ProCo RAT 2 vs Tone City Golden Plexi
The ProCo RAT 2 and the Tone City Golden Plexi are both pedals sharing transparent, mid-forward. The ProCo RAT 2 leans low gain and fuzzy. The Tone City Golden Plexi leans crunchy. Current prices: $88 vs $75.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.46% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Metal
- Rock
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- transparent
- mid-forward
ProCo RAT 2
Proco · pedal
Tone City Golden Plexi
Tone City · pedal
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$88via Reverb
$75via Reverb
The ProCo RAT 2 is a classic hard-clipping distortion pedal whose circuit dates to the late 1970s, built around an LM308 op-amp and silicon diode clipping. Its three controls are Distortion, Filter, and Volume, with the distinctive Filter knob acting as a reversed tone control that runs from bright and cutting to dark and warm. Capable of far more than its name suggests, it spans gritty low-gain overdrive, thick midrange distortion, and nearly fuzz-like saturation while keeping notes present and clear even at high gain. It is a staple of punk, grunge, garage, stoner, doom, and alternative rock, and has been used by players from Jeff Beck and Thom Yorke to countless heavy and experimental guitarists. Dynamic and harmonically rich, it cleans up with guitar volume and stays articulate rather than overly compressed.
The Tone City Golden Plexi is a budget Marshall Plexi-inspired overdrive and distortion pedal delivering dynamic, mid-pushed overdrive full of punch, aggression, and bite, ranging from a sweet crunch to crushing high-gain saturation. A two-way toggle selects between Golden Plexi 1, with more bass and gain, and Golden Plexi 2, a tighter voicing with slightly less gain that cuts through a dense mix without muddying the low end. The Tone control runs from dark to bright, staying low for a smooth lead tone or pushed higher for a cutting edge that sits well in a busy mix. True bypass keeps the signal clean when off. It suits blues, rock, and metal players wanting classic black-and-gold Plexi-style tone in a compact, budget-friendly mini format.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Alternative Rock
- Experimental
- Punk
- Grunge
- Hard Rock
- Blues Rock
- Blues
- Classic Rock
- low gain
- fuzzy
- full
- gritty
- dynamic
- saturated
- crunchy
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Occasions this gear suits — judged per model, or derived from its wattage, connectivity and category.- Busking
- Live