ProCo Turbo RAT

3 dials, very easy to use

I play this with les paul and strats, through a tech 21 trademark 60 amp. I bought this with a gift card, so it didn't cost me anything. I guess that's why I'm not too upset about not being 100% happy with this pedal. It does have an interesting sound, somewhat like a big muff, but not as fuzzy. You can get a cool rhythm sound. Now, for leads... unfortunately, I have to use another overdrive with it for leads. This pedal by itself does not have any real sustain? That broke my heart, because I wanted to love this pedal. So, for leads I kick in an overdrive pedal before the turbo rat. You'd think that with the word "turbo" on it, it would scream? Well it does not. It's more like a yell than a scream.

It's built like a tank. If I threw this pedal at someones head, it may kill them.

I've never had to use them, but I understand that they are great with customer support.

Don't misunderstand, I don't hate this pedal. I don't even dislike it. I don't love it, but I do like it. Like I said, it does get a cool rhythm sound, I just can't use it on it's own for sustaining leads. What a shame.

pretty standard, 3 knobs: Dist, filter and volume.

When I first plugged in and played, I was NOT impressed. I guess I was expecting this pedal to blow my mind; based on it's legacy and all it's hype? Then I played with it a bit and started to figure it out. To use ALL 3 knobs together is the key to figuring out this pedal, they work interactively. Learn to use the volume control on this. I know this may sound silly, but I notice a lot of people tend to keep the volume on distortion pedals at 12 o'clock. In short, the higher the volume is set on the pedal, the higher the guitar's output, the harder it will hit your amps preamp section. This pedal has A LOT of output, hence the "Turbo" moniker. When I set the volume on this pedal at about 75% and played around with the distortion and filter knobs, this beast came alive. Saturated yet clear. Awesome raw fuzz type distortion. It's like a big muff, only more defined and more "pro" sounding(?). It's a very unique sound and i love it! My 2 gripes about this pedal: 1) it has a lot of output, so when the volume on the pedal is turned up, you will get that awesome tone, but when the pedal is switched off, there is a big drop in the amps overall output. 2) changing the battery is a pain in the ass. You''ll see what i mean when you try it. So, minus 2 points, I'll give this pedal an 8.

This pedal is built like a safe! Heavy, strong casing. So far, so good.

N/A

Great tones out of this pedal. The volume thing and the battery thing not withstanding, this is indeed a great, unique sounding pedal.

Very simple to use. A volume knob and two knobs which affect the level of distortion/clarity.

The sound which can be achieved with the pedal is liable to divide some opinion. There is actually quite a nice level of clarity in terms of tone, but the general feeling one gets when using the pedal is a powerful and slightly uncontrollable distortion as opposed to the crisp, mechanic sounds favoured by more technical players. This is a pedal best suited for grungey, messy styles of rock.

I used this pedal over a period of 6 years at numerous gigs (60 or 70) without a backup. It's been subjected to a fairly large amount of abuse over this period and, eventually, it started to show some signs of its age and began randomly cutting out. I bought a replacement which has so far not given me any problems.

No opinion.

I play a brand of pixies-esque rock and this pedal suits my style of play perfectly. I don't play intricate technical guitar solos whilst using the distortion, I simply use it for grungey power chords and licks in the Joey Santiago mould. For me, it's perfect for this purpose and I wouldn't choose any other pedal, but I am fully aware that players with different requirements (more technical or melodic) may find it inadequate.

While it's obvious what the controls do I don't think it's as easy as some people make out. It does take some playing with to get the sound you want. While it sounds good at most settings, be clear about what you want it to do and keep playing with it and you'll find some great tones- its such a versatile pedal.

Doesn't take a boss power supply. its a half inch jack style one- not hard to get an adapter though.

I use this with with either a tele with alnico II single coils or a les paul with a p-90 in the neck and a very hot humbucker in the bridge. I run it mostly directly in front of the guitar and have a loada effects running after it. I run a 40w fender hot rod with celection vintage 30 12" speaker.

Its noisy at high setting but then it is a really high output pedal- you want less noise, turn it down. It's true bypass.

Great pedal. You can get a nice thick crunch tone out of it and run this right up to metally full on distortion.

It does colour your tone- there is definitely a 'rat' tone. I use it as my main lead distortion. It adds a reasonable amount of compression, which gives you great sustain and harmonics (although this may be from my tubes and the rat gives this impression as it pushes them so hard). Due to the compression it isn't a very dynamic pedal- I'd look elsewhere for bluesy overdrive (I keep a boss bluesdriver on my board for that sort of thing), although you can draw off some gain with your volume control. Also does lovely swells with the volume.
It really fattens up single coils. I love that I can turn up with my vintage tele and small tube combo and get some great tubey clean tones and then I can stick on the rat and cut through another guitarist whose using high output pickups and a massive stack. It really pushes the front of your amp and it is amazing how much volume you can generate with it.

You can get some great fuzz out of the rat- I'v AB'd it with a big muff and you can get close to the sound but the Rat is a touch grittier. Which I like but if you want silky smoothe tones it may not be for you.

It loves other effects. I sometimes use an envelope filter before, and after I can add any combination of overdrive, phase, echo, tremolo and more and it sounds great. Doesn't need any more compression though and you need to be careful of anything that sucks power from it as it won't push your amp as hard.

As for artists you can emulate with this... I used it to cover alot of radiohead, some muse (although I did need to stick an EQ after it to shape it slightly), floyd, pumpkins...

I do gig without a backup. Seems as heavily built as anything I've come across.

no idea

I think the important thing with any effect is that you get a good strong tone without effects first and then you bring effects in to create certain sounds, not to solve problems. Also I recommend trying one first as, although I do consider it more versatile than a lot of distortion pedals, it is quite disinctive and may not be what you want.

I also don't think it works that well with solid state amps, I've only used it with one a couple of times and it sounded very sterile, kinda similar to matt bellamy's early tones when he recorded straight from fuzz factory into a desk. Again, I'd try it first.

Three Knobs. It's very, very easy to use and very easy to get good sounds out of.

The Turbo Rat is a fantastic, classic distortion sound. Nearly every setting I've played on is usable and enjoyable.

I bought it because I am using a Tubescreamer and a Big Muff and wanted a distortion that would fall somewhere between the two - it does this perfectly.

I was surprised by how quickly I was dialing in Sonic Youth-esque distortion tones from it. I knew that Thurston and Kim use this pedal but for whatever reason, I hadn't expected to hear sounds like that coming from it right out of the box. That was an awesome and welcome surprise.

I've also found good Yo La Tengo and Radiohead settings - in addition to it blending perfectly into my band's original songs (which are Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth rip offs, more or less).

PLUS, it's TRUE BYPASS!!!!!!!

For those interested, I'm using a Jap Strat with S. Duncan Rails >Boss TU-2>Modded Ibanez Tubescreamer>MXR Blue Box>Pro Co Tubro Rat>EHX Big Muff Pi>Sovtek Small Stone>Boss Digital Reverb/Delay>Fender DeVille 410

I couldn't break the Rat if I tried. The housing is super solid. I don't foresee any problems with this pedal.

I don't gig with backups. I've never had a problem with anything going out on me. Except strings. I have yet to find good strings that won't break. And I've tried a lot...

I haven't dealt with Pro Co but I've heard that they're fantastic which is part of what prompted me to go ahead and buy the Rat.

I play Post-Punk Garage Rock with surf, noise and funk influences. I can't imagine buying another distortion pedal after the Turbo Rat - it's perfect.

I've been playing for 7 or 8 years. I would definitely buy another Turbo Rat if it were stolen.

Really simple to use, didn't have to fiddle to much to get it sounding tasty, just took a few adjustments o the distortion and filter controls to get the sound I wanted!

My setup is A fender Highway one with a seymour duncan humbucking hot rail in the bridge postion. I'm just running this through a Guyatone OD2 with the drive way down for a nice crunchy/clean tone and using this as my main distortion. My amp is a VOX climax, similar to an AC30 but a bigger badder 80's version!

The pedal is a complete firecracker, blew me away when i first turned it on! It's got everything I want in a distortion pedal! I bought it after learning that Teppei from thrice uses it, which is the sort of sound I was going for, really heavy, but with note clarity and punch and not all scooped out and fuzzy! This thing does this well. I have to say that on it's own its ever so slightly thin, but with the OD2 behind it it sounds really thick and full but will still cut through the mix!

This pedal will sound great with the right gear and someone who knows their stuff using it!

I;ve only just bought this pedal (I liked it so much I wanted to review it straight away!) so no opinion here yet.

I play a lot of alternative rock, heavy stuff that I wouldnt class as metal ranging through Thrice, Jimmy eat world, Switchfoot.

I've been playing for around 10 years now and this is one of the best distortion sounds for my style I;ve played. I can;t decide whether I like this or my OD2 more! If it was lost or stolen I would definately replace it, It kicks ass!

There are three knobs. Pretty basic stuff. The "Filter" control doesn't function like a regular tone knob, so as long as you don't treat it like one you won't have a hard time dialing in wicked tone.

Set up: Mexican Strat (stock); Les Paul Standard (w/ SD "Phat Cat" P-90s); Traynor 'Custom Valve 40' (tube combo amp).

Sounds awesome with single coils through a tube amp. I was completely blown away by how versatile this pedal is; as expected, it can totally wail with all the sustain and beautiful feedback you could ever want, but it also cleans up remarkably well. It also responds excellently to the guitar's volume knob. I can get a killer Doug Martsch/Built To Spill tone (think intro to "Carry The Zero") as well as the shredding Sonic Youth tones I bought it for (Thurston Moore has used one for over 20 years, nuff said). In short, it covers overdrive, distortion and fuzz all in one tiny box.

Right now I have it set up before more Big Muff and together it's distortion heaven

I bought it two days ago but it's built like a tank. I don't think I'll be making use of their "any excuse, even abuse" warranty policy any time soon

Haven't had the need to call yet.

I'm into the whole independent rock gamut, from the mellowest to the most intense, and this pedal will find a place in every project. Extremely satisfied.

3 knobs named Distortion-Filter-Volume.
Pretty self explanatory i suppose BUT these DO NOT work in the coventional way other pedals do!They all affect tone even the volume knob and all knobs should be though of as tone 'shapers'.They all interact a lot which each other.
So its kinda tricky to learn the controls at first since they are like that BUT your rewarded with a wide array of sounds and options.

Setup : Fender standar Tels w/ Kinman pups into a Crate vintage club 30 and a few pedals.

This is the perfect distortion for me!!!It sounds like a high gain fuzz but it doesnt overide and muddy-up your sound in mud and harmonics!!!Its fuzzy but remains 'clean' and allows stacato playing and muted strings-stumming to come through.The fileter control does a good job adjusting the bass and tremble frequences and you always have thumbing lows and pleasant cutting highs.Overall it sounds mid-range-y in my ears.
The unit is very very loud,sustains very well.it sounds better in tube amps.Very good in solid staes ones but really SHINES with tubes.
If i had to name a few band sounds to describe the sound this pedal produces then i guess it would be close to say band such as early Black Sabbath,the White Stripes,Smashing Pumpkins(almost perfectly).
It will do Garage,Punk,Rock and even packs a lot of crunch n filth for Metal.

Its built like a tank and seems indestructable!!
Very heavy and sturdy made.in the inside its very tidy and very well put together.
In all a very HIGH QUALITY made pedal.

Well as i said to me,for the sound i want its just wonderfull!!!
I dont think ill buy another distortion pedal again really.
Reason i bought it is:i had (still own) a NY Big Muff.Even though i loved the 'tranzistor-y' high-gain distortion in that pedal,the amount of noise and harmonics it adds just made it impossible to use in some occasions.
The Turbo-Rat gave me all the sounds the Muff had and a few more but in a 'cleaner' more easy to control way.Its a more usefull and versatile than the Muff (although it lacks the sendless sustain the muff has)and i can also do palm muting with it.Im very very happy cause i loved that Muff-ish sound.PLUS its True-ByPass.
I also have a ProCo 'You Dirty Rat' pedal and that one is same quality but a lot more versatile (best Marshall in a box sound out there in my opinion plus Hendrix Fuzz).The Turbo Rat isnt as much,its destined for high-Gain distortion and does the job extremely well.If you want classic Rat,overdrive or more traditional fuzz sounds get another pedal.
The Turbo Rat is the epitomy of Fuzz sounding Distortion.

This pedal is actually very easy for me to get the sound I want. It's definitely not for everyone, but it only took me around 5 minutes to find "my" sound.

Thick and meaty! I have tried other distortions (Boss DS-1, Big Muff, Ibanez Smansh Box Boss OS-2) and I have to say that the Turbo Rat blows them the hell out of the water! It has a nice thick mid-rangey distortion that suits me perfectly. I keep the distortion knob set at about 12:00, the filter at around 10 or 11 (too much bass after about 12) and the volume varies depending on the situation. This thing is my holy grail of distortion pedals. I am using an Ibanez RG2EX1(basswood with "designed by EMG" pickups) and a Kustom Tube12 and this thing turns my tiny amp into a volcano. I was soooo tired of distortion pedals that had so much hype and constantly failed to deliver the goods. The Turbo Rat WILL satisfy all of your out of control distortion needs.
And note, the sound examples on ProCo's (or any other for that matter) website do NOT do this thing justice, this pedal is liquid hot magma in a tiny black box.

Built like a tank

Never had to deal with them

I lean more towards industrial/metal/experimental type stuff. Think the Deftones meet Ministry at a Jesus Lizard concert and they decide to go to the Melvins house listening to System Of A Down and Tool just happens to be there, so they all decide to go sit at Dimebag's grave and knock back some black tooth grins. I have been playing as a hobby for about 10 years and have gone through many guitars and amps in this time. I am by no means a professional musician and my exprerience with this pedal comes with a semi-shitty (or fully shitty, but at least it has a tube) amp and an inexpensive guitar, I cant wait to upgrade my amp and pickups to really see the full potential of this badass pedal. If lost I would be bummed but just replace it immediately, if stolen I would hunt the thief down and cut his nipples off. This pedal has truly rekindled my fire for this great instrument and I will be building a rig around its sound (now that I have the necessary fundage to do so) Damn, there are just not enough good things to say about this pedal. This is only my opinion and like I said before, it's not for everyone, I think it's either love it or hate it, but for certain needs it is king of the mountain.

I'm actually giving this LESS than others, because it did take me a while to learn how to use the tone knob, where to roll back the drive knob too, and how much the volume affects the output.

But that's not a "bad" thing really, I like pedals that I can explore. But for some people, it may be quite complex for a "Three Knob" pedal.

Now, here's where I think people are wrong.

First off, after about a year, this becomes possibly THE most versatile distortion pedal. I've been able to dial in fairly perfect Black Sabbath, Smashing Pumpkins, Opeth, even Dave Gilmour Fuzz Face Tones(gain from around 10 to 12 O clock depending on how much you need, usually 10.30 for solos, Filter approaching 12, volume knob up fairly loud).

People say the Turbo RAT isn't the greatest HI GAIN pedal - but it's honestly better than most. It doesn't have that rectified sound that people have come to expect from a "hi gain" pedal, and doesn't have the insane screeching that pedals like the Fuzz Factory do either. It's a more "solid", gritty sound. It takes a while to dial in a good solo sound - you can't roll the filter back too much or it'll fade into the background, can't keep it up too much or it's got too much of a piercing quality.

But it CAN do Metal. It's great for a Master of Puppets kind of Distortion. For more screechy Pantera stuff, not so much. That's what people mean when they say this isn't a great "Hi Gain" pedal. It does suck that for all it's versatility it can't step out of it's box enough to do this, but no pedal is going to be perfect. It also might sound a little "darker" and fuzzier(not necessarily in a good way for everyone) in some ways than the original Rat.

Never had any problems. Ever.

Haevn't dealth with them.

I like a lot of Alt Rock like the 'Pumpkins and Muse who have some warm fuzzy tones. I also like Post Punk and while it can do a mishmash of those styles I must admit it's not great at giving me the post punky bauhaus tones I'd love, but it's still better than most pedals, in all honesty.

Even though the pedal "seems" to have one tone, you'd be amazed as to how you can bend that tone to mimmic others.

Again, the most "notable" range of tones this can do include mostly the Pumpkins, Black Sabbath, and Dave Gilmour-ish Fuzz Face; it can also do some grittier, nastier wilder stuff; think the distortion on the bass line from Song 2(which used 2 original RATs) only nastier. So that's pretty much the exact sound set you're getting. Oldschool metal, warm alt rock, and some Vintage tones.

