The Nocturne Brain Marquesan Drive is a distortion pedal in the RAT-style family, described by Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio as "a modern take on the late 70's White Label bud box Rat"1. It sits alongside other distortion pedals that trace their lineage to the ProCo Rat, but it reworks the original circuit's values and components rather than copying it outright.
What it does
The pedal takes the late 70's White Label bud box Rat as its starting point and tweaks its values and components. The updated parts list includes vintage tantalum caps, metal film resistors, and a socketed vintage 60's NOS UA308 operational amplifier, or a UA308 metal can equivalent, which pre-dates the plastic chip version1.
Two features set it apart from a stock RAT-style circuit:
- Steez control: boosts or cuts the upper mids and works with the Tone filter for extra versatility on dirty tones1.
- Internal clipping switch: chooses between symmetric clipping, which is more compressed, and asymmetric clipping, which is more open1.
The two clipping modes
The internal switch changes the character of the drive noticeably, and Delicious Audio describes each mode in some detail1:
- Symmetric: classic compressed clipping, almost creamy when gain is dimed and tone is rolled. In low gain modes it is described as tight and killer for single coils, and the mode is said to love plank guitars.
- Asymmetric: more open, described as great for hollow and semi-hollow style guitars.
"Symmetric loves plank guitars & is classic compressed clipping, almost creamy when gain is dimed and tone is rolled."
Where it came from
The Marquesan Drive was documented in a Delicious Audio product page updated April 20, 2023, which also added it to the site's article on the best RAT-style pedals1. For players comparing it with other drives in the family, it sits in the same territory as overdrive pedals at lower gain settings, though it is built and voiced as a distortion.
Videos
The Nocturne Brain
Sources (1)
- Nocturne Brain Marquesan Drive, Delicious Audio, 2023-04-20
