Turbo Rat Review

Feel the crunch and power of the distortion pedal designed to take you to new and unexplored heights.

Ease of Use:	10
Sound:	9.8
Reliability:	9.8
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.9
Users rating:	6.9
Comments:	9

Featured review by: unregistered, on april 05, 2004

Ease of Use: Very simple. Knobs: Distortion, Filter, Volume.

Distortion: Is great sounding, i prefer to use it one my Crate GT 80(see review). This can go from a light buzz to a real heavy roar.

Filter: Controls how sharp the distrtion is.

Volume: Just control the level of volume, very self explanitory...

This pedal (really a box) is very easy to use, setup your sound and step on the button, and wow you have distortion. // 10

Sound: This has a great sound. All is does it distort. It can make any sound from Zeppelin, to Metallica, to Iron Maiden. But it does have the kind of sound that sounds like clean with distortion masked over it. It's got a full sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This thing is practically invincible. I have(purposley) dropped it on the stone floor, to show friends, and nothing has happened. It is protected by a half inch shell of steel. It is fairly heavy, but at least it wont fall apart. // 10

Impression: This thing can change to any style of rock. I don't know about other styles, thought I don't doubt it can, but I don't play really any others. I have been playing this thing for about 7 or 8 months and I have played just about everything with it. The only thing is I have never seen another, the closest place I can buy one is About 50 to 70 miles away. I got this from my uncle for free because he didnt use it. Excellent! I would definitely get another if this was lost or stolen, and would recommend it to other people. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: woodenbandman, on february 20, 2006

Price paid: $ 10

Purchased from: Garage Sale

Ease of Use: Three knobs, each with their own label, I know I don't need a map! The filter knob is a bit weird, considering how it works. It's kind of like the pots on a guitar, only it takes treble away as you twist it to the right instead of adding it. The volume and distortion knobs work great. My unit is completely stock, to the best of my knowledge. // 10

Sound: I picked up this hot little box at a garage sale. When I got it, it was covered in duct tape, missing screws, and the battery plate was gone. The guy that I got it from seemed sad to part with it, probably because it had been through so much with him. The sound is consistantly great. Even though you can't really get that treble out the butt sound (at least not through my Roland Cube 60 bass amp), this little box will take you from classic rock rhythm all the way Nirvana' "Teen Spirit") rhythm sound, and, with a bit of gain from the amp, even some high octane grind a-la "For Whom The Bell Tolls." // 10

Reliability & Durability: When I picked this box up, the battery in it was so old that one of the connectors disconnected from the body of the battery. The guy claims that this box has served its purpose in countless practices, and in my experience it takes way fewer batteries than my Boss OS-2. I would chunk this and my Dunlop wah into my gig bag, hit the bus station, and go to a gig without a second though. This little box's steel coffin looks like it could hold a demented gorrilla. // 10

Impression: I am first and formost a Queen fan. If I had 3 things I could save from a burning building, they would be Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Meadows Taylor. This box can turn a weedy strat copy into the red special with its tone knob, and its distortion can pull out tones reminiscent of The Prophet's Song, White Man, or Great King Rat. If this little box were stolen, lost, or broken, my first response would be to get another one, before anger or sadness. I believe that the owner's desciption accurately covered what I needed to know to buy this pedal. Simply put, "it's just this really nasty distortion pedal." I like everything about this box, especially the name. I really would like a 3 band EQ, but that would neccisate a bigger box, so it's cool. This box definitely gets a 10 all around! // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: vhhendrixcrazy, on april 14, 2006

Price paid: $ 80

Purchased from: Moonlight Music

Ease of Use: The Turbo Rat is really easy and simple to use. There are three knobs: Distortion, Volume, and Filter. How easy could that possible be? There is also a button to turn the effect on. There was no manual when I purchased it. You can adjust the knobs however you'd like to have that perfect sound. // 10

Sound: It has a great rock-ish feel when I turn on the Turbo Rat. Though, it makes a small noise when I turn on the Turbo Rat while my amp is on. It's sort of like a hissing sound, and it sometimes gets annoying, but I could live with it. If the distortion sounds weak, it pretty much means my battery is going out and I probably need to replace it. Usually, I rock out playing those classic rock songs. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I could depend on this pedal for a while. I could use it when I jam with my friends. It's a great pedal to use at home, I think I would use a different pedal if I'm doing a gig. // 9

