ProCo RAT 2

3 knobs. Volume, filter, distortion. Filter is just a reverse tone knob. I actually think the filter knob is more affective than the tone knobs on my Boss pedals. On most Boss distortion/overdrive pedals, I have to put tone at 0 to get a normal sound. On the Rat, the filter knob sounds great wherever it is put and can you a variety of sounds. Very easy to get a good sound. It has a different power unit it needs. This made me buy a single unit to power this one instead of using my 5-way daisy-chain. However, I like that the reissues have the LED light. Very useful.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard - Vox V848 - Pro Co. Rat II - Ibanez TS9 - Boss BD2 - Boss DD5 - MXR Micro Amp - Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (tube 1x12 40 watts).

Not noisy at all which is amazing because of the high gain this pedal can attain. One word: VERSATILE!!! This unit gets cleaner than my Tube Screamer and Blues Driver and gets much dirtier as well. With distortion at 0, this pedal sounds like it's not even on. However, with a tiny turn, you hear a little bit of gain. Sounds like a Fender Twin from the 50's. With a little more twist of the knob, it now sounds like an overdriven tube amp, and then turns into a Marshall stack. This continues to get incrase gain until about half way when it hits fuzz. This could be used for distortion, overdrive, solos, or even clean boosts! Can go from Hendrix to Queen to AC/DC to sounds of today as well. This is the best sounding distortion/overdrive pedal I've ever heard. Because of the sound, price, reliability, and versatility, nothing even touches it.

This is the sturdiest pedal I've ever seen. This pedal is made of heavy metal and can produce the sound as well. Very reliable. I would definetly not have a backup. Try to break it. I dare you.

Great for any style of music. I could even use this for jazz or blues if I wanted. Sounds best for classic rock. Been playing for 4 years. This unit is my favorite pedal on my whole. Not to mention, it was the cheapest pedal to buy as well. It it were stolen, I'd throw my Tube Screamer at the robber running of with it, and then beat him with the Rat. But if the robber got away, I'd definetly buy another it a heartbeat. I love the sound, versatilty, price, and quality of this pedal. The things I've found that I don't like is that it needs to attain more volume when the distortion is at 0. However, when the distortion is turned a little bit, it's fine. I also don't like the rubber stoppers on the bottom. If you don't own a pedalboard or don't velcro your pedals to your board, this is a great feature. However, it is very heard to velcro with the big rubber stoppers. But with a little cardboard and duct tape, this problem is easily fixed. My favorite feature is the versatility. Goes from clean to fuzz with the turn of a dial. This unit slotters my Boss DS-1, which I sold thanks to this pedal. Perfect for making music. This pedal can do everything I need in a distortion/overdrive pedal. If only they'd make a Rat rack unit with 10 or so editable slots. Then I could create save the many sounds this unit is capable of making into one unit where I could then change settings with the stomp of a button. This is by far the best distortion pedal on the market. Buy it if you want your Fender tube amp to sound like a Marshall stack. Then turn the Rat off to have the famous Fender tube amp clean sounds again. Perfect unit.

A distortion pedal is really a no-brainer for most of the guitar-playing population and the RAT2 is no different. As previously mentioned the "reverse-taper" tone pot (or filter sweep) can throw you off if you just put your hands on the pedal. Everything else is clearly marked and self explanatory.

Korean PRS -> Crybaby Wah ->BOSS SD-1->RAT2->BOSS CE-1->DIGIDELAY->HRDx 1x12 40w tuber

This is my most recent setup for gigging live, and i must say that I am truly happy with the sound. The RAT can go anywhere from that marshally crunchy sound to a ultra-thick fuzz-type distortion. It is extrememly receptive to pick attack, in fact all the strings ring out on the RAT even with lots of distortion. The harder you dig in, the better it responds.

I would classify the RAT2 as a combo fuzz/distortion. You can easily get an AC/DC sound or even a Foo Fighters type of grrrrrowl. The trick on this bad boy is to use the filter-tone sweep to extract your sound.

Some example settings
HARD ROCK CRUNCH
dist=9 o'clock
Tone=11 o'clock
volume=2 o'clock

ALTERNATIVE GRUNGE RIPS
dist=2 o'clock
tone= 12 o'clock
volume=1-2 o'clock

I can relate to those who feel that the rat may have not very good sustain. I have found that it is short of a "high-gain" type of sound, but more of a texture for your rig (that is a good thing). I force feed my rat2 with a fairly neutral setting on my boss sd-1. With the rat2 in a HARD ROCK CRUNCH type setting fed with the sd-1 in front this thing can really rip (great high-gain slash or zakk type of tone).

