The RAT

[stormsedge]

ProCo Rat2...it's a good one.

 

[Tim S]

Two Rats / Two Mouses:
ProCo Vintage Rat
ProCo Fat Rat (w/ LM308 swapped in)
Donner Dark Mouse
Biyang DS-8 Tonefancier Mouse

 

[chris m.]

GHS Brownie with the 56kohm to 560 ohm resistor fix. Great pedal, especially in Power ( aka Turbo, aka LED) mode for my taste.
Comp mode is classic RAT with clipping diodes. Sounds more compressed. Power mode uses LEDs as the clipping diodes, and
sounds a lot more open/transparent/less compressed. With the gain set low in that mode it's more like an overdrive pedal.
In the comp mode it's more of a distortion pedal. Both are useful and that's one of the great things about a RAT descendant that
provides both modes. You essentially get two pedals in one-- an O/D or a distortion that can even flirt with full-on fuzz territory.

All that said, it's not on my gigging board right now. I'm running a good old SD1 as my O/D boost, and I have a MHP Code Green fuzz for the one song we do where I need fuzz.

But I have done gigs where I just show up with the Brownie as my only pedal, with a 9v battery in it, and depending on the backline amp and the song we're about to play I just bend over and adjust the knobs and switches, and I now have the dirt sounds I will need for that song. A very versatile pedal that offers a lot of options.

A

 

[black_doug]

I have two of these, one on my pedalboard. I am not worthy.

 

[doof]

One Proco Rat 2, the Biyang and Mosky clones, and a DIY rat I made is on my pedalboard.

 

[bottlenecker]

I used to carry these two pedals in the back of my amp. Dumb, I know. Even dumber, I used to carry my sennheiser 421 in the back of the amp with them until the grill shell cracked. It had been around a lot by then. You can see what happened to the catalinbread scp over the years. Nothing happened to the Rat, even though it was always in there with them, because it has a proprietary steel enclosure that is wrapped in something tough.
I could buy a rat clone from a "boutique" builder, that comes in the generic cast hammond enclosures everyone uses, with paint that will chip off, or I could buy a real deal Rat from Pro Co, for less money, with the indestructable enclosure, that sounds exactly like what it is, and the logo glows in the dark like it should.
I don't understand Rat clones.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I'm more of an overdrive/less distortion, 60's R&R and '50's styles blues player ( early Country too)- so I usually play a clean Fender amp+ OD pedal ON setup, and that's perfect.

But when I want either a harder-rocking sound ( say Skynyrd, Bad Co., '70's rock) or even a Fuzz tone, I step on a Biyang Max Distortion ( fake Rat)

It gives me the sound I want without a ton of added volume or noise that I just can't deal with at my moderate volume gigs. Things are adjustable with the Rat...

 

[Rich_S]

So that's what it is.
I haven't heard the song, but there's a model in the POD xt named Reeling In The Years and it's the most
grating, jarring tone I've ever heard come out of that box.

That’s NOT what it is. Elliott Randall played Reelin’ In The Years through a cranked Ampeg SVT. It must have been ungodly loud.

Also, Reelin’ In The Years was released in 1972 and Pro Co didn’t invent the Rat until 1978. It’s a great pedal but it’s not capable of time travel.

Several years ago, I wanted a Rat but the space on my board would only fit a normal MXR-sized pedal. So, I built this using a Madbean PC board and genuine LM308 op amp (not that I believe there's anything magic about the 308).

More recently, my Rat has been replaced by the Catalinbread Katzenkonig. With the Input knob turned up, it's a Tone Bender. With the Drive knob up, it's a Rat, and the Rat-ish Filter control applies to either. It gives me more dirt options in the same space as my old Paisley Rat.

 

[Vanzant]

I bought the Proco Rat 2 a few months ago from sweetwater for $79.99 just to see what the hype was all about. It’s definitely worth the price for a distortion fuzz overdrive pedal. I am glad I added it to my pedal collection..,you can’t go wrong really.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

I own a Rat 2 . it perform it's duties consistently.I am happy with it.
put on guitar bass keyboards, cold cuts potatoes salad, macaroni salad Cole Slaw, baked bean , grill cheese sandwiches, oatmeal ,grits.

 

[Blackmore Fan]

I'm the owner of a Mister Vermin from Chicago Stompworks, a Rat clone. For the first month or two I liked certain aspects of the sound, but didn't like some extraneous sound (not "noise") I was getting from it. And then after tweaking the settings, my objections went away. It sounds great now, better than my straight distortion pedal.

 

[4pickupguy]

Me. I have 6 or 7 I think. Only 1 is a legit ProCo.

Then you have one.

I have a couple of older Rats, have used Rats since 87’. Sadly the worst sounding one I have is a Proco Rat2 I bought in 2015. The best rat circuit I have is a Mr Vermin from Chicago Stompworks ($54 used). The more modern Rats have really cheap components (volume pots, switches etc..) that I think are to blame for the thin, harsh sound. I have a booteeky Jam Rattler ($225) on my board at the moment and it gets the very low gain rat stuff great, where Vermin is very touchy to dial in, but the Mr Vermin has a magic. I must have got a really good one or something because it is super harmonically rich and complex. It does the Tres Hombres tone perfectly or can go fusion lead on the same settings using the volume knob.

 

[RodeoTex]

This thread has prompted me to dig my old Rat out of storage.
Might even plug it in today.

 

[PigBoy]

Proud RAT user since 1986.

 

[Killing Floor]

I have a couple of older Rats, have used Rats since 87’. Sadly the worst sounding one I have is a Proco Rat2 I bought in 2015. The best rat circuit I have is a Mr Vermin from Chicago Stompworks ($54 used). The more modern Rats have really cheap components (volume pots, switches etc..) that I think are to blame for the thin, harsh sound. I have a booteeky Jam Rattler ($225) on my board at the moment and it gets the very low gain rat stuff great, where Vermin is very touchy to dial in, but the Mr Vermin has a magic. I must have got a really good one or something because it is super harmonically rich and complex. It does the Tres Hombres tone perfectly or can go fusion lead on the same settings using the volume knob.

CSW Mr Vermin is really solid.

 

[Deebs3]

I'm into budget pedals these days so bought a Mooer Black Secret. It sounds fantastic..

 

[Neptical]

My Board is a fan:

 

[Carcinogen]

I made mine a Commie Pinko Rat.

 

[loudboy]

I have 2 of the small box, no LED Rats, modded with a bleed to ground pot, to take out some of the harshness.

Used them exclusively for years for OD/Distortion, but don't have them in my present rig. Love the solo tone you can get out of them - classic rock in a box.

 

[Tele295]

I used a Rat2 as my only pedal for years. Now I’m using a Nocturne Ubangi Stomp, which is a modified rat circuit. #ubangistompers