ProCo Vintage RAT

No playing around here. Simple and to the point controls.
The Rat has 3 knobs. Distortion, Filter and Volume. All it takes is to set the distortion level to your comfotable easy-listening preference, and then just fiddle with the filter a bit, to tweak the sound to your ears. Nothing special.
They did lose two points here on one important issue. No god-damn LED! Looking at the electronics inside, it is no problem to wire one for yourslef, but it's a bitch that it doesn't come with one. How can you go and build such a great product, and forget such an important feature?

The Rat sounds amazing! I would've given it a 10 with no problem, but there is a feel, when playing, that you do lose a bit on the low-end. Don't forget this IS a guitar distortion, and if I know anything about electronics (and I don't know a lot), I'd say that it's meant to work at frequencies higher than what we normaly play.
It doesn't stop this baby from kicking ass, though. From the lowest of the lowest grouls to high pitched twangy solos and slaps and pops. It just sounds great.
It has a Filter knob, something you'll find yourself fidling around with a lot. It basically sets the tone of the sound, but it works more like a filter. When dialed in at 0, it gives you a huge low growl, filtering the high-end twangs of your pick or thumb. On my gear, it sounds more or less like the bass on Tool's Lateralus.
Turn the filter up half way, and you have a more active low-end, mixed with lots of mids. Sounds like the bass on any heavy Muse song.
But then you hit the high numbers of the filter, and **** starts hitting the fan. It just sounds wrong... like an electric guitar tuned a whole octave too low. This is basically the only sound problem I found until now.
The Distortion knob is a distortion knob. No explanations needed, I hope. I play it on about 30-50% at most, as it gets far too heavy for me if set higher than that, but it still sounds good. Hardly any feedback even at 80%. The metal types will love this, as it gives you such a gargantuan growl, you'd probably take over the whole sound of your band...

A god-damn tank!!! It's even quite ridiculous. The body is a huge metal box, black and square all around. If you take a look inside, the electronic board takes up not more than 30% of the space inside. A waste of space, makes for a big size, which is a downside, BUT, it's great for hiding drugs, which we know is a big problem for musicians
Three knobs made of hard plastic and an on/off foot-switch. I usually play bare-foot, and that switch is killing my foot. It's so painful! You actually need to use force to switch it. Meaning, the switch is good hardware, and will live long.
Turn it upside down, and there's a battery compartment, with a nice metalic cover. On the inside of the cover, it has two clips which will hold the battery in place. Changing batteries takes just a few seconds. No screws, no tools needed.

Amazing distortion pedal. Would've given it a 10, but the lack of a LED is really annoying me.
Something else bothers me though. Going through the GuitarGeek.Com database, you'd find that most proffesionals using the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (Russian and USA), and not even one bass player who uses The Rat. Though they do have only twenty or so bass players in their database, so that's hardly a statistic.

To close this review, if you have the $99.99 (Music123) buy it!
If you happen to have double that money, check out Pro Co's Juggernaut, the bass distortion.
But whatever you do, don't settle on their cheap models (Rat 2, Turbo Rat, You Dirty Rat). The price tag really represents the quality of the product here.
They made a fine reissue, use it!

Some specs, taken from the Pro Co homepage:
- Input Impedance: 1 Megohm
- Equivalent Input Noise: -110 dB
- Output Impedance: 1 Kilohm
- Maximum Gain: 60 dB
- Filter: 6 dB/octave low-pass
- Power Requirements: 9V battery or external DC power supply (RPS-1)
- Battery Consumption: 800 ?A/600 hours
- Height: 3-1/8" (79.4mm)
- Depth: 4-1/2" (104.3 mm)
- Width: 5" (127 mm)
- Weight: 1.5 lbs (0.7 Kg)
- Shipping Weight: 2.0 lbs (0.9 Kg)

It's hella easy to get this stompbox working. Distortion, Filter out high or low end, and Volume- instant recipe for disaster! The manual just discussed how cool their pedal is and the sounds you get:from sweet blues or screeching rock n'roll.

I use this pedal as a lead boost. Let me explain how well it does for my tone (omigosh). I use Jackson whammy eqipped axes and I run it into an MXR Super Dyna Compressor and Maxon 6-band eq set for active pickup crunch. The amp I use is a Crate MX65R. My tone is good for some metal. When I plug the Rat in I get the over-the-top lead metal saturated tones with mucho sustain and harmonics galore. I bought this 'black box' 12 years ago and I never thought I'd use it again- sure glad I did. I does create some hiss, but when you're dealin' with high gain I mean..! Tone I get from my settings mixed with the amps distortion is pure heavy metal, not really a vintage tone which I thought I'd get (which I did not want).

