Krozz Devices' RoyalBreaker unleashes a thunderously sustaining and deep and richly textured extended range take on the Rat Distortion

Krozz Devices’ Murilo favours fuller flavour effects - much like Jannis Anastasakis of JAM Pedals. The effects pedals each of them releases - are always bolder and more flavourful than is the norm for that genre - Murilo’s Airborn Flanger is a great example of that fuller flavour effect.

And here he’s turned his engineering magic on the Rat Distortion - combining elements of the White Face Rat and Turbo Rat with a magnificent Marshall-esque core - courtesy of that central ’Rising’ Silicon > LED  variable clipping control.

He combines that with Active Baxandall Bass and Treble EQ’s - which centre on the 700Hz Frequency cluster - targeting frequencies above and below that for each band, and where the central 2-way toggle-switch renders Deep, Fat + Fuzzy tones with the switch up, and Tighter and more Amp-like Focused tones with the switch down.

All that is paired with a superb sounding core TL072 OpAmp which drives the Gain output gloriously all the way up to +68dB. From a single strummed chord you get a kind of percolating and sustaining wall of sound - the pedal just sounds incredible - like some kind of Super Rat Marshall Hybrid!

The RoyalBreaker name very much references the marriage of Marshall and Rat flavours, while I’ve always felt that the very best Rat Pedals had a decent amount of Marshall about their output. Here that Marshall flavour is definitely somewhat intensified - filling out more of those frequencies for a much fuller and fatter sounding profile.

This RoyalBreaker is entirely true to its original garage punk roots - with that same original raw, rough and ready texture - while many other recent Rats have tended to soften that profile somewhat - and set themselves more towards 1981 Inventions’ DRV territory - like say the recent JAM Pedals Rattler MK2 - which is still flavourful, but doesn’t necessarily have all the original’s properly raspy Rat textures.

The RoyalBreaker is entirely true to the Rat Distortion’s original roots - just with even more range and versatility in its tank - and truly exceptional long-sustain! There is something really special about how Murilo has engineered this one - where the chords ring out in such a spectacular fashion - with the gain feedback kind of percolating away into the distance

Controls - Level, Rising (Silicon > LED Clipping), Gain (+68dB), Active Bass, Low End : Fat + Fuzzy / Tight, Active Treble.

This has a lovely deep and rumbling signature sound - giving you also hints of full-fat Model T and Matamp flavours within its signature breakup texture - it’s really quite gloriously thick and verging even on doomy at times! I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on one of these early next year!

The RoyalBeaker Distortion is available for orders right now on the Krozz Devices Webstore - where it goes for $219. This is a really spectacular new take on the Rat Distortion! I’m assuming my friend Steve @ FX Pedal Planet will have some of these in stock fairly soon too - at the £219 price point!

The demos of this pedal just sound amazing - surely everyone will want one!