Electric Empress Effects Rata Alada Octave Fuzz Pedal

The Rata Alada (Latin for the “Rat with Wings”) takes inspiration from the gain stage and tone stack the Pro Cro Rat and expands upon new features to make the pedal more accessible for interacting with other effects/environments. Of course, what better aesthetic for this effect than proudly showing it’s native Philadelphian roots, a city with an ever growing Rat population!

User Interface:

• The “Mix” potentiometer allows for the user to blend between the full Fuzz saturation and a buffered Clean Blend/Boost to help with running parallel to other effects or add more clarity and low end, especially on bass.
• The “Color” footswitch wires in a 2 stage Active Gyrator Eq with +6dB 125Hz bass boost and tweakable 3kHz-11kHz “Presence” boost, coloring the sound almost in a “cocked-wah meets scooped-mids” tonality without but cutting the mid range that the gain stage primarily amplifies.
• The “Octave” footswitch uses an op-amp style active rectifier to add an aggressive +1 Octave up to the fuzz circuit. Musicians can sweep the original Rat’s “Filter” to transition between an aggressive Square-wave octave or dial back for a smoother, less present Sawtooth style Octave coloring.
• The tip of the Creature’s tail provides a 3-way switch to switch between some of the most iconic Rat style clipping diodes in an asymmetric configuration
• • Position 1: Utilizes the classic 1N1418 Silicon Diodes featured in the original Rat and White Face style circuits. This position has the lowest clipping threshold and may sound the most compressed, faithful to the iconic Pro Cro Design.
  • Position 2: Wires a MOSFET to drive as a diode in parallel to a Schottky BAT41. This configuration was originally introduced in the Fat Rat design, allowing for an increase in gain and low end, often sounding more open than the 1N1418s. This position was selected as a medium clipping threshold for user’s flexibility.
  • Position 3: Delivers Red LED clipping taken from the Turbo Rat which features the highest clipping threshold resulting in the most open and loudest configuration than the other positions. This position might be favored for more picking clarity which can be great for high-gain leads on a bridge pickup.