has been my latest inspiration combo...and I have my Revv Tilt hitting the Lightspeed. Those 3 together have become the heart of my board, surrounded by other situational toys (Tumnus, Mobius, H9, Ego comp)... Picked up the Wampler Ratsbane when it came out, I haven't owned a Rat since the early 90s. Lots of fun and I always have it in my bag of extras, just in case.

The Rat!! One of my fave pedals ever !! Sounding awesome!!

I’ve got a Wampler Ratsbane and really like it. For secret weapons I’ve found my HXStomp and Spark40 to fill the bill lately. Thanks for the vid!

i used to have the Fairfield Meet Maude very early in my chain--before the overdrives, boosts, etc. im not sure what it was but the repeats seemed to glue together and sweeten once they were filtered through the gain stages. that was my secret weapon til i sold the meet maude. now it's the BBE sonic maximizer at the end of my chain

Shawn, that was NOT terrible! That was nice melodic shredding!!!

I like using alternate tunings to bring inspiration. But gear I love the wampler dual fusion.

my secret weapon is the MXR Modified OD pedal and the ibanez CF7 Chorus pedal

My secret weapon is the Origin Effects Revivaldrive. It sounds awesome and has so many possibilities.

for boost purposes ive been using the parametric eq in my boss ms3 and it sounds great, its super adjustable and has loads of output which is nice, I also like the fender engager boost for the same purpose, nice clean boost but also sounds good without boosting and just using it as a simple 3 band eq

while its snake oil to some, its essential oil for me haha. my secret weapon would be the sonic maximizer pedal ss-92, lo contour at full and process knob depends on the situation. once you have it on you'll never go back.

FAB chorus, the plastic one from danelectro, thats my secret weapon

I completely agree that there is something about the rat pedal that is different from any other pedal I've tried the Box Sachin Ator Joe Satriani signature pedal I've tried the mxr custom badass modified OD and many other gain boost distortion pedals there's nothing like the original rat pedal which is what I have

Best dirt pedal ever !

I only wish I would have discovered the Rat, or took it more seriously much earlier, It’s my go to dirt pedal for clean amps

I have a 1981 Inventions DRV and man i plugged that just of curiosity and never left the board really versatile pedal... and Shawn is that a Nordvang 83 on you board!? ;)

How about a demo of the Rat and your Tilt pedal, should be a good combo.

I implore you, no more Revv demo vids until you've shown us these things can do Sabbath and if they can't, how do we get your custom shop to make us something slow and sludgy? I need Revv in my life but this tight fizzy modern distortion is antithetical to my slow saturated fat and sassy guitar style. Seriously, give your engineer some edibles, have him design the Matamp killer Canada deserves then call me ASAP. Dead serious, cash in hand, lets make it happen!

what pedal will you suggest to boost the rat for lead tone?

'Secret 'weapon: Boss DS1 into Plexi. See Marcus Deml.

Went to band practice last week, and being my lazy self, I left my pedalboard home and just brought a Jrocket archer and a Lovepedal purple Plexi, both with batteries. It sounded great, though the Nace Pro 18 I leave at practice. So it got me thinking one more drive and an Eventide h90,expression pedal and Volume pedal and I'd be happy. Maybe I'll get a Rat to be the 3rd pedal. What do you guys think? My other board has way too many options/ choices, although it works flawlessly (MIDI) it's a lot of stuff.

"Yes, there is one of the most famous distortion pedals on my pedalboard. Really." Yeah no shit. The rat is famous for a reason.

What's that riff he played on 1:33

Hi nice video! Any suggestion for a distortion pedal to pair with an old combo peavey stereo chorus 400 ( similar to JC-120) as main crunch tone? Eventually the RAT is good also on Marshall's style or toom many mids? thank you very much

I can here some Smashing Pumpkin tones 👍🏻

how do you deal with sag that a rat2 produces with humbucker equiped guitars?

Shawn, my secret weapon lately is running the right side of a Cornerstone Gladio Double Preamp into a Vemuram Jan Ray. The Gladio adds this crazy fuzz sound to the Jan Ray! It sounds like Clapton Crossroads! I use single coils in a strat but it sounds like a 335 into a marshall stack!

So, this RAT love. Did this occur when your hair got past a certain length? 🙂

Long Live The Rat

Best pedal ever

I'm a Rat fan since the early 90's, and... Longtime Rat fan tip... have a backup. Have two.

is that a james tyler guitar

RATs are awesome!

JHS Pack Rat and the Boss OD-200 just kicks ass thru a Les Paul and a Marshall DSC 40. I melt faces with both!

I love the RAT!!

Rat user since 83 ish

cool man, I'v got a Rat II

everything at 2 ... TPS

RAT is best.

Hi, so you have no use for The Dude these days?

When it comes to cork sniffing or picky gearheads, I say: go listen to the vids of Jeff Beck on a Boss Cube, Satriani on a fan's Fender starter kit and EVH on Chrissy Hyndes Tele. GUEES WHO THE !@#$% THEY SOUNDED LIKE? lol, HF