big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

D

drjones

New member
I've borrowed a russian Big muff, and I sort of like it, it sounds killer when i have my TSL60 at practice level, but for home it doesnt quite cut it. I guess im looking for a pedal that i can run through the clean channel that will sound decent at "home" levels.

Im playing either hwy1 strat or Epi LP through the TSL60 and 2x12 cab. Have a maxon OD9 which also sounds awesome when the amp is loud, but doesnt help when playing at home.

Would like to get sounds similar to 90's bands guns n roses, pearl jam, STP, etc etc, also digging the darkness at the moment. Have no dramas getting decent sounds at gig volume just after a distortion pedal for home.

Have been looking at the various Rats and Big muffs, and not sure if these are what im looking for. Any opinions?

cheers
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I have owned at least 4 or so Big Muffs and 5 or 6 Rats...what do you want to know?

Are you looking for something different? what do you need it for? what kind of tone do you need?
 
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Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

guess im just after a full sounding distortion to run through the clean channel of the amp. I suppose im looking for a pedal to have a decent sound on its own, and not as a supplement to the overdrive of the amp.

what are differences between the different muffs and rats, which is better? are they all similiar? There not pedals that are stocked very often around here so will probably hunt for a good deal on the net. Dont want anything that sounds like a boss DS1, its a bit thin and trebly for my liking.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

IMO a Big Muff and a Rat are night and day pedals...as for which is better it depends on what you want it to do.

I love my Rat pedals...I think they sound great into a clean amp used as a Distortion pedal.

What kind of tone are you looking for? Also, why not use the distortion chennel(s) on your TSL?
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

the distortion channels arent that great when i play quite, which is why i want the pedal. Want something that would get me i guess in the ball park of big sounding chords like Ac Dc or the Darkness. Would probably also use this pedal into marshall valvestate when my main amp is not around.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats who's played em?

Re: big muffs/proco rats who's played em?

I've owned both the big muff and rat. Here's my take on both. The big muff nails the classic Cream/Experience tone's, But I never liked it? Even being a self proclaimed disciple of Jimi. I've just never liked the sound of Fuzz coming thru my amp. For lack of a better reason.It just sounds...Um... Fuzzy:doh:
Just never worked for me? The rat on the other hand offered up some nice chunky & Crunchy chords that i really liked, But to my ears the lead tone left something to be desired. To my ears the notes sounded narrow and thin and very colored?
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I look through pedals on Ebay and then research them on the net to see what peoples opinions of them are. Most of them are well talked about like Tubescreamers, Boss pedals and wahs, but havent heard much about Rats and the various big muffs.

Today i saw a metal muff, double muff (I know its so open for bad humour here), and deucetone Rat, but cant find any opinions on them. Just curious as to who here has played them (any of the Proco Rats or EHX muffs, not just these 3), how they sounded and what they used them for.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I recall Rev. Donzo using one to excellent effect at the So Cal Jam... ask him about 'em!
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I think the Rat is a good pedal. The Hyde side of my Jekyll & Hyde pedal is supposed to be similar to a Rat. I haven't played a Rat in a long time but from what I can remember I think it's a little smoother than the J&H, but overall same vibe. I've got a sound clip of the J&H it going thru a clean channel if you want to get an idea. Just follow the link in my sig.

But with that said, I'd push the dirty channel of the TSL with something like an 808 before looking to a pedal to provide all the dirt.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

drjones said:
I look through pedals on Ebay and then research them on the net to see what peoples opinions of them are. Most of them are well talked about like Tubescreamers, Boss pedals and wahs, but havent heard much about Rats and the various big muffs.
Today i saw a metal muff, double muff (I know its so open for bad humour here), and deucetone Rat, but cant find any opinions on them. Just curious as to who here has played them (any of the Proco Rats or EHX muffs, not just these 3), how they sounded and what they used them for.
Click to expand...

OK, if you've tried a Big Muff and a Rat and didn't care for them then I woudl stop looking into them, it also sounds like you don't want a TS type unit either. There are a million distortion/overdrive boxes out there...do a search on this forum and you'll find quite a few choices
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats who's played em?