TRUE BYPASS = yummmy (especially for those with good sounding tubers)

The effect always is right on - i modded my rat to accept the boss style power plug as well as installed a bright blue led in the 'a'

Basically it is a very versatile distortion. It is truly not a 1-trick pony.

So far, so good. This particular RAT2 was made in the 80's so its got plenty of love marks on it. It seems that the crappy input jacks eventually fell apart (especially the plastic part) so i had to replace both. This can be expected with 20+years of use!

I do depend on this bad boy for a bunch of my tones playing live.
You would have to be either a newb or a idiot to not have a strategic backup if you are playing live. I have my boss gt-6 (digital harshness) and another amp always nearby just incase something went kaBOOM!

When the battery starts to die, it makes this really great squealing noise that can be adjusted with the dist knobs (its as if the op-amp gets stuck in one stage!) But dying batteries can be replaced.

oh yeah, forget about where the battery cover is..its gone!

so neg points for battery cover and the input jacks

Never dealt with them so NO OPINION!

I play a mix of classic rock, 60's rock, 70's rock, 80's rock, and 90's rock. Throw in some alternative rock in there too! My fav bands are Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. I have been playing 16+ years.

I think that this RAT2 distortion is perhaps the versatile dist pedal i have been looking for. It is not only noise, but adds a distinct texture to your sound. The tweakablility is great on this unit, and can be adapted to many different styles.

I really enjoy how i can hear every single string ring out (when playing a barre chord). Paired up with the SD-1 its a true monster! The SD-1 alone can provide a decent rock crunch on top of the clean channel of my HRDx. But together with the rat2 is a real treat.

I chose the rat2 after seeing it in a used music store, and trying it out. I was getting tired of the digital staleness of my boss gt-6 (which i gave pretty high marks to in a previous review when i thought it rocked) but now am migrating back to a simpler/more toneful setup. The soundguys are happy not dealing with harsh patch changes anymore, and I can concentrate on playing instead of programming patches. I feel like im 15 again and have my first dist pedal! Seriously, the Rat2 is a very versatile pedal and can be suitable for all styles EXCEPT extremely heavy metal. The rat2's "buzzsaw" dist is only achieved with the filter knob twisted to the left somewhat..and even then it is better than the MT2 by a long shot. The MT2 will never get that classic rock crunch or that alternative fuzz but the RAT2 does it and asks to be ridden hard.

Well it is a very versitel distortion/overdrive. Not very hard to get a good tone from it.

Well I play an Epi LP, threw a Rat2, GE-7, Small Clone, and a volume pedal to a Peavey classic 30. The Rat sounds pretty swell by itslef, but I use the GE-7 to help it alittle bit. It is just so versitile.

This is used by a ton of artists. Sonic Youth, Nirvana, mewithoutYou, and alot-alot more.

I give it a 10. Built like a little tank. I have droped it alot, but this little thing keeps on kicking.

I would gig without a back up. But I might pick up a EHX Big Muff, for other tones. But my Rat is the major sound box in my effects rig. I'd only use my amps distortion with my Rat to acompany it.

N/A

Oh I play punk,emo,rock,and indie. Like I said, this thing is just so versitle, it handels all thoose like a machine.

I've been playing for 5 years.


If it was stolen, you bet I'd get another one.I just love it's over all versatility. I rember the day I bought it. It was between the Big Muff and the Rat2.. And I fell in love with the Rat.



Hey it glows in the dark. How much cooler can it get?

3 knobs... Distortion, Filter, and Volume.... perhaps the simplest of pedals made

84' JV Strat/ Gibson SG> Boss Super Overdrive> Rat> Boss DD3> Ampeg Reverberocket 212 reissue with EL34 power tubes.

This just may be God's gift to guitar. The Rat is one of the most unique and versitle distortion pedals i've ever owned. From bright and jangly to oversaturated and doomy, this pedal can do it all. With my strat and the distortion at about 11 o'clock i can get some of the greatest jangly guitar sound ever out of it. It cut through and keeps the brights on while keeping a decent amount of saturation. The sound is very similar to alot of Swerevdrivers jangly guitar tones... And that said, when you crank this box of glory out you can achive some of the thickest heaviest guitar tones i've ever heard, especialy when i team it up with my SG. Its the perfect stoner metal guitar pedal... total doom very very Melvins esq.

this baby has been ticking for almost 10 years now with out a single problem. Id imagine i could try and smash the housing but i doubt i get anywhere... its built like a tank

never needed any

I've been playing in Noise rock, Space Rock and Stoner Metal bands for almost 10 years and this pedal has become the cornerstone of my guitar sound. It goes from a beautiful jangle to utter doom in just a half sweep the the knob but keeps the shining character of the guitars tone every step of the way. If i ever lost/broke this pedal i would have to find another quickly... im considering buying a second one perhaps a Turbo Rat... then i'll have duel Rats .... yippy

Pretty much straight forward. The "Filter" knob threw me off a little and made it difficult for me to figure out a good tone...which I guess is what this is supposed to do. It reminded me a little more of leaving a wah on and trying to find one good tone to set it at...*knocks a couple points off here*...otherwise good.

