Proco Rat 2 old vs new

andyg_prs

Hi, 

This has me wanted to get a Rat.....I know tone is in the fingers, but anyhow.  Will a new verson Proco Rat 2 get me there.......or do I need to go cork sniffing for a particular era / type / modded version?

Thanks,
Andy

pluckbuddy

People will say that the new chip vs the old chip doesn't make a difference, but in my experience it does. That comes from swapping the stock one in a Fat Rat for a LM308. In fact I heard a difference between two different LM308 chips too. The one I liked was slightly smoother to my ear. 

I don't know what eras or models have the proper old school LM chip. 

Edit: just to add they all sounded "good" and we're in the same ballpark tonally,  but they were different enough for me to say I liked one over the other. 

guitargeek62

Very little difference in the chips in my experience, but masses* of difference between pot sizes/types. 



*well, it's all relative... but still pretty noticeable audibly and in playing feel/response

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_jtDX1_FZg

p.s. I don't think you can go wrong with any RAT-based pedal to be honest, they're pretty great!

LionAquaLooper

The RAT is one thing but a lot also depends on your set up vs what that guy's using in the video.  

AlbertC

My experience having compared both a new (Chinese) and old (USA w LM308) is that you can dial in pretty similar sounds out of both, but the pot positionings don’t particularly correspond. 

Having said that, I eventually kept my old one and sold the newer one probably more because old beaten up things look cooler 

Cirrus

I agree with @pluckbuddy . The chip won't make or ruin a song, but I've heard differences too. Problem these days is that I suspect lots of LM308s on the market are actually not

andyg_prs

LionAquaLooper said:

The RAT is one thing but a lot also depends on your set up vs what that guy's using in the video.  

Absolutely....but I aim for a similar clean sound.....so hoping I can get an approximation that works for me...

JD50

andyg_prs said:

Hi, 

This has me wanted to get a Rat.....I know tone is in the fingers, but anyhow.  Will a new verson Proco Rat 2 get me there.......or do I need to go cork sniffing for a particular era / type / modded version?

Thanks,
Andy

Honestly,  they all sound great, Rat 2, Turbo, Di rty Rat, I have 3 of them plus a couple copies... don't forget they also do good low gain sounds

GoFish

I do believe that there's a difference - the LM308 sounds smoother / softer edged. But do you really need your Rat to do that sound? There's many better low gainers out there and lots of smooth sounding distortions, if that's yer thing. A Rat will still Rat, whenever it was made.

guitargeek62

GoFish said:

I do believe that there's a difference - the LM308 sounds smoother / softer edged. But do you really need your Rat to do that sound? There's many better low gainers out there and lots of smooth sounding distortions, if that's yer thing. A Rat will still Rat, whenever it was made.

^ This is my take on it too, I've got two lovely U.S. made RAT2s, one with the LM308N (right), and the other with the OP07 (left) - the latter is a bit harsher and has more overall range in the pots... both are great, I'd be happy with either.

TimmyO

andyg_prs said:

Hi, 

This has me wanted to get a Rat.....I know tone is in the fingers, but anyhow.  Will a new verson Proco Rat 2 get me there.......or do I need to go cork sniffing for a particular era / type / modded version?

Thanks,
Andy

https://thejhsshow.com/articles/history-and-timeline-of-the-proco-rat-pedal 

monquixote

Spend your time playing guitar and not sniffing corks.

It makes bugger all difference. There is an Andertons video where they A/B stacks of rats and the conclusion is they all basically sound the same (not so the turbo/ dirty obvs)

LionAquaLooper

monquixote said:

Spend your time playing guitar and not sniffing corks.

It makes bugger all difference. There is an Andertons video where they A/B stacks of rats and the conclusion is they all basically sound the same (not so the turbo/ dirty obvs)

Exactly. And you're only going to notice the very small differences if you A/B them. One of them on its own in your board, it's not even worth worrying about. 

GavRichList

I bought one of the new ones for about £75 and it sits proudly amongst my silly expensive board and gets plenty of use on big stages to big crowds. I wouldn’t worry too much about seeking an older one. They’re very expensive, and trust me when I say that the £75 job will put a big fat smile on your face. 

ScreamingDave

I love my Rat 2, but I have no clue where it was made or what chip it has in it.  It’s pushing 20 years old now, so I don’t know if it will have been made in USA or not. 

andyg_prs

JD50 said:

andyg_prs said:

Hi, 

This has me wanted to get a Rat.....I know tone is in the fingers, but anyhow.  Will a new verson Proco Rat 2 get me there.......or do I need to go cork sniffing for a particular era / type / modded version?

Thanks,
Andy

Honestly,  they all sound great, Rat 2, Turbo, Di rty Rat, I have 3 of them plus a couple copies... don't forget they also do good low gain sounds

that's actually the main application I'm going for.  I had a Deucetone years (15?) ago.....wish I still had it.....

GoFish

Deucetones do come up occasionaly on the 'Bay. It might be worth setting an alert for one.