cant decide muff or rat?

kigcat

hey guys after some advice.... im torn between getting either the usa big muff pi or the proco rat... i wanna try and get that dave gilmour kinda tone and these are the 2 pedals ive been told to consider... any opinions or ideas welcome..

IDgotI

Gilmour did use original versions of both these pedals, but the versions on sale today aren't exactly the same. Current Rat quality tends to vary much more radically than Muff. Unless you have a good handle on serial numbers, and years of manufacture, you can easily wind up getting one of the current "Made in China" Rats which Robert Keeley (famous pedal modifier and connoisseur widely admired on this page) won't even touch.

Getting a Gilmour sound is obviously going to involve a lot more than just one pedal, but as far as easy to find distortion / fuzz pedals, between these two, the Muff will probably cover more ground.

xtremehardy388

I've heard bad things about the Muff and amazing things about the Rat. I've never played a Rat but the Muff wasn't anything special to me. I'd go with the Rat but I'm saying that, blind.

mccreadyisgod

The Big Muff is just about useless for playing chords. It's thick, dirty, will sustain for days on end, can be muddy in tone or set for a buzzsaw sound... it's so thick that single notes will *sound* like big power chords. If you want to play single-note riffs that are relatively spaced out, it's a great pedal. Hit a note, hold it, and let it sustain for days.

The Rat is much more versatile. Power chords, barre chords, pretty much any chords... and it's tighter and cleaner, so it can be more appropriate for faster riffs or speedy solos. It's pretty much the prototypical distortion; the Brown Sound in a box. Like IDgotI said, they're kind of hit-or-miss... get a good one, and you'll keep it forever; get a lemon, and you'll wonder how anyone ever used one. My suggestion: Get a Keeley model. As the politicians will tell you, it's been vetted.

Keep in mind, I don't mean to trash the Big Muff. I have an older Sovtek Muff, and it's one of my prized pieces. Just listen to the Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream", it's pure Big Muff bliss. Mudhoney, Sonic Youth... such great tones. But it won't be tamed, even if you turn the gain down. It is what it is.

jcmark611

You cannot get a Keeley modded Rat anymore, unless you go to eBay. That being said....

You want Gilmour's Muff? Get yourself a BYOC Large Beaver "Ram's Head" clone. Gilmour started using the "Ram's Head" Muff during Animals and it is the lead sound on "The Wall". He also used it during Pink Floyd's 1987-90 tours so, pick up "Monentary Lapse of Reason" to hear the "Ram's Head" in all it's glory. Gilmour later had a "Ram's Head" installed in the first version of his Pete Cornish All Tube board.

Go here to see the pedal http://www.buildyourownclone.com/beaver.html

If you aren't up for building your own they do offer pre-built pedals for a higher price (not THAT much higher though).

Piper At The Gates

I use the Rat in conjunction with an MI Audio Crunch Box. I am really satisfied with the sound I get from that combination. The Rat alone is great for getting Gilmour sounds, but you have to use a good delay, phase, etc. also.

ianvomsaal

Why not just try those two pedals for yourself and decide (for yourself).
This way you'll know what works best for you (I mean hey, it's your ears).

BTW; Gilmour's main fuzz/distortion for the first 10 Floyd albums was a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face.
Also, Pete Cornish has built his pedalboards since March 1976.
Here, Click: this link and you'll be able to see what Gear He Used for each album.

- Ian