Two affordable distortion legends found on countless boards. The Rat is thick, dark and versatile — overdrive to full fuzz-ish distortion; the DS-1 is brighter, tighter and more mid-forward.
| ProCo Rat | Boss DS-1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice | Thick, dark, aggressive — a chunky low-mid grind with loads of gain on tap. | Bright, cutting, mid-forward — looser and more "classic stompbox". |
| Gain range | Huge: from light overdrive all the way to saturated, almost-fuzz. | Moderate: a focused distortion that rarely gets truly heavy. |
| Famous for | Radiohead, Nirvana-adjacent grunge, Jeff Beck, metal and noise. | Joe Satriani, Kurt Cobain, decades of punk and rock. |
| Filter/EQ | A single "Filter" knob (turn down = darker/warmer, up = brighter/harsher). | Standard Tone knob; voiced bright by default. |
| Best use | A do-it-all dirt box and a great lead/heavy rhythm tone. | A cheap, reliable rock distortion and a good amp-pushing boost. |