Stigtronics

Fat Sound Exclusive!

Fat Sound's Take

"Since 1985, a pedal whose name we can't legally use, but is suggested by the name of this new Stigtronics offering has been a staple of my pedalboard. It has followed me to every band I have ever been in as It is truly one of the most unique, yet under-rated gain pedals I have ever heard; perfect wah-like mids without the hard compression that is sometimes associated with the TS-808. It cuts through a mix beautifully for solos and rhythm work, and is extremely input sensitive.

Put a boost in front of it to hoist up the input gain and it becomes another pedal altogether. I simply love it. I use one until it completely dies and then I buy another one on eBay, because you have to have the older ones, the ones with the LM308N chip. The manufacturer of the original pedal stopped using the "correct" chip many years ago as supply began to dry up, so the only ones you find are generally pretty road-worn and noisy.

The key to the pedal has always been the LM308N chip, and though many have tried, until now I have never found a gain pedal that compares to it. The Rodent is
identical in tone to the original pedal of which it is essentially a clone, with a few improvements......3P3T switch, which takes the LED out of the circuit, and the gain to noise ratio is fantastic! This is the "rodent"  pedal I have always wanted. This pedal is a must -have! It gets my highest recommendation."

Mike Ayers, Manager Fat Sound Guitars and guitarist extaordinare for The Connell's and Mommie

[Please Note] As the original LM308N chips become increasingly rare, expect the price of this pedal to increase. Now's the time to buy one!

Fat Sound Award for Sonic Excellence!™

Customer Comment

"Time warp alert! Where were you in 1986? I was rocking out to The Cheswicks on the roof of a Kalamazoo College dorm and the RAT was pretty much the signature tone of the band, if not the whole era. If you told me a few weeks ago I'd be writing a rave about a RAT clone I'd have had a good chuckle. I've played hard since those days in the 80s at creating a lively guitar tone that contains lots of shades of intensity from pristine clean to medium raunchy. Lots of boutique prettiness, in other words. But man, plugging in to the Rodent just begs you to rock hard and have fun. Nothing sounds meaner! There's no question Michael has nailed it, one power chord and I had a big grin on my face like, ""Oh right, I remember this, why did I ever leave it behind?" Two hours later, I'm still smiling!"

Anthony B.

 

Fat Sound's Take

"I owned one of the first Klon's when they initially hit the market, was one of Bill Finnegan's first 2 or 3 dealers and am intimately familiar with the great sonic properties of the Centaur. I can testify to the accuracy of The Stig's version. My experience with the Klon Centaur goes back to its beginnings and there is no sales hype here. The Tone Vitamin comes within a Golden Ear's Hair of nailing the Centaur's tone, it's available and it doesn't cost $1000.00 on eBay."

- Stu Carter, owner Fat Sound Guitars

Features

• True Bypass
• Volume
• Gain
• Tone
• 9 Volt adapter jack
• Amazing overdrive tone

Customer Comment

"I get the Klon thing now. Without having experienced one first-hand I was never sure what the fuss is about. OK, here's what it's about: transparent, touch sensitive drive in a variety of flavors from a whisper to a scream. It's like "you" but a little more. The "T" word is bandied about too much, but this thing is so direct, it feels more repsonsive, more lively than just plugging straight into a great amp, plus you have the convenience and flexibility of a pedal. The Tone Vitamin also stacks like nobody's business. I usually find multiple drives in line to be too much, but this thing makes a great accent to an OCD, a Screwdriver, a RedHead, everything I've thrown at it.

Some people disapprove of buying clone pedals. I'm one of them! I like to support the guys who do innovative circuits. But when there is not even a waiting list you can get on and the used prices are so extreme, well, that's when I call open season. I'm grateful to Michael for making this useful and uber-musical pedal available."

Anthony B.
 

Fat Sound's Take

The Stigtronics Fat Classic Overdrive definitely reminds me of the vintage TS-808 pedals I've owned and that were used on some of the best Blues and Rock recordings of all time in an age before all of the "new and improved" TS style pedals. What we love about the Fat Classic Drive is that it has 100% of the 808's positive qualities without The full serving of the 808's somewhat extreme compression and mid hump. Enough has been left in to make the tone familiar and recognizable, but subtle tweaks have improved on the classic in ways that make it feel more amp like adding just the right amount of gain to a clean or slightly pushed amp for that Texas Flood tone.

From Stigtronics' Website

This pedal is a TS-808 based design with a little ear candy and without any tone sucking circuitry. From 0 to 10 all controls are usable.