If you want a real messy gritty distortion, get a Fuzz Factory. If you want Pantera type stuff, you'll probably need to get a Mesa Boogie or Engl Powerball head, or a pedal that emulates their effect. If you want a smoother fuzzy distortion that's versatile, get this.

Fucking legendary pedal. You don't even "need" to do the LM chip switch, this pedal has it's "Own" sound so you don't need to emulate the older RATs for it to sound good, but you can still get pretty close.

easy knots and easy use!

It's a nice pedal and produces nice sounds.
I use it mainly for blues..and use it as a boost when playing heavier musics.
It's just a wide range pedal,and can manage all the sounds you want

so far so good

dunno

nice!!!

A little tough to get a good sound out of it at first. I found it is great for blues/jazz... both for lead and chords. I really can't get a "fully saturated" sound out of it that I am satisfied with but it is "killer" for blues. It has a really sensitive range of distortion adjustment, there is some great "sweet spots" - different of course with different guitars.... I like to have all the knobs around the "11 O'Clock" position with my humbucker guitar for playing blues. This sound great for playing slow blues with a fair amount of reverb. This pedal sounds great when you really "dig in" with aggressive pick attack. It is very dynamic at filter settings that allow the highs to come through.

Great for blues, jazz.. but not so good for heavier stuff. Great for "raking" style playing, arpegios, blues chording (9ths/7ths) with just the right amount of "hair" around the notes. It is dynamic at the right settings, great with both single coil and HB equiped guit boxes. It is NOT noisey. I have used it with various amps and find it sounds great into my solid state (digital!!!) Line6 Spider on the clean setting with the reverb up about half way. Nice warmth and presence.

I bought it used so I opened it up to clean it and spray some spermwhale juice into the controls. It is built VERY well and well worth the 59 Canadian "funny money" dollars I paid!

Great customer support. I emailed them about a "wall-wart" adapter and they got back to me on the next business day. Highly recomnended.

I play most genres of music with a focus on blues, rock, jazz and heavy metal. I have played for around 30 years. I would miss the pedal if it were lost or stolen but it was a pawn shop find to add to my collection so I don't know if I'd buy a new one - (cost). As compared to my other pedals this one is more subtle in its settings (compared to Boss Metal Zone and Landmine)It is however very similar to a low wattage tube amp when cranked up. It saturated like an overdriven tube amp with a tube rectified power supply. The bass "sags" with this pedal... this is not a bass heavy pedal. It sound a lot like my Bogen tube rectified P.A. (which I use for guitar). You will not get a "scooped mids" sound out of the Turborat but it is great for blues, jazz and rock.

It is not that easy. It takes a while to find the right settings.

Great. The turbo is an overdrive, a distortion and a fuzz at the same time and sounds excellent with both single coils and humbuckers. It has a strong midrange and IN YOUR FACE
sound. Some boutique pedals may sound nicer but the Rat is a players pedal, which will cut thru mix and responds to what you do.
No menatones fulltones, xotics could convince me like the turbo rat did.

I have to mention that it is an older (Made in U.S.) version from the early nineties, it also has
the LM308 Motorola chip. I heard the new ones are not the same ... what a pity.

15 years old, no problems.

I found this little treasure in the garage. After trying it out, i sold all my expensive boutique
stuff. Just kept an old tube screamer (STL) and this one.

Fairly easy to use but some time needed with it to get the sound you're looking for.
No manual with mine (bought second hand)
Dont bother with downloading one, the presets are shithouse.

I play an epiphone firebird 7 (minibucker equiped) through the Turbo Rat and straight into a Laney VC-30 (Vox Ac30 Copy). For what i'm looking for this setup is perfect. I can just about get any distortion tone, except for maybe extreme metal, with this setup. Some say that the downside of the Turbo Rat is the lack of sustain, bvut with a half decent amp and some fiddling you won't have that problem. Occaisioally i put the rat through the effects loop for a slightly warmer tone, btu my lack of good leads restricts me there.

can't be harmed.
Also make for a good weapon if the roadies get smart.

havn't dealt with them

Playing anything from slightly overdriven blues through to hard rock and metal the Rat will just about handle it all.
From what i hear it very easy to Mod.
the only qualm is the time it take to get a good mix between the filter and distortion levels.
Craps all over Ds1, Ts9, and any marshall amp distortion.
Great product.

eh i dont really like it. i own a DKMGT(somthing rather like that) jackson with an 81 and 85 emg actives and i really dont need more distortion. but for somthing with a ton less distortion its good
BUT IT HAS TO USE DAM BATERIES (unless u buy the plug in thinger which i have yet to find)

sound quality is great with my old guitar. made a crappy starcaster sound like a strat (vox mini amp 5wat)
they always sound cool cuz u can get nice high gain or low ass gain

oh ya ive dropped this thing so many times. its fucking invincible and as long as its batery works and the cables used work it works

none

nice for other guitar styles (not metal ect)
great for guitars without bitching humbuckers
its invincible
but its fucking hard to push down the button ESPECIALLY WITHOUT SHOES

There are 3 controls that you turn either left or right for less or more wet signal. After about 5 minutes you should get the hang of how to produce the sounds you want using those three controls (Distortion, Filter, Volume). Once that happens you're ready to rock.

Someone here mentioned in an earlier review that this was a 'dirty' kind of distortion. Well I must agree, this one is thick, but not necessarily metal thick. It's more diabolical, suited for music with a totally out there edge but one not so hung up on shredding. I'd say think industrial meets shoegaze meets indie and you're around the right area.

Actually when I first played this pedal at Long&McQuade I was very impressed. The distortion provided great flow, no fizz and a real strong overall sound. It will beef-up your sound without a doubt with favourable results. I use either an Eastwood Ultra-GP or an Epiphone Custom through a JC-120 and it's immaculate, exactly what I wanted. It basically provides the distortion that my Boss GT-8 is lacking.

I've had no problems with it thus far, and there's been a lot of stomping going on.

Haven't utilized the service

I am in a shoegaze band and this is exactly what I was looking for. A lot of my guitar heroes used the ProCo Rat or RatII, although I must say that when I tried out the Rat pedal it sounded a lot more thin and tinny compared to the Turbo, that is waht I liked about it so much, it really helps carry the sound without sounding too thrash-heavy. It's thick yet, but in a real groovin way. It's perfect for any sound that utilizes a lot of effects and for music that is pure sound focused.

I've been playing off and on for 11 years now, or 8 years of actually sticking with it. I'm no Steve Vai or John Petrucci or any of those lads, but I can play one hell of a melody and I focus a lot on effects. This little Rat fit right in to the sound.

I'd like to be critical of it, I really would, but as far as it goes right now, I love it! It's better than the DS-1 MS-1 or any Boss Distortion pedals (though I do dig em) and is right on par in sound quality with a Tube-Screamer, even though that one is for overdrive. They both sound great.

I don't think the sound will be for everybody but if you like something a bit different this is the one for you.

The general layout is simple:

It only has the 3 knobs BUT they are very sensitive.
It takes a while to get what you are looking for, but after tweeking it for a while you will be very happy.

The Turbo Rat does come with a manual but it is very limited.

I love this pedal!
I've been playing for 22 years, mostly classic hard rock;
ac/dc, zz-top, james gang, etc. I'm able to hit it all with the aid of this pedal.
My setup is Heavily modded strat or a vintage gibson sg ->wah->
boss tu2->voodoo labs microvibe->turbo rat->vintage ts9->mxr dynacomp
->Marshall 1/2 stack

Keep in mind it's actually a fuzz with a major attitude that makes it believe it's a true distortion pedal.
Depending on how much time is spent with it will depend on what it'll do for ya. Also cleans up wonderful when you roll off the guitars volume knob...very nice!

It's a brick shithouse man! you aint gonna kill it.
More Solid than most pedals out there. Like the proco ad states "made to withstand the abuse of the road!"

Awesome!!! Very nice people.
I was corrosponding with them about some mods and they are open to all suggestions.

Awesome pedal, but I won't recomend it because then you will have MY sound! But really it is great.
Ive played with dozens of distortion pedals from Boss, ibanez, MXR, electro-harmonics, and DOD ...None of them are even close.
If you really want that late 70's to early 80's killer hard rock tone,
then this is the holy-grail! (NOTE: when i mention 80's i am not talking about foofy queer warrent type garbage..I mean the the deep purple and ted nugent type stuff)

Pretty easy to use. Gain, tone and volume knobs. Tone works in the reverse of what you might expect eg. turning clockwise makes the tone darker.

I'm using this on bass. I find that the pedal tends to kill your tone, and put its own 'rat tone' on everything you play. The distortion is ugly, angular and very slightly syth like. If you want a pedal that preserves your tone and touch, avoid this pedal. If you want a pedal that jumps through the mix and adds nasty, angular fuzz to your bass, like I do, then I strongly recommend it. Minimal bass drop out and true bypass make this pedal very usable for bass. It wont be for everyone, but if you like the kind of tone this pedal was conceived for, there are few better at this price.

Gigged with it many times. Hasn't broken yet.

dont know

Something of a niche product, especially on bass, yet it makes no pretences about what it is supposed to do, and it does it very well.

Very easy pedal to come to grips with. It can be a little tricky in a live setting to get the right sound to sit in or cut through the mix, as desired.

I am using a Bartolini MMX/MMC equipped dual-humbucker Epiphone Ripper predominantly. That runs into a bunch of other pedals into a Trace Elliot head and custom 4x10 with Eminence Beta 10s.

Sound quality is great, true bypass is an absolute delight, no tone suckage. On some settings it can get really noisy, but isn't that the charm of this pedal. It ranges from downright nasty to fairly smooth, but not nearly as smooth as an old Russian Big Muff. It does destroy some bottom end in your signal, but that can be compensated for by adjusting the volume.

I have been chasing one of these for nigh-on five years. I was easily influenced by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and I believe the sound I have is the closest I would want to get to her sound. This thing is colourful, and will give you a certain sound, but I find it doesn't bleach all your tones. I wanted ANGRY, and I got MEGA PISSED OFF! :)

Rock solid. I am using it without a backup, and on battery no less. I will power it as soon as I reqire my board.

No dealings with ProCo yet. I got a free cable in the box, which I am using from effects board to amp because my other cable died. Bonus!

I play progressive pop/rock style music, with its fair share of dynamics and experimental tendencies. I like big stand-out bass tones and this thing just adds another colour to the pallette.

If it were stolen, I would buy another. Only gripe is a slight lack of bottom end, but that's no huge loss in the end.

Ok its a stompbox, there are 3 controls which are placed at the top, not too far apart, not too close, turn easily but not too slippery.
Switch is ok, wear shoes though! hurts bare foot.
The tricky bit is the battery, the screw on mine was well tight!!! and I had to pull the lid a bit to get it off. Overall easy to use.
I got no manual, didnt really need one.

Ok so Im using a 2002 Fender Mexican Standard Stratocaster (sss)--> Jim Dunlop GCB-95 Cry Baby wah-->PROCO TURBO RAT--> mid. 90's Peavey Express 112 Transtube series. I bought this basically because I wanted Nick Zinners sound (guitarist of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) hmm.... i have been playing it for 30mins now and so far i cannot achieve this! I wanted a deep bassy riff machine with good sustain and will make that "chunk" sound when I mute the strings at the 1st fret and smack the strings with my pick. Not found that so far either....It seems to me that this pedal is good for a sharp, vintage sounding rythem sound...I tryed soloing with this and there seemed to be not alot of sustain!!! Mind you, I have only been playing 30mins...
The filter knob is a bit useless, from 1/2 way (12 oclock) to the left (7 oclockish) you get a sharp tone, very sharp on bridge coil, okayyish on neck coil... anything greater than 1/2way (12 oclock) you get toneless (the guy in the shop said it sounds like a big muff, idiot)
The distortion knob is ok, although when it is maxed out, it doesn't seem to be as distorted as my amp distortion (which I thought was quite week) perhaps its that filter knob again.
I think choice of amp(s) (use 2 I would) makes a big difference to this pedal, I used a Vox tube amp instore and it sounded "ok" solidstate, It sounds like one of the effects off my crappy Zoom 505mkII which I don't even use anyomore.
This was my first ever distortion effect (I've been using amp effects for nearly 5 years!) so far Im a little unsure, Definately need to spend more time with it!!!!

This thing seems nice at sturdy, metal (feels like coated zinc) bottom and sides, hard plastic front top and back. Hardass plastic feet, nice and grippy. Switch not loose, knobs not loose.
Generally feels like a mini tank!
I would gig without a backup, mainly because I can't afford to buy backup stuff!
nah, no need for a backup, if you did ever need a backup, you bought a dud!
Gave a 9, switch is the most vunerable part...

Not had to yet, I don't think I ever will so I cant really say...

I've been playing for 5 years and I've heard some pretty shitty effects through high school and college!!! (too many wannabies!)This sounds like it may well be one of those effects...
I play every thing really, so ill give you a little list...
Funk: not good at all
Blues: could get some rythem tones no solo
Hendrix: yes if you like a challenge when it comes to solos
Yeah Yeah Yeahs style: not really, need more bass annd sustain!
Pop punk: get a compressor and a Tom Delonge Strat. You would be a wannabie then.
REAL Punk: yeah, actually, could use it for that trebley crash of noise
Santana: no way
Use it for chords, thats ok
If it were stolen I would not buy a new one, I would try something else.
I compared this to a RAT vintage, Boss DS1, Boss SD1
RAT vintage is the same but less distortion. The Turbo sounded better (have no idea how to describe it) than the Boss pedals, although, they were pluged into a Roland Cube30 (great demo amp that, fools)
I really do think that if I had the chance to spend more time with this and the other pedals in the store with the same amp, i would of walked away happier (I hate music shop people, there always unhappy to help)
hmmm.... i dont know, i just dont know.... Im gonna have to buy more pedals!!! this one might be ok in a few weeks time, Im a total newbie to the world of stompboxes really!
The fact that it was only #50 compared to the rrp of #89 made me buy this thing.

please email me if you have any comments!

3 knobs and a switch. pretty easy. no stupid names(like DOD, manufacturer of the worst pedals around imo, has a tendency to do with distortion pedals) for the knobs. distortion and volume speak for themselves, the filter seems to act like a tone knob. careful with the volume knob as it is quite sensitive and this thing can add a lot of volume. (which is what some people want)

never read the manual, if it even came with one. i honestly don't remember.(i have something against manuals in general. i prefer automatics, but i live in Yurop nowadays so am condemned to driving manuals. ha!)

varying setups depending on what i'm playing and which band/collective but most-used setup: yahama pacifica (2x single coil + humbucker at bridge)> Trat > boss CH1 or ibanez cs9 > ehx holygrail > dunlop wah > amp supplied by venue or rehearsal-space (is usually tube amp, thank god) back where i used to live before moving to yurp i had a crappy peavey bandit (120 112 or some similar number, forgot it over the years, could look it up at peavey website, but too lazy) at home. now i got a free 20W mini-amp (VMI "the animal" had never heard of the brand) from a friend here but i hate it so much i play nothing but my acoustic at home now. but enough about my shitty setups.

for what i usually play this pedal is perfect. i mostly play post-rock, surfy-punk, powerchord connect-the-dots punk and noisy minimalism. the rat (along with holy grail) especially suits my 1-string dick dale-imitating surfpunk. got this pedal initially becuz sonic youth also use it and i used to be pretty crazy about them. i also use it for some bluesy stuff and even occasionally for some unorthodox reggae, but it clearly does not work nearly as well for that as for the aforementioned "heavier" types of music.

a very sweet pedal, with a wide range, can come pretty close to a relatively "clear" overdrive-sound, which sounds decent, but really shines in the fuzzy distortion.
it's massive gain turned up together with my humbuckers can be a feedback machine, but powerchords still come out very well even then.(blues chords forget it) this is avoidable by changing my standard setting to less volume and distortion, but like i said before this pedal is at it's best with the heavier distortion. also i find it sounds best through my singlecoil pickups.
and the bypass works perfectly.

