Pro Co shrinks a distortion classic with the Lil Rat

Pro Co has announced the new Lil Rat, a smaller take on its classic Rat distortion pedal. It’s the smallest Pro Co Rat yet, fitting into a pedalboard slot just two inches wide.

The Lil Rat, tonally, takes after the Rat 2, with Pro Co noting that it sports the exact same components in the smaller enclosure. Controls are also the same, with Volume, Filter and Distortion knobs for controlling output level, high-end content and the amount of clipping respectively.

The sound is a versatile one, and Rat and Rat-like tones are found in all corners of the guitar world – at lower gain levels, the pedal has an open, overdrive-like character. Increasing the gain takes your guitar into full-on distortion and, eventually, something approaching fuzz.

The original Rat was introduced in 1978, and has existed in various forms since. Current production models include the Rat 2, Turbo Rat, You Dirty Rat and the Fat Rat, all with slightly different takes on the original approach to distortion. One thing has been consistent across all of the Rats, however, with the exception of the new Lil Rat, and that’s the size. Despite most having only three knobs, most Rats are larger than many stompboxes – especially the vintage “big-box” reissues.

You can hear a side-by-side comparison of the Lil Rat and the Rat 2 with the official introduction video below.

The pedal is yet to be listed on ProCo’s website, so stay tuned to Guitar.com for more details and pricing information.

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