JOHN SCOFIELD Rat Pack Interview

Pro Co: Please tell us about the history of your Rat use and about your gear. Scofield: I have used the Rat for years! On all of my straight ahead jazz records, I would use the Rat and mainly a Mesa/Boogie (Mark III) amp with E/V speakers really with a lot of low end, but using the treble pick-up on the guitar (Ibanez Artist AS200) its a weird setup. So it was a very clean amp, then my guitar, and the Rat with just a little bit of distortion to fatten it up some and turn the tone (filter) all the way up on the Rat. Ive been using the Rat in that way for what must be 15 years now. On some tunes Ill turn up the distortion to get a real heavy distortion Im always tweaking the distortion control (sometimes up to 12 oclock for heavier distortion settings). Pro Co: What are some of your favorite settings? Scofield: Sometimes Ill have the distortion at 8 oclock or 8:30 just a little bit (filter all the way up; volume variable matching output of the amp). I found that it takes away some of the tickiness on the high E strings and just evens out the guitar compresses and warms it up. Pro Co: How and when did you get turned on to the Rat and by whom? Scofield: Well, I was just looking for good distortion units back in the 80s. For a while I had the Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS-9) and I liked that, but it got stolen. Somewhere, someone told me about the Rat so I bought one and I just liked it more than the other ones I tried. Pro Co: How does it differ between your uses of the Rat in the early days as opposed to today? Scofield: On Uberjam I didnt use it as much, but if Im doing other kinds of music where Im not distorting the amp, Ill bring it. It sounds really weird, but on straight ahead jazz dates, Ill bring the Rat. I always wanted a little distortion, but a blues sound -not like a metal distortion. The sound of an amp at just the perfect volume distorting is great if youre playing at that certain volume. But, Ive found that either the amp would be too big, like a Marshall or (Fender) Twin to get those to distort it would be too loud to play with a jazz group. Thats the same with my Boogie I really like the sound of my Mark III, but I didnt like the sound of the distortion unless it was turned up all the way and that was too loud to play with a jazz drummer. So I started to use the Rat to control the volume to keep the same amount of distortion at a lower or higher volume.

Pro Co: Do you have any interesting or strange story about the Rat? (How it saved a gig, your life, a song, or proved indestructible in the face of overwhelming odds) Scofield: (laughs) I cant think of any funny stories right now, but if I do, Ill let you know. But the Rat has been with me all the time. It saves my ass every time I have to play through a shitty amp. When I put my Rat on it helps me out. That happens a lot with playing rental gear. For me, a Fender Twin is the hardest amp to get a sound out of I dont know, I guess thats just a personal thing. They sound great for a certain type of music, but not with my guitar and my stuff. But, Ive gotten through many nights where that was the only amp available, because of the Rat because I can come closer to getting my sound with the Rat (through that amp). If I didnt have the Rat, I wouldnt have been able to play. Pro Co: We understand youre a collector of sorts. Do you collect vintage Rats for parts or do you have a collection of working Rats? Scofield: I liked the older Rats so much, so I have about 6 or 7 of them. Theyre actually pretty indestructible! Pro Co: As a Rat Pack member, whom have you turned onto the Rat? Scofield: Well, everybody can look at my pedals when I play a gig and I play 200 concerts a year and they can see the Rat there, so I guess Ive turned people onto it if they liked my sound plus Ive always told people about it in interviews. Its not like people have never heard of the Rat, because all the guitar players I know have already heard of it. But when people say, How do you get your sound? Ill say, The Rat through my Mesa/Boogie. Pro Co: What, if any, songs on the new CD (Uberjam) did you use the Rat on? Scofield: Well, Ive got another CD coming out in January (on Blue Note Records) thats pretty interesting. That band is called Sco/Lo/Ho/Fo its four of the biggest names in jazz together. On that record, half the tunes I use the Rat on and half I dont. It would be fun to see which ones people think I have the Rat on; it sort of seems to be the songs that sound a little fuller that have the Rat on it actually. I use the Rat on one of my favorite songs on that album called Shorter Form. Gear List Guitar: Ibanez Artist AS200 Amp: Mesa/Boogie Mark III Effects: Pro Co Vintage Rat/Rat 2 Album: Uberjam-John Scofield Band OH!-ScoLoHoFo (john Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, Al Foster