i recently lost this pedal though and am now usually borrowing a boss metalzone. up untill i lost it and had to use the metalzone i had no idea how much i would miss this pedal. (bit of an unfair comparison, the metalzone is a different sort of distortion and not my taste at all) however, i always thought it was better than another bandmember's boss od2 and ds2 (he recently also bought a rat, vintage rat however, to replace his bosses after having borrowed my Trat)

mine never broke....because i lost the it!!!! in the 6 years up to that i had no complaints whatsoever though. in fact i found it so reliable i also ordered my new cables from proco(previous cables were lost) unfortunately i also lost those cables with my Trat.
hopefully one day i'll stop losing.
am busy with looking for a cheap 2nd hand one, because i'm having a hard time getting by without this baby, might even buy a new one soon because i can't see myself playing upcomming gigs without this pedal. and i use it at gigs without backup, mainly because i don't have money for a backup though. i always put in new (1 euro)batteries for a gig though. couldn't use adaptor because pedal was odered from gringo-land and that does not go very well with this goddamn 220V shit in yurp. batteries do last a long time though, so it's no real problem.
so reliable and exterememly sturdy. when the apocalypse comes, i hope to have my giant Trat-duplicate bunker ready.

i ordered it on the internet and never dealt with them since, simlpy because there was no need to whatsoever.

overall great pedal. suits my needs and was not too expensive. great low-end sounds. i see a lot of people recommend a equalizer to make the high end frequencies come out more, but i like it for it's rather dark sound. that's all a matter of taste though. it would be nice if it would sound a little fuller/warmer at lower distortion settings though, so no 10. but i don't know of any other (affordable) distortion pedal i'd rather have than this one. beats all the other distortions i've tried out or heard over the years (boss, most ibanez and certainly dod distortions, even bigmuff imo) once again, this could be a matter of taste though. but there are lots of people with bad taste out there (and they're using dod, did i allready mention how much dod sucks?)

i lost it and am now desperately seeking another one, will even buy it new again if i have to in spite of small budget. was planning to add a delay pedal to my equipment, but that'll just have to be postponed. can't live without my rat.

well, it isnt hard. you press the silver button to turn it on. and you have 3 knobs distortion, filter, volume. its easy to get a good sound. but its hard to get a quiet sound. this is a very loud pedal. there isnt a manual for mine but you can view one on the procosound.com website.

im currently using the rat with a boss ds-1 and an electro harmonix small clone. theres an electro harmonix bigg muff coming soon too. im using a squier strat. the proco rat makes the boss ds-1 look like a baby. sound wise. i always loved the tone i got out of my ds-1. its very scratchy. the rat blows it away. tit has a heavy bass sound. it wasnt what i expected. i expected a loud ds-1. an intence scratchy sound. but i got something so much better. the ds-1 is a strong pedal but sounds very weak if you compare it with a rat. i cant get the sound of kurt cobain. a turbo rat wasnt my first choise. i wanted a rat 2. but i could get this #20 cheaper. my pedals are top of the range. its the only thing ill go all out on. clothes, jewelry, games? no. if i can make good sounding music, then that will make my day. this pedal has made my year. this pedal is loud. this pedal is amazing.

its a little tank! i havent giged with it yet. i dont use backups for gigs because i cant aford them. my rat i think will do well live. rats look like there more reliable than boss pedals. i can depend on it with out backups. acording to all the other reviews, they last for years and years.

no need to contact them, and i hope there never is.

i play indie, punk, grunge, anything realy, but this pedal suits all. i wouldnt try jazz or blues with it. but you never know. iv been playing for 4 years and iv never come across a distortion pedal as incredable than this. its amazing that when they say its like a distortion youv never heard before. because it is. i love everything about it, i cant find any flaws. it helps me writer and play music. if your looking for a good distortion pedal, this is the one to get. its not exactly the cheapest pedal in store, but its the best. i 110% recomend it.

it's pretty straitfoward, battery change seems easy

ok, i play bass and returned this pedal after like a month. i dont know how this works out for guitar but IMO this is a p.o.s. the distortion is almost synth-like, sounds like a robot farting. and when i tried to back it into overdrive it still sounded unnatural, only with horrid string noise over the top. not the "good" kind (if you are into that). depspite this string-noise, it still sounded dull and smothered no matter how much i tweaked the filter or settings on my amp. i dont know, i guess im not a rat person.

i think i either got a dud, or it dosnt agree with me bass.

this thing could survive a holocaust and will probably outlive the human race, very solid, no problem eceltronics-wise

contacted them, they are helpful people

considering the repution proco rats have, they must get better than this.

Simple.

I run a '62 RI Tele into a VOX AC30 via a Boss TU2 tuner, the Turbo Rat, and a Visual Sound Liquid Chorus and Echo pedal.

I originally got the turbo rat because I loved the way it sounded on a Peavey Classic 50. It provided a great, thick distortion when layered over the top of the Classic 50's dirty channel.

My new Vox, however, is an entirely different beast and I have had trouble with finding a good spot for the Turbo Rat. The Rat is a distortion pedal that is designed to have its own sound in addition to whatever sound your amp and guitar produce. When the rat is engaged, the character of the Vox entirely vanishes. To a certain extent, this is not a bad thing as it allows me to dial in a fierce heavey sound (but definitely not metal). However, the low-end of the rat is pretty loose (not great for palm-muting) and the low-end of the Vox is a little loose too as a result of its tube rectifier. Thus, while it sounds huge, low string notes get a little mushy. I also have had an immense amount of trouble sorting out where to place the filter. As i shave off the high end via the filter, it also takes away some of the crunchiness of the sound. Perhaps this is somewhat the fault of the Vox being a bright but warm and rich amp while the Rat without the filter is a bright but unrefined pedal. The combination of the Vox and the Rat means that the highs of the vox come off in harsh instead of smooth. When the filter is used to compensate, the warmth and crunch of the vox is lost as well.

Had it for a year and have never worried. I've never known a rat to die.

N/A

I know my Sound Quality section came off pretty harsh. But that is because I consider this pedal a poor fit for the AC30. I only use it when I need heavy distortion and even then, the looseness of the low end bothers me. On the other hand, the rat worked great on the Classic 50. I have also used the rat with a Fender Deluxe 1x12. On these two amps (which have pretty piercing highs and the lack of a particurly musical overdrive channel), the Rat excelled and the filter worked. When coupled with the warmth and smoothness on my Vox, the Rat destroys my tone. So, basically I'm in the market for an OD pedal that will sit better with my vox. I think that I may even be able to keep the rat for some situations if I use an EQ to try and make it fit-in frequency wise with my Tele and the Vox. I think this is a solid pedal to have, especially if you want to add some distortion to Fenders or Peaveys. But if you've got a particularly warm and responsive amp, the Rat will destroy those characteristics. I'm keeping it as a back-up. Plus, you never know, one day I may find a useful place for it with the Vox. But we'll see. I think a numbered rating is too hard on this one, since I love it and hate it at the same time. hopefully this review will help anyone who wants to get High gain sounds out of a Vox or similar amp go the EQ pedal or boost pedal route instead of buying a Turbo Rat.

Really simple. Only thing that confused me at first was that you need to turn the 'filter' knob the opposite way to what you'd expect.

I use an Ibanez Iceman & Laney GH100S amp. Other effects are Marshall BB2, DOD Flanger & a modified Jim Dunlop Crybaby.

I only bought the Rat because it was really cheap & has direct bypass. I was going to use it as a kill-switch. However, after about 30 mins of experimenting I realised how awesome the gain is & it is now my main overdrive. Reallty thick sound with plenty of top end & string clarity.

The rat was beaten to hell & back when I bought it but it works perfectly. Its unbelievably robust.

Not had to deal with them.

I'm using it for Extreme Metal & would buy another at full retail price if I lost it. its got more gain than most people will need & a big volume boost. I have 5 distortion effects including a USA Big Muff & the Turbo Rat is the best & most flexible of all.

This is a review of the Turbo Rat Diode on the Deucetone.

I've compared the Dirty Rat, Vintage and Turbo diodes on the Deuce and to my ears the Turbo comes out on top. It supposedly has a bit less compression which, according to Proco, makes it brighter. Hmmm...I think it sounds warmer in fact than the Dirty or Vintage. Correspondingly, the bass notes are a little "looser" but "wider". I like it and to me is my favorite Marshall grind sound out of this pedal. The Vintage is more compressed and cuts through largely in the upper mids to treble - when you dial back the filter it gets a very industrial, shrill cut in the leads - not icepick though. The Dirty is most compressed and sustains longer but is a bit more tamed EQ than the Vintage.

While this is for reviewing the Turbo, I have to say if your going to shell out $90 or so bucks in a Turbo, you might as well save up and get the Deucetone...much more variety and interesting cascading between channels for new sounds. Also, the ciruit they use in the Deuce is differnt yielding warmer sounds overall. I know - I've had the Vintage Reissue and it sounded thin to me vs. the Deuce.

"What is good sound?". If good sound from a stompbox that boasts double the distortion of it's predecesors is gobs of sustain and gorgeous harmonics, then good sound isn't far off. Just tweak around with the three knobs (dist.,filter,volume) and it's 'magic' tone is yours. The manual with mine gave really cool and colorful summaries of each Rat distortion pedal (..."to bone crushing rock n' roll!").

I'm using a Jackson DKMG with a Seymour Duncan Distortion Trembucker and among other 'boxes', the Turbo Rat is sorta noisy on high impact settings, but who isn't using a noise gate (MXR Smart Gate)?! The only time the pedal seems weak is on lowest settings, like minimal distortion and volume, but turn at least one of those up and "Whoooo!"- watch out! I'm using a Crate (MX65R) amp set on kill! Straight tube tone without the tubes. Jealous? Just tweak those amp knobs, and a quality pickup helps. The artists this pedal reminds me of on my settings are Metallica on 'Kill 'em all'. I didn't try to sound like that sound but I was looking for a bright lead tone, which I acheived. The distortion range goes from unRat-like to distortion that the Rat name is sucessful for. That is, Rip roaring raging uncontrollable hell. I must say that this pedal to me sounds somewhat natural compared to overprocessed sounds, which is why I opted this pedal from my collection for a lead boost.

I can depend on it 'cause it takes a tank to destroy a small town. I have two other Rat pedals (vitage Rat re-ish and Rat 2) if anything went wrong, but I wouldn't bring them as a backup 'cause I shouldn't have to.

N/A

I play heavy fast rock 99.9% of the time. I think you could guess if this pedal works for this style or not. I've been playing for at least a decade. If it went missing or something, I-I-I'd rather not think about it...please. I love it's (un)natural thick sustain and unique Rat tone. I kinda wish the box was a bit smaller. My fave feature is just the tone...Oh, who am I kiddin'- it's called: The 'TURBO' Rat !!! I compared it against my Boss Metal zone (which never had a use for me ever, not that it sucks, but it sounds like everyone else with that pedal). I just wish it was less old school size but it also wouldn't be as cool, right?

It is very easy to get a good sound out of this beast. Not a wide variation though, but that really doesn't matter.

I own a Mesa Dual Rectifier and a wide range of pedals, including other distortions. I absolutely adore the TurboRAT even in comparison to my Mesa distortion. No matter what people's opinions of Mesa rectos may be... a quick comparison of price between replacing the tubes on a mesa head and buying a RAT pedal, leaves me LOVING this pedal.

When in my early years, I used to think hmm... turn up the distortion on all pedals to full to get the best sound. So originally I thought the T-RAT was useless, because it begins to waffle the sound severely past low distortion settings. There's a retard who has submitted a review above (Jordan) who resembles me as a 12yr old in this respect(he also turned the filter the wrong way to reduce 'darkness'! and was surprised that reducing the volume made the sound of the signal including previous pedals -quieter! haha!). Now in my increased wisdom, I try to use the MINIMUM amount of distortion possible at all times.

With the T-RAT, this is essential. If you try this pedal out, set the distortion to about 9 or 10 o'clock. I personally set the filter fully anti-clockwise, which is very trebly until I EQ it. On these settings if you play very gently, the result is almost clean. With more attack, the sound can be very aggressive and quite frankly, beautiful!

The sound of the pedal reminds me very slightly of a Big Muff but more aggressive and with a far better capacity for muted notes. However, no matter what anyone says, you could not do 'proper' metal with it because the muted notes are not defined enough. This pedal is best for playing single note riffs or small chords. It loves you being messy as well (hardly sounds like a good thing!), I've ended up changing my style to encompass messiness (string scrapes and lefthand-mutes) because it sounds so good.

I'm planning to record soon with my lead guitarist using the T-RAT and myself using my Mesa. I think I'd actually like it to be the other way round but I've recorded my rhythm parts already.

TRY THIS PEDAL PROPERLY.

It din't get a ten for sound quality because it could produce slightly better muted notes.

I can't really comment as although I've had it for years, I've utterly dismissed it as poo till very recently when I tried it again. I had a little trouble with the battery cable not working sometimes but this will just be the wire coming away from the contact.

Haven't dealt with them.

I absolutely love the sound of this pedal and have turned two of my mates onto it as well (both of whom own Marshall stacks).

I'll have another quick go at describing the sound just for the hell of it... Imagine the aggression of a 5150 with less 'bee in a bottle' quality to it (5150 owners: don't go mental, I like their sound).

Sorry to bang on...

I've had this thing for about 10 years. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I put it on a shelf. When I love it, I set the Distortion at 12 o'clock, the Filter at 12 and the Volume at around 9. This puts it in the ball park of around the same volume off as on. With this thing on I can get some pretty sweet controllable feedback things that are pretty nice, at least today they were.

I use the TurboRat in a pedal board through a Crate GCXL65 2-12 amp. Some people poo-poo on Crate but mine is very dependable with a decent sound, or sounds, since it has clean and distortion channels, chorus and reverb. I also use a revolving cast of several other pedals but right now the Turbo is the first in the chain, then wah, then echo, and finally EQ. Sometimes I use the Crate to pre-amp a Fender SuperReverb to get tube tone but usually I dont need that much volume and I baby the Super.
You can't use the Turbo on the extreme settings. It will squeal and squawk in a nasty way. Around the middle range of the knobs is where the sweet spots are, as are most pedals. You just gotta play with it. I like to use it to get a lead sound that breaks into a sweet feedback after a few beats, kinda like Blue Oyster Cult at the end of the big guitar solo where it goes back into the vocal part.
There's painful feedback and then there's the kind that makes people go "YEAH!." Sometimes I can get the second kind with this. But it does kinda make the sound a little more treble and harsh. That's what EQ is for and I am forever tweaking.

Its very solid and well built. Its not the most important thing in my setup but its a cool toy. I like it way better than my Boss DS-1.

I used to live in Kalamazoo where ProCo is headquartered and I know some of the employees are pretty cool but I've never been in a position to ask anything of them.

I play hard rock/alternative/surf/sleaze/psychobilly/slut pop and I think this is a fine device for achieving the sleaze tone that I've been lusting after. It it were stolen I'd be pissed but I might experiment with other things. After playing with it just today, I'd have to say I love the way it makes nice controllable feedback and a raunchy chunky nasty filthy sleazey monkey shreik tone when I choke up on myself and attack it sideways.

It's simple if you've had experience with distortion pedals and know what kind of sound you want and already have an idea of what the TRat can do. If you don't, read some of the reviews here and get an idea of how to produce certain sounds with the TRat.

I use my TRat in a number of ways with a number of rigs. My standard set-up is a Gibson SG into a Peavey Classic 50 2x12. I dont have much money to throw around on equipment so I gotta make the best of what I got. When I use the TRat I have the Classic 50 on the dirty channel right at the point of breaking-up. I use picking dynamics and volume control to go between clean and light crunch. When I get ready to use the rat, I roll the volume up and then kick the Trat on. The result is a very crunchy distortion. The amp overdrive provides the basic foundation and the T-rat layers it with heavier distortion. When the distortion on the rat goes above 11 o'clock, I do think that the sound of the pedal gets a little darker and looses a little high end . . . for me, this makes it a great heavy crunch pedal for chords and riffs. It is perhaps not best suited for lead, though I have no money and therefore I still use it and it works fine. The TurboRat (obviously because of the name) is meant to really get some serious distorted sounds. If you think this pedal is going to give you a nice, light crunch, then you didn't even try this pedal. You can use it as a quasi-boost by keeping he dist really low and turning up the volume, but there are other pedals that are much better suited to do this. It has very high output, I rarely put the volume over 11. The filter works to reduce a certain scratchy quality that exists when the distortion is at lower settings, where it cuts out less high end. While in most situations, the distortion and volume should never ever be used at max, the ridiculously high output of the Trat provides a really cool fuzz effect. With the dist and volume maxed out, so much signal hits the pre-amp that it breaks up in a way that feeds back almost instantly in a very compressed, fuzzy way, which is actually very cool for certain things. Coupled with my Visual Sound Liquid Chorus and Echo, I can get some cool sounds using it in this capacity.