Impression: This was my first guitar pedal/effect that I purchased; and my only one. I've been playing for about three years now, and I purchased the Turbo Rat when I was playing for a year and a half or so. I play rock n' roll and pop music. I own a black/white Squier and it's my only electric. I purchased the Turbo Rat at a small store, and I asked the employees which guitar distortion pedal to get. I knew nothing about pedals/effects; I was still a newbie at the time. One of the guys immediately recommended me the Turbo Rat and offered me $80 on it. I had my doubts and all, because it was used, had no manual, no package box, and was expensive. But I bought it anyway since they recommended it. To this day, I'm completely satisfied with the product, but I regret paying $80 for the used Turbo Rat when I know that now I could get a new one for cheaper. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: jfrusci, on july 08, 2005

Price paid: $ 138.6

Purchased from: Auvisa

Ease of Use: The Pro Co Turbo Rat is very very yeasy to use. Only that you have to do it's connect you guitar at the imput and a jack from output to input of amp, and push the button. You have to take care with the volume, sometimes it can be very high. // 10

Sound: The sound of this effects is great. I use it for all of my solos. It provide a really good sustain and a very dirty distortion. But Turbo Rat isn't a pedal for a solos. If you like Radiohead, for exaple, you can listen some Turbo Rat sounds from Thom York. I use it for a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover, Fortune Faded. The sound may be very dirty and litter clear with a lot of distorsion if you are not doing a solo or a riff, for exaple chords. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I think that my Turbo Rat will go with me fore a lot of time. It's indestructible. // 10

Impression: With my first band I play strong music. No metal, maybe more crossover music like Rage Against The Machine, Incubus, or Red Hot Chili Peppers, for exaple. It's fantastic sound if you want to do a powerful solo. // 10

Comments

[p2fyre]

This is one of the most under-rated distortion pedals ever! It's just amazing for rock.

[Donkey Fly]

This thing is practically invincible. I have(purposley) dropped it on the stone floor, to show friends, and nothing has happened. It is protected by a half inch shell of steel. It is fairly heavy, but at least it wont fall apart.

Lol, i wouldn't even drop it on my bedroom floor on purpose nevermind a stone floor.

My dad had the Rat when he played years and YEARS ago, he said it was amazing.....thinking of getting this one....if the first rat was as good as he's making out to be then this should be ****ing brilliant

[DareBear02]

This really is an awesome pedal, It was the first distortion pedal I bought and I got it for 30 bucks. Alot of guitarists I know use or have used this (Dave Grohl in particular). And I love the versitility and crunch and scream I can get from it. And yea, it pretty much is indestructable and probably the most fun when playing from an all tube amp.

[Dr.Tomahawk]

p2fyre wrote:

This is one of the most under-rated distortion pedals ever! It's just amazing for rock.

I agree, the Rat series in general all all under-rated, James Hetfield used the original Rat in the days of Kill 'Em All

[Rudy Burns]

I got a Turbo Rat because everyone says how great they are, but i cant seem to get it to sound good... it seems i need to keep the filter on minimum otherwise the guitar gets way too trebbly, and the distortion knob needs to be nearly maxed out to get a good full sound... its good for playing open/unmuted chords and solos, but try to play palm-muted, and the distortion and volume die rapidly!

[wildchild6660]

Rudy Burns wrote:

I got a Turbo Rat because everyone says how great they are, but i cant seem to get it to sound good... it seems i need to keep the filter on minimum otherwise the guitar gets way too trebbly, and the distortion knob needs to be nearly maxed out to get a good full sound... its good for playing open/unmuted chords and solos, but try to play palm-muted, and the distortion and volume die rapidly!

maybe the prob. is with ur amp

[lastlivingboy]

The entire RAT line are probably the best distortion pedals ever made. I came to that decision even after playing a Tube Screamer reissue. I backed all the way off the gain on that, and I couldn't get a dirty sound, and with it open, it still wasn't as thick and crunchy as my TurboRAT.

[aajbpj]

whats better the turbo rat or the ratII keeley modified?

[jackins]

This is the first distortion pedal I got and I can't see my self replacing it, it's brilliant, and rock solid, can see it lasting a lifetime