ProCo RAT

very easy.. i was a bit annoyed that the ac input was the reverse of most pedals.. but im anal.

it sounds way better than any other distortion pedal i've used... i've tried the other, newer rats and they sound way different (worse).. the filter knob gives the pedal a lot of versatility. the pedal has a unique ability to make your guitar sound a bit like an analog synth if you want it to... at least, thats what comes to mind. its fun to tinker with. i play with a japanese jagmaster through a Garnet Pro Bass amp.

it is also the beefiest pedal i have. as many people have said, it seems indestructible. however, i bought it used and think i have to replace the switch or something, because a couple of times it has cut out.. it might've been because it was in the cold, travelling.yes, the pedal can drive a car.

never

above all it is absolutely perfect for the music i play... experimental noise/grindcore/spacecore like Arab On Radar, holy molar, ex models.. ive played in my share of busy bands since i started playing about 8 years ago.. this is the only pedal that has survived.

Three knobs, distortion, filter, and volume. Pretty easy to use, but you need to experiment with it to get what your after.

I have two electrics currently, a '76 Les Paul Standard and a U.S. made Peavey Predator Strat copy. My current amp is a Peavey Triumph 60 tube amp running through an old Peavy 4X12 cab. I use the Rat with the Triumph's clean channel. Both guitars sound great with this pedal. I also tried my Cry Baby 535Q in conjunction with the Rat, and it sounded great too. My favorite distortion is what I like to call a kind of twangy distortion where you can hear every string individually. I guess you could call this uncompressed distortion. This is the type of sound you would get from a Dr. Z Maz 38 turned up and played straight through for example. I can get a pretty good approximation to this tone with the Rat's distortion knob at about 11 oclock and the filter knob at 7 or 8 oclock. This pedal does not take the tube clean tone and make it sound like solid state distortion. It only modifies the clean tube tone expertly. The tone is very harmonic too. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 in this category is because it doesn't sound exactly like a great tube amp played straight through with the tubes saturated, but it gives a very close approximation.

Only had it for 4 days, and it was bought used in pretty good shape. Seems like it would be pretty indestructable.

Don't know, never contacted them.

I play a wide range of different music including in order of preference: blues, classic rock, country, 80's hair metal, and modern metal. I've been playing off and on for 30 years. If this pedal was stolen or lost, I would try to find another used one, since they don't make this issue any more. I love the way this pedal only modifies your clean tube tone and doesn't covert it to a bland non harmonic solid state tone. I don't hate anything about this pedal. My favorite feature of this pedal is the filter (compression) knob. I compared this product to a Boss SD-1 pedal and picked this pedal based on the reviews, but I think the Boss pedal is also a good pedal. I wish it has a little light to let you know if it was on if I ever was using it in conjuction with another distortion pedal, but that is not a problem right now because I only play it on my amp's clean channel with no other distortion pedals. It defenently helps me make music and never gets in the way. This is a very good distortion pedal in it's price range, and I don't see any weaknesses in it. The only thing that really sounds better in my opinion is a quality all tube single channel amp played straight through and turned up to where the tubes are saturated.

Very

who said this is no good for metal?one of the most recorded "secret"pedals ever
is early metallica not metal? or ratt or half of the bands ruling metal in the 80's?
try one in front of a JCM 800 set to loud clean w/eq pedal slightly scooped...it will blow your mind
oh yeah...never crank the gain its best around 2/3.
Noise?you gotta be kidding me.This thing packs a HUGE crunch/noise ratio...if your amp is clean this thing is VERY quiet...maybe you're trying the metal thing with "tex-mex"single coils or something equally silly

Ive had mine forever...switch is a little dirty.other than that it sounds as good as ever

can't be beat for 80'metal/alt/slash tone etc

Three knobs. Learn how to use them all, but remember the Filter (Tone" knob in the middle is your key to success or failure.

Easy to get anything from completely clean sounds to slight overdrive to serious crunch. If the sound isn't in this box you'll need to build something yourself.

The thing is a CHUNK. I've got the original version before ProCo downsized the Rat and then re-released the big box with an LED calling it the "Vintage Rat." (Whatever.) The thing is indestructable.

Have had no issues with the product so I have not dealt with ProCo. However the WWW site is pretty helpful, offering some suggested initial settings, etc, so I give 'em a 5

Ramones, Van Halen, AC/DC, SRV, Green Day, Sex Pistols, Pink FLoyd, Clapton...it's all in there. (Or as close as you can come without duplicating the gear and having a hands and brain transplant.)

It's good stuff, Maynard. Check one out the next time you're Saturday Afternoon "shreading" at the Guitar Center annoying the hell out of the paying customers. LOL.

Very easy. 3 knobs. You can't complain about that much.