It's built like a tank without treads. The, 'manual', says the switch is high grade- we'll see. I'd gig it without a backup, but I own '3',the vintage, vintage 2, and Turbo, so maybe I should'nt

Have no idea.

I play in a hard rock style but, I've been told it's similar to punk.I love this pedal, it's great for the stuff I express.I've been playing for as long as I've had this pedal:12 years. I love it's simple controls. I pulled the pedal out of it's darkness and upped the gain a bit (I think) to 9'o clock, and left the filter the same as I found it, and cranked the volume. If you're thinking of buying this pedal, be careful: it's like a fuzz box. It's good for heavy classic rock and retro-ish rock. But hey, I've got an '80's heavy metal tone out of it, go figure! Rock out!

Pretty easy to use, although it will take some tweaking to get the sound you want. The Filter switch seems redundant as you can do the same thing with the tone knob on the guitar.

I've been reading the other reviews on this site and I'm a bit puzzled because everyone seems either to love the PCRat or to hate it. I'm splitting the difference because I think that it does what it does well, but is very limited. What I mean is that it has to my ear a pretty muddy harsh transistor sound. If this is what a Marshall stack really sounds like then I'm not interested... but if you like that serious metal sound or if you want a Pumpkins fuzz it will produce that, but if you're looking for a warm stinging tube lead sound, forget it.

It made out of cast iron, but the battery shakes around inside.

NA

I play mostly roots rock, country type stuff so I don't have much use for this. It's fun to fool around with and get all Spinal Tap with my LP but I can't see using it either live or recording. My Boogie amp gets a much rounder sound and if I need punch I can use the Marshall Jackhammer. Very thin sounding on top.

3 knobs- you don't need to know anything else. One controls the amount of distortion, Filter adjusts the trebly-ness (far left means sharper, crisper sound while far right means really bassy, muffled-sounding), and volume controls the volume. Freakin awesome.

I play a Fender Jaguar (discontinued Japan line) >Dunlop Crybaby Wah>Boss Ds-1>Rocktron Pulse Trem>ProCo Vintage Rat>Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I can get a lot of good sounds with this. I am a huge admirer of Cake and really dig Greg Brown's guitar tone (on Motorcade of Generosity and Fashion Nugget). When I heard that he had one of these, I started to look into it. I really like the more-authentic sounding, crackly distortion you can get out of this, and I really admire the versatility of this thing. You can definitely get some good vintager-sounding tones with this, and cranking the filter up can give you this really bassy, fuzzy sound- a lot like the guitarist from the Black Keys. Less filter gives a better, sharper lead tone and more filter gives you an insane amount of fuzz that somehow still allows you to hear individual notes. I don't know who was talking about how they couldn't figure out how to get the right tones, like a "crunch" they wanted, but for me it's incredibly easy. You can definitely get a crunch sound, and I really like how you can just get mild distortion on this thing, unlike with my DS-1 where it's either all or nothing. This pedal is amazing for lead distortion, although if you play rhythm you might want to look into getting something else, like a DS-1, that can just provide standard, all-out distortion. Overall, however, this is a great pedal and I'm really glad I got it.

Haven't had it for very long at all, but it seems pretty damn sturdy.

I haven't had any problems yet

I play "Alternative" rock (whatever that means now)...like I said before, I really like Cake, and I don't like putting limits on myself and trying to fit some certain kind of style. This is great for me, especially great for lead guitar, and the pedal is extremely versatile, and much more natural-sounding than other distortion pedals I've been exposed to. I'd say this pedal's ability to cover multiple bases alone gives it an easy 10.

Three knobs: Distortion, Filter(a treble roll off), and Volume. Incredibly simple. It takes no time at all to dial in a great sound, and there are a number of great sounds in this pedal.