Re: big muffs/proco rats who's played em?

kmcguitars said:
The rat on the other hand offered up some nice chunky & Crunchy chords that i really liked, But to my ears the lead tone left something to be desired. To my ears the notes sounded narrow and thin and very colored?
Click to expand...

Zakkly my feelings as well....great for crunch, too spindly for lead work. I think Christian bought mine AAMOF :laugh2:
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

bungalowbill said:
Here are a couple of places to look and it is all good stuff.


http://www.barberelectronics.com/products.html

http://www.miaudio.com/Pedals.htm

These are all very reasonable for the quality. good luck in your search.
Click to expand...

I agree with bungalowbill in regards to the MI pedals, but don't know about the barber's. I've went through a bunch of pedals, including the RAT, Big Muff (u.s.), and the MXR Dist + boxes, plus a bunch of Boss both modded and unmodded. And they all have different sounds and tones to them and they're usually fairly inexpensive to buy either new or used. I bought a lot of stuff off ebay and was stubborn at how much I paid to cut my losses, if any, on a pedal that didn't work out. I've still got most of them packed away in boxes somewhere. I don't use them much because evidently the ones I have are reissue's and are pretty noisy. They need better caps inside and probably a few better chips to get something decent out of 'em.
I'm finding that if you want to get top-notch tone along with the desired effect you're going to have to resolve yourself to the fact, sooner or later, that some semi-serious cash is going to have to be laid down to get what you need. I'm contemplating a Carl Martin Plexitone boost/dist. pedal that has a great sound to it, but that puppy is gonna set me back $2 bills to buy. Another great-sounding pedal is the M.I. Crunchbox. These are tailored towards the Marshall sound with cool distortion and boost for longer sustain. I want this sound without having to crank my amp up to 6 or 7 while feeling every hair in my inner ear lay down like they were in a wind-tunnel....lol. The payoff, of course, would be if I got the sound I was hoping for out of it and can shape that into my own sound. I know that the better pedals have better circuit boards, switches, and other components than the cheaper ones, which makes a big difference in sound quality and adds cost to building them. But you probably won't have to worry about doing any mods to these kinds of pedals. So, what the heck. Gotta splurge once in awhile.....lol.
It's hard to pin it down to one pedal, 'cause everyone's got different gear.It's trial and error, and tweakin' everything until you nail it down. Best of luck to ya in finding it.

...Bob

p.s. I might be selling off some of this stuff before too long, and if I do I'll give my sista's and brudda's here at the forum a whack at 'em before throwin' them out on ebay. But I'll post it if I do.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I've never cared for the Big Muff, except for the Fripp style leads it just does nothing for me. I've used different Rat's over the years and they are very usable, just listen to Jeff Beck, he's been playing thru a Rat into a 50 watt Marshall longer then some of us here have been alive and you can't argue with his tone!
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

saladin said:
I've never cared for the Big Muff, except for the Fripp style leads it just does nothing for me. I've used different Rat's over the years and they are very usable, just listen to Jeff Beck, he's been playing thru a Rat into a 50 watt Marshall longer then some of us here have been alive and you can't argue with his tone!
Click to expand...

Jeff Beck could play a uke througth a microwave oven and get good tone :fingersx: I agree the Rat is a good stompbox for the price.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

I never found a Rat I liked. I owned a few old Big Muffs. It always struck me that they were all different. What I liked about Big Muffs was the "hugeness" they add, but I wasn't a big fan of the fuzz. I have never liked using a pedal as my primary source of gain/distortion.

Nowadays, my primary OD/boost is a Barber Direct Drive. Again, I use it as a lead boost type thing, not as my primary source of gain.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

i played an original big muff pi pedal from the 70s and it can make for a thick and chunky distortion if you dial it in. think of a 40 time overdubbed guitar.
 
Re: big muffs/proco rats whos played em?

If you want something that gets a chunky ac/dc type tone at low volume I know it sounds kinda lame but try the marshall Guvnor/Jackhammer pedals they get a really huge tone at low volume levels, I have a guvnor that i use at home with my vox pracitce amp and its great for bedroom use
I prefer not to use them on stage it dosent respond the same way and gets way harsher, i like using a booster with my amps distortion for louder levels. A few people love the Jackhammer which is sposed to get a fairly nice JCM800 type crunch tone in overdrive mode. So id say give them a try at the store.

Dills
 
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