Comparison of the effects of ProCo Rat

Overdrive / distortion effects are one of the most important in broadly understood rock. The beginnings of this type of devices date back to the XNUMXs.

Very simple fuzz circuits have evolved over the years and to this day manufacturers are outdoing each other in inventing new solutions that are to improve the sound and functionality of the distortion. It is also worth noting that over the years, effects have been created that have the status of cult today, and their sound has become the hallmark of many great guitarists.

One of such classic distortion effects is undoubtedly the RAT from ProCo Sound, which became the godfather of effects that emerged over the decades to come. The first incarnations of the cube appeared in the late 1978s. In XNUMX, the official premiere of ProCo RAT took place.

Over the years, the American manufacturer has tried to create more incarnations of its “rat”. The RAT 2 appeared, which is in fact a continuation of the original, but in a changed, more compact housing. Turbo RAT – more modern, characterized by lower compression, greater dynamics and a wider GAIN range. You Dirty RAT – old school, the effect of which is similar in color to FUZZ devices.

Although the sound of all the presented “rats” differs significantly from each other, you can still hear a common denominator that defines the timbre of ProCo Sound. But from the beginning.

RAT 2 is a direct continuation of the first version, which promoted ProCo to one of the most important manufacturers in the USA. The sound of the effect is a classic distortion, but unlike other devices of this type, the sound is fat, without the undercutting of the lower band. The FILTER potentiometer is nothing else than the TONE, which in the case of RAT is perfectly tuned. Thanks to this, the guitar plays with a band that, on the one hand, perfectly breaks through the mix when playing solo, and on the other, the richness of harmonics fantastically fills the musical space. Silicon diodes are responsible for the distorted sound here. The heyday of popularity of this model occurred at the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, perfectly matching the style of Grunge music.

Turbo RAT is the younger brother of the classic “two”. Slightly stronger, it will perform better in more modern musical styles. Turbo works with LEDs that compress the signal less. Thanks to this, we can clearly feel the improvement in dynamics and sensitivity to articulation. At the same time, we have much more distortion here. It is worth noting that even the maximum setting of the GAIN knob does not “muddle” the signal, and the sound becomes extremely powerful. The Turbo Rat will appeal to everyone looking for a fleshy but very dynamic distortion. Perfect for classic rock, metal and modern punk styles.

You Dirty RAT is a device that is meant to be a kind of time machine. Germanium diodes, which are responsible for the color of the distortion, bring it closer to the FUZZ type construction, and thus we have a whole range of rough, even raw sounds with a lot of characteristic “hoarseness”. Fuzz-like character will appeal to lovers of classic and alternative music.

“Dwójka”, “Turbo” or “Brudas”, the choice is yours. One thing is certain, however, by choosing one of the ProCo products, you have a chance to encounter the classics that have been the building blocks of guitar music for years!