DIY Junkie / newbie with question / new build pics

[Micahnormal]

Hello all, I wanted to introduce myself and also say thanks for all of the valuable information and help I've read on here thus far. That being said, I wanted to give something back by posting some pics of some of my first builds.

I am a DIY junkie and would not hesitate to spend 20 bucks to craft a beer that would probably sell for 5, or build a pedal that I might have found cheaper on ebay...but I do enjoy it to the point of a flaw.

My recent builds:

-Pedal board 40"x 13" in the pedal train pro style. No schematic used.

-Tonepad Pedals: La Rata, 808, Pez90, RossComp  (I only have pics of the 808 now...will post more soon).

I have finished the rat and the 808, and surprise, surprise, they both work...I was expecting major problems on first builds but I guess beginner's luck was at play. Still working on the P90 and Ross, so we shall see. The 808 sounds very close to the TS808, and I'm happy with it. The Rat functions fine, although the sound is pretty muddy at higher distortion on the knob (>12 o'clock).  This leads me to my question (Don't worry, I have read the debugging thread procedure and don't feel as though this warrants a debugging thread.....yet... I haven't owned a Rat or heard one live, so I don't know if this is normal for a rat, so I was hoping someone could help out. I've listened to youtube videos and that really doesn't help all that much. With volume and filter at 12 o clock, if you take the Dist knob above 12 o'clock, the sounds are what I would consider almost unusable for a distortion, not crisp, but rather a blown speaker/fuzz sound. The pedal gets louder and more distorted, so it essentially functions fine, but I'm just wondering if this is a normal sound for the RAT. This is a LM308, btw. I f anyone has a rat and can help, it would be appreciated. And if this is actually a problem, and I need to start a debugging thread, I will do so. Thanks!

Oh, and some pics...

[nick d]

              Welcome , fellow addict !
               I have also recently built a RAT clone , it does get pretty filthy much above 12 o'clock ,
               but that's how I like it ! Sounds like yours is about right .
     
               Love your DIY pedal-board , good work !

[Micahnormal]

Thanks! What settings are you using typically for a decent sounding Dist on your DIY rat?

[nick d]

            It's pretty much stock I think , apart from a Ruetz mod , I used a 100k gain pot , and a 741 ( because I've got a boxfull ) .
            I used a 3-way switch for Si , LED , or no diodes , and also a switch to put diodes in the feedback loop (I used LEDs )
            THe RAT is much more of a distortion pedal than a Tubescreamer , which I find to be a bit mild . I guess it's a matter
            of taste - one man's nice distortion is another man's horrible noise !
             For my own taste , I tend to have the gain a bit above half , tone fairly high ( I use Humbuckers ) , and use the LED
             position , which is like the Turbo Rat ( I believe ) . I tend to play ( attempt to play ! ) punk/hardcore/metallish stuff'
             Again , it's a matter of what sound YOU like , this RAT is OK for me , my other faves being BSIAB2 , and modded BMP.
             Yes , I am a noisy **** !