Supercool Barstow Bat

The Supercool Barstow Bat is a distortion pedal from Supercool Pedals, built on the classic Pro Co RAT circuit but with substantial modifications: an active three-band EQ replaces the RAT's single Filter control, a Turbo button switches the clipping diodes, and the main drive section delivers twice the volume output of the stock design¹²³. It was announced in November 2024 in two versions, a standard white finish and a limited edition black finish¹³.

Supercool describes it as a pedal that can create "a wide range of sonic paths and landscapes ranging from searing distortions, to natural overdrives, crunchy leads, and dirty boosts, with loads of gain and signature style", and it is designed to work with guitar, bass, or any other instrument¹². The RAT circuit it builds on is known for a tight mid-to-high-gain character that made it a staple in 1980s hard rock rigs⁴.

A RAT distortion with a three-band EQ

The Barstow Bat is based on the legendary Pro Co RAT distortion pedal, "but with many modifications and additions"³. The biggest change is the EQ: the RAT's single Filter control is ditched in favor of an active, isolated three-band EQ with Low, Mid and High knobs, each offering boost and cut¹⁵³.

The design intent is straightforward. With all three EQ knobs at noon, the pedal delivers the classic stock RAT tone¹². From there, the EQ section lets you shape frequencies the original circuit could not reach: Guitar World reported that EQ adjustments can unlock "scooped mids, to filtered or added treble, booming bass, or crunchy color"³. Premier Guitar framed the pedal's appeal as "its ability to expand the Pro Co RAT's traditional vocabulary"⁶.

The pedal also runs quieter than its ancestor. Premier Guitar's news coverage lists a "super-quiet noise floor" and "a dead-quiet circuit response" among its features⁵.

The controls and the Turbo button

The control layout keeps two familiar dials from the RAT and adds the EQ and clipping switching around them¹³.

The Turbo button is top-mounted and swaps the clipping character. In Standard mode you get classic silicon RAT distortion; pressing Turbo engages a more open and aggressive Turbo RAT-style LED clipping mode, which MusicRadar described as giving "a bit more midrange muscle and gain"¹⁵. With the clipping button in the out position, a pair of silicon diodes provides maximum distortion and saturation².

The main drive section also delivers twice the volume output of the stock design, which Pedal of the Day noted "can lead to further overdriving your favourite amp or guitar pedal"².

History and versions

Supercool Pedals, a Canadian builder, unveiled the Barstow Bat on 4 November 2024 as its newest pedal¹⁵. It shipped in two versions¹:

• Standard (white): knobs for Drive and Level plus the three-band EQ, with a top-mounted Turbo button switching the clipping from silicon to a pair of LEDs¹. The standard version was available to order at launch³.
• Limited edition (black): does all the same distorted shape-shifting, but also carries rare NOS Germanium 1N34A diodes, engaged for Turbo mode via an internal dip-switch¹³. It was available to pre-order at launch and ran as a limited edition until 2025⁵³.

The pedal's eye-catching graphics are based on the work of Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas⁵.

The RAT lineage the Bat draws on is long: the original circuit went through several iterations over the following decades under names like the RAT2 and Turbo RAT⁴, and Pro Co has offered varieties such as the You Dirty Rat and the Vintage Big Box RAT reissue⁷.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the Barstow Bat in November 2024 and called it "an incredibly versatile tone shaping and distortion tool", saying it "instantly vaults it near the top of an already crowded list of wonderful dirt devices"².

Premier Guitar's reviewer highlighted "the Bat's ability to work with virtually any guitar tone-and-volume combo" and "the inclusion of a 'Turbo' button"⁸.

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