I never used the guitar distortion stomp box The Rat myself, but here in Philadelphia I’ve long associated it with Townsman saturnismine,* who’s always had it ready to boost one of his solos whenever I’ve seen him play live and the few times I’ve played alongside him. I’m pretty sure he’s the only guitarist to have used a Rat on one of my own band’s recordings, when he overdubbed dualing solos on what we hoped would go down as the shortest seemingly long guitar jam in rock history. In other words, I hated The Rat for whatever weird aesthetic reasons I’m prone to hating inanimate things until I heard being stomped on and played through by my friend.
I learned from another friend of the Hall today that Charlie Wicks, the creator of The Rat and the founder and CEO of musical equipment manufacturer Pro Co died of cancer a couple of weeks ago. This other friend is also a cool guy and cool musician. I may have to re-think The Rat…
In honor of Mr. Wicks and his Rat, what’s your favorite stompbox? No digital plug-ins, please! I wrote about my favorite a few years ago, here.
Also in honor of Mr. Wicks, Rock Town Hall’s Official Eulogy follows the jump!
*Hey, where is that guy when we need him to raise a little hell?
And should we note the passing of Baron Mikel Scicluna?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/sports/24scicluna.html
Now I’m all digital, but ages ago I did love my Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man.
And I miss saturn.
I’m basically a no-pedals guy. But I can occasionally find a good use for a simple tremolo stomp-box. I’m not picky about the brand.
Boss HM-2
it’s a Heavy Metal pedal, and they don’t make it anymore. I play through one, and I love it.
Also, rock photog Jim Marshall has died:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/jim-marshall-photographer-of-rock-stars-dies/
I played with a guy who insisted the Rat was the best thing ever. It does have a nasty tone, each pedal is different. My personal favorite is the Fulltone Fulldrive, but each situation is different, ya know.
dear rth,
since entering the witness protection program, consorting with the likes of you is forbidden.
however, i’ve been granted a reprieve in light of today’s events.
i think that a recent turn in my relationship with the Rat pedal provides an impressive testimonial to its greatness.
while mr. mod is correct when he says that i used the rat for solos, in recent years, i gave the little black an even more important role. i now put it first in my chain of pedals and leave it in the ‘on’ position. next to the fender twin, the 2×12 kustom cabinet, and whatever guitar i’m playing (either a single coil or soap bar SG, or a danelectro 12-stringer), the rat IS my basic sound.
the distortion nob stays at around 1.5, and the tone is about 3/4s of the way towards the bass side, and i adjust the volume nob according to the quirks of the room where we play, but it usually doesn’t go past 3, so that the other pedals have room for volume.
and speaking of the other pedals, i set them to do little more than add volume to the basic sound that the rat establishes. that’s how much i like the rat.
so now the pedals i have after it are a big muff and a tube screamer: any nobs that might add distortion (“drive” “overdrive” “sustain” or what have you) are at 1.5 at the most. it’s the volume nobs that matter: they simply make the rat’s sound louder when it’s time to go “up the neck.”
with the rat being the main determinant, i swear to you, if I crunch hard on the strings it sounds nice and thick and distorted, but if I begin to strum lightly or finger pick, it’s almost completely clean. I may have to drop the guitar’s volume nob to 8 or so if I want it to jangle, but that’s about it. that pedal is unbelievably responsive when set like that.
Mr. Wicks, you’ve done a lot of damage to these ears. thank you.
and mr. mod, thanks to you, too, for calling this to my attention. my handlers have been keeping a safe distance from me all night. and they fill my rocks glass with temparanillo without protest.
My choice is probably a bit pedestrian but the Ibanez Tube Screamer is indispensable. Even if I weren’t stuck playing leads in my band, I’d still have one to warm up the rhythm sound.
townspeople,
i wrote: “i gave the little black an even more important role.”
but that should say “i gave the little black [box] an even more important role.”
i was tempted to leave that omission standing, to see the comedic responses you knuckleheads might craft out of it, but i decided against it. racial tension is no laughing matter.
and given my tenuous relationships with both johnny law and his underworld nemeses, I have little margin for error these days. I’m leaving nothing to chance.
carry on.
Scicluna?!?! No, that hurts! He was awesome.
From the Isle of Malta……..
Favorite box – Maestro Parametric Filter. I found it in a clearance bin in a music store out near MWALL country for $10 in the mid-80’s. Known is Nixon’s Head circles as “The Coltrane Box”
http://www.keyboardmuseum.com/pic/m/mae/para.jpg
I was too busy marveling at the awesomeness of spelling it “nob” to get into any heavy raciality.
Pedals? Boss OC-2 Octaver! (For bass, that is.)