I'm using this with a G&L ASAT Special, ASAT Classic, Legacy, a Hamer 25th Anniversary Edition & an Ibanez NDM1. My amps are a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue & a 1971 Fender Champ. Obviously noisy with the Distortion turned up while using guitars equipped with single coild pickups. Other than than that, no more than the dirty channel of any high gain amp. In fact, less than a lot of them.
ProCo advertises "a Marshall feel to Fender amps", and the Rat delivers on this promise in spades. It's not "transparent" like a boutique TubeScreamer type pedal. The Rat has a character all it's own, and does more than just add grit to your tone. There's a definite Marshall midrange grind to this pedal. that's a good thing, believe me. My Fender Deluxe Reverb has excellent clean tones, and a wonderfulnatural power tube crunch when turned up. But sometimes that's way too loud at that point. Actually, MOST times it's way too loud. So I've been using overdrive pedals for classic & hard rock tones. The DRRI reacts VERY well to OD pedals so I've been a happy camper. But I wanted more for certain musical situations. then I remembered the ProCo Rat from my youth. Always wanted one. Glad I got it. It seems to pick up where the TS9 TubeScreamer leaves off, with a lot more(usable) gain on tap. Warm and bluesy on lower distortion settings and excellent hard rock/metal crunch tones as you turn up the Distortion knob. Dime the Distortion and the Rat becomes a fuzz pedal. This becomes more prominent sooner in the knob's range if you amp is on the verge of distorting on it's own. Pretty cool: Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz in the same box...all just the twaek of a knob away.
I find the best setting for the Filter is 12 o'clock(for my sound needs). As you turn thr knob clockwise, treble frequencies are cut. This can give you a very dark, bassy tone. "Muddy" for some, but a usable & unique sound.
The Rat has become my Overdrive/Distortion sound. Period.

Tough casing. Neat & clean wiring inside. Mil-spec circuit board. Sturdy feeling pots & knobs. I don't like the battery clip: it attaches to the (metal!) battery compartment cover with a 2 sided adhesive strip. Maybe this is just how it was done in 1977(when the Rat was first produced), and ProCo does this to preserve the "reissue" vibe. A metal clip welded to the cover would be ideal. I guess if it starts to bug me I could Super-Glue the clip to the cover. the cover secures to the pedal via a screw that can be tightened/remove without a tool.

All said, The Rat seems like it was built with gigging in mind. I'd trust it on a gig without a backup.

Five year warranty. Haven't dealt with ProCo. The dealer(Music123) has a 45 Day return Policy, but I don't think I'll need it. I've dealt with Music123 in the past, and they're a pleasure to do business with.

I've been playing for 18 years. I'm primarily a rock guitarist, but I dabble a lot in blues, funk & metal. The tones available from the Vintage Rat have made it THE pedal for me. My rig is now: Guitar--->Rat--->Amp. If lost or stolen, I'd replace it immediately. I've been looking for this kind of overdrive/distortion tone to complement my amp's cleaner sounds for years. It was under my nose the whole time.
I have come to a point where I just want a simple rig. yet squeeze every rock, funk, blues & metal I like out of it. the rat/Fender amp combination is inspiring.

I think it took me about 5 minutes to get the sound I have spent the last 10-15 years trying to get with other pedals/amp distortion. I bought this used, so didn't get a manual. I have found that by alternating the Distortion and Filter dials anywhere between 10 o'click and 2 o'clock I can get a fine variety of toney distortion. When I bought it, I didn't think not having an LED would be a problem, but if I had the choice, I'd like the light there.

Gibson Les Paul Studio -> Boss Noise Gate -> {Boss Compression/Sustainer -> Proco Rat -> Boss Chorus Ensamble-> Boss Tremolo} -> Bespeco Volume Pedal -> Boss DD-5 Delay -> Marshall Practice Amp.
I don't use this for fuzz, so I find this practically noise-free. I don't need the noise gate when using the RAT on it's own.
For warm, Marshall-type distortion this pedal is ideal and it is PERFECT for the Blur sound (well, Coxon uses rats, so no big surprise there), but you can also get fantastic Green Day / AC/DC rock distortion too by reducing the filter and turning up the distortion. This is very tonal, real distortion and retains your guitar's natural tone beautifully. For this reason, it is not suitable for heavy, artificial, heavy metal distortion like Anthrax, Pantera (Dimebag RIP), Metallica or anything that requires chuggy palm-muting. I occasionally want that sound, so for that reason, I have a Boss Metal Zone on order. I think you can safely say you'll never find a distortion pedal that does EVERY type of distortion well.

One minor problem - the switch started being a bit dodgy recently and not switching on. A quick squirt of WD40 into the base of the switch seems to cured that (fingers crossed!) Other than that, it's a big black box and sturdy as hell (unlike the top-heavy RAT2.

N/A

Like I said, if you want thrash-metal distortion, go for the Boss Metal Zone. For everything else - The ProCo Vintage RAT. Trust me, you'll never look back.

Cake.

This review is for an original Rat, not the reissue. The pots on this one date '79, which was the first year these were made. It says "tone" instead of "filter" on the middle knob (I think this changed in '80) and it says "Sound Inc." on the ProCo logo. And as you might expect, this early version blows the reissue away. The RI is good, but compared side by side, the original is creamy, smooth, and very real sounding (vintage Marshallesque), whereas the RI sounds thin and generally fuzzier. It also sounds more like the OD, distortion, or fuzz (yes, it really does do it all) is coming from the amp, not sitting on top of it.

