For those who just can’t get enough RAT in their system, the Berry Pedals PHAT might be exactly what their inner doctor ordered: a dual RAT with a 3-way EQ section instead of the Filter knob.
Needless to say, the EQ provides a wider sonic palette than the original, while the two channels (which are actually just separate controls operating on the same circuit) allow for basically two RAT presets, a very useful feature to create dynamic/volume shifts during a performance.
For the geek, this pedal’s circuit is based on the OP07 chip found in the current RAT 2 pedals, not the LM308 featured in the older stock, preferred by some.
Have a listen to the PHAT in the videos below. We added it our article about the best RAT pedals and clones.
Berry Pedals PHAT, Builder’s Notes
The Rat was my first distortion pedal and to this day still remains my favourite so it made sense for me to make one…but with some twists, because I like twists. First off you’ll notice this bad boy has a 3 band active EQ, nice and simple, easy to navigate and it’s useful. With all the EQ knobs at noon everything is flat, if you turn it down you’ll cut the frequency and if you turn it up you’ll boost it.
The next thing you’ll notice is the Red/Green rings around the volume and gain knobs. I like dual pedals, but I didn’t want to combine this Rat with anything else, BUT, I did want more flexibility out of it. The ‘channel’ footswitch will switch between these green and red sides, allowing you to set your own volume and gain settings and be able to switch between them on the fly. You may not think it’s useful, but after using it for a little while…I kind of want to make it a standard- it’s a really simple but useful thing. Just as a little note, this isn’t actually 2 rats in one, just a single rat worn selectable controls!
The ‘PHAT’ does NOT use an LM308 chip. Sorry to be a bummer but I’m not into the mojo stuff. It uses an OP07 chip, found in the current Rat 2 pedals. If you wish you could change this op-amp out yourself but that’s up to you! I’m really proud of this pedal and I love the way it sounds.
