History of the ