Rat-like distortion with less mids... does it exist?

[Theobalt]

Hey!

My main drive pedals are a Rat and a Big Muff Green Russian. I really like both, but these two prefer different settings on my amp. The rat prefer fenderish mid-scooped amps to shine, while a big muff sounds best on mid-pushed amps. On my blackstar I can alternate between both voicings, but if I could have a Rat-like distortion with less mids that would sound majestic on a mid-pushed voiced amp, that would be great (less footswitching... ).

Any ideas guys and gals?

Thanks!

[LLL]

If you have an FX loop, stick an EQ in there and try lowering a few dBs within the range of 500Hz - 1.5KHz

[NegativeEase]

If your amp has a Presence Knob, try turning that down too -some of the high hard clipping harmonic sizzle of a Rat may be what is annoying you more than actual mid range -as sometimes the 2 go hand in hand.

[Theobalt]

Hey! Thanks for the ideas!

On the other hand, they miss the objective of having less footswitching to do when going from the big muff to the rat, since the EQ pedal (or haunting mids pedal) have to be deactivated also. I am looking for a possible replacement of the rat for a similar distortion with less mids. Any other ideas?

[FuseG4]

I dunno if it helps cuz it's kinda different but here's what I use for indie kinda 90s pop punk sound
I use a rat and a big muff with my bugera v22 which I set for a mid rangey crunch.... The big muff is for loud pixies kinda whaling on it, rat is for hard clipping aggressive distortion and sometimes lead boost on top of my main crunch pedal
And my main crunch and dirty cleans with volume rolled back is a boss blues driver with the knobs at about noon.

I have the rat and blues driver in one loop of an a/b switcher and the big muff in another so i can switch with one press


It is not mid heavy at all and has a slightly fuzzy character that I think always balanced well with the rat and mid rangey amps like orange which I've had a couple of...
then again I mostly use the rat like a tube screamer. Low distortion and high volume boost, I'm mostly taking it for the color it adds so ymmv.

Not saying the blues driver is a mid-neutral rat... But I think they work well together

[NegativeEase]

I dunno if it helps cuz it's kinda different but here's what I use for indie kinda 90s pop punk sound
I use a rat and a big muff with my bugera v22 which I set for a mid rangey crunch.... The big muff is for loud pixies kinda whaling on it, rat is for hard clipping aggressive distortion and sometimes lead boost on top of my main crunch pedal
And my main crunch and dirty cleans with volume rolled back is a boss blues driver with the knobs at about noon.

I have the rat and blues driver in one loop of an a/b switcher and the big muff in another so i can switch with one press


It is not mid heavy at all and has a slightly fuzzy character that I think always balanced well with the rat and mid rangey amps like orange which I've had a couple of...
then again I mostly use the rat like a tube screamer. Low distortion and high volume boost, I'm mostly taking it for the color it adds so ymmv.

Not saying the blues driver is a mid-neutral rat... But I think they work well together

Agree, a blues driver will definitely neuter some of the Rat midrange if you stack them.

[Mr. 80's]

My favorite od/distortion in front of a vintage style Marshall is a Rat. The filter knob on the Rat does wonders. I definitely never have any issues with midrange from the Rat. If it sounds shrill to you at all, just crank the filter knob up higher.

[chadd]

Hey! Thanks for the ideas!

On the other hand, they miss the objective of having less footswitching to do when going from the big muff to the rat, since the EQ pedal (or haunting mids pedal) have to be deactivated also. I am looking for a possible replacement of the rat for a similar distortion with less mids. Any other ideas?

I've done something similar with a loop switcher (mine had six or so loops). Putting an EQ or something to cut mids in the same loop as the rat and then step on both buttons at the same time to kill the muff loop and enable the rat/EQ loop.

Here is something from the company I used https://www.loop-master.com/looper-e...sion-p-31.html

[chadd]

When it comes to missing the point, we are the best in the industry.

An A/B loop switcher that lets you toggle between two loops might be a workable solution. One stomp toggles between whatever you put in Loop A, and whatever you put in Loop B. Pick each dirt pedal and your EQ without having to worry about switching both at the same time.



Or try this. It is an awesome distortion pedal, and you can select whether you want the EQ on or off with the Hi and Lo gain channels. Go crazy with the EQ for one channel but leave it off for the other.

The only issue with an A/B is that you still have to hit two buttons to get to a clean channel. If you don't need clean, A/B is the way to go.

[chadd]

The loophole is the fact that, whichever distortion you are running through with the A/B, you are one button away from clean by putting that pedal in bypass with its own switch. It doesnt matter if the other pedal is in bypass or not. You just have to know which drive you are running through.

Yep, just a matter of which type of change you're going to make more often, as to which way you want to skin the cat.

[Blille]

When it comes to missing the point, we are the best in the industry.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Blille]

Hey! Thanks for the ideas!

On the other hand, they miss the objective of having less footswitching to do when going from the big muff to the rat, since the EQ pedal (or haunting mids pedal) have to be deactivated also. I am looking for a possible replacement of the rat for a similar distortion with less mids. Any other ideas?

Rat with EQ:

https://www.pettyjohnelectronics.com/product-page/rous