The FoxPedal The Wrath is a distortion pedal built around the circuit of the Pro Co RAT, one of the longest-running distortion designs in electric guitar. Pedal of the Day called it "a beautiful take on the famous, rodent distortion, the Proco Rat"1, and the name itself is a pun on that heritage: as RockBoard's PedalPedia entry puts it, "The Wrath is inspired by the popular RAT distortion (get it? W.Rat.H??) with a Reutz mod and red led clipping option"2.
The Reutz mod is a well-known RAT modification, and here it is brought out to a knob. The Wrath also uses a genuine NOS LM308 op-amp, the same chip family the original RAT was built on, and adds LED clipping in the spirit of the Turbo RAT. For a player, that means one box covers the RAT's range and then some: Pedal of the Day's reviewer found it moves "from places like a light overdrive, a high gain overdrive, gritty and cool distortion, 'open' distortion, a fuzz vibe, to full out fuzz"12.
A RAT-based distortion with a Reutz mod
The Pro Co RAT dates back decades and became, in Guitar World's words, "a commonly sighted fixture on many hair and thrash metal bands' pedalboards"5. Guitar Player notes the family grew to include "several original and reissue renditions of the pedal, plus popular spin-offs like the Rat 2, Turbo Rat and Lil Rat"6. The original RAT used the LM308N Motorola op-amp, according to GuitarPCB's technical analysis of the circuit7, which is the same chip family FoxPedal chose for the Wrath.
What separates the Wrath from a stock RAT is the Reutz mod, brought out as a front-panel control. Where a standard RAT has Distortion, Filter and Volume, the Wrath adds a Sweep knob for the mod248.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Controls the level of gain1 |
| Sweep (Reutz mod) | Adjusts the clipping frequency of the gain stage, making the tone darker as you turn it up2 |
| Clipping sweep | Blends between standard silicon clipping and LED Turbo RAT clipping8 |
The clipping blend is the other big departure. Guitar Pedal X's 2024 round-up of compact RAT-style pedals describes the Wrath's sweep as letting you "blend between standard Silicon clipping and LED Turbo Rat clipping"8. Silicon diodes clip at a lower threshold for a tighter, more compressed RAT character; LED clipping, as on the Turbo RAT, has a higher clipping threshold, which opens up headroom and gives a different feel. Having both on a blend means the Wrath can sit between the two.
What changed in V2
In March 2017 FoxPedal announced V2 updates to three existing pedals, the Wrath among them, alongside the Magnifica and Refinery. The updates were physical rather than a circuit redesign: the V2 pedals feature "top-mount Jacks, soft-touch relay bypass switch, and updated graphics"3. Top-mounted jacks make the pedal easier to fit on a crowded board, since patch cables run above the enclosure rather than out of its sides, and the relay switch replaces a mechanical bypass switch with a softer foot action.
The V2 kept the core circuit: the analog RAT-based design, the NOS LM308 op-amp, the Reutz mod and the LED clipping option all carry over2. Guitar Pedal X reported in May 2021 that the Wrath remained part of FoxPedal's current range4.
If you are comparing listings, the Wrath appears under slightly different names over its life, including the Wrath V2 and the Wrath LM308 OpAmp Distortion. The V2 is the version with top-mount jacks and relay bypass; earlier units have the original layout and graphics2.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day reviewed the original Wrath in November 2014 and came away impressed with its range. The reviewer found it could cover ground from light overdrive through gritty distortion to full fuzz, and concluded1:
"So versatile and Sooooo good. The wrath is truely special from all the other 'Rat' type pedals."
The same review noted the Wrath "can cut into the mix" against gain pedals costing triple the price1. On the V2-era circuit, RockBoard's PedalPedia entry sums up the design's aim: "Using a genuine NOS LM308 Op-Amp, the tone of this beast is second to none"2.
How it fits with other RAT-style pedals
Videos
Eirik Stordrange
Gearwire
shnobel
Questions
What power does the Foxpedal Wrath V2 use?
It runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug, drawing about 15mA. That is standard pedalboard power supply territory, so it shares easily with most modern 9V pedals on a powered board.
Is the Foxpedal Wrath V2 a RAT clone?
It is a RAT-inspired circuit rather than a straight copy. It is built around the RAT distortion topology but adds a Reutz mod, controlled by a Sweep knob, plus a red LED clipping option that the original RAT does not have.
Which op-amp does the Wrath V2 use?
It uses a genuine NOS LM308 op-amp, the same chip family as the original Pro Co RAT, which itself used the LM308N. NOS means new-old-stock, unused chips from the original production runs.
Does the Wrath V2 have a red LED clipping option?
Yes. The circuit includes a red LED clipping option alongside standard silicon clipping, in the spirit of the Turbo RAT's LED clipping, and the Sweep control blends between the two clipping characters.
Is the Wrath V2 true bypass?
The V2 uses a soft-touch relay bypass switch rather than a mechanical true-bypass footswitch. Relay switching does the same job of keeping the bypassed signal out of the effect circuit, with a lighter foot feel.
Sources (8)
- FoxPedal The Wrath Distortion, Pedal of the Day, 2014-11-11
- Wrath V2 by Foxpedal, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Foxpedal Unveils Three Updated V2 Pedals: Magnifica, Refinery And Wrath, Delicious Audio, 2017-03-22
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2021-05-03
- The ProCo Rat went from basements to blockbuster albums, Guitar World, 2024-12-12
- From Jeff Beck and Joe Perry to Kurt Cobain and Thurston Moore, the Flexible ProCo Rat Has Star Appeal and Staying Power, GuitarPlayer (www.guitarplayer.com), 2022-12-16
- Pro Co Rat Analysis, GuitarPCB
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-08-30
