Lichtlaerm Audio's .Ritual. Post Metal Distortion is most definitely one of the very best Extended Range Rat style Distortions out there

So my 4th Lichtlaerm Audio pedal is also my 39th Rat style Distortion - and right up among the very best of that genre. It doesn’t have the multiple clipping options like many of the others do, but it more than makes up for it with its extensive shaping abilities - which include Active 3-Band EQ, a smart 3-way Range Boost, and a sweepable Era control which takes you from a classic White Face Rat voicing to a Turbo Rat Voicing fully clockwise - and with all kind of interesting in-between settings.

It’s one of those pedals that sounds totally amazing already with everything at noon - and then you just need to tweak a few of those dials for fully optimal dial-in. Really easy to dial in for me - where it’s strong starting position totally helped with the ease of this pedal’s deployment.

This particular edition is slightly different to most of the listed ones - where they have 3 toggle switches in the bottom row, including a Comp switch - while my edition delivers 3-Band EQ - with 2 fully sweepable mini knobs in the bottom row - therefore a further update versus most of the existing online references and demos.

Controls - 3-Band Active EQ ±18dB : Bass, Mids, High, Boost (+36dB & Range), Gain, Level, Range (Boost) : Mid / Treble / Full, Era : White Face > Turbo Rat, Low-Cut up to 1.5kHz, Boost Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.

August is going to be something of a Rat Month - where I’m due to do a 32 Compact Favourites run-down fairly soon - and my Rat collection is now up to 42 units - with a couple of those still inbound. I’ve prioritised the extended range varieties of Rat - so the ones that have more granularity and shaping abilities - which is where my preferences tend to live - versus the basic core 3-knob editions.

This .Ritual. with its 9 controls and 3-way Range Boost is one of the most shapeable Rats out there - and it sounds magnificent with my preferred settings.

Preferred settings : Bass @ 2 o’c, Mids @ Noon, High @ Noon, Boost @ Noon, Gain @ Noon, Level @ 3 o’c, Range @ Treble, Era @ Turbo, Cut @ Min, Boost On!

I typically tend to favour LED / Turbo Clipping for my optimal Rat tones - which delivers more searing sustain. This is a genuinely fantastic sounding Rat - on the board currently with the JAM Pedals Rattler 2 and PastFX Mischief - where all are fantastic and kind of do their own thing - they all sounds somewhat slightly different - while in terms of overall quality of delivery it’s too tough to pick out an outright winner - all of those are pure class - and would all be ideal candidates for the perfect Rat!

I acquired my .Ritual. from Joe’s Pedals - where it goes for £179 - which is superb value for sure. If you’re on the continent, then these are €199 from the Lichtlaerm Audio Webstore, and for USA customers - you now have a dedicated source - courtesy of Eastside Music Supply - where the .Ritual. is at $219.

Note that all the Demos out there are of the previous edition - which did not have the 3-Band EQ, nor the Era control.