I've had this pedal for almost 15 years now. I always go back to it. I play a tele and a strat through a 59 Bassman, JC-120, Vox Cambridge, and others. It seems an especially perfect match with the strat and the JC.

Oh my god. This thing's been through hell and back and has never let me down. People should start saying "Built like a RAT."

I emailed someone at proco once and somebody got back to me and was very friendly and helpful and kept in touch. I'm certain that if I ever needed service, I'm in good hands.

I play rock, classic rock, modern rock, punk rock, indie rock, some reggae, jazz, country, whatever, and this RAT has been in my chain for 15 years. I would shell out the $200+ for another original one in a heartbeat if anything happened to it. I bought a RI as a backup, but never needed it, and after using it as a second OD for a little while, I found that it just doesn't do it for me like the original does and got rid of it. If you can afford the original and find one, that is the only way to go imho. This is my favorite pedal/effect hands down (I also have a vox v846 Italy, roland space echo, supa-trem, etc.), and the original "vintage" RAT truely deserves the high marks.

Controls are distortion, filter (clockwise - subtly remove higher frequencies - not a reverse tone control, then volume. I find these controls pretty easy to use.

I just got this unit and ran my Paul standard through it into my Fender. If there is such a thing as a "Marshall in a box" - this thing comes closest to achieving it!! Weird thing about people saying it thins out the tone - I haven't experienced this. But maybe they haven't turned the volume up enough to make the bass frequencies level with the natural signal. For sure, matching the natural signal volume to this this boosts upper mids and highs. However - you can tame these by cranking up the filter. In the end - I think this thing fattens up the tone - but it really doesn't add more bass. My favorite settings are Distortion at 11-12 o'clock, Filter almost at 4 o'clock (I prefer a touch darker tone), and volume at 11:00 o'clock - this balances the unit against the natural signal. With this set up, my Fender turns into a Marshall stack complete with sustaining Malcolm Young crunch - very cool!

On the lead side, it's very fluid notes, with enough rasp to cut through - very Marshally, but unique.

For Fuzz - this unit is really nice. To be fair, I haven't compared this to other fuzzes, but at least you don't lose note definition when you crank the distortion into the fuzz zone.

For classic bluesy overdrive, at least with humbuckers - not so great - I leave this task to my tubescreamer. The problem is that with the distortion below 9:30, it starts sounding not so full with the internal compression more evident. While this compression works great in the mid to upper distortion ranges, it doesn't excel in the lower overdrive settings.

That said, for solid Marshall crunch and extreme fuzz, this is outstanding. If it had a good tubescreamer tone in the lower drive settings, you would not need another distortioon unit in your rig for sure!

I've seen the Keeley mod to make this more of an overdrive pedal for classic blues, etc. This might be a way to make this pedal a jack of all trades.

Don't know yet.

Great - very willing to answer questions.

My style in our cover band are very wide ranging across most musical categories from mellow up to AC/DC type music. I've been playing long enough to know various guitar sounds and styles. I've looked at a number of pedals for distortion and this one is the best.

3 knobs, work it out.

Stock this pedal isn't great, I couldn't really use it as it was impossible to get a similar eq between having it on and off, as it cuts the bass completely. The tone itself is slightly harsh and buzzy also. I performed this ultra-simple mod where you replace one resistor with a trim pot, and it lets all the bass through, and improves the tone, making it much more usable. It sounds really nice and warm with humbuckers now, but with single coils it still sounds thin.

Simmple to use.

I play professionally so have tried just about any pedal out there. This is the worst I've ever used. It thins you sound by about 70%,
has tons of tasteless muddy distortion so no matter what guitar or amp you use, it'll just make everything sound the same. Bad. I don't know what's the deal with the "filter", it's nothing more than backward working treble knob.
Why the hell they call it Vintage is a mystery to me. It don't sound vintage or modern either.

Looks well build but it's not. Bypass switch (cheap Mexican made) doesn't work right and the pots are somewhat loose and have plastic shafts.
I've dropped the peadal and the volume know just snapped of completely with the shaft so had to replace the whole pot.

Didn't need it.

Good pedal for people who are tone deaf or can't play guitar what so ever because with all this bad distorted sound no one will be able to tell what you're playing or if you play it right.
As for theprice tag one would have to be slightly retarded to pay about $100 for metal box with a chip and few resitors in it especially when it sounds the way it does.