DEMO RAT Bastard (Sushi Box Lab Rat)

[DGWVI]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

It's not often that a Rat variant excite me more than an actual Rat... Tried others with various James or Baxandall add-ons, and they were always kinda meh. But, this thing fucking slays, and it's earned a permanent spot on my board

Since this thing pumps out so much volume, is decided to replace the LEDs on the board with Germanium(D9K). I also didn't notice I'd grabbed an on/off/on, so the LEDs rejoined the fold (violence)

To take advantage of the bass this can pump out, I wanted to give it a little more to play with, so I replaced the 560r/4.7u with the 220r/47u from the Juggernaut. This gives it more low end over the sweep of the Distortion pot, and allows it to push the chip even harder toward the end of the distortion pots rotation.

I replaced the distortion pot with a D100k so the fuzzier bits happen a lil later in the rotation. I also installed a 470r resistor between lug 1 and it's spot on the board so it doesn't cut out completely when it's zeroed

Lastly, I added a 100pf cap across lugs 1&3 of the volume pot to rein in a bit of the super sizzles while still maintaining the huge range of the High pot.

The enclosure is a custom deal from Scientific Uppercut, the bottom plate including the inside is chromed out for max reflectivity. Knobs are Obelisks from love my Switch's, jacks are Lumbergs, toggle is Taiway, and the stomper is one of the LMS branded soft touch Gorvas




For the sake of this demo, let's pretend that I'm not too close to the mic, and that in fact the bassist from KoRn is jamming with me

 

[kerryfine]

Really cool! What’s the tube doing in this circuit? Is it another clipping option or is it integrated into the circuit?

 

[DGWVI]

Really cool! What’s the tube doing in this circuit? Is it another clipping option or is it integrated into the circuit?

It replaces the jfet buffer stage in the traditional Rat, and imparts a bit of its own personality

 

[kerryfine]

It replaces the jfet buffer stage in the traditional Rat, and imparts a bit of its own personality

Really cool, never seen this variant before!

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

 

[steviejr92]

Everytime I see this I’m in awe

 

[DailyDovetails]

That came out really nice. This one is in my to do list.

 

[DGWVI]

That came out really nice. This one is in my to do list.

Still honeymooning but, after the OG, this is my favorite take on the Rat. Definitely recommended

 

[joelorigo]

Looks amazing!

 

[TheCrookedMan]

Quite a while ago I built this Fuzz Dog Baxandall/James with the Blower Box tuning (bass/drop tuned option on the kit page): do you think the "mo bass" part swaps you did are similar? What I built is by far my favorite Rat and I've had probably 6 different varieties, but adding tubey goodness could kick it up a notch. Schematic and part list attached, but I didn't do the Ruez mod.

 

[DGWVI]

Quite a while ago I built this Fuzz Dog Baxandall/James with the Blower Box tuning (bass/drop tuned option on the kit page): do you think the "mo bass" part swaps you did are similar? What I built is by far my favorite Rat and I've had probably 6 different varieties, but adding tubey goodness could kick it up a notch. Schematic and part list attached, but I didn't do the Ruez mod.

I've got one of the drop tuned Bax Rats on hand, I can do a shootout later or tomorrow. I vastly prefer the Lab Rat, though. It's got more depth to the low end, feels almost 3d in comparison or something.
I've also got a Volt Thrower clone I can throw into the mix

As for the Ruetz mod- I am not a fan. It takes away from the 1.5khz set of knuckles to the teeth that I love about the Rat. The other pole can be tweaked for more or less low end, as I've done here, without totally stripping the Rat of its character

 

[TheCrookedMan]

Well this is pretty damn fortuitous, since it sounds like we're looking for the exact same things from our Rats and I'm just at the point where I'm comfortable stepping outside the paint-by-numbers approach to pedal building. I'm in the middle of building a Sushibox Particle Accelerator at the moment, which will be my first tube build, but after that I may just build this and copy most (or all) of your tweaks.

 

[vigilante398]

View attachment 72368

...is that a metal can NE555???

 

[DGWVI]

...is that a metal can NE555???

It is!!

 

[DGWVI]

Well this is pretty damn fortuitous, since it sounds like we're looking for the exact same things from our Rats and I'm just at the point where I'm comfortable stepping outside the paint-by-numbers approach to pedal building. I'm in the middle of building a Sushibox Particle Accelerator at the moment, which will be my first tube build, but after that I may just build this and copy most (or all) of your tweaks.

If you love Rats, the LR is a must build, imo. I'd suggest sticking with the stock values, and tweaking em if needed. Unless you want the failing-chip fuzz of course

 

[DGWVI]

Well this is pretty damn fortuitous, since it sounds like we're looking for the exact same things from our Rats and I'm just at the point where I'm comfortable stepping outside the paint-by-numbers approach to pedal building. I'm in the middle of building a Sushibox Particle Accelerator at the moment, which will be my first tube build, but after that I may just build this and copy most (or all) of your tweaks.

Just posted this, it's got the same 220r/47u as this one

 

[TheCrookedMan]

Both sound pretty damn good to me! I'm running synths through these, not guitars, so no matter what circuit it is I go with the bassiest options. Juggernaut and/or Blower Box values are definitely a good starting point.