Keith Skooglund used a Classic Overdrive on his just completed tour as the guitarist in Ari Hest's band. He has also played with Grammy winner Carrie Newcomer, Jimmy Riser, Shafer Street, and countless sessions. Keith is using it through a Deluxe Reverb reissue. A great combination.

Features

• Standard 2.1mm 9V jack
• Volume, Tone, & Drive Controls
• True Bypass
• Powder Coat Finish
• LED
• 1/4" Switchcraft Jacks

Fat Sound's Take

We absolutely loved this pedal from the first power chord. Utilizing a clean setting on a Carr Rambler we found we could set this pedal to a moderate, bluesy pushed clean to simply drive the amp a bit harder or set it up for a pretty extreme and totally natural Marshall style crunch that retains excellent string to string definition so that the low E and A strings don't meld into one as they do with many pedals of this type. There are also tons of degrees of gain in between these two extremes all of which work perfectly.

There is no pedal-ness, if you will, to the sound or feel of the unit whatsoever; it's more like adding a second (or third) channel to your amplifier.

When running into an overdriven Dr Z MAZ 18 we set the gain control low to achieve a fluid, infinite sustain that gives the MAZ the perfect lead channel.

This is a very reasonably priced, amazing gain generator that will solve the mild overdrive to distortion needs of the vast majority of players.

If you've tried most or all of the big buzz names and have yet to find the perfect pedal for you, we recommend giving Stig's Electron a try. You won't be dissapointed

Fat Sound's Award for Sonic Excellence!!™

Fat Sound's Take

Insanely under priced, the Stig Tremolo is a truly astounding amp-like tremolo. When compared to a benchmark amp tremolo, the Carr Rambler's, the only discernable difference was that the Stig Trem is capable of both faster and slower speeds. The tone and feel of the effect was identical to that of the test amplifier's and just as quiet.

It's also as close to unity gain, with nearly indiscernible volume increase when engaged, as you'll find.

This is my favorite, single mode tremolo and now has a permanent place on my personal pedal board.

If you don't need dual modes, tap tempo, etc, but simply desire a reasonably priced, amazing sounding Tremolo, this is as good as it can possibly get.

From Stigtronics' Website

"The STIGTRONICS tremolo pedal is based on an older design from the late 60's. It uses bias modulation for a strong but smooth tremolo. Great with clean or distorted sounds."

Features

• Speed & Intensity Controls
• 1/4" Switchcraft Jacks
• Rugged Construction
• Standard 2.1mm 9V Jack
• LED

Fat Sound's Award for Sonic Excellence!!

Fat Sound's Take

I had a Ross compressor many years ago that I loved; the attack and release were always perfect and I loved the way it would sit in a live mix. The only drawback was the way it would kill a slight bit of the top end. I tried all of the Ross clones on the market, only to find that they did exactly the same thing, but without the smoothness of my original Ross. Stigtronics Grey Compressor is the first Ross-style compressor that actually sounds better than the original. All of the smoothness is there, but now you have the tone transparency that allows you to keep all of your original characteristics.

Mike Ayers - Fat Sound's resident compressor connoisseur and shop manager

From Stigtronics' Website

This is a very accurate reproduction of the original Ross compressor. We had an old grey Ross in for repair. We were able to see what was really in there. Our reproduction uses the same type transistors, caps, resistors, etc. Plus, you get the addition of true bypass, a LED, and standard 9V jack.

Specifications

• Original Ross Design
• Powder Coated housing for durability
• Hand-wired
• True Bypass
• LED on/off indicator
• 1/4" Switchcraft Jack
• Standard 2.1mm 9V Jack

Fat Sound's Take

Identical circuit to the Grey compressor with the addition of an Attack control for those that need the extra tweakability 

Specifications

• Original Ross Design with Attack control
• Powder Coated housing for durability
• Hand-wired
• True Bypass
• LED on/off indicator
• 1/4" Switchcraft Jack
• Standard 2.1mm 9V Jack

Fat Sound's Take

Phenomenal analog chorus that reminds me strongly of the Roland CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the archetype for analog chorus, but without the noise and bothersome input gain circuit.

Mike Ayers, manager Fat Sound Guitars / guitarist for The Connell's

From Stigtronics' Website

A very warm sounding lush chorus that does a great job of preserving the guitar's natural tone.

Features

• True Bypass
• Speed & Depth controls
• Switchcraft 1/4" Jacks
• LED
• 9V Jack