[Strangeman86]

I had to think about how to describe this pedal for a while.  Yes, it started out as a fancy Rat (and it harkens to its roots), but it's very much more than that.  With the drive knob all the way down it's crunchy and a bit lean. The farther up the gain range you go, richness and a bit of heft are added.  The cut knob is quite handy for those of us who value our ability to hear high frequencies, and there's probably more output on tap than most of us are likely to need. The note separation is great and it doesn't mind solid state amps (for those of us on the dark side).  The overall voicing of this box is somewhere between OD, distortion and fuzz (greatly depending on how far into the drive knob you go).  All that and some killer paint jobs (depending on which run you buy from).  If you want a reasonably unique sounding dirt box, give this one a whirl.

[Guitar74]

I will check it out. I was considering another Rat, but will definitely check it out.

[Strangeman86]

A quick update. I'm bad about swapping pickups to find out what works with a given piece of gear.  I pulled out my Imperium and soldered in my Transition, shortly followed by my Duncan Custom in an effort to see if less mids from the pickup in my guitar was a positive or negative change as far as the DRV goes.  I think it's been a very positive experience and the DRV is effectively a bit more 'metal' or 'aggressive' sounding at this point.  Just FYI.

[Guitar74]

I just added my DS-1 with the Wampler JCM and high gain mods to my board to replace the other heavily modded DS-1. I don't think the Rat or any other distortion will be on my list anytime soon. I do, however, really like the Rat and Rat based pedals. It's a tone that is unique and RUUUUUDDDEE!! I used a Proco Rat back in '88. Great dist. box. Post some sound clips of the DRV if you get a chance.