ProCo Vintage RAT

There are three pots (Distortion, Filter, and Volume). It is easy to use and sounds cool. Unless you are retarted, you will not have any problems operating this.

This sounds unique like no other distortion pedal. It gets kinda noisy when you crank it up.

My friend had one and it crapped out.....but mine is fine.

This pedal is cool and if you want to be an originator and not sound like anyone else, get one. They sound really cool.

Tree knobs. Very difficult.

In my opinion, the best ProCo pedal. I use it with Fender guitars (single coil) and the sounds are fat and juicy. Good harmonics. This pedal actually can be made to sound similar like one of the new Sovtek Big Muff's. It's a little smoother and clearer sounding with less low end than a Big Muff, but it will cut better through the mix. When playing in a band, the low end of the Big Muff is too much anyway.

No probs.

Never needed.

I buyed this one as a replacement for my Big Muff who went broke. Would buy it again. Cool pedal with cool sounds.

best with humbuckerz, very blendy sound, smooth, loud, searing, heavyer trudging sound. The Melvins use(d) it so does Helios Creed in Chrome reunion tour(this guy has all knobs cranked up completly!) as do many many bands. the distortion kinda takes over your amp/guitar sound ..but if you have a sh*ty rig...IT'S GREAT

I bought mine used then played it every day for 8 years eventually the foot switch broke through 'cause i would always be stompping on it to turn it on or off comparing my sound and since it has no led light...Is it on? Bring a screwwdriver w/u on tour to change the battery - four big screws on bottom

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With only three knobs, this is really a pretty easy set up. I found, however, that the Filter (tone attenuator) takes some getting used to.

Les "This one goes to eleven." Les Paul Custom thru RAT thru 2 TS-9 reissues into 66 Bassman with 4x10 Marshall cab. I keep everything set a 1 o'clock. The RAT is a bit noisy, but that seems to be the nature of distortion pedals. This is a very strong sounding unit, gets my Bassman sounding very "Marshally". If you don't go to the extreme with the settings the character of your axe still comes through. If you dime it, it doesn't much matter which guitar you play (character's gone, pedal takes over). When I first experimented with this it, I kept the filter rolled down to about 11 o'clock - big beefy plexi tone! When I started using the RAT with my band I found that I had to turn the filter up to 1 o'clock get thru the mix. I just saw a video of my band recently, and from what I heard, looks like I should bump the filter up just a wee bit more. I don't care for the RAT with my strat. To my ears it works better with full sized humbuckers. Gary Moore tones lurk within this baby, as do the more gained out sounds of 80's shred.

Absolutely dependable. I've used this pedal on countless gigs without backup!

Never needed.

Overall I'd give this an 8. I play blues, and don't really use the pedal more than twice a night during a 4 hour gig. For the price, yea, I'd get it again. It's cool to be able to have all that gain even if it's only used occassionally. Also, I dig how I can get that Marshall tone out of my Bassman. Wish it had an led indicator, but to be truthful, you'll know when this baby's on. I hate the battery compartment. Have to use an allen wrench to open it. While distorto guitar is not my bread and butter, this delivers when I need that tone. (got to admit - it's kinda fun to slam a chord or hang a note with the RAT engaged).

Three knobs: Distortion, Filter, and Volume. The Filter knob is so named because it cuts high freqs as you turn it up. Can't get much simpler. There is no on/off light because this unit has true bypass switching. In other words, when it's off, your signal is completely unaffected. Anyway, if you need a light to tell you whether or not this thing is on, you need an audiogram.

A good example of this box can be found on Jeff Beck's "People Get Ready" solo. Yes, it certainly is killer. For me, this box sounds best with American (Fender or Boogie) style amps. I use a G&L ASAT, and this box adds just the right amount of bite to an otherwise even, Fendery sound. Single coils and British (EL34) amps don't seem to mix as well with this unit as, say, a VoodooLab Overdrive. A PRS McCarty model sounds great with a RAT and a 50 watt Plexi, though. I guess the extra beef from the guitar makes all the difference. It isn't very noisy at all.

The pots and stomp switch seem stocky enough, and I've dropped this unit about 100 times. No problems. I'm only giving it a 9, because I haven't had it very long, so I've yet to run over it with the van.

I have no experience with customer support. I've had this unit for a year with no problems.

I think this is my favorite distortion box ever. The only other box I've got that I use as much is my Voodoo Overdrive, which is also killer, but sounds better with Marshall-style amps. Great tones, the price is right. Wow.

