RAT TurboRat

SKU: # 42462   |   Model: # TURBORAT   |    Product Reviews1 Reviews  Write a Review

TurboRat

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TurboRat
TurboRat
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The TurboRat is the most intense pedal in the RAT family. For those brave enough to harness its power, it provides a palette of distortion unequaled by any other pedal. This is why it has been a main ingredient in the post punk/indie rock movement of the past twenty years.

Boasting more than twice the maximum output of the original RAT, the TurboRat is hard-clipping while the mid-range frequencies are slightly scooped. With a less compressed signal, it also has a brighter tone, so you'll have no trouble being heard through the mix. Since this pedal was designed around the musical distortion that made the RAT famous, it retains these qualities without sounding harsh.

The TurboRat features the legendary RAT Filter control. Turn it to the right to roll off brittle high-end frequencies. Having trouble cutting through the mix? Turn the Filter down and allow the natural brightness of your instrument to shine through. The Distortion and Volume controls dial in the perfect amount of gain while keeping the level consistent with your clean tone. While there's no mistaking the legendary RAT tone when the pedal is on, true bypass switching guarantees that no extra noise will creep into your signal when it's turned off.

All RAT pedals feature:

• 100% analog signal path
• Pro Co's classic, virtually indestructible steel enclosure
• Heavy-duty, industrial footswitches, knobs, and jacks
• On/Off LED indicator
• Sloped face for easy stomping
• Glow in the dark graphics
• Military-spec glass-epoxy circuit board
• AC jack (RPS-1 power supply sold separately)
• "No tools required" battery compartment (9 volt not included)
• Five year limited warranty

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A surprisingly versatile beast 8 of 9 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience   I own it
Closest Store   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
I bought my Turbo Rat about 7 years ago, and I've used it almost every time I've plugged a guitar in. The distortion can range from a bluesy crunch to 80's metal to grunge to wall-of-fuzz, depending on how you adjust the 3 dials and how your amp is set up. Things can get really interesting when you include a volume pedal before the rat, or when you run the signal into another distortion/overdrive pedal or into an amp's dirty channel. Some people complain that the Rat pedals are too fuzzy, but I think this comes from misunderstanding how the pedal functions. The distortion and volume knobs combine to create the final output level - the volume is not a master volume. About 90% of the time, I keep the volume at 1/4 or under and the distortion at 1/2 or under. Bear in mind that this pedal can output well over 2 volts (the spec sheet online says up to 2.8v!), whereas most pedals can only push around 1v. With the volume and distortion both cranked, you may well end up pushing other effects pedals (or your preamp) into distortion, which can be brutal. I fried a cheap EQ pedal thanks to the Turbo Rat's voltage once. That said, sometimes it's fun to deliberately crank it. For some solos, I'll boost the signal before the Turbo Rat by about 6 db, then run it into an amp set to a fairly tame level of overdrive (think a Boss DS-1 at about 1/3 distortion). This makes for a really fuzzy sound if you play chords, but for solos it's just beautiful. The notes come through sounding surprisingly clear, but with fuzzy texture around the edges and fantastic sustain. It sounds kind of like some Queens of the Stone Age solos. The pedal seems to impart a somewhat mid-heavy tone, but this really depends on your guitar and how it's set up. The settings on your amp will allow you to compensate for this to some degree as well. I don't bother though, as the Rat's tone allows you to cut through a mix with lead riffs and solos. I play with a very loud drummer, a guitarist that uses a lot of 5 and 6 string chords, and a bassist that walks up and down the neck a lot. There's a lot going on, so the Rat's ability to bring my guitar through the mix is a big help for me. Also, the Filter (AKA Tone) knob just rolls off the high end of the spectrum. You can use it to control feedback or in case it sounds brittle with your setup. If you go too far, it can start to sound muddy. I usually stick within the first 1/4 for rhythm, and sometimes go up to around 1/2 for lead, but this is something that really depends on the guitar and amp used. I have a solid state Fender amp that I'll usually use the filter on, and a tube Peavey amp that I almost never use the filter on. And as for durability - the thing is a steel box made with military-spec components. I've dropped it down flights of stairs, sloshed both beer and hard liquor on it, stomped on it (surprise!), left it outside in rain overnight, and left it in my car at -40 overnight. This thing just keeps on working. I think I paid around $125 for it, and that was back when I was only making about 8 bucks an hour. It was worth every cent, particularly considering how it's helped me define my own sound. So all in all, the Turbo Rat is an indestructible and great-sounding distortion pedal that can provide some nice warm texture at low distortion settings, all the way up to a brutal roar or mountain of fuzz. This pedal really rewards experimentation. It's not for everyone, as it can't (on its own) do the really smooth overdrive of something like a Tubescreamer, or the scooped-mids sound used for most modern metal, but it can do just fine for pretty much everything else. I've even used it without an amp for some recordings.
Posted by anonymous on Jan 31, 2013
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