Well, I was using this with a strat that I modified with a Seymour Duncan classic stack and hotrails. I also had a generic tele rhythm pickup at the neck. This (with the rest of my rig, which I rarely used at the same time as the RAT 2, so I won't go into details here), fed my '74 Fender Twin Reverb.

All I can say is wow...and not all in a good way. This pedal is hot and nasty. When it comes to distortion, I tend to use my Big Muff as a standard to compare other pedals. The RAT 2 was much brighter, biting, and aggressive/harsh. I had a difficult time getting it to work for the smoother, creamier sound I was going for. Plus, with hot pickups and a ridiculously loud amp, I found myself with little control over noise & feedback.

At the same time, I am fully aware that this pedal is not supposed to be "nice" at all. In fact, it's supposed to offer an aggressive rock distorion...so it's doing what it's supposed to...so I can't take off too many points. The pedal does it's job, but I just can't hire it.

Dependable? Yes. Gig without a backup? Yes...if I ever had the desire to incorporate it into my gigging rig.

Never had to deal with 'em.

I was using this for modern rock, a la Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters. It probably could have worked well for any of those, but I didn't like it enough to want to make it work. I gave it to a very happy man who in turn gave me an MXR Flanger that I proceeded to never use. (Fool am I.) Anyway, I'm just glad it's going to someone who will actually use it.

The Rat 2 is an awesome distortion pedal that is simple to use. There are three knobs, not hard to find a good sound.

Currently I am playing a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Standard Strat------Rat 2-------Carvin Bel Air tube amp. This Rat is not noisy at all. You can get a wide range of sounds with this pedal.

This thing is HEAVY. It's built like a tank. Solid, period.

N/A

I play stuff like Clutch, Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Black Label Society, Alice In Chains, Audioslave, etc. It is good for all of these. I have been playing for nearly 20 years and have used many distortion pedals. This sounds less "processed" than the Metal Zone I used to have. More of a natural distortion sound. If it was lost or stolen I would buy another one. I would like to try the Deucetone. I like the fact that it is very durable and that it puts out great sound. Buy one today!

Only 3 knobs makes it very easy to use, but you do need to tweek the settings a bit to get the desired effect. Little tweaks on each knob seem to affect the other settings....but its analog and very easy.

I use: Gibson Les Paul Classic -> Boss BD-2 -> Rat -> Boss Delay -> Peavey classiv 50. The Rat is a very good pedal if you want great crunch and sustain. It is not processed sounding like the Boss and Digitech metal or Rock pedals. I am not sure why I am reading a lot of people say that they lose bass with this pedal, but I think it actually has a little too much bass when the distortion is cranked up. I am, however, using a Les Paul with very heavy strings which may be why I think it may have too much bass. This pedal sounds best when used for crunchy chunky sounds with the distorition at around 10:00 and the volume at around 1:00. I seem to get the most clarity and true note definition at these settings. This is vey different than most distortion devices where you crank up the distortion setting. I give it an 8 because I am picky, but I do love it and use it all the time.

Can you say Sherman Tank.

No Idea...No Problems.

I own a number of distortion/overdrive pedals. Every year, I buy at least one new one and DON'T sell them. There are only a few distortion pedals that I haven't liked. Each one is good for a different tone. This one is great for "real" sounding distortion that is chunky. The one drawback to make this pedal better is the distortion control. I never go past 12:00 because it seems to mud up the sound a bit. They should make the control a little more transparant in the upper distortion range. By the way, for all you nuts who claim the original is the best blah blah blah. Technology has come a long way in 30 years and I owned one of the originals in the 80's and sold it....which is why I don't sell anymore, but this pedal is as good as the original. It may sound a bit different, but it has strenghts on the orignal as well as weeknesses.

This review is for a new Rat 2. It is simple to use with only 3 knobs (Distortion, Filter, and Volume) but tricky to get a good sound out of because the knobs are interactive. Meaning you can't set one knob and leave it there - once you adjust one knob, you have to adjust the others to compensate. The good thing about this is that there is a wide variety of sounds you can get with it. The downside is that most of these sounds are awful and you have to tweak until you find a good sound.