Anyway, to make a long and boring story short, this pedal is great for totally rockin' out your chords in a modern rock sort of way. If you tweak the pedal correctly, it will provide a quality modern distortion for boutique or vintage amps. Like other reviewers said, don't confuse distortion for tube overdrive. Those are two very different things. This is distortion pedal so don't judge it because it doesn't sound like a Dual Rectifier.

Solid as a rock. I'm poor so I have no back-up. This is part of the reason I went for it. Had it for a year . . . works great.

No idea

I play in an original rock band that sounds something like OK Computer era radiohead meets the slightly heavier side of American indie only without the money to afford the production nor the talent of radiohead. But, we give it our all. I have also found myself playing guitar in an emo band (not a big emo fan, but the dudes in the band are my friends, so I do what I can). The rat adapts to both situations very nicely. It especially likes the power chords and octaves, and 9th chords that emo depends on. Thom Yorke also uses one in his set-up, which is cool, I guess. This pedal is affordable, it is dependable, and it does what my amp can't do . . . and that is high-gain modern distortion (though I wouldn't say metal . . . just a heavy rock crunch). It is not the most versatile pedal in the world, but it doesn't pretend to be. If you know what you want, then get it.

Oh yeah, I also play bass in a couple of bands and I use the rat for fuzz bass occaisionally. It worked better in that capacity than I thought it would. It also sounds absolutely sweet connected up to synths when I feel like messing with weird loops and effects. Oh, and I also want to point out that, in my opinion, it's very important to put the distortion pedal EARLY in the signal chain. I put it right after my tuner. If you put it after delay pedals, etcetera, I find that the "naturalness" of the sound is severly compromised and the negative sides of the pedal (such as it's dark quality and removal of high-end) are seriously accentuated.

There are 3 knobs and well... it's about as easy to use as a distortion pedal can be. I don't see how it could be rated anything other than 10 to be honest.

This is a completely subjective category clearly and I'd just like to say that I completely agree with the review that should be directly below this one which was complaining about some very misguided criticism aimed at this pedal. If you want some sort of tremendous lead tone like the kind you'll get out an Engl Powerball or some other tube amp then this is obviously not the pedal to buy. I have no idea why someone wanting such a tone would even consider this pedal - I mean within ten seconds of playing one or hearing one for that matter, it's obvious that this isn't that kind of pedal.

What it does do however, I absolutely love. I tend to just use this for simple power chording fun and the odd (very simple) bit of lead and I love it. It just seems completely ridiculous to me that a distortion pedal that does these sounds so well (as this one does) can be accused of providing "fake tones" as if there is only the one "true tone" that all guitar players must aspire to and as this pedal doesn't provide them it gets a 3. So here's a word of warning for anyone wanting to buy this pedal - you can't rate a sound solely in terms of numbers like the 9 I've given here, sounds by their very nature are incommensurable and as such as a rule I will recommend the rather obvious advice to listen to it a few times before you buy! That seems like common sense but clearly given a few previous reviews some people like to buy effects based solely on the numerical rating it's received. If you applied that logic to movies for example, you'd end up going to see maybe some romantic comedy or arthouse film when you really want to see an action movie - it's exactly the same principle for guitar effects.

I've only had one small problem with this pedal when for some unknown reason the pedal just wouldn't turn on - I tried using a power supply and batteries, but it still wouldn't work. This all took place in the context of a gig unfortunately and it subsequently rather ruined it. So in answer to the second question I would say that no, ever since that experience I always have a back up distortion pedal. However, I should also say that the particular pedal I owned had been through an awful lot of use over a few years and has in fact, worked perfectly ever since. I think that merits an 8 if you also take into account the much stressed point that it seems impossible to break this pedal physically (as opposed to the electronics stopping working - though I've spilled beer over it on many an occasion and it still works!).

I've never dealt with them so I will give them a 10 for no particular reason.

I play mainly indie rock type music and this suits me perfectly. I think the justification for my 10 comes from the fact that I've spent a large amount of money on distortion pedals over the years and this one (the first I bought and one of the cheapest) is the one I still use. I even still use it most of the time to gig with despite buying myself a rather nice tube amp.

three knobs, distortion is simple enough, filter it backwards from what you are used to, and volume is guess what, volume. simplicity with just enough flexibility

here's where the ratings get f'ed up. the only reason im posting this is because of some of the bad "sound quality" ratings for this pedal. a lot of people have complained about this pedal being very dark even with the filter set at the most trebly setting or with the pedal switched off(which is complete nonsense because it is wired for true bypass). Addressing the "darkness" attributed to this pedal by some reviewers, you must consider what it is you are buying this pedal for, meaning what are you going to run it through. the rat pedals were originally made by proco to give fender amp owners a stompbox that would give them a footswitchable jcm 800 style high gain sound out of their fender amps.

do not be afraid though, i have never run my t-rat through a fender amp and i can always get the sound im looking for.

i read that someone else described the type of distortion you get as black sabbath, and that has to be the truest interpretation of the sound this pedal puts out, in my opinion. However, this will differ greatly based upon what amp you are running the pedal through.

in music everything is based on opinion, and the people who didnt like this pedal are entitled to their opinion, but they should have done a little more research and known what it was that they were buying before they invested their money in something that wasnt going to give them what they wanted. based on most of the bad reviews of this pedal that i read, those people should have bought channel swtiching tube amps, because they didnt really want analog distortion, they wanted tube overdrive.

in my opinion the turbo rat does exactly what it is supposed to do, and very well at that. i think its pretty easy to see that most people who have chosen and love the rat, knew what the rat would produce before they used it. if that is not the sound that you are looking for, by all means move on to something that will suite your needs, but do not give a great pedal, that does exactly what it should, a bad review just because you didnt know what you wanted.

it's in a steel case that is thicker than 1/8th, i dare you to try to break this pedal. in i read an earlier review that said the knobs come off easily. I dont know what kind of dope that person was on, because those things are stuck on like the almighty put them there himself.

never dealt with them, all i know is that they ship candy with their cables and parts when they send orders to music stores

a great pedal, plain and simple. not the kind of thing i would run through a solid state amp though.

It's pretty easy to use, but I think I'd rather have the Boss style stomp. Though there is something classy about the switch.

Unlike the Deucetone, it's pretty straight forward.

The Filter is interesting, but it's only useful in the 8-10 position.

It's got about 5 different types of distortion down along the distortion noise. After the just-after-mid position it doesn't become terribly useful though, just adds a "little" more gain. But considerred the wild differences on the other side of the knob, it's not a huge setback.

Anyway, this is an AMAZING pedal! I spent so long looking for a pedal that would give me the heavy distortion I need without sounding like a Metal Zone.

The Distortion it gives is almost like both OD and Distortion at once - and it's HUGE. A wonderful fart pedal. Can be used for Metal, Light Rock, Hard Rock - anything! Though it probably is best for Hard Rock.
There's no fuzz tone, but that's what the You Dirty Rat is for :) If you had both those pedals(or a T-RAT with a Zvex Fuzz Factory), you'd be unspottable :)

I love this so much. I didn't try before I bought, I just listened to the tones on the website. And I got a great sound out of the box without any need to mess with EQs. And when I did mess with EQs - I could even get a Metal Zone like setting!

Tons of drive.

I'd recommend backing it up with a little chorus once in a while- despite what other reviews say, it has a very "scratchy" tone.

I really wish it had an EQ built in though... The Filter isn't the best. I'll have to buy a seperate EQ pedal now. But for the price, it's well worth it.

Brick. Knobs come off easy though, but I imagine they're just as easy to replace.

Their website was great, and offered some fantastic sound samples. Could have had a wider selection though, but it REALLY helped me decide if it was right for me.

Sorry, I just really love this pedal. As I said before, I play a variety of types of rock music, from 80s goth to alt rock, to Metal like Pantera. This does everything I need. I bought my Digital Effects Zoom 606, loved it but I'll need to replace it with other pedals, I bought a Morley Classic Wah which I LOVED but will one day have to alternate it mostly with a Dimebag signature crybaby for tweakability; but I can honestly see myself using the RAT as my Primary distortion pedal for a long, long time to come. Maybe some day I'll try out the other RATs.

Also a fantastic "backing up" pedal, especially for Metal Zone, and can be backed up very well itself with my Nobels OD pedal.

The lack of EQ like the Metal Zone has is disappointing, but not necessary if you have an amp with any kind of tone settings, especially with the Filter.

It's a fantastic pedal, but do NOT buy it if you just want biting metal leads - personally, I find it does Pantera like distortion a lot better than I thought it would, but it won't take you to the extremities of that level on it's own. People obviously didn't try or read up before they bought; just buy a Metal Zone and turn up the Trebles for that.

It isn't difficult to use, it just sounds like shit on every possible setting-- even when it's turned off! I hate to deviate from everyone's opinions for fear of getting hate email, but I definitely have to disagree on this pedal!

This is a great pedal... if you like the sound of a fat Chinese man sitting on your amp and farting into your speaker. It muffles the sound, even when turned off. Takes out highs and bite, adds tones of fake-sounding bass. I don't want more bass, I have an EQ for that. Honestly, I'm not very hard to please. I like nice clear, biting lead tones. I thought I could use a little more distortion. But this sounds SO electronic and solid-state! It KILLS attack and it sounds like you're playing through some weird synth effect, not a guitar. I guess some people in the Nu-Metal category would like this fake sound. I bought this pedal because I've heard good things about it on here, but GOD! Total waste of 50 bucks. This thing is overrated.

Yeah, I'm sure it will work if you drop it and all that bullshit, but it's still going to sound like hippo-fucking.

I'd call myself a classic metal shredder... I use a Gibson into a tube amp, and use various vintage DOD pedals (you can't go wrong with them... they're cheap, efficient, and they don't darken your tone like SOME pedals do...). The filter knob is totally retarded, it already darkens your tone, and if you turn the knob to the right, it just cuts more tone out. Also, I DESPISE the volume knob. For some reason, it cuts the volume of the whole effect chain, not just the level of the pedal. GUITAR-COMP-OVERDRIVE-RAT-EQ-AMP... I also tried using it before the overdrive, sounded like shit still. The Distortion just sounds fake. So all in all, it's useless. If you love tube crunch and response, don't buy this. If you play a Squier into a Crate amp, go ahead.

Couldn't be easier. Three nobs.

This is the greatest distortion pedal I have ever used. I play a Fender Cyclone II (American Jaguar Pickups, single coil) and a epi Les Paul through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I got the Deluxe for the clean sound and was almost oanicking when I couldn't get a good distorion out of it. I tried the digitech x-series hot rod rock distorion, the ds-1, and the metal zone. The digitech and the baoss just didn't have enough guts for me, and I was embarassed to step on the metal zone. That pedal has no soul. The Turbo rat on the other hand is not lacking in anything. It has so much gain and so much power and so much distorion it is unbelievable. It is such a raw, nasty, gutty, organic, thick, distorion. With your guitar volume you can go from great crunch for classic rock to almost uncontrolable (in a good way) distortion. I really can't say enough good things about this pedal. If you're looking for natural sounding heavy distorion, leave the digital modeling stuff at home and GET THIS PEDAL!!!

It's built like a tank.

I know they say not to give overly glowing reviews, but I can't help it with this pedal. I play in a cover band that does everything from Cheap Trick to Velvet Revolver to STP to Grunge to you name it. This pedal gives me unique sound that works for all of those styles. I've played with guys who use those PODS and other modeling things and They're all trying to get the sound that I have. They can keep trying, I'll take my turbo rat for a quarter of what they're paying, and I'll still sound better. BUY THIS PEDAL!!!

its a pedal, just knobs

Ive tried different od/distortion pedals and I found I was never 100 percent happy with the sound, I first noticed rats by hearing ex Blur guitar player Graham Coxons sound (he uses 2 rats), I really liked his sound so I checked out some rats and found I liked the Turbo version most (good to be influnced by an artist but should not copy unless u feel the sound is right for you, in this case, I went for the Turbo instead of the Rat 2), it has what ive been looking for, its got a big, warm sound, my USA Strat plus sounds perfect through it!! I have a RMC Picture added as well, what a killer set up!! the pedal does have abit of noise on full gain but thats no problem, I like 12 o'clock settings :)

ill be looking after it well but its built solid, no lack of quailty

Its the pedal ive been looking for, great for blues to heavy rock! it makes u feel u have something special in your set-up!! PLEASE stop slagging of effects when your using some cheap guitar with a silly amp??? this will not improve your sound, it adds to your set up, so if u have a great set-up! u will get a great sound from it

Three knobs, easy to use.

I have had several Rats, and have had this particular unit for a while now. I have never been crazy about the high-gain settings on this pedal, it was just too fuzzy for me. I always wished I had an overdrive pedal that blurred the lines between overdrive and distortion, something that could sound nice and mellow, but that could also sound crunchy and nasty. I pulled the Turbo Rat out of the closet about two weeks ago and tried it at some lower gain settings and found that it sounds fantastic. I can get a serious crunchy-in your face overdrive tone from it without it getting fuzzy. It sounds so thick and heavy, even at lower gain settings, and it is very crunchy. I ditched my tube screamer clones on my pedalboard and replaced them with the Turbo Rat. I keep the gain below halfway, and play with the filter until I get the warmth and crunch that I want. Whenever I lowered the gain on any of my other distortion/overdrive pedals the sound always thinned out somewhat, it just lost some dimension. The Rat stays full and aggressive, even at lower settings, and gives me a wicked crunch that none of my other overdrive or distortion pedals can give me. Pinch harmonics are a snap, and the pedal just sounds great. Im using it with a 74 Fender Deluxe Reverb, and a Fender-Rivera Twin Reverb II. I primarily use a Les Paul. I love this pedal now that I have found a new use for it. I use the Dime Distortion from MXR for all of my over the top distortion needs, the Turbo Rat covers everything else.

Built like a brick, treat it well and it will outlive you.

I grew tired of my Visual Sound Ultimate Overdrive and my Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive pedals. I wanted a medium-gain sound that blurred the lines between overdrive and distortion, and those devices either did not have enough gain, or just sounded too thin when I turned the gain down. When I tried my Turbo Rat with the gain at about halfway or below, I found the sound I was looking for. Warm, mean, crunchy, and full. Now I have the perfect compliment to my Dime Distortion. I play classic rock, 80's metal, and I play at church just about every sunday. I have been playing for 10 years now and know what sounds I like/dislike. The Turbo Rat gives me the mellower sound I wanted without being thin or wimpy, and it gives a me a huge crunch-tone. I dont like to give pedals perfect 10's, but for what Im using it for its perfect, and its Made in the USA and reliable. What more could you want?

10..like said previously..three knobs is easy enough

i bought this thing when i was first starting out about ten years ago and initially i hated it but i kept it anyway. since then i have found a million and one uses for this pedal. my main trick is to use it to boost my amp distortion (sunn beat lead 2x12). when ya boost the volume on this thing its actually loud enough to plug in headphones and hear it in the left channel. so you can imagine how much it will boost yer tone

ive had to replace the wires for the battery twice but hey...all pedals need that at some point.

never dealt with em

Oh I spent two weeks trying to figure out what the knobs did, the ones that really got me were "Volume, and Distortion"! Erm I am being sarcastic, if you cant work this box then you are too stupid to own a guitar.

It is extremely easy to get a good sound out of this, but it is only a one trick pony, if you want a overdrive, buy some thing that says "overdrive" on it.

I am playing a Paul Reed Smith McCarty with Bare Knuckle pickups (Bridge-Mule, and Stormy Monday-Neck), through a US Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, I also have a Standard cry baby, MXR Wilde Overdrive and a Boss RC20XL Loop Station. I also have a old Jackson Kelly as a Back up guitar.

I find that the pedal is quiet and there is little back ground noise, this works really well with the other pedals in my rig and absolutely loves the PRS, I can get great harmonic feedback with the Turbo Rat.

I play mostly Funk, Rock and Funky rock, also a little disco, Jazz and Blues. Prior to the Turbo Rat I was just using a MXR Wilde Overdrive, (which I love) but I wanted the "the extra one, so my sound would go to 11 instead of ten" (In Spinal Tap terms!) And the Rat is pretty extreme in that sense! It is not part of my main sound as I find that I start to sound a little wanky and start playing shred! But it does bring that extra aggressive edge when I want it.

The Rat is not really a "Scooped" sounding pedal and tends to add extra bang to the lower mid section resulting in a "chunky" sound that cuts well through a mix.

Never let me down, unlike my Wilde over drive!which decides when it wants to work! (But alas I love the sound of it)

Anyway play with a back up pedal? are they serious!? I have a back up guitar, but not pedals!

