I am a dad. I am a guitarist. Let me put this out there – I am time poor, and anything that helps me dial in an awesome tone quickly is going to be a big hitter in my books.
Enter the RAT2.
When it arrived, I thought it was going to be a bit of a one trick pony – grungey distortion. Once I started playing with it though, I started to discover how versatile 3 knobs can be (get your minds out of the gutter for god’s sake).
Here’s a quick tone test to whet your appetite:
First Impressions & Build Quality
Jumping in, the RAT 2 physically feels solid. It’s in a steel enclosure, with industrial-style knobs, and a sloped faceplate that gives you a bit more confidence when stomping mid-gig. Of course, I haven’t gigged for anyone other than my wife or kids for a few years, but this pedal has withstood plenty of stomps from my comfortable slippers.
The layout is simple: Distortion, Filter, and Volume. No bells and whistles — which is part of the charm. The filter control is kind of a signature: twist it to the right to tame harsh highs, or to the left to let more brightness through.
Tone & Usability
Okay — here’s where the RAT2 really earns its stripes. As I said before, this is not a one-trick distortion pedal; it’s surprisingly versatile. I was able to dial in tones for blues (my go-to jamming style), as well as punk and rock… and even dialled right back for jazz!
With the Distortion knob low-to-mid, you get a gritty overdrive that’s tight, responsive to your picking dynamics. Push it harder, and you get full-blown fuzz/ distortion territory. It can be aggressive, but it’s not one-note. The ability to ride your guitar’s volume knob or pickup switch and have things clean up or push hard is valuable.
The filter knob is crucial: if you go too far toward “bright,” things can get brittle, especially with already sharp guitars or bright amps. But backing it off slightly tames that and gives you a smoother midrange — ideal when you want presence without harshness.
In terms of noise, it’s not perfect silence. But for what you’re getting, it’s acceptable. In a live band situation with drums, bass, etc., any hiss tends to get masked. In super-quiet recording settings, you might notice it. But in your home office, living room or bedroom? Who cares.
And if you already love your amp’s breakup, the RAT works well as a boost pedal, or to add that filter colour. Use it to push the front end, or stack it with other drives – I tried it run with a Klon clone and with a Supro Fuzz as well to give them a little more oomph.
The home practice world is dominated by modelling pedalboards and amps, IRs and cabinet sims, and all sorts of other stuff that ends up taking precious time away from playing (which I don’t get enough of as it is).
The ProCo RAT2 is unapologetically straightforward and effective, and I love that. It’s a classic for a reason, and because it’s been used so much by so many, you can get really familiar tones really quickly.
I’d like to thank Aria UK for sending me one to review – if you want to pick one up, Aria is the only UK distributor for RAT pedals.