Other than that, it works like pretty much any other stompbox.

I am using this with a MIM Strat with Lace Sensors and either a Behringer GX210 combo amp or V-Amp Pro. I bought it to replace the weak gain channel on the combo amp, so I am using this purely on the clean channel. Just like any distortion pedal, the noise level increases when it is switched on but I didn't notice any more noise than other distortion pedals.

I would characterize the Rat 2 as a "fuzz-distortion" pedal rather than a pure distortion pedal like the Boss DS-1. If the DS-1 is more "gritty", the Rat is more "buzzy." I'd say overall it sounds warmer and less processed than the DS-1. By turning the distortion up and tweaking the filter knob, you can also get a smoother, bassy Big Muff/Marshall-type distortion.

On the minus side, even though there are lots of good sounds in this pedal, it's really easy to get a nasty, 'angry bees in a glass jar' type sound. I usually tweak the knobs whenever I switch pickups to avoid this. Also when I plugged the Rat into the amp's 'high input', I got the angry bees sound no matter what, so I keep it plugged into the 'lo input' for a smoother sound.

Another two pluses are the true-bypass and the low battery consumption. This pedal has low power requirements, so you don't need any special AC adapter, and it's rated for 250 hours on one 9V battery. These were the main reasons I went with the Rat over the Big Muff.

This seems to be a high quality, made-in-USA pedal with a thick metal body. I've had it for less than a week but I haven't noticed any issues.

The only design change I'd recommend is the battery compartment. I prefer the battery compartments on Boss and Ibanez pedals, which are easy to get to and secure, but on the Rat it's a plastic clip on the underside of the battery door. The wires connecting the battery connector seemed to be thin and easy to break by accident. Not the worst design I've seen but could be better.

Haven't dealt with ProCo regarding the Rat, yet.

I play rock, mostly from the 90's. I've been playing electric guitar for about 5 years. This Rat fits what I was looking for, for the most part. I'd like to play the Vintage Rat sometime and compare it to this one, to see if the distortion is any smoother. I may end up buying a Big Muff as well to complement the Rat.

As I mentioned above, the only real changes I'd make is to the battery compartment and to use lower gauge wires for the connector. Other than that, this is a good product for the price.

Easy as hell! Very comprehensive controls and very radical changes in sound when engaged! This thing is a jewel despite its name!! Can't get a bad sound out of it unless you turn the dist knob past two o clock and have the low pass maxed (but that gives the foo fighters tone so works for some people i think it s a little muddy)

This thing is RAW!!my rigg:Fender mustang '73-> telegun custom 'overdive cream' ->ehx small clone->phase90->rat2->dunlop crybaby->ehx deluxe memory man->fender blues Jr tube amp. The sound is so great! I heard about this effect and when I tried it I was blown away! It transform my fender to an aggressive EVH -approved Marshall!!(In a good way) The effect has nice tight low end pronounced mids and nice trebble it is ARTICULATE! makes your pickups speak their character through and through:neck pickup -fantastic growl and bluesy bends, bridge pickup crunchy rhythm ,harmonic mayhem a real screamer,I never thought my mustang could rock like this until i heard her with this pedal (i mostly play surf and clean stuff) The effect is not noisy and cleans up nicely when you back the volume but it's mainly distortion i don t use it for OD, for fuzz work i use my re issue ehx big muff.The great thing about it is also that the filter does a radical tone shaping job! A definatelly ROCKING pedal!! Mine is a really old one with the silver thumb screw ,i got it on ebay and was used in the eighties by the swiss Punk band Kleenex/Liliput. This thing has MOJO!!

It's been used for many years and live shows and doesn't have a scratch!! I opened it up and it's so well constructed I was amazed!! It puts to shame some of my ehx effects (although i love those babys!!)

Never dealt with them and don't think i will

This thing rocks!! It helps me play and cut through the band mix and it s also very versatile and fun!(i play blues and surf and I find myself doing poser stuff sometimes with this pedal just for the kicks i get)Rhythm crunch is raw and in your face!Check it out and get a used old one (best bang for the buck value) Here in greece the price rages up to 110 euros!(that s almost 140 USD!!)

Received it defective.

This is an update of my earliar review. I found out my pro co rat 2 was broken because one of the other reviewers said his was. So i asked pro co, they responded quite quickly. They told me they'd get the number for the uk distributer and email me back with it. I waited for 3 months... no reply. So when i actually remembered about it after 3 months i emailed them again. They gave me the number. The number didnt work. I emailed them saying the number didnt work. They emailed me back saying it does. Now im stuck with a useless #65 peice of metal.