EC Murinae review

Independent rodent distortion

  • £99
  • $149
Besides the external controls you also get three internal switches that change the clipping modes

MusicRadar Verdict

Great all-round distortion with choice variations.

Pros

  • +

    Good value for money. Range of clipping options. Gets close to the RAT sound.

Cons

  • -

    Not much.

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'Murinae' from Israeli pedal-maker EC relates to a sub-species of rodent, but although this pedal is based on the LM308 design of Pro Co's RAT, it's no mere clone, as it can go into different sonic territory.

"This pedal comes very close to the sound of a RAT, but also offers amp-like high-gain distortions"

Besides the standard gain, volume and tone, you get three internal switches that change the clipping modes (Silicon diodes, LEDs or Germanium diodes with transistors).

This manifests itself as several different voices, making it rather versatile as you decide whether you'd like it sounding loud and lean with midrange clarity, or fat and sustain-y with squealing harmonics.

We'd rather have seen this switching externally, but chances are you'll choose a favourite setting and stick with it.

This pedal comes very close to the sound of a RAT, but also offers amp-like high-gain distortions that work well with clean and dirty amps.

A decent-sounding, practical distortion pedal, and with its range of clipping options, this is a bargain at the price.

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.