Never dealt with them

As mentioned I play mostly Funky Rock, through the gear that I have also previously mentioned, I have been playing for 14 years, and as mentioned I find the pedal very limited, but I bought it for the sound that it makes, I am well pleased with my Overdrive, and Clean Channel, but I wanted a agressive "Mega rock" sound to occassionally use for solos, and simply take the sound to a more agressive level, which this pedal does very well.

If it was stolen I would claim on insurance, if it was lost I would kick my self in the arse!

I compaired this to loads of other boxes of similar and more expense but this was the chunky sound that I wanted.

an idiot could use this pedal, 3 knobs, distortion, filter and volume, the only thing you need to know is that the filter works in reverse. AND it glows in the mutha fuckin dark!!!!!!

i use the Turbo Rat as my main distortion inbetween a fender jaguar 62 reissue/rickenbacker 330 and a fender pro reverb 79 and the pedal is the item i've been searching for, for years!! I've tried alot of different distortions and this one is the best for me, above shreadmaster, tube screamer, big muff. sounds lovely with differing amp styles. AC-30, Fender combos and even my old H&K solid state head and 4x12 cab. it's versitile and it's great for crunchy, rhythm type tones too. it's also wort noting that while recording, our producer recorded a vox continental organ through the turbo rat and it sounded amazing.....keeping the distortion in moderation of course!! vocals can be done in this style also.

i've had my one for a few years now and it's never let me down. I would and do, do gigs without a backup, i trust the pedal with my life!!

never tried, never needed!!

I'm in a signed rock band with pop styled songwriting and this pedal is all I need to get my guitar sound happening, other guys in the band are so impressed their getting turbo rats for themselves. If it were stolen I'd get a new one the same day, it's become the corner stone of my tone. I would have given it a 10 but there are a few drawbacks...1, it has mini jack style power input(this is not the UK standard) 2, it's really heavy. but these are small pricse to pay for the quality of tone!!

Very easy to use. Manual not necessary. Footswitch and knobs of excellent quality.

I use this pedal with both guitar and bass.

strat, turbo rat, big muff pi(russian), guyatone OD-2, boss NS-2 noisegate

fender jazz V, turbo rat, guyatone OD-2

The pedal has a harsh and definitely solid state sound. The sound is sensitive to dynamics, but with subtle and quiet picking, there is a dusty sort of clipping that tube-lovers will hate. The sound is aggressive, raspy, and fairly compressed. Not a very warm or 'vintage' sound, but this is one of the reasons i like it. For an idea of the sounds you can get, think early sonic youth. Thurston Moore still uses this pedal in his live setup. Thom Yorke of Radiohead used two of these pedals in his rig back in the late nineties. This pedal is awesome on bass. My green big muff kills the lows in my bass. The turbo rat boosts my lows and gives me huge sustain perfect for cheesy sludge-metal slides and feedback drones. A warmer sound on low distortion settings would be nice.

Made of military-grade components. Feels very solid.

Never dealt with the company.

I play fairly aggressive, dissonant and ugly rock. I wouldnt recommend this pedal to those seeking a warm smooth overdrive sound. ProCo pedals are fairly expensive, but you get a very durable product.

Puleeze. 3 knobs. If you can't figure it out then you have no business trying to figure out the six string instrument that plugs into it. Volume, stop turning the knob when your ears start to bleed or the neighbors complain (unless you're me and keep turning to REALLY give neighbors something to complain about). Distortion. C'mon, if you can't figure this knob it's time to go back to your guitar that has a hole in it. Filter. Every Eq system should be this versatile and yet simple.

I got this to back up a Boss Metal Zone. I've since traded the Metal Zone. This bad boy really cuts through a mix without sounding like a chainsaw. For those of you who think this pedal old-school/old-fashioned, there's a reason it's still around. It delivers. There are a LOT of us who play thru solid state amps for budgetary reasons. This comes the closest I've heard to a simple box that sounds tube-like no matter what the amp. I use this in front of a Crybaby>MXR Phase 90>Yamaha Chorus>DanEcho>Peavey Bandit II(Don't knock'em till you've tried them.)I was once on stage with a guy using a Marshall Half-Stack and they were telling ME to turn it down (and NOT cause I sucked.) I tell ya, this box WILL rip your lips off. Only thing I've found a problem with is it won't do nu/death/industrial type stuff. A little muddy on the low end crunch.

Just don't drop it on your foot. You'll be limping for a week

N/A

I've been playing for 20+ years. Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Funk, both in Church and in clubs(I like getting paid on occasion.)Once I got this, I quit looking at distortion pedals. Give me my Rat and an amp w/a good clean channel. Me and my Strat(Duncan humbucker at the bridge) will do the rest. Lost or stolen? Bite your tongue. Go ahead and pay twice as much. You won't get twice the sound.

3 knobs, you'd have to be pretty slow not to figure this one out. the knobs are extremely sensetive though.

oh hell yea, that sums it up. i like good ol' bassy distortion, but i like to have an original sound. i use a gibson sg/fernandes vortex/ibanez rg 7 string > zoom 707 multieffects > proco turbo rat > ART equalizer > laney tt100. i get distortions kinda like obituary or morbid angel, if i tilt the treble and kill the mids i can get metallica-ish sound. my amps distortion was damn good but i cant get the sound i want without the rat.

i wish i was built like this thing. id start prize-fighting. too bad the ratings dont go over 10 on this one

havent had to deal with them yet, things built too damn solid

i play thrashy hardcore, alot like morbid angel. tons of 32nd notes, and somehow you can still tell i play every single one (thanks to the rat). but even when i slow down to whole note power chords im still getting that hellish bassy crunch. i will admit i wouldnt use this pedal on my clean channel, its really fuzzy, but with the slighest little bit of gain to compliment it, its unbelievable.

easy.. but you have to understand that the overall tone depends many from the filter/volume settings. so you can close the filter and upper the volume, or open and lower.

Gibson es335 -> Ibanez TS9dx -> TurboRat -> Fender M-80 or Marshall JCM800.

the rat is perfect _after_ the tube screamer. I use to set the TS9 just light overdriving and the TurboRat half drive (with the filter almost all closed), so I can swithc from one to another depending on the amount of drive I want.. I use both ON to have a louder sound that is not so much distorted to destroy my guitar tone. I have found this setup after having tryed a lot of pedals after and before the TS9, only at last I remembered about the turbo rat (I bought it about 13 years ago to distort a bass guitar). now I'm very happy.

see above.

it's easy to use i gotta admit

I didnt really like the sound initially.It's abit too muddy for me but when i added an ibanez tube screamer..it's way superb.I'm using a Gibson SG standard as well as a 40th anniversary telecaster.i cant really say it's that fantastic a pedal but it works miracles when u add other stuff to it.

Quite reliable honestly,but it's too heavy a pedal.Frankly,i havent used it for any gigs yet cuz i've already got a few pedals of my liking

To me it's quite an average pedal,i love the glow in the dark knobs tho.it's pretty cool but this pedal gives a really muddy sound.It gives a really thick sound.if u are playing metal,it'll be ideal but for me i dun really use it much.i dun mind selling it at a cheaper price tho.cuz i dun use it very often.PLS APPROACH ME HERE IF YOU WISH TO BUY THIS PEDAL AT A CHEAPER PRICE!!..hurhur

Well... 3 Knobs: Distortion, Filter (=tone), and volume
It takes some seconds to get how filter works, because it is like reversed. Volume is a killer. I don't use it much

I'm using Ibanez GRX-140, Snarling dogs black bawl wah and CRATE GX-10 with the turbo rat. There's no overdrive like sound, because the pedal is way too dirty for it. The sound is perfect for me, because I play metal

It's like a tank. Once I kicked it and my toe hurt the rest of the day

Not tried

This is good pedal for a metal player like me. But I think it was a little too costy, if you compare the prices other paid.

3 knobs to fiddle with, not to difficult, manual is pretty much
useless, watch out on the volume knob this thing is crazy loud

my setup includes American Standard Tele(lefty)->>Ernie Ball volume
pedal->>VOX wah->>ProCo Turbo Rat->>Boss CS-3->>Boss GE-7->>
Boss CE-5->>Boss DD-6 all piped into a Fender Prosonic 2x10 Combo.
This thing has a sound all its own, takes some fiddlin' with knobs
but when you find it you won't be dissapointed. My fave guitarist,
producer, singer is Dave Sardy (aka Barkmarket), if you don't know
who this is do your homework.

thats right...built like a brick shithouse and or tank,
get yerself an adapter and dead batteries aren't a problem,
I'd like to meet anybody named "Gary Gadget" that actually gigs
with a backup...who comes up with this crap.

if I had to deal with a company than something went wrong
at the time of purchase....if it were to break than off to
the store I bought it from

I like this pedal because its not like other distortion pedals, its
great on the clean channel, sounds way different than the gain channel. I've been playing for 15 years, mostly punk and alt. rock
(ie. Skeleton Key, Fugazi, Cop Shoot Cop, Brkmrkt, Unwound)

Well, it couldn't get much simpler than this, with only the distortion, filter and volume knobs( that actually glow in the dark, for easy tweeking on stage or something... ). Getting an usefull sound out of it is a matter of seconds.

I'm using a TC630 Talman - Turbo Rat - Boss RV3 digital delay - Fender Twin Reverb amp.
This pedal is extremely loud, so go easy with the volume knob. I tend to play with the filter knob set to zero, and just a bit of distortion, for an extra twangy sound that goes beautifuly with the lipstick pickups on my Talman (I've tried it with a Telecaster too, and it just loves the single coils !!!)
If you're into post rock, Turbo Rat is THE thing for you.
However, you can't seem to get this pedal to sound polite, polished, or to create an overdrive-like sound. Is much too dirty for that (which is a good thing for me :-))

Oh come on, this is a tank. It could survive an atom bomb. Battery usage is surprisingly low, too. I'd use it without a backup any time.

Never had to deal with them.

I've had this pedal for three years, and it's the best pedal I've ever bought. If it were stolen, I'd get another ASAP. I'm into clean, sustained, gritty sounds, without much distortion (think Mogwai, cca Come On Die Young), and this pedal delivers. After all, Thom Yorke uses two of them, and that's saying some. Also, Turbo Rat has this astounding capability to make any trashy old amp sound like a class A vintage tube amp. It' s very dynamic - play softly and you have a clean warm tone, play harder and it delivers a burning, dirty drive.
I played a Danelectro Fab Tone for a couple of times, and this thing is way better at those clean(ish) sounds. Also, I've bought it used, hence the low price, so I'm giving it an 11 for the value for money.
Beautiful pedal, get one if you can. I don't know what I'd do without it.

Its super easy, after you play around with it for a few minuts.
I didnt have a manual but you dont need one.It has 3 knobs dist,filter,volume. its that easy

Its produces any type of distortion I want.
Oh yeah it's noisey but in a good way.Well good for me bad for anyone on the block.I use a full stack crate with a peavey head.And a generic strat.If you play Sabbath,Nirvana,metallica,Or any other like bands then this pedal will work for you.

Its a tank.Indestructible
It's more dependable then anything else thats for sure.
I would use it on a gig with no backup .

Never needed them ..so I dont know

Its one of the best distortion pedals I Have used or heard.
Like I said Nirvana, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Smashing Pumpkins and band in thos categorys.If it where stolen or lost ..I wouldnt lose it.
Yes, I would buy another one or maybe upgrade to the dual one but would deffinetly be a pro co rat just maybe a newer version.Theres only one pro co rat better than this one. so it would be either or.
It helps make music and It helps music sound the way its supposed to.

Three really sensitive knobs.
Plenty of easy but challenging
due to the sensitivity..

Band: PURExxx (www.purexxx.nl)
Location: Amsterdam
Guitar setup:
Ampeg V2 head
Marshall jcm 800 combo (4404)
Boss SX-700 multi-effects
Wah Wah
Turbo Rat
Fender Telecaster

The Rat sounds really cool on a clean sound setup.
And ofcourse is the ultimate in sustain and preserving
body to the total sound.

As long as you use it with feel this pedal rocks.
Just buy one.

Are humans mortal?

not the faintest idea..

Don't miss this one if you are into modern rock based music

You would truly have to be an ultra-maroon to not figure out how this works.

I haven't found "That Sound" that I want from this. However, I play through a tube amp that already provides more than enough gain for most humans. My opinion is actually that nobody needs a distortion box or high output pickups, they need clean tone going to a GOOD AMP.
Soldano and seymour duncans anyone?
For what it does, it does it pretty well, but through my amp it is a clean channel only option or the tones get so muddy you cant tell what youre playing.

Built like a Tonka Truck. Now I just need an elephant to stand on it

never needed any

I play what I like to call "lamenco Metal"Power Chord Runsand rolling scales/arpeggios, but never anything the same way twice. Try to pick every note. I also like to play some classic rock like Nugent and Sabbath, with a little BlackFoot thrown in too. Like Classical acoustic as well.
I have a whole stable of guitars, including BC Rich handmades, and Gibsons... my everyday player is a heavily beaten and customised Gibson Studio with Seymour Duncan Custom 5 in the bridge and a Peraly Gates in the neck. series parallel switching.
This unit, for me, gets in the way of my music, it just doesnt work well with my setup. I already have enough gain to destroy small villages, I just wanted a little more high end, this doesnt do it.

I must say that I still havent't found the right setting on this one. The sound that this steel monster produces is very low, bassy... I bought it, because I wanted a grunge distortion (DS1 has disapointed me), but still...Maybe with some proper setting...Help!

I am using a Squier Strat and a YAMAHA VR3000 amp with an 110W power. I think that the amp is main factor for lack of quality sound that my RAT gives. I tried all the possible setting on RAT as same as on YAMAHA. And yes, when my amp is on bedroom volume, the sound is pretty good, but when I turn it past half, it starts to produce strange sound. But I would'n blame it on RAT.

It has already been said! Like a rock!

I play mostly grunge, but that include artists like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains to Nirvana. RAT suits my Pearl Jam obsession best, while it lacks in producing more metal sound for AiC. I've been playing for three years now, had two other effects (Zoom 505 and BOSS DS-1) and I must say that I liked DS-1 the most. I bought TurboRAT because I 've read here about its variety. Price is quite high here in Slovenia, Europe (we don't even have a distributer here) so it was hard to get one. I wouldn't say it is a complete disappointment, but If it was stolen, I wouldn't buy another one. But I must say, for readers who want to buy Turbo RAT, that I didn't yet explored all of what RAT has to offer. I think is the amp that is keeping me from musical nirvana with Turbo RAT. :)

As with all Rats this pedal has three knobs. But it's not easy - all the knobs are very reactive. Changing one knob (even the volume) will change the tone. For example increasing the distortion will also make a bassier sound. Increasing the volume will make a fuzzier more distorted tone. It will take a while to find the sweet spot for you. Rats can sound bland and ordinary until you find the sweet spot when it sings for you. Unless you work with it it just sounds OK. The tone knob is actually a low pass filter and it goes the opposite way to a tone knob. I often find I have to re-tweak the knobs each time I play and the pedal sounds better after I've been playing for an hour or so after it's warmed up. It's analog and true bypass.

I use a Tele with the following pedals: Boss BD2, MXR Blue Box, Vintage Rat, Turbo Rat, Boss DM2. I sometimes use other pedals like a Volume pedal or Ring Mod but that's just the essentials.
I used a Vintage Rat pedal for years and loved it. It was the only distortion pedal I found that sounded good with a band and stood out. I tried most of them out there. With a booster pedal and a Rat I got the perfect thick saturated singing lead tone I wanted. Rats actually have a quite stupid amount of gain. They have more distortion than anyone will actually need with a band unless you are in a bedroom. This is why DOD "FXExtreme Distortion" pedals that hugely distort the sound are not used by many pros. Most players discover quite quickly that with a band you need far less distortion than you think you need, if you use too much you just sound like fuzzy static and no one can hear what you are playing. You can get a HUGE tone with just an overdrive and Fender amp if you know what you are doing. I only use the Vintage Rat distortion at 1 o'clock or less and I like a quite fuzzy tone. I liked the Rat so much decided to get a second Rat pedal (this one) so I could use two with different settings.
I'm mostly basing my review on comparing the Turbo to the other Rats since no one seems to have done that yet. This pedal sounds slightly different to the other Rats. It isn't actually much heavier than the vintage Rat. It is a bit louder because the volume knob has slightly more range so you can get a little more gain if you so desire. But the distortion knob and it's range sounds pretty similar. The main difference between the Turbo and the other Rats is that this one is darker sounding. It has a slightly meaner sound. You can still get an all treble sound if you want to though. The difference is quite subtle. I use this pedal with the distortion way down to almost zero to get a tone similar to PJ Harvey's Dry Album or too add more bass to my already distorted tone. I know Black Rebel Motorcycle Club use a Rat of some sort and I'm fairly sure it's the Turbo. This pedal sounds quite similar to "Spread Your Love". Jesus and Mary Chain fans will be over the moon with this pedal. You can get a fabulous thick feedback. The Turbo still has the sweet singing lead tone I loved about the other Rats. You just need to tweak it to find it. This pedal sounds great for a mean garage rock sound which seems to be quite fashionable at the moment as the Kills and White Stripes get bigger and bigger. The pedal can have a bassy sound but it more defined than the Big Muff. I found the Big Muff too thick and fat for me and most other distortions too thin or noisy. But this one is good.