Not bad. Sort of like a Tube screamer. It seems to have a nice quality in that when you turn down the distortion it still sounds good in that "just barely breaking up" mode. Some pedals only sound good totally turned off or gain at 10 without much range. It does sound a bit scrappy in quality. I play it with a Les Paul into a Fender DeLuxe Reverb amp. Seems to have a bit more compression than a TS-9.

very solid build it seems

I have lots of distortion pedals. So far my favorite is a Mesa Boogie V-Twin. My favorite pedal for distortion that's not tube based is a Keely modified TS-9. This pedal doesn't have their sound, but then again it doesn't cost what those pedals do. I feel it's better than a Boss pedal and about the same as a TS-9 in tone quality. It doesn't beat a hot tube pre-amp pedal though.

3 knobs....you'll figure it out

Is it just me or is this pedal everything that the ts9 has failed to deleiver? Not to knock the tube screamer too much, but this does the clean thing for me...and also does dirty. You can almost get it to sound like a big muff. I am so glad I bought this over a ts 9

sound as a pound

great for rock dirty blues and "alternative" I would but it again in a heartbeat because afterwards I can still take my girl out for dinner and a movie. Great buy.

Three knobs - distortion, filter and level. it's the filter one which makes a difference on this. You really need to play around with it depending on your guitar and amp setup.

i use different guitars and amps depending on my gig. Firebird into Super Lead top with cab for rock, down to strat in to an Orange AD30 for jazz and blues - and everything in between. RAT is a permanent attachment to my board only need this and Big Muff for all distortion tones. It is a little noisy, but then all distortion are. Put it thru a Boss Noise Suppressor and its as clean as a whistle. Great blues tone and sweet sustain on both humbuckers and single coils. Crank the pedal up on the distortion, move the filter to around 75% and it gives a great rock sound. Sounds amazing through the Super lead and also good into a Bluesbreaker combo. the orange can't handle it on high settings - it overloads, but then i never bought the orange for rock sounds anyway. Important to stick a compressor (MXR Dynacomp of Boss CS3 both do well)in front of it otherwise it can scream in nasty way but, again, compressors should always be used with a distortion unit. It's the best around for a clear rock and blues tone.

When aliens dig up the remains of the Earth in a zillion years time, they'll find one of these and it'll still be working! Think nuclear warheads are made out of the same stuff.

Considered getting a Keeley mod done and company were real helpful in giving me advice - never bothered in the end - like mine the way it is.

Couldn't gig without it - always dependable and always sings like a demon! I've had some pretty nifty boutique pedals and always come back to the RAT. Don't be put off by the cheap price tag - these are PRO pedals and deserve your attention.

Its damn easy to use three knobs/no manuals needed.

I think this unit is excellent choice for any rock or blues guitarist I use this unit with a fender strat & marshall amp.It has a superb sound quality(better than my amp's drive for me???) you can really shape the sound colour with that filter button, you can get very aggrassive distortion sound for heavy rocks as well as mild type of distortion sound (close to an over drive) suitable for fusion type sounds.For me its one of the greatest distortion I've ever used which sounds different from most of the units of its price.

its built for road users so very reliable I don' need a backup for this baby.

never dealt with them.

I play blues & rock and it suits perfectly for me.I've been playing professionally for more than 10 years and its capable of covering a large number of styles.So if you want a good sounding distortion at a budget price try this one I'm sure you won't regret.

pretty easy to use. make sure you have good battery in it, 3 knobs for gain, filter, level. simple

for what it's supposed to do whichis provide distortion, it works great. this was my main distortion box from '90-'01 when i had a steinberger gl3t, and usually used it w/ a yamaha delay for echo and into my old 50 watt amp. i always got great sounds. works good for getting clean sounds too when you back off the gain. i then got a digitech rp100 when i got my parker nitefly and started to acquire too much rack gear. lately my rp100 has been freaking out, so i've gone back to the rat, and i'm amazed at how good it sounds and how easy w/ the 3 knobs.

i've had it for 15 yrs, still going!

i've never needed it. it's still running....

love this thing. will never get rid of it. it's so simple, a nice
change from "editing" presets, which has it's place, but the rat still
sounds good.

Easy. 3 knobs.

I use this pedal for bass. I saw another band playing in a pub and wasn't paying much attention until they reached the chorus of a song. Then this obelisk of sound grew out of the stage. From then on, I was watching the bassist's feet. I own a Big Muff Pi USA Reissue (see review) but I use this much more often, as it's much more consistent and muscial. It creates a sound that's so solid it's almost visable. Single notes are linear and incredibly thick. I fiddled with settings when I first got it, unsure of the sound I was going to use it for. I use a Boss OD-3 and a Marshall Drive Master (see reviews) for grunty volume boost sounds, but this thing begs to be turned up. Not much chop before about half gain, it sings from then on. If you want a sound so huge people will feel it, try this out. Don't be concerned if you think there's a bit of a bass drop - you'll be heard. The other harmonics more than compensate.

Built like a tank. ProCo stuff is great. I have had Rat cables (the best sounding I've tried for bass, incidentally) for about 6 years without a problem. True bypass 3pdt switch too.

Don't know.

This pedal sounds like a powerchord. If you're determined not to be drowned out by your guitarist, try one. I'm a convert. I've tried lots of overdrives (see my other reviews) and this one has a tone that commands respect, all the way up the neck where lots of others start to get wimpy. It's great.