So.
Today I decided to look into the age of my Proco Rat. I've had it since around 1995, she it's always sounded rather sweet, or nasty depending on the knob tweaking.
It's definitely a USA made Rat 2 (Glow in dark, Red LED, 3.5mm power socket)
The serial no. is RT-128064.
It has a LM308N chip, and was assembled by "Vikkie"
The date stamp on the distortion pot is 578943. And it has the black "X Wing" DPDT switch.
From what I've read, that puts it as being an 89/90.
Are there any RAT aficionados out there who could verify my thoughts?
And no, it's not for sale. Never will be!!
Lots of Nice Guitars, and not enough pedals!
Comments
I've had serial number 128052 pass through my hands as part of my RAT geek info gathering process. It had a Motorola LM308N, pot codes R1378943, silver screw on the battery cover, green PCB. 89/90 all the way.
Consider your thoughts verified
The latest serial number I've had with the LM308 chip is 228747. There's a gap from there to 255436 which was a USA made pedal with a Texas Instruments OD07DP op-amp. I got a bit obsessed with them when trying to figure out if the vintage Rat reissue serial numbers fitted in with the Rat 2.
Off to look at my collection of spores, moulds, and fungus now...
I've just received a ProCo RAT 2, which appears to be a '97 model. I've never had a RAT before and I have to ask myself why. It's truly amazing and quite easily the best £59 quid I've spent on anything let alone music related.
I don't think it has the LM308 chip, but I'm super happy regardless. Like the OP it's going nowhere!
Rats are the best distortion pedal by miles in my book. They get a lot of shit but my favourite is an early-MIC from 2003. Granted the pots are knackered and need replacing but it’s a brilliant sounding pedal.
Its not my favorite fuzz and not my favorite distortion, but I would not be without it.
Let me give you £20 for it:)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
These things; there ould be a nuclear war, and all of humanity wiped out. the only two things that would survive would be Cockroaches and late 80's early 90's Rat pedals; their glow in the dark logos refreshed to blaze for another millenia!
And as for selling old gear? I learnt not to do that when I part exchanged my Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe for a Line 6 MM4.
Yes. I gave Electro Music in Doncaster my pedal, and £100 in cash for that.
I am still ashamed of myself to this day.....
Serial no. is RT-076827 think it's a Rat 2, USA, glow in the dark, I'll have to open it up and check out the pot codes.
I think I bought it in the early 2000's, because Graham Coxon had one.
Trust me, I have already thrown away the key
RT-128097 here
Bless, two little 30year old Rat siblings, finding each other through an online forum. Filthy things!
My friend has an 88 model Rat2, which I borrow from time to time as I absolutely bloody love it.
I must qualify this by stating that I don't use them for their distortion. I use them Nuno style; as an overdrive/filter for the guitar before it hits a high-gain amp, to tighten things up and give it character. I've come to prefer it over the typical Tube Screamer circuit, which always feels bland after I've been using a Rat.
However, you simply can NOT do this with the Chinese ones. Which I had. I swapped out the stock OP07 for a NOS LM308, thinking it might bring me a little closer to what I was after, and besides the most ridiculously minute change in frequency response, A/Bing between my pedal and my friend's '88 model yielded the exact same results as before - His was still smoother, still more subtle, with a massively more usable range on the Distortion and Volume pots.
The Chinese ones are fizzy, harsh, and the Distortion is either so little that the pedal sounds like it's off, or, with a hair's width turn clockwise, has too much distortion to use it how I'd like.
Opening them both up and checking the component count and their tolerances, I realised that there are far more differences between the two than the LM308. People claim the circuit is the same, but I'm afraid to say that there's a bit more to it than the older ones just having that "vintage mojo".
I'm currently on a mission to get a USA one now, but don't fancy spending the asking price. There's one for sale for a very reasonable price but the guy won't post it
Other good examples of this are the Boss OS-2 and the Mesa Lone Star amps, where different pot tapers change the actual sound as well as the control sweep.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
No matter your opinions on Josh Scott, but he has done some good work debunking the myth around this.
I find it amazing at how many RAT Clones and variants are out there now, never flet the need to get one, what with having my '89. But i have heard very good things about T-Rex Mudhoney (and it's relative the TC Electronic Vintage Distortion), the JAM Pedal Rattler, and even the Mooer Black Secret. And that's without getting into the wold of the small UK Builders.
And there's another Rat hole to disappear into!