This pedal is much heavier and more compact than the Vintage Rat. It's actually really heavy. Therefore I'm much more confident about this pedal holding up at a gig. I like that fact that this pedal has an LED so you can see it's on. But this also means that the batteries don't last as long.

Never tried.

This is a great pedal. I love any Rat I've tried and I'm a big fan of their pedals. They are very versitile and reliable pedals and I base most of my sound on them. For the price you can't beat them. This pedal is good for garage rock and dark indie. I know Sonic Youth use this pedal. The vintage Rat gives the trebley indie sound (Blur, Elastica). This pedal is a bit darker and more emotional. I wouldn't reccommend this pedal for Nu Metal but it sounds good for alternative rock and Emo. It will definately work for early Sabbath and 80's Goth like Bauhaus. The Turbo isn't quite as versitile as the Vintage or Rat 2 but it's still fantastic. Not for everyone but try it and see because it might be for you.

you can dial in in a fairly good sound quickly ( all dials at 12 O' clock is fine in most situations) but its gonna take a while to get something mind blowing

My setup is... Gibson SG Standard > Crybaby > Nobels Pre-Amp/Booster > Turbo RAT > Boss BF3 Flanger > Marshall VS265

As mentioned above a useable sound is easy to find but i'm yet to capture the exact sound i'm after. It gives anything from light overdrive to the nastiest distortion this side of a Metal Zone ( somewhere in between works for me) Harmonics come through nicely

Well its tough alright (insert dodgy reference to tank/brick/house here) i'm gonna have to gig without a backup cos i can't afford one, though i'm sure i won't need one

No idea only had it a few days

I play punk/rock mostly mixed with some metal and older rock, it sounds fine for hammering out some powerchords in your favorite punk songs as you'd expect but don't expect anything ground breaking without some tweaking. If it was stolen (insert reference to hurting thief in a nasty way here) i doubt i could find another one in such good condition at this price but my setup doesn't rely on it (amp distortion is nice)

It's easy to get a decent sound. It's harder to get a "good" sound out of it. No manual but who cares.

I'm using a Fender American Strat with EMG SA pickups through a Tech 21 Trademark 60. It's not noisy at all. I'd say it is a standard distortion sound. A lot like the Big Muff but less likely to break in my opinion.

I'd depend on it. My amp has distortion so it isn't necessary to have a backup. Never depend on any piece of electronic equipment. Everything fails in the end (I'm not being cynical, it's just the nature of the beast).

I'm e-mailed them and I never heard back. That kinda sucks but I don't want to slag the whole company for that.

I play rock music. I've been playing for 6 years now. It's not great, it just is. I can't believe some of the rave reviews for it. It's a distortion pedal! Whoopie. I think the "Turbo" tag is a bit misleading. I was expecting something a bit more over the top. I think next time I'm going to buy the 3ms Noise Swash. Distortion is fine but I want something that signals the impending armaggedon. I'm looking for a Nine Inch Nails meets Radiohead meets space/psychedelic rock sound. This thing does sustain nicely when used in conjunction with my amp's distortion sound. Just not crazy enough though. I'll keep it until something better comes along.

Three knobs and the all have an amazing influence on the tone. Who needs a manual?

Rats are great they are very scarce in our country so when I saw one I bought it right there. Gilmour has a rat in his setup and so do several other Pro's. If you speak to experienced players of 10 years plus all of them will tell you these pedals are amazing. They never fail even after over ten years of abuse. If you haven't got a Rat you need to get one. It does blues right to the most extreme metal you can imagine.

This thing won't break! The only piece of equipment that I need a backup for is my guitar when I break strings, there is nothing in my rig that will break and that why the Rat is pert of it

I will never have to deal with them.

I love all guitar music this pedal covers it all blues, country, grunge, rock, industrial, metal and new wave metal. This is one of the best pedals ever made!

Easy enough.

I must say I am not very impressed with this pedal. It is not terrible or anything, but it doesn't seem to have any real character. Whatever things I found unique about it, I also found annoying. The tone knob really doesn't seem to help color the sound nicely, but rather seems simply to muddy it up. The distortion is gritty and artificial sounding.

Extremely easy to use (best results with a Marshall valvestate 80WATTS):

Distortion
Filter (excellent for warm blues when on full)
volume (it kicks asses)

This pedal has been in my house since the eighties and only recently I have used it extensively for Hendrix, SRV stuff. It sounds great in combination with my relic Stratocaster, Cry Baby and Valvestate 80W (old model from 1990). I absolutely love the versatility of sound and the ease of use! Couldn't live without (actually I did but played lots of crappy effects in comparison...I must have been stoned for many years...lol)

survived neglect, dust, house moves, kids etc. What more can you ask for? Surely ants would use as a nuclear bunker! Extremely well built

is there one???

Should I say more? Go and buy one you won't regret it!
Played for 18 years, mostly blues and tried several setups. This is the best one so far.

It could not be easier. The pots are smooth and consistant and the foot switch clicks with athority so that you know it when you switch. A nice bright LED makes the on off status claer as can be.

I have run this pedal through so may setups it would be hard to list them all. I have used it for Guitars, Basses, Synths, Vocals you name it. My best Guitar ton has com fron a Rickenbacker 620 run through the rat into a hiwatt custom 50. Only problem there is that the Hiwatt runs so loud that it is best heard from at least a hundred yards away. In every case the Rat has delivered exactly what I wanted. Any problems with the sounds I get seem to relate to the guitars or amps. The rat is perfect for my needs.

As everyone here has noted this thing is bullet proof. I have owned mine for 15 years, toured and giged with it more times than I could possibly remember(certainly over a thousand shows). Loaned it out, had many, many full beers poured on it, droped it , kicked it, and thrown it. To this day, it has never even hinted at failure. The paint is waring off and it shows a little rust but that is it. The pots are not even scratchy despite never having been cleaned and the switch still clicks solidly.

I am sure I will never know

I have basicly played Punk, Blues, Rock and New wave with this pedal. It will get a edgy garage sound or a fuller british stack type tone. Between sounding great, being simple and intuitive, and never ever failing, how could it be beat? I love it.

It's supereasy of use, distortion knob - filter knob - volume knob. That's about it actually =)

Setup: Godin Radiator - Digitech Whammy re. - ProCo TurboRat - EHX '73 Smallstone - DOD Equalizer - H&K 80 watt amp

Well it's easy to get a good Rock 'n Roll sound out of it (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Hives and The Strokes for example). But it's actually quite difficult to get a really heavy sound with this. I've found the trick though, just get yourself an equalizer (recommend that to everyone by the way) and you cut off the mids, et voila: Boss MZ eat your heart out...
So it's quite versatile, but without the equalizer I'd say the sound comes closest to the bands above. Does sound JCM800-ish (so with everything cranked up bit, it sounds great for Rage against the machine) as someone mentioned before. Get an adapter by the way, the battery will have a long life but it will get weaker at the end and that makes the pedal really muddy.

Well, you sure can depend on it. I've got this pedal for about 1,5 year and the last 3 months I only had 1 problem: there's a *click* in the footswitch. Guess I'll have to take it to the shop.
Don't drop this thing on your foot by the way... If you do you're on your way to the hospital.

Never dealt with ProCo, I get everything fixed at the local shop.

For the music that I play in the band (alternative/indie/hardcore) it's great. Especially with the EQ, going from harsh softer distortion to really hard distortion: it's great. As mentioned before by someone, with all the distortion way up you can still distinguish chords (can't in case with the Big Muff!). Just wish that the switch wouldn't crank/click, but that's probably just my RAT because it didn't do that at first. BUY BUY BUY! =)

Too easy to ask!

Thats what I call Distorsion!!!WOW!!!
Very cool mindblowing dist.
Depends a bit on what settings you use on the amp but you can get a really angry tone out of this one!

Made of steel and a very dependable body

I play all from Radiohead,Placebo, Smashing pumpkins,Kula Shaker etc.
Goes very good with the heavy distorion sounds in radioheads songs, because this is the pedal that both thom and jonny use!

if you can't figure out 3 knobs you don't deserve to play with the pedal.

i play my turbo rat through a 77 hiwatt custom 50 with a matching cab and it sounds phenomenal. the on;ly down side to this is that when you're not playing it, it's humming to no end. it could just be some loose wires though.

not even the tanks the germans used to use were this sturdy

never had to deal with them.

i play straight up rock and roll with no frills. this pedal is a perfect match for that kind of music. just plug it in, crank it up and go. if it were to be stolen i'd be upset, but 5 mins later i'd go down to a music shop and buy another one. i didn't bother comparing it with other pedals cos i was gonna get ot for $10 (i think it was stolen) all in all, this pedal has been the backbone of my set up for a good 7 years. what are you waiting for, go buy one!!!

3 knobs, couldn't be easier ... i didn't have the manual because they gave me their last unit which was used for demonstration.
Very easy to get a good sound.

Very nice and versatile sound !!
From soft crunch to wall of fuzz like the Big Muff this pedal can do quite everything. I mainly use it for soft/medium dist. except when i'm playing Smashing Pumpkins tunes where i turn the distortion knob all the way up !
It works well with my other pedals (boss dd3 and mxr phase 90) ... i prefer to use it with a single coil guitar.
Not really noisy ...
I use it with a Fender HRD and it sounds fantastic. I've also used it trough a Marshall Valvestate (very good sound), a Marshall JCM 900 (id) and trough a Hugues&Kettnet Tube 50 (very bad sound, to fuzzy, like a Boss pedal ...).

Mine is around 3 years old and it still works perfectly. Never had a problem with it.

?

I can't say enough good things about this pedal ! I'm not surprised that many artists use it (Dave Grolh, Sonic Youth, Lift To Experience, Placebo, Graham Coxon, Tom York, Gomez, Mogwai, Jimmy Eat World, Reef, etc etc).
I mainly play alternatif music and this pedal feets me perfectly !!
I it were stolen i would definitely buy a new one.
It could be compared to a Big Muff, but more versatile.
My only complaint is about the price: here in France they are really expensive (twice the price of a Boss DS1) ...

3 knobs: distortion, tone, volume. handy little LED that lets you know it's plugged in and/or switched on. I give it a 6 for my initial frustration with this pedal--which instantly disappeared when i realized the tone knob is REVERSED (all the way to the right is the "bass" direction--TAKE NOTE. I suspect the people who claim Rats are too tinny might not be aware of this). otherwise, easy peasey

I use this with a les paul jr DC w/ p90s, and a silverface Bassman 50 head into a 4x12 cab with eminence speakers.

Awesome. tons of gain on tap, and the massive output available allows for huge volume boosts--slamming a tube amp front end makes the distortion that much more pleasing. higher distortion settings remind me of a big muff. this pedal definitely has that characteristic Rat sound. nice, grinding, yet defined distortion. chords can sound smooth and violin-like at the right settings. palm muting is great. I'm not sure how it'd do in a blues setting (mild overdrive really isn't its thing), but for high gain type applications, whoa nelly. while the world is clamoring for metal zones, dual rectifiers, and triple super leads....

i'll spare you the soapbox speech and instead recommend you check one of these out. This pedal pleases me to no end.

I play twee pop, as well as garagey-punk/hardcore.

gets a nine cos it eats batteries, necessitating an adaptor and extension-cordage

tough metal shell. switch looks robust. you could easily hurt somebody with it.

no experience with proco, but this is a fine, fine product.

i'd certainly buy another one if this were lost; it's fortunately cheap for a pedal of its quality.
it's also become an integral part of my sound. it's the best sort of guitar toy--the thought of kicking it on, even a year after I've bought it, makes me really excited to play.

Three knobs. Even a trained chimp couldn't figure out.

I play a Yamaha SG700 (SG-type solid body, with two Alnico humbuckers) through a Fender Blues Jr (15W, all-tube combo). Frankly, given the reputation of Turbo Rat, it's been a bit of a disappointment to me. OK, the problems are partly caused by my amp, which is good for blues and rock, but not exactly the most versatile amp around. It just does the trick it does, and does it pretty much better than any other small tube amp.

Anyway, for hard rock and rougher blues sounds, Turbo Rat sounds way too thin and trebly. I use mainly my bridge pickup, since the neck pickup is a bit too dark for these sounds. Anyway, the Turbo Rat offers a massive amount of distortion, but rhythm sounds always sound a bit thin, unless you like to play power chords and only power chords all the time (it's pretty hard to make them sound thin, ain't it?). And leadwise, if you turn gain beyond 10 o'clock, string bends, especially unisono bends, sound messy and unfocused. And below 10 o'clock, there's not enough bite in the sound. Turbo Rat also tends to kill the sustain.

If you're into punk and alternative rock, then the Turbo Rat might be THE pedal for you. I'm a huge fan of Husker Du, and this thing can give you some pretty nice Bob Mould -tones (although it doesn't sound as good as MXR D+ in this aspect) with your neck pickup. For slightly distorted rhythm sounds with full chords the Turbo Rat is OK.

Overall, the Turbo Rat is relatively OK, but nothing more.

Built like a rock. Never had any problems with it, and I stomp HARD!

I have no idea.

I've been playing for about 8-9 years. I play quite different kinds of music, from lighter blues to alternative and punk rock. For punk rockers, the Turbo Rat might work great. For classic rock and lead sounds, it doesn't work for me.

This pedal is very irritating-there is a magic sweet spot on the filter that gives you 'the sound', but you'll never get it on a tube amp.There are only three controls, but be careful with the volume as it's a weapon.

I run thus-

Fender Big Apple Strat-Squier Jagmaster-Jim Reed Custom....

Boss PH-2,EH Bass Balls,Marshall Jackhammer,Solasound Tonebender, TURBO RAT,Danelectro tremelo....

Sonus SC50.

The great thing about the pedal is that it's really quiet.However, I tested this with the Sonus,a Marshall JCM900 and a Vox AC15 and this pedal should not be allowed near tubes, ever.It makes tranny amps sound half decent, as this is obviously what it was designed for.I have nothing against tranny's and solid states(I own some valvestate as well)but I use tubes and therefore the pedal's no use to me.It conjures up the most violent electrical storm I have ever heard, making it impossible to distinguish one note from the other.While this is ok in solo mode, although the pedal generates massive gain, it appears to have boarded the plane and left sustain at the check in desk.

I get the feeling that a few people have been mugged with these, as mine came in off the road(second hand)and worked great.The switch looks a bit wonky, and doesn't have that satisfying 'thunk' that you get on Vox pedals and that kind of thing.I'd never use it live because I don't like it.

This wasn't for me.If I go back to using solid state I'd consider it but at the moment it's keeping my door open.

So easy, my bass player could figure it out!!! HAHA!

I just recorded a full length record with this thing. All I used was The Turbo Rat, a JCM800 50w head, a marshall 4x12, a Cry Baby, and my '67 reissue Gibson Flying V. My guitar tone on that recording is brutal= fat, smooth, harmocally rich... ultimate sonic destruction!!! This pedal is not for MTV. This pedal is for METAL!!! No exceptions. Simply untouchable.I have been playing for 13 years. I've used 'em all. Zooms, Boss, DOD, ART, Digitech, Rocktron, Korg, etc. This one blows them ALL out of the water!

You could put through a wall with a ball-bat! I guarantee it would still work like a charm.

...you'd never have to worry about it!

I play Metal... for what I do, this box is takes the title. It took me 13 years, but I finally found the distortion box of my dreams. If someone stole this pedal, I would hunt them down and cut their Jacobs off! I have played hundreds of pedals and amps. This is as good as it gets... no doubt. It's perfect!

Really easy,
Distortion, Filter, + Volume.

