A collaboration between IdiotBox Effects and grindcore outfit Dead Neanderthals yields an interesting take on the classic RAT recipe.
Handy blend control. Even raging settings have ample bass. Sludge and dBs for days.
“Dry” signal muddier and less distinct than bypassed signal. Little nuance past the first third of the distortion trimpot’s throw. Two screwdrivers necessary for dialing tones.
$119
Utech Records Rat Licker
utechrecords.com
Designed by IdiotBox Effects’ Matt Shea in collaboration with Utech Records duo Dead Neanderthals, the Rat Licker is driven by LM308 and TL072 chips and aims to expand on the classic Pro Co RAT recipe by pairing the usual distortion, filter, and volume controls (here they’re internal trimpots) with an external wet-dry blend knob. A fourth trimpot boosts the input signal.
Tested with an Eastwood baritone, a Les Paul, a Jazzmaster, and a Mustang PJ bass variously driving a Vibrolux Reverb, a Vibro Champ, and a Fender Rumble 200 bass combo, the Licker’s sonics proved of a piece with its thorn-bramble artwork. The distortion trimmer piles on shockingly aggressive, thick grind almost immediately past minimum, while taking the filter control much past full counterclockwise (where there’s ample treble and mid content for more straight-ahead rock, punk, or indie applications) balloons your signal with domineering corpulence—especially if you’re not using your bridge pickup.
Recorded with an Eastwood Sidejack Baritone DLX’s Curtis Novak JMWR neck pickup into the Rat Licker, a Gamechanger Audio Light reverb, an Ibanez Analog Delay Mini, and a ’76 Fender Vibrolux Reverb miked with a Royer R-121. Audient iD44 interface into GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.
- 0:00-0:17 — Rat Licker bypassed
- 0:18-0:36 — Rat Licker engaged with distortion trimpot 1/4 turn up from full counterclockwise, filter and direct trimmers completely counterclockwise, volume trimmer at noon, and blend at 25 percent.
- 0:39-0:58 — Same trimmer settings with blend at 50 percent.
- 1:00-end — Same trimmer settings with blend at 100-percent wet.
The volume trimpot ups the dBs in tandem with higher blend settings and can absolutely bombard your amp when both are maxed—a big plus if your amp gets meaner as it’s pushed. Blend capabilities may disappoint some players, as—even at minimum blend—the “direct” signal not only lacks a fair amount of the treble and high-mid content from the source signal, but is also slightly muddied by extra low-mids. However, if droning, bludgeoning, rafters-rattling mayhem is your bag, the Licker can work its filth in many useful directions. Perhaps best of all, if you’re either a bassist or play in dropped tunings, you’ll love that even massively distorted settings maintain their low end quite admirably.
A certified chug machine that succeeds with more than just the target demo.
An incredible amount of gain. Very useful blend knob. Plenty of power.
Some modes are a bit subtle depending on your setup.
$199
Walrus Audio Eras
walrusaudio.com
The Eras from Walrus Audio is a take-no-prisoners chug machine that offers a few features that would even please the low-gain set. The core of the Eras is a 5-stage mode knob that offers a handful of different clipping options. They range from scooped and tight to compressed and smooth via combinations of LED and silicon clipping. In position 1, you have LED hard clipping, which creates a more focused low end that works great for Papa Hetfield-style rhythm playing. Position 2 uses silicon, and it becomes a bit more scooped (think early Pantera) and seems to be more compressed.
Ratings
Pros:
Cons:
Tones: 4.5
Build/Design: 4.5
Ease of Use: 4
Value: 4
Street: $199
Walrus Audio Eras, walrusaudio.com
With the remaining three positions, you get a combo LED/silicon setting and slightly different EQs on standalone LED and silicon clipping. I was quite impressed with how the Eras handled single-coil and P-90 pickups, as both came across as possessed by the soul of a cranked-up humbucker. Along with bass, treble, volume, and gain controls, it also has a very handy blend knob that moves from a completely dry signal to totally effected. Dialing in a bit of your dry signal allows you to really sculpt the clarity in some of the more saturated settings. It was also big fun to add just a bit of high-gain fizz in the background of a mostly clean tone—almost like a distorted shimmer effect.
Walrus has a pretty-well-documented history of creating forward-thinking stomps that are more than just what you see on the surface. The Eras will catch the eye of the djent-and-chug crowd pretty easily, but I found just as much beauty in the lower (relatively speaking) gain settings. Overall, this is a pedal that delivers to more than just the target demo.
Test Gear: Fender Cory Wong Stratocaster, Schroeder Chopper TL, Fender Jaguar, Revv D20
A vastly underrated overdrive gets even more rating worthy.
Great capacity for balanced detail across gain range. Sweet growl in low mids. Silky smooth. Useful EQ section.
20 bucks more than the original—but who's countin'?
$79
TC Electronic MojoMojo Paul Gilbert Overdrive
tcelectronic.com
Were TC Electronic stomps not already abundant in our Killer Pedals Under $100 feature, the original MojoMojo would have been a shoo-in. I've had one for years, used it in recording situations, and watched other artists select it in place of more exotic and expensive overdrive fare. In general, the original MojoMojo's flexibility, liveliness, capacity for detail, balance, and organic amp-ish gain textures made it a hit. All of those qualities live on in the new Paul Gilbert version, but with more available gain, higher headroom, and a robust low-mid bump that impressively adds airiness rather than flab.
The Gilbert edition retains its silkiness and capacity for detail at the most saturated settings too.
- TC Paul Gilbert Mojo Mojo: all controls at noon for rhythm track, progressively advanced gain, treble and bass settings as lead track develops.
Played side-by-side and at equivalent settings, the original MojoMojo sounds comparatively boxy and thinner. But the Paul Gilbert version's extra low mids don't just add mass. They make the output sound more full-spectrum and a lot silkier—a tone picture that really flatters single coils but is just as detailed with all but the muddiest humbuckers. The Gilbert edition retains its silkiness and capacity for detail at the most saturated settings too—even with the toggle in extra-gain "11" mode and the gain knob up high. Predictably, such settings make solos sing, but it's easy to dial in acerbic early-Jimmy Page tones with enough treble. Full chords sound balanced and sparkling across the gain range too—exhibiting a deep growl in the low-mids and lots of assertive top end.
