Tried the Keeley modded RAT

[yngzaklynch]

First off I'd like to throw a huge thanks to bobbtoz for sending me the RAT to try. Very very cool of you sir.

Like Bob told me, less is more with this pedal. It easily compresses the amp. It seesm to throw out a very strong signal that quickly can turn the tone to mush. If kept on lower setting a great boosted Marshall tone is had. Still I think the Keeley SD-1 is much more for me. I think the Rat might be a much better match for an amp with less gain than my Vintage Modern. Next on the list to try is a Maxon TS808.

 

[GRK]

Leeley?

Have you tried it on fx loop clean channel? I wonder if that sounds good.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Leeley?

Have you tried it on fx loop clean channel? I wonder if that sounds good.

Whoops. No I didn't try it in the loop. I'm guessing I'd still much prefer the Keeley SD-1. It just does it for me. Sometimes I'd like something a bit more modern sounding though.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Do you mean the Maxon OD-808 or the Ibanez TS-808, they both are a bit different. I prefer the TS-808, mine is modded by Analogman with his True Vintage mod, I dig the lower mids from that pedal. Total Lynch sound into a plexi flavored amp, after all, it's what he used. Either one should work great with he Vintage Modern. You can go crazy trying out all the boutique pedals out there, most of them are just a bit off from a basic Tubescreamer. Most of the time, you'll always come back to the ol' green one.

So Lynch used an old Ibanez TS 808? For me I always go to the Keeley SD-1 when I own a Marshall. The Fulltone FD2 was nice but I still (slightly) preferred the Keeley SD-1. Which version of the TS 808 did Lynch use?

 

[mchn13]

i know it sounds shitty, and i have yet to try it myself; but i've had two different guys with jcm800s tell me they boost with the rat. level way down, and drive way up, and hardly any filter. they back down the gain on the 800, and hit it with the rat. it sounds like they're using it like a normal distortion pedal, but they're using it as boosts.

might be worth a try while you have it around.

 

[GRK]

Leeley?

Have you tried it on fx loop clean channel? I wonder if that sounds good.

Whoops. No I didn't try it in the loop. I'm guessing I'd still much prefer the Keeley SD-1. It just does it for me. Sometimes I'd like something a bit more modern sounding though.

I recently emailed Keeley about boosts. I asked him for 2 boost recommendations. 1 for boosting clean channel for slight overdrive and one for boosting dirty channel for lead. This was the reply.

Thanks for writing! One combination we like to recommend for applications like yours is a BD2/TS9 combo. That will cover lower gain, crunchy rhythm tones (BD2) to compressed, smooth lead tones (TS9) and many other sounds in between. You could also substitute our SD1 for the TS (I use our BD2 and SD1 together live); the SD1 will have a little more grit, touch responsiveness, and low end response. I’d love to talk more with you about this, feel free to call or write back if I can help any more!

Maybe it helps? SD1 does sound like what you want though.

 

[Marshall Law]

I have keeley modded SD-1, MT-2 and BD-2 I love them all for the right application but for me FULLTONE OCD is the shit, never cared much for the RAT the sound is in the name, RAT!

 

[shred-o-holic]

I had a Keeley SD-1.......it was great but I always went back to my J/H pedal....way warmer...ballsier.....

 

[blackba]

I have always found that Rat's are fizzy on the top end, does the Keeley Mod fix this?

Sounds like for your VM an Overdrive pedal is all the gain you need. I really like a maxon OD-808 with my silver jubilee....

 

[yngzaklynch]

i know it sounds shitty, and i have yet to try it myself; but i've had two different guys with jcm800s tell me they boost with the rat. level way down, and drive way up, and hardly any filter. they back down the gain on the 800, and hit it with the rat. it sounds like they're using it like a normal distortion pedal, but they're using it as boosts.

might be worth a try while you have it around.

Well I tried those and a few other settings. Actually this particuler has Distortion, Filter and Volume plus a 3 way mini toggle that goes from a basic sound to a slightly different sound to whats kind of like a clean boost. Still the SD-1 is way more for me.