This sounds fantastic with my squire tele and 30 watt tranny Marshall.
I was quite suprised at the volume boost it gave my clean channel.
With the distortion on full the filter around 12oclock and the volume on full , volume 3 on the amp was way to loud for my bedroom.
The filter knob can only really achieve 2 different sounds; really bassy and damp or really insane and gritty. I tried a big muff on the day of buying this pedal and it sounded bollox.

Solid as a rock.
I cant understand all this backup shit, allthough i have never really gigged, the chances of your distortion pedal not working is very low, not to mention guitars , amps, straps, tubes, etc.......

i bought it yesterday and its built in america so i'd have to email them with any problems.

Fantastic sounds as used by my favourite guitarists, Jonny Greenwood (radiohead) and Graham Coxon (Blur). Oh, and apparently Mr. Grohl uses one aswell!

A simple three knobs: distortion, filter (a sort of tone), volume.

It's sound is really good! I played it mainly in progressive rock
guitar parts, mostly David Gilmour solos... It's a fat, sustained, original and expressive sound, a sort of overdrive pushed up to a smooth distortion. With a compressor you'll dream on his sound! You'll need some EQ to push up high freqs, but it's not a problem!
This unit works well with active pickups.

Now I depend on it for almost all my solos, sometimes I still use POD Soldano for rythmic and "hard" parts, but I think I'll delete them soon. If you like distortion but GOOD and UNIQUE sound then RAT is for you.
It's well built, it can last for years and years

You have to buy it, try it with a stratocaster direct into amps, the RAT-compressor-some ambience (a bit of long delay), you'll love this box immediatly!

simple, all nobs straight up!

music man bass > turbo rat > amp, this is the baddist bass distortion ever!

punk,noise,grind core this is the distortion that works, the bottom end of your bass still comes through and the distrotion sound(tone) is amazing!

Three knobed wonder.

This i a good sounding pedal it took me awhile to get a sound i liked out of it i use it as a light distortion then use my electro harmonix big muff reissue(black) for my main distortion. This makes the big muff sound so sweet its not even funny. Very easy to get a great sound this pedal is what i dreamed and more great for good feedback if you want it.

Its small compact black piece of steel. I couldnt imagine how to break it even if i wanted to.

dont know

If you see this pedal i demand you to buy it.

I have used this pedal with a variety of guitars and amps. at first I was a little dissapointed, but then this guy told about a really easy mod to get more gain. I like it more now. I tried it through a bass amp, dipped the midrange, and I got a sound that I really like. Very chunky, but not overly fuzzy. When it starts to run out of batteries, then you get this really weird nasty distortion that I like a lot.

I have never had a problem with it. The battery lasts a long time.

never had a problem

I play a veriety of types of music, so i guess this is a good match for some styles. I own a fuzz face, MT-2, two mxr vintage distortion plusses, some dod distortion and a dod american metal pedal; and this pedal definitely has its place. It is little limited, however. I use an old randall for amp distortion a lot, and the two combined distortions can get pretty interesting. I love the glow in the dark writing on it though....

This device provides a very full and powerful result on low register wound strings, a smooth distortion on high register wound strings,
the steel strings take on a 'poundier' quality. The steel string
effect on its own is a disappointment.

I chose this device as a flavoring distortion. It's current main usage is: I hook it into a
Dunlop 535Q wah. The wah goes into an amp's dirty channel typically
with gain at least past 75%. The main guitar is an Ibanez Universe.
Very quiet pedal. The amp is SS practice amp (Peavy TransTube).
I've made a sound clip of the Turbo Rat and Dunlop 535Q; I hope
more users will do this in the future as online storage space
becomes more available so that we may really communicate our thoughts
about music equipment in the only that I know how to best at least:
in music. The demo is at:
http://www.louisville.edu/~jdwill01/mg.htm

NA

NA

Most of this is covered in my Dunlop 535Q review, above,
and on the demo page. I would buy another one as needed.

Could not be simpler. I can use it, and I'm a 16 year-old punk rock idiot. Easy to get a good sound, be it for a clean boost, light bluesy overdrive, rockish distortion, or full-on raunchy fuzzy heaven.

Using this with an old Ibanez Roadstar into a Traynor Bloc80B (blown speaker), Fender Bassman 135 (broken), and a duct-tape covered Yamaha bass amp of mysterious origins (the worst-sounding amp I have, yet the only operational one). I have very bad luck with amplifiers. No noise at all, and has true bypass. Prior to this I used a Danelectro Fab-tone and this pedal made me realize how much tone that thing was sucking. I play mostly punk, emo, HC, with some rock/bluesish stuff for fun. This'll do nicely for punk, holds PERFECT emo tones, and might lack a bit for hardcore... into a solid state amp. Into my tube amp (when it was working, that is.. grr) it'll push the already heavy overdrive way over the top, and the tone goes from pushed Fender overdrive into pure Marshall-land. It's wonderful. The filter yields many different and unique tones, and the volume and distortion controls interact quite nicely. A previous reviewer described this as a "Marshall-in-a-box" and that's perfectly accurate. Not for metalheads, though. I keep my Zoom 506 around for heavier distortion where the tone doesn't matter.

Big metal box, solid, big buttons, nice solid switch. Doesn't go through batteries that fast. The only gripe I have is the AC adapter jack - non-standard. Grr. Oh well... it's a very dependable pedal. I've gigged with it without a backup. (which reminds me - it works great for bass too!)

Never dealt with ProCo.

Again.. I play mostly punk/emo/hardcore. My lead playing is strongly blues influenced. I've been playing bass 3 years and a bit, picked up guitar about two years ago. Started playing seriously 04/00. I own the Roadstar, a few basses, the aforementioned amps, and a Zoom 506 (I use the fuzz and delay functions, and the compressor by itself for clean tones, and that's about it). If this were stolen or lost, after an appropriate mourning period, I would buy another. I love the great sound and versitility. The switch bothers me only when I play w/o shoes, as it's small and hurts quite a lot if I step on it the wrong way. It sounds incredible, though, so I can overlook a superficial thing like that. I was shopping for a new distortion pedal, and had no intent of buying this little thing. I tried out a Metal Zone, a Big Muff, some of the DOD line. I was set on the Metal Zone when this little thing caught my eye. The rest, so they say, is history. It had "the tone". It inspires me to pick up my guitar and play it. However, at 80 bucks I think I paid too much.

Its a typical 3 knob stomp box. No problem. It could only be simpler if they made a 1 knob RAT. just kidding.

SWEET! i bought this because it was recommended by several people. i hasd never heard it before, so it was a nice surprise. i was looking for a good hard hitting overdrive sound, and NOT a fuzzy heavy metal effect like the Boss Metal Zone that all the 14 year old kids are buying. this pedal has a unique and "natural" sounding overdrive tone that can be cranked up to a killer hard rock crunch. I'm using this pedal with my Boss GT-3 multi-effects processor, and the RAT can take my rig from smooth overdriven "Eric Johnson" leads, to "smashing Pumkins" distortion tones, if tweaked just right. i think i finally found a pedal i can stick with for a long time.

its built out of heavy steel, so i don't think its going to fall apart soon.

haven't needed it

its one of the most famous distortion pedals ever made, and its famous for a reason. it has killer tone.

The controls on the TURBO RAT are as simple as you could hope for -Distortion,Filter,Volume.The first thing that I noticed about this RAT pedal was the massive amount of volume inside its tank proof case.Even with distortion on its lowest point the sound is huge and very impressive perfect for all manner of Lo-fi,indie,rock or blues noodlings.Up the amps volume and the RAt has a throaty singing voice where ever you set the dials. At first I was bemused that the filter knob works differently to most other brands ie.The treble boost is far left and the mellow tones far right but this is not a problem. This pedal is piss easy to use .

I used the RAT through two,hundred watt carlsboro heads through a Groove tubes cabinet.The pedal has a good lack of background hiss at all but the most extreme settings but even then my Boss NF2 got rid of that. Whether your a rythm player or a lead guitarist from any style using distorted guitars i reccomend the TURBO RAT. The gutsy drives and superb fuzz tones creeping about in here are perfect for Hendrix and Page style riff and wig outs or if its Jeff Beck axe wrangling your after simply turn the knob all the way over for that treble boost whack up the distortion to 50% and rock away.If you like the guitar tones of the fantastic Jonny Greenwood (RADIOHEAD) or Graham Coxon (BLUR) or the aforementioned J Mascsis (DINOSAUR Jr) then there is no contest buy this pedal.....TODAY.IT sounds fab with a TELE,STRAT,LES PAUL or whatever.

The Turbo Rat is built like the proverbial brick out house and is definitely dependable I would certainley gig without backup.

n/a

I love this pedal its the dogs bollocks. If you like the players I've mentioned or if you just want a top of the range Distortion/Fuzz unit then there is no question. Don't even think about the new Marshall guvnor or a Ibanez Smash Box there crap. Buy a TURBO RAT today or live in sorrow for ever more

ok so this is an update on my other review below. i found an awesome trick with this pedal. i combine it with my octave fuzz to get this very cool sounding distotion. it sounds a lot like how metallica sounds now with their distorion. so im gonna give this a review on the new combination i made

three nobs...gee. not very hard.

great distortion pedal especially for the cost. in my opinion it blows the MT-2 to hell. and it's affordable, unlike the MT-2 (100$ for distortion!!what a rip!!). i only take a point off because nothing is perfect and i am trying to find a downside of this pedal.... still looking...

covered by metal... and lots of it too.

i use it for rock and it rules. i also can combine it with my DS-1 for even more crunch. an awesome pedal.. go get it.

three knobs.... do the math. maybe if you didn't have hands it would be hard to use. twist up the dials around for your tastes. a smooth overdrive hum or crank the distortion and volume, but leave the filter down, for some more punchy grunge. if you are playing loud enough with that setting, expect some feedbacks here and there. it gets a 9 becuase there are pedals out there that have just 1 or 2 knobs.

I have a studio carvin with stock humbuckers, got it used so I don't know much about it. for rythum and some soloing it does what I need it to do. I've got a cute little fender sidekick solidstate. its a pretty old model it's got a buzz to it... but it was worth the dollar I payed for it at a garage sale.
the only problem I have is (depending on the volume knob on the pedal) it will cut or boost the volume from the clean sound when you turn it on or off. if you balance your output from the amp and the input from the pedal, this is a small problem easily taken care of. during a live deal, this pedal would need special attention in relation to other pedals or just versus clean play, because of that volume/switch setback. then again I got it used so... that might just be my problem.

I've heard this thing's stability put like this, "its built like a brick." this pedal has multiple uses... distortion pedal of corse, emergency hammer, and lethal weapon. make sure your battery is working and your off, mine didn't come with an ac adapter.

I listen and play all kinds of rock... from Soungarden to Radiohead. this pedal does more than it's share on the 'softer side' of distortion. it does what it does very well. I've gotten really good at overdriving my little amp... but times come when you need a simple click of a switch to get your sound. if I lost it or something I'd keep my eyes opened for another used one. its got a very humble sound to it, it doesn't need to shred the sky. instead of an ultimate being that can bring you sonic potential from the electromagnetic spectrum... this pedal is more like a good friend that'll spend a day helping you move all of your furniture into a u-haul. which is what I was looking for in a low key distortion pedal.

Glows in the dark! Easy to see and use on the fly.

Using an Ibanez 540-S into a Fender Ultimate Chorus amp.
The pedal is extremely quiet when switched on and off. It can emulate Radiohead tones easily. Its a little hissy with my flanger (Boss)

I have been using it without fail for 3 months at all gigs.

I play rock, its a good match, playing 10 years, I would buy it again if it were stolen, I compared with EH-Big Muff, I wish it had an adapter to come with it, Its loud as hell and very adaptable to most any style, the best thing about it is the sensitivity. It gets harder when you play harder...you have to play to see what I mean exactly.

3 knobs: distortion/filter(=tone)/volume
Just plug and play !

This pedal sound great, but try it before buying one: it's a special sound !
Not noisy, a true bypass ...
Can get soft to strong distortion (but no very hard, like a MT-2).
Works great if you play in alternative tunnings, like Sonic Youth (Kim & Thurston use one in their rig), My Bloody Valentine or Placebo (Brian Molko uses one).
Wonderfull pedal if you play rock/alternative rock (but no metal, or heavy metal)
This pedal can also serve as a boost (fot a Big Muff for example).

I only have mine for 6 months .... but it seems very heavy build (like Boss) ...

N/A

Very good distortion box. Not fuzzy like a Boss, quite versatile, very heavy build ....
I won't say it's my favorite distortion, but it's one of the best i've owned.
The only thing which sux is that this box don't have a standard AC plug (it's a jack like on the Walkman, not the Boss/Ibanez one).
I you are searching for a distortion have a look on it !

Idiot stoned-guitar-players' dream!

Awesome flavoring distortion. I use it with the following in order: Epiphone Les Paul (Equipped with a Seymour Duncan SH-12 Sreamin' Demon in the bridge)Dunlop Crybaby, Vox Valve Tone overdrive, Turbo RAT (I switch these 2 boxes interchangeably...depending on the sound I want...Overdrive after the RAT brightens it up and gives it a little Crunch), Patch into Peavey Classic Series Duel 212 Tube Amp, Digitech RP20 in the FX loop and back into the Power amp.

Lovely! It takes the Digitech "Pop" sounding tones and adds a more brutal flavor to them. Excellent for mellow and plodding trippy tunes when fed into a long ping-pong delay with some heavy chorus.

Turn down the filter and put distortion @ about 2 or 3 o'clock and you can get a very abrasive punchy sound. Turbo RAT is distinct. You have to be looking for something that gives you your own tone to like this beast. C'est tres cool!

Built like '76 Buick. I have had the same battery for months, playing an average of an hour a day...of course the RAT's not on the whole time, but it's not a battery munch.

I use so much, and have more FX coming in the mail, that I don't offer myself any choice but to have back-up...if I was using strictly a RAT in a gig, I would depend on it without back-up

N/A

I can't describe my style of music because it varies so much, but I love completely off-the-wall crazy leads with tons of gain that border between eerie and uncontrolled. Either way, this adds a taste that is like no other. I would be quickly tired of my stuff without the Turbo RAT. THe Filter allows for a good range of tone...from chunky fuzzy crunch (if that makes any sense), to an all out wave...when you crank the volume, it feels like a breeze is gently blowing stardust in your face. It's like the other review: It's a big fat Fart!

By looking at the other prices, it looks like I got shaistered. It was still worth $100 to me, but it shure would have been nice if I could have acquired it for $35. It's just so hard to find...that's the down side of it. It's availability is bad. This is one rare Pig!

simple and effective, volume, filter, distoriton, on/off switch...
if you like to experiment and turn knobs, you'll be happy...
if your looking to get or copy somebodys or some specific classic "sound" you'll need alot more than a pedal, but i hope you never form an original band because there are enough tastless artists around.

excellent sounds... very original and creative tones are easily produced... if your looking for something to further define your signature sound, you'll dig this. i use it with a boss dual overdrive and sometimes a boss hyperfuzz (all three together if i want overkill)... combining the crunch of the dual overdrive and the turbo rat gives a very intense and expressive lead sound... with the fuzz as well, well its insane... also works really well as a boost type pedal when used with a bass guitar if you have it set right...

i bought it used, without a battery cover and missing two feet, it still works good as new

don't know/don't care

i wouldn't be the same without it

This pedal is easy to use.....three knobs that WILL NOT give you a good distortion sound.

Contrary to most reviews on this pedal, I think this pedal blows dog nuts. The distortion is weak and tinny. It has absolutely no balls.... even when ran through a tube amp. I play with humbucker- armed guitars...... Ibanez Universe and Gibson Les Paul Studio. The distortion is feeble and pathetic. I've seen reviews stating that this thing is better than a Boss MT-2......PLEASE........ maybe in another universe. The filter effect on this pedal sucks. It takes away from the overall sound.

It is reliable and well built...... I'll give it that much.

Never dealt with PROCO.

This pedal blows!!! I replaced it with a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone pedal.....much better. My first ARION distortion pedal, way back in '87, destroys this thing. If you want real distortion that is affordable..... Get a Boss. Turbo Rat = WEAK.

Three knobs, just becareful with the volume knob. It's LOUD. The filter is really nice but for some reason when the distortion is low and the filter is at 2 o'clock, the sound gets brighter than if you cranked the distortion. None the less easy to get a good sound out of it. Warm sound if you turn the filter to the right and more crunchy if you turn it to the left

This thing is amazing. There isn't a bad sound out of it unless you hate heavy farts. I've always been looking for the most fuzziest fuzz box. I've had an MT-2 (sold it and bought a ds-2), my ds-2 had hardly any gain in it and a big muff only had a certain fuzz to it and didn't seem very versatile. I use a fender strat and a fender stage 112se. I love the drive on my amp however the problem i had was with the effects i use and the loop seem to diminish the fx a bit. Both my amp drive (160 watts) and the rat are very loud. However, the rat takes the cake when it comes to volume and distortion. This box will get anything from old rock and roll over drive to crappy elastica crunch (i hear they use rats in their sound chain) I also use a boss flanger and tremolo and both of them fit nicely with the turbo rat. I can't say enough good things about this box.