There's only three knobs (distortion, filter & volume) and a button to stomp on, so you can't get lost. When I asked the guy in the shop what 'filter' did, he said all this shit about sound conouring and stuff. It works a bit like a tone control. It could take a few minutes to work out what settings will get the sound you want, but after that it's really really easy. Lose one mark for no LED to say when it's on :(

I'm using it with a Washburn guitar (two singles and a hummer) and a shitty solid state amp with no mid control. This thing's *really* quiet compared to nearly every other pedal. The distortion on it is an absolutely wonderful thing. One of the things I found on a lot of other boxes were that the distortion was a bit too edgy. When I was trying it in the shop I had all the distortion pedals lined up together and this one was by far the best sounding. It's really versatile as well. I can make it sound (sort of) bluesy and (just about) metal-ee, but I mostly use it for a Radiohead sound (which is easy to get because Jonny Greenwood uses it).

I would throw this at a brick wall. And it would probably break :) But it seems a lot more reliable than nearly any other pedal.

Nope. Dunno.

I like playing a whole range of things (mostly RH) and it covers nearly every style I can think of. I was originally thinking of buying an MT-2 (the huge array of knobs tricked me into thinking that it could make more than three noises...) but this beat it by a long shot. It's really good for the money, as it's much cheaper than a lot of other pedals. And it sounds better too. It could do with a little LED light, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem sticking one it myself.

This thing's as easy as it gets. 3 simple, intuitive controls (Distortion, Filter and Volume) and a bypass switch. Plug in and Go! One interesing and quirky note - the knobs operate backwards from what you'd expect. You roll them counterclockwise to increase the intensity of each control.

This thing has it's own vibe. It dosen't try to sound like something else. Smooth, yet gutteral tone. I think it can get too tinny sounding on occaision, which is easily remedied by rolling down the filter.

Very Reliable. You could probably throw it against the wall and it would be fine. Just don't lose the screw that holds the battery cover on.

Very friendly. I sent it back once for some problem I thought it had, so they checked it out but didn't find anything wrong with it. They promptly sent it back to me and even threw some Tootsie Rolls in the box!

I always seem to be looking for a variety of distortion tones to have avilable to me. I use a Mesa/Boogie Mark III as my main amp, and when I compare the Rat to the Boogie's lead tone, the Rat sounds kind of one-dimensional. But I don't really think that's a fair comparison. Like I said before, the Rat definitely has it's own thing going for it . I consider it a positive flavor for any electric guitarists sonic pallete.

Three knobs, self-explanatory. Distortion must be 1/3 up or more to get any volume out of it. This pedal doesn't complement vintage Fender amps well--use it with anything else.

I've used mine to get some great sounds on tape. The filter knob is the coolest thing--I keep it way up most of the time for a sound that blends well. Lower filter settings at higher distortion sound more like fuzz than distortion. At higher volume and distortion settings, I get this great volume "sag" on my attack. If you really sting a note, it will hit, drop quickly in volume, then swell back up. I also get some pretty convincing octaves with the neck pickup of my Legacy and the guitar tone all the way down.

It's a solid hunk of metal. Take care you don't lose the bolt that holds the battery compartment in.

Who knows? I'd probably buy another one if mine broke, since I've had it for five years. I could always use the switch, enclosure, and jacks for a homemade pedal, too. In fact, it seems ideal for that application (I wonder if proco sells blank enclosures??)

Stomp on, Stomp Off. Three knobs - distortion, filter, and volume. Everything's easy to hit, you could even do the knobs with your feet if you had to.

Even with single coil pickups, this unit is still relatively quiet. Adjusting the 'filter' knob minimizes noise.
With my strat in neck pickup position, tone turned all the way down on the guitar, distortion all the way up on the rat, filter all the way up, volume at about 11 o'clock, and my amp's reverb cranked, this sounds _exactly_ like the lead guitar in Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns n' Roses.

I can't tell if this one's actually metal like the original vintage rat, and the smaller rat pedal, but the battery door is fastened with a hex nut, the stomp switch looks very sturdy. The knobs are large, and attached to pots with fairly large shafts. This doesn't look like something that would break during normal use.

Haven't had any problems requiring this yet.

Not a bad device. Much better than the "RockTek" it replaced.

3 Knobs. (Volume, Filter, Distortion) Can't get much simpler than that. Filter is cool- adjust for mids.

Good for lead work when distortion is past 12 o'clock. Might be better for humbucking pickup- I have single-coils only.

Built like a tank.

Hasn't died yet.

Again, great for lead work. You might want to find something for rhythm work (brittle or dead at lower levels of distortion). If you want to sound like Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), this is it.