F C 10 FAT C AT
D IST O RTI ON
The ‘80s was a
big decade for the Pro Co
Rat. Its distinctively meaty,
focused distortion tones
contributed greatly to the
pop-metal guitar sounds
that were all over the radio
at the time, selling lots
and lots of pedals for Pro
Co. Naturally, competing
guitar effects companies
also began to do their
own versions of the circuit,
including the crew at
Hoshino-Gakki. The FC10
Fat Cat was a result of
this endeavor, with Ibanez
adding a few interesting
twists to the design. The
circuit used a JRC5534 op-
amp rather than Pro Co’s
then-standard LM308, and
the tone control was also
reversed to act more like a
18
TONE TALK //
standard tone knob. The Fat
Cat also boasted a buffered,
higher-impedance input,
resulting in a lightened load
on the guitar pickups
and increased overall sonic
clarity. It’s a very fine-
sounding and versatile Rat
variant that can be picked
up pretty regularly for 50 to
70 bucks. There’s really no
reason not to get one.
That’s a 10: Five Stupid-Underrated Pedals From The Ibanez 10 Series