Never had a problem with it but i've only had it a month or so. But from what i do to my other boxes, this one can handle it. I wouldn't want it thrown at my head that's for sure.

Never had a problem

I can't say enough good things about this pedal. It's my dream fart box. Granted it gives off nice low drive gain but when cranked it can get nasty, fuzzy and warm. I'll never have to look for another distortion box in my life (unless proco comes out with something with more distortion but i doubt that considering the vintage rat and rat2 run at 1.2v output and the turbo rat is 2.2v output). And the best part of it is that it's cheaper than any other pedal i have ever bought. The only box that could compete are the Big muff and the MT-2. But the MT-2 is over $100 and the Big Muff is far too bassy. Sounds like I'm always using my neck pickup.

Stompbox. Filter control takes some thinking.

This distortion is pure mayhem. Its low-end is fabulous. The distortion has plenty of power and volume. To describe its sound . . . hmm . . . A clippy, low sounding, raunchy blast. Chunky. Even with this sound, notes are discernable (even in chording). Of course, opinions on its sound are a matter of personal taste. I play the Turbo Rat with a Fender Telecaster and a Fender Bassman 50-watt head into a 4x10 cab along with various other effects. I have looked for a distortion that can make the telecaster sound like a monster, and this does the trick. I have played it with a Les Paul double cut away, and it sounds good as well. It sounds suprisingly good through single coils. I also have a DS-1 and a Metal Zone from Boss. The Turbo Rat outshines them in character (yes character). Comparatively, the Metal Zone is too high and tinny (cheesy 80's metal) on the tonal spectrum. The DS-1 gives good generic distortion but lacks in character and in power. Anyone who is in love with either of these Boss pedals should investigate carefully before buying a Turbo Rat. Those looking for something different . . . here you are. Be carefull, because you can push it with the low gain on this. I have experienced some fart sounds (especially with humbuckers). The quality of this pedal shines through once the settings are adjusted.

I use other distortions, but not a back-up for this. People say that bosses are tanks. What would that make this? Its design is well thought out. It is housed in pure steel. Apparently, the chip board is made extra heavy-duty as well. I doubt that this will screw up any time soon.
It uses a weird input. I use batteries. It gobbles them up faster then other Rat pedals.

never dealt with them. doubt i ever will. maybe to get an adapter . . .

At the price that I got it, I would buy it again immediately. VITAL to my sound. I don't wish any more of it. Anything extra, and it would be a different pedal. That wouldn't be cool. I go for simplicity. Fender Bassman (volume, treble, bass). It has true bypass as well, to let ALL my clean tele tone through when it is off. I play an ever-changing style of rock that i am still trying to develop. This will help me because this is the distortion sound that I was after. I was afraid that all distortions were Boss-like. It sounds great with my Boss CE-2 (another fantastic pedal). Try it, see if you like it.

3 knobs - Distortion, filter, volume. The distortion is...........you guessed it, distortion level. same with the volume. The filter is kind of like a presence switch, rolls off high frequencies. Even a drummer could operate this thing!!! ;-)

I put no opinion because this thing is subjective. It delivers this rough, tasteless distortion (Like KoRn). It's like a REALLY nasty fuzz box. I don't use it often, but sometimes it's just the right sound.

Built like a brick shithouse.

I dunno.

I don't know If I'd buy it again, like I said, it's not a vital part of my rig, BUT it does what it does VERY WELL!!

My pet RAT is stupidly easy to use. 3 controls, Distortion, filter and volume.

It is a very good pedal, but, well, it kind of changes my guitar's natural tone very slightly, and this is a bit annoying. I'd say RAT distortion pedals are among the best, at least preferable to the Boss equivalents.

Dependable. I would, and have used it without backup. I would obviously take a spare battery, but now comes my niggle, the battery enclosure is underneath the RAT. This is annoying, as all my other pedal are screwed down to a pedal board, but Mr. RAT is completaely free.

God knows ???

Its bloody great. Probably the best quality pedal I have seen, or at least possess. The No-noise switch is good, PCB looks of high quality as are all components (From what I can tell). There is only one thing I wish this pedal had, and that would be a Boss GX-700 built in at no extra cost. I can dream

YOu don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this pedal out. 3 knobs: distortion, filter, and level. I don't even know if it has an owner's manual. I just took the pedal out of its box and threw the box away.

I use this pedal with a Gibson SG Standard and a Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 combo. It really isn't that noisy and you definately CAN get some shitty sounds out of this pedal (for instance, the more you turn the distortion down, the weaker it sounds). But you would only use them if you are stupid. I have the distortion up all the way, the Filter at about 8 o'clock, and the level somewhere around 9 or 10 o'clock. This setting sounds great!! It's got this really cool fuzz burnt, ripping sound to it. If you love the Foo Fighters then this is the pedal for you (They used it on both albums). I also use a Vox wah and it sounds great with my Turbo Rat. I actually prefer or an amp that has good distortion sounds on it. That way you will not loose any body , tone, or low end of the amp. But there are a few pedals that you can get some good distortion sounds out of and this is definately one of them!

Looks as if it's built like a tank to me. Just simply a metal box with 3 knobs and a footswitch on it. I could definately depend on it at a gig without a backup.

Nope, never had any problems here. I've had it for about a yera and a half and it's still working like the day I bought it!

I play any kind of rock music and this pedal is definately a great match. I also own a Boss DS-1 which is a pretty good pedal but I think I like my Turbo Rat better. If it were stolen I would most likely buy another one. My only complaint is that you can't turn the gain down w/o losing tone. It just gets weaker and weaker. The regular Rat is the same way. But I just use my DS-1 for other sounds so I've basically got all the sounds covered that I need. When shopping for a pedal, I compared the Turbo Rat to a Boss OD-2R Turbo Overdrive, a Boss Power Driver, and the Tech 21 XXL (also a nice pedal). The other ones lacked that fuzz burnt ripping sound of the Rat. It is definately a unique sounding pedal.

3 knobs, anything simpler and you'd have a wah. it might just be preference, but i think that so much low end is completly unnecessary. i find myself to the left on the filter all the time. filter is tone, dist. is dist. and volume is volume.

this is pretty quiet, between this and a tube works real tube i have all the distortion i will ever need. it sounds good with chorus, trem, phaser, flanger, delay,pan, whatever. the only thing is that it lacks a little in the high end.

this is a big metal monster pedal, i definately gig without a backup, although i like to put in a fresh battery bfore a show and hear this baby scream.

i dont know senor

i was looking for a rat 2 when i bought this pedal on a whim because it was on final clearence for 33 dollars new!! this is one of the best dist. pedals out there, and at this price, it definately beats an ibanez soundtank or a dod.!!! i use a jazzmaster and it blows my mind that i payed 33 bucks for it.

It's just a matter of plugging in this little beast, fiddling with the dials to get a decent sound, which isn't too hard. It doesn't have a manual, but the controls are easy to use, even if the filter control takes a little getting used to.

Using a Fender Jag-stang and a 120w tranny stack, I hooked this baby up. I've found that there isn't as much gain as I hoped there would be, hence the 'Turbo' label. When you play hrd with the dist. control on full, the sound clips and the output momentarilly drops. I'm not to keen on this. A couple of hours later, I plugged in my crappy strat copy with bridge humbucker in to the rat and was pleasanttly suprised. The sound was better and didn't clip too much when I played hard. The filter control should have more high end available but that's jsut my personal preference. Because I'm used to using a Korg G1, I feel this pedal is lacking gain, especially for solos.. Sure, the turbo rat's not an all-out firebreathing thrash monster, but can be useful in most music, that doesn't need cascading gain. I still can't get the Foo Fighters tone, though, (As Mr Grohl uses one all the time)... If anyone has any settings, please email me them-cheers,

I've only had it one day, so I can't really say if it's reliable- but look at the little rodent- tough, metal and BLACK. You could build a house out of these things... This thing won't EVER let you down, if you treat it well.

only had it one day, and (so far) i haven't had any problems, thank god.

A good, beefy pedal, but could do with a higher level of smoother distortion for solos in mind. A good first buy for a beginner- pricey, but will out-live you.

This thing rocks. There are three knobs: Distortion, Filter, and Volume.My favorite setting is maximum distortion with Distortion and Volume all the way up and filter all the way down. This is perfect for punk, metal, hardcore, etc. If you want a smoother distortion, turn the filter up. I got it used and I don't know of any manual, but it's so easy you don't need one.

With any humbuckers it is excellent, but I've never used it with single coils. It's the least noisy of any distortion pedal I've heard, except one thing. I have a loose output jack on my guitar, and occasionally the cord will get loose and the rat will make it sound like playing the 12th fret harmonic of the G string. But this is avoidable by fixing my guitar's jack. The distortion is always great as long as the volume setting is high. This is atrial somettimes if you want the distorted sound to be as loud as the clean (pedal off) sound. When the volume settin is lowered, the distortion becomes weak. I balance this out by using a volume pedal when I go to clean (I actually made a spring powered contraption I could stomp on that would simultaneously stomp the rat's button and th volume pedal's button when i stomped it). This pedal is great. It has an excellent sound. I can get great sounds, from NOFX to Nirvana to Metallica to Bad Religion to Black Sabbath to No Us For A Name to Ramones to Black Flag. This is the ultimate distortion pedal.

This thing has been burned by a broken guitar string that was on fire (don't ask) and it still works great. It's been dropped twenty feet, and not a scratch. I wouldn't advise doing either of these to yours, but they happened accidentally to mine and it's still superb. It's the only pedal I've ever had that didn't have its rubber feet fall off. Hey, it's a BOSS! (just kidding, it's better!)

IF YOU WANT REAL DISTORTION, YOU WANT THIS PEDAL. This is great. It even glows in the dark. If I could make it better, there are only three things I could think of: 1) having an EQ 2) a tone knob 3) a bigger on/off switch. But this is still the best distortion pedal available.

This thing is REALLY easy to use. I mean three knobs ! How hard could it be ? There is no instruction manual though so thats a bi of a let down. I would give it a higher rating for this catagory if it came with one.

i am using a jackson ps-4 guitar and a small peavey rage 158 practice amp and i love the sound. No noise whatsoever. I cant go on enough about how much i like this pedal. It produces a very good smashing pumpkins sound and is very good for things from jazz to hardish rock.

This thing is built like a tank so i dounbt i will need to repair it

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when i went to get this pedal i tested out also the big muff, and the boss ds-2. neither one gave a sound comparable to the turbo rat the muff sounded cracklie and the ds-2 was very noisy. this is the distortion i was looking for. i would buy it again in a seccond. For the music i play (smashing pumpkins mainly and other rock) this i find is the perfect pedal. Especially after looking at the big muff i cant understand why people would prefur to play with something else. nothing i tryed compared. get one

Most of the volume knob range is uselessly loud--I couldn't stand to turn it up all the way! I usually keep the volume around 1/4 of the way up for a slight boost over the bypassed sound. Similarly, much of the tone ("filter") knob's range (which is backwards from normal--trebly is to the left) is hopelessly piercing or muted. I leave it set to around 1:00. The other knob, distortion, does sound good at almost any setting. The knobs are big enough and far enough apart that it's possible to adjust the distortion knob with your foot, if you're not too clumsy.

The Turbo RAT is basically a Marshall in a box. Very similar to my JCM800. It's neither midrangey nor enormously scooped. At the lowest distortion level, it's in the upper end of "overdrive" territory. At the highest, it's in the middle of fuzz-land. Although at high settings you can approximate a Santata style fluid lead, this pedal works best for crunchy rhythms. Chords remain distinct even at the highest distortion setting (don't try that on a Big Muff!). It has true bypass, so clean sounds don't suffer when it's off.

Looks and feels solidly built. Has a jack for an AC adaptor, but not the standard Boss-style plug. Instead, it uses a 1/8" plug. I got a DOD/Digitech wall wart that works with it, so I can't comment on battery life.

I use it with Fender and Marshall tube amps. After having it for more than a year, I find myself using an overdrive pedal more than distortions, but I'm playing in a more acoustic sounding band than I used to. For heavy riffing, this is still a good sounding pedal. Not so great for lighter rock/blues/country.

Well, I've had it for a day now & I don't know how much I like it. It sounds cool with my Big Muff as a boost pedal. But it is pretty easy to use. It's just one big shiny switch & 3 knobs (Distortion, Filter, Volume). I think Filter is more like a tone knob. You can either get muffled distortion, or crunch distortion. Kinda fuzzy...kinda not...kinda wierd.

It takes away all the tone out of my distortion when I use it with the Big Muff which is not a bad thing. It makes it way too distorted and it also gives it really cool feedback & harmonics. It's cool for solos. I have yet to decide weather I want to keep it. I want to experiment with other distortion pedals for that extra punch I'm looking for. If I don't find it, I've got something cool that does pretty much the same thing as my Fender Blender. Starts off with way too much gain & distortion level over the top & then makes it unrecognizable tone wise w/the boost. :\ Not what I had in mind. I have to give it a five. I just can't seem to get what I want out of it, but it does other stuff which other people might want...maybe not...

It seems very sturdy, but I don't like how the battery is set up. You open the battery slot up, all the guts are exposed. Doesn't look too reliable if you're going to put a 9volt in there & it's bound to bash up against the circuit board. That doesn't seem to good at all (that's the reason for the 5). From the outside, it seems very solid. Like a brick even (I refuse to say tank. Everything is a "tank" around here...)

I still have to experiment around, but I have other distortion pedals that are way better than this. It's not very good.

Takes a bit of thought to properly use the tone control (i.e. it works best somewhere away from the two extremes of full on/full off). I love the total overload distortion available and the extreme output level has been utterly essential for the wall of sound dynamic I love.

Couldn't be better. It does exactly what it says. When it's off, it is off - when it's on, who the hell would know if there was extraneous noise?

Always completely dependable. Apart from the covetous looks...

I love everything about this pedal. If someone was to have asked me to design a distortion pedal then this would be, on the whole, what I would of liked to have come up with.
I've used this pedal, or the original Rat, since day one of the band I'm in and we have all been shaped musically by how it sounds - no small achievement for a metal box.

Very easy: Distortion, Filter, Volume knobs It takes some tinkering to get a good sound.

Pretty quiet. The distortion knob is okay for a hard clipping sound, but I use the volume knob to overdrive my amp. Works best like this with tube amps. It's great because it has a good deal of output.

I probably couldn't break it if I tried. Very sturdy.

This pedal is a vital part of my rig. I'd definitely buy it again. The price is great too.

easy as can be

An incredible ammount of gain. a little to screaming for me. i'm more of a crunch man. don't get me wrong, this can sure crucnh (!), but it can't be adjusted much it "crunch mode". the filter is a little too strong, but necessary if all the knobs are cranked. be careful with this pedal, it SCREAMS! it's a little noisy on high, quiet on low (duh).

i don't think i could bust it with a hammer.

not a bad little box. not for the mellow or faint hearted.

Very Easy to use!

Great sound. I need a good rythem sound and this pedal gives it! I love how fat the sound is. THe leads are just great with the distrotion on full!

It could take a beating.

Never used them

I would buy this pedal over and over again. The pedal only fault is it sucks up the power. I makes my rythem sound the best it has been. If I choose between the Metal Zone and this, i would pick this pedal. The Metal Zone is okay but this pedal gives a great fat distrotion. The metal zone is really thin. It's a great pedal so buy it!

3 knobs, most combinations sound great. I compared it with a Boss Metal Zone, which has a more flexible EQ but most of its sounds are cheesy 80s sounds. Also to a Vintage RAT reissue, which sounds similar but has a smaller range of distortion, at both ends.

Amazing--even at the highest gain, when you're not playing it's TOTALLY SILENT, like you were using a noise gate. And it has a true-bypass switch, so it doesn't affect your clean tone. Goes from moderate overdrive (a fairly small range) to rich fuzz.

The proverbial "built like a tank".

Very nice distortion pedal. A good complement to my Boss Super Overdrive, with has a tighter, less fuzzy sound and doesn't get as distorted as the Turbo RAT. Both have great rhythm and lead sounds.