Cathouse Pedals Rat Fink Distortion

Classic pedals are classic pedals, no bones about it. However, in today’s world of klones and circuit-borrowing and all the rest, there are a lot of great pedals “based” on vintage units from the past, that tend to offer similar tones as well as modern upgrades that actually improve on the original. Today’s featured piece of gear comes to us from a fairly unknown company, but the Rat Fink Distortion from Cathouse Pedals will definitely make you rethink the dirt section on your pedalboard, and might let you finally retire your coveted ’80’s black box from the road permanently.

Distortion, Tone and Volume make up the control panel for the Rat Fink (at least it’s not trying to shy away from name, right?), and boast the grit and tonal properties of its namesake, but with a twist. Using hard to find op-amps from 30 years ago, the Rat Fink’s slow performance and lopsided frequency gain create a growling distortion with incredibly musical harmonics over mids and lows, with the ability to keep only the high you want, and maintain an overall singing sustain and chugging, rhythmic character. What appears to be a simple copy of an iconic pedal quickly turns into something more, and has the power, gusto and balls to back it all up.

A classic distortion sound in a normal-sized enclosure and built with quality components, the Rat Fink is sure to turn heads and delight ears in any club, amphitheater or stadium you play. We were lucky enough to have the guys at Cathouse Pedals send us their whole lineup, so stay tuned for more rad pedal reviews from those guys coming shortly to our site. In the meantime, you better mosey on over to their website and see all the exciting effects they’ve got in their arsenal, and maybe pick up a couple for yourself!