Members p4vl Posted September 27, 2007 Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 I don't think any of the music shops around here have both, so I cannot A/B them. I played around with the RAT 2, but I wasn't able to use it on an amp that was anything like mine, so I didn't really get the full experience. I'm looking for something new to boost the gain channels on my Peavey XXX (w/EL34's). Right now I have a Digitech Bad Monkey for boosting, which is fine, if a bit transparent. I'd like to have a pedal that can bring a bit of it's own personality to the amp's gain. Having a pedal that can stand-alone is definitely a plus. The Rat's True Bypass is nice, but not a dealbreaker. One thing that might be worth mentioning; my tone is rather dark. I have an LP copy with an Anderson HN3+ in the bridge, neither of which are generous with the highs or high-mids. I can kinda dial it out, but even that is not as smooth as, say, having a guitar made of naturally bright(er) wood or a bright pickup. If one of these pedals is not able to compensate for the lack of highs, speak now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members machine gunner Posted September 27, 2007 Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 I had the Guv'nor 2+ and also have a Rat 2 (w/ LM308). The Guv'nor was a pretty good sounding versatile distortion and the deep switch was a very cool feature, but the Rat flat out sounds better to me w/ more sustain and character (probably better highs as well). I'd say Guv'nor for tweakability (has eq, deep knob) and Rat for tone. I also have a BBII that I use in clean boost mode to drive my Palomino and it works great and adds a little color- also has a pretty nice Blues mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted September 27, 2007 Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 I had the Guv'Nor+ for about six months. It's basic Marshall overdrive. I already play through a Marshall, so I was basically going back and forth between my amp's distortion and the Guv'nor's distortion one day, and I realized that they were nearly identicle, but the amp's sounded a bit tighter. I also found that the Guv'nor sucked tone a bit - not a lot, but enough for me to notice that my amp sounded better without it in the chain. Now I just stick to my amp's distortion, so I haven't found the need to go shopping for another distortion/OD pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members p4vl Posted September 27, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 I mostly use the Crunch channel of my XXX, which is supposed to be modeled on a modded Marshall (stop snickering). Guv'nor might be superfluous. Rat's are supposed to be Marshally, but then they aren't actually made by Marshall... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members edthecat Posted September 27, 2007 Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 The Rat. No contest.. way better pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted September 27, 2007 Members Share Posted September 27, 2007 I mostly use the Crunch channel of my XXX, which is supposed to be modeled on a modded Marshall (stop snickering). Guv'nor might be superfluous. Rat's are supposed to be Marshally, but then they aren't actually made by Marshall... From what I've heard on RAT's, (clips videos, etc.), they don't sound *too* Marshally. The Guv'nor is just that though - Marshall overdrive. It just isn't as tight as a Marshall amp's actual distortion/OD. Personally, I'd go for the RAT - but I like the sound of RAT pedals. I really wasn't impressed with the Guv'Nor+ after I actually had a chance to play around with it on my setup. It's not that it was bad, it was just not great. And for ~$70, you can get a lot of awesome dirt pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members machine gunner Posted September 28, 2007 Members Share Posted September 28, 2007 I mostly use the Crunch channel of my XXX, which is supposed to be modeled on a modded Marshall (stop snickering). Guv'nor might be superfluous. Rat's are supposed to be Marshally, but then they aren't actually made by Marshall...Rats have some Marshall character, but they also have a very distinctive vibe that is uniquely their own. The Guv'nor sounds just like what it is- a pedal trying to emulate Marshalls to a tee and succeeding to some degree, but not completely. I say get the Rat and be done w/ it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy_Thom Posted September 28, 2007 Members Share Posted September 28, 2007 I've tried a couple - normal rat and turbo rat. I didn't like them at all but I quite enjoyed the soundclips of them, I refuse to believe they're bad pedals but they just didnt seem to sit well with my amps/guitat. Something to consider.... Did, however, enojoy using the guvnorII but the 'quality' of the distortion feels sorta cold. Great bass controls on it - you have like a bass eq and one to emulate having a big cab belting out your riffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alivegy Posted September 28, 2007 Members Share Posted September 28, 2007 I had one of the guvnor's for a while. While I liked it at first, it quickly fell out of favor. It doesn't have much of a dynamic sound and the tone sounds very sterile. Your first impression will be "Wow I'm playing through a marshall stack!" but once thats gone you really notice it's shortcomings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted September 28, 2007 Members Share Posted September 28, 2007 I had one of the guvnor's for a while. While I liked it at first, it quickly fell out of favor. It doesn't have much of a dynamic sound and the tone sounds very sterile. Your first impression will be "Wow I'm playing through a marshall stack!" but once thats gone you really notice it's shortcomings. I really wouldn't go that far - I actually HAVE a Marshall half-stack, and you just don't get the same feeling as you do when there's actually a 4x12 involved. The tone just isn't the same either. You just can't emulate an actual 4x12 cabinet. You can EQ a thick tone, but it isn't going to make a combo, or even a 2x12 sound like a 4x12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members only_shallow Posted September 28, 2007 Members Share Posted September 28, 2007 i have no idea, i like my rat, its a nice overdriv/dist but it kinda lacks balls so i need to find something to boost it with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Harry_Manback1 Posted September 29, 2007 Members Share Posted September 29, 2007 I play both. Rat 2 (lm308) for heavy fuzz; Guvnor plus for light grit. Rat sucks a bit of bass. Guvnor has too much - you have to dial it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy_Thom Posted September 29, 2007 Members Share Posted September 29, 2007 I really wouldn't go that far - I actually HAVE a Marshall half-stack, and you just don't get the same feeling as you do when there's actually a 4x12 involved. The tone just isn't the same either. You just can't emulate an actual 4x12 cabinet. You can EQ a thick tone, but it isn't going to make a combo, or even a 2x12 sound like a 4x12. It's not going to be exact, but it actually does make it sound bigger - not just bassier. Really well thought out low end on that pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zacheryhunter Posted September 29, 2007 Members Share Posted September 29, 2007 The Rat can sound marshall-like, but can also do a lot of other things. I've tried a Rat with a marshall a few times and it was different from the amp's drive. I'm not much of a marshall fan, but a Rat with a deluxe or super reverb is bliss. Those marshall pedals look a little flimsy compared to a Rat, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alivegy Posted September 29, 2007 Members Share Posted September 29, 2007 I really wouldn't go that far - I actually HAVE a Marshall half-stack, and you just don't get the same feeling as you do when there's actually a 4x12 involved. The tone just isn't the same either. You just can't emulate an actual 4x12 cabinet. You can EQ a thick tone, but it isn't going to make a combo, or even a 2x12 sound like a 4x12. I was playing it through a 4x12, just not with a marshall head. No, the tone isn't going to be the same, that was my point. Once the honey moon was over I sold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted September 29, 2007 Members Share Posted September 29, 2007 Actually, the MI Audio Crunch Box seems like it would be perfect for your setup. It has the high mids/treble that you lack and it has plenty of gain available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members machine gunner Posted September 30, 2007 Members Share Posted September 30, 2007 I had one of the guvnor's for a while. While I liked it at first, it quickly fell out of favor. It doesn't have much of a dynamic sound and the tone sounds very sterile. Your first impression will be "Wow I'm playing through a marshall stack!" but once thats gone you really notice it's shortcomings. These were exactly my impressions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pedal Pro Posted November 7, 2021 Members Share Posted November 7, 2021 Rat pedals are the best for fender amps they give them that mid hump thing that fender amps lack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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