The Black Mass 1312 V3 is a distortion pedal from Black Mass Electronics, built around what the maker calls "a famous three letter 🐀 distortion circuit": the Pro Co RAT topology, fitted here with eight clipping options on a rotary switch1. Guitar.com's reviewer, Cillian Breathnach, characterized its sound as sitting between two camps, "the chaotic, hairy sound of a fuzz with the relative transparency of a distortion"2.
The V3's headline change is power: an internal charge pump turns a standard 9V supply into 18V inside the pedal for increased headroom1. It is made in Salem, Massachusetts, and carried a list price of $199 at the time of Guitar.com's review2.
A RAT-inspired distortion with a fuzz-like edge
The 1312 takes the RAT circuit as its starting point and widens what that circuit can do. Where a stock RAT has fixed clipping diodes, the 1312 lets you choose among eight clipping configurations, which changes the character and the amount of the distortion's edge1. Guitar.com's review places the result between distortion and fuzz: hairy and chaotic like a fuzz, but with more of a distortion's relative transparency2.
The enclosure artwork fits the builder's aesthetic: the review notes the casing "features a burning, upturned police car adorning the casing," and the particular V3 reviewed was repainted in the colors of the transgender pride flag2.
The controls and the eight clipping modes
The control layout follows the RAT tradition of three knobs plus one big extra, as listed by both the maker and the reviewer12.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Controls the amount of drive/distortion1 |
| Filter | Turn clockwise for more treble1 |
| Level | Controls overall output level1 |
| Clip | 8-way rotary switch for selecting clipping diodes1 |
The Clip switch is where the 1312 departs from a stock RAT. Rotating clockwise, starting at "noon," the clipping options are1:
- Vintage Germanium
- Red LEDs
- Silicon
- Asymmetrical MOSFET
- Silicon/Germanium
- MOSFET
- Asymmetrical Silicon
- Quad Silicon
Guitar.com's review lists the same eight modes, describing them as "eight different modes accessible via a rotary switch with a choice of vintage germanium, red leds, silicon, asymmetrical mosfet, germanium/silicon, mosfet, asymmetrical silicon and quad silicon"2. In a RAT-style circuit, the clipping diodes set how the signal's peaks are cut off, so swapping germanium, LEDs, silicon or MOSFETs changes the distortion's texture and response; asymmetrical and quad arrangements alter how the two halves of the waveform are treated.
The pedal also has a color-changing LED indicating noise-gate activity, so the light shows when the gate is doing its work2.
Power: 9V supply, 18V inside
The V3's distinguishing feature is its power arrangement. Black Mass Electronics says the 1312 V3 "features an internal charge pump that turns your 9V supply voltage into 18V for increased headroom"1. Guitar.com's review confirms it "runs on internal 18V with standard 9V power supply" by default2.
The maker's power specification is 9V DC only, through a standard 2.1mm center negative jack1.
You can feed the 1312 V3 an 18V supply, but you must change the internal dipswitch settings first. Black Mass Electronics warns against running it at higher voltages or with the wrong dipswitch settings, so check the internal switches before plugging in anything other than a standard 9V center negative supply1.
From the RAT to the V3
The RAT circuit the 1312 builds on has a long history of its own. Delicious Audio notes that the RAT2's factory chip is the LMN308, and that the White Face V3 RAT used "the same exact circuit as the previous Big Box V2 and the following 'Black Face' 1986, as well as the 1989 RAT2," with the change being purely cosmetic341. The 1312 takes that lineage in a different direction: rather than reproducing a specific RAT era, it keeps the circuit and makes the clipping stage configurable1.
For version three specifically, Guitar.com's review notes the internal charge pump running the pedal at 18 volts by default as the V3's new feature2. Black Mass Electronics also makes other versions of the design, including the Black Mass Electronics 1312 and the Dual 1312 Distortion.
What reviewers said
Guitar.com's Cillian Breathnach reviewed the 1312 V3 in February 2023 and compared it directly against a reference RAT2:
"Next to our reference RAT there's an across-the-board bump in clarity and headroom, and each control feels like it does more across its sweep"2
He found the V3's charge-pump headroom and control response to be improvements over the stock circuit, with each of the four controls doing more across its sweep2.
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Questions
Is the Black Mass 1312 V3 based on the ProCo RAT?
Yes. Black Mass Electronics describes the 1312 Distortion as a famous three-letter RAT distortion circuit with eight clipping options on a rotary switch, and Guitar.com's review calls it a RAT-inspired distortion pedal. It is its own pedal built around that circuit rather than a straight clone.
Does the Black Mass 1312 V3 need an 18V power supply?
No. It runs on 9V DC through a standard 2.1mm center negative jack, and an internal charge pump converts that to 18V inside the pedal for more headroom. You can feed it an 18V supply, but only after changing the internal dipswitch settings first.
Is the Black Mass 1312 V3 true bypass?
Yes. Guitar.com's review lists soft-switch relay true bypass among its features, so the signal path is bypassed with a relay rather than a mechanical switch, and the footswitch press is softened.
What does the Clipping dial do on the Black Mass 1312?
It is an eight-way rotary switch that selects the clipping diodes. Rotating clockwise from noon the options are vintage germanium, red LEDs, silicon, asymmetrical MOSFET, silicon/germanium, MOSFET, asymmetrical silicon and quad silicon.
What does the color-changing LED on the 1312 V3 show?
According to Guitar.com's review, the color-changing LED indicates noise-gate activity, so the light changes to show when the pedal's noise gate is engaged and working.
Where is the Black Mass 1312 V3 made?
Guitar.com's review describes it as a RAT-inspired distortion pedal made in Salem, Massachusetts, by Black Mass Electronics, a Massachusetts builder also known for pedals like the Missionary Fuzz.
Sources (4)
- 1312 Distortion V3, Black Mass Electronics
- Black Mass 1312 V3 review, Guitar.com, 2023-02-20
- JHS PackRat Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2022-08-23
- JHS Pedals ProCo RAT2 Pack Rat Mod, Delicious Audio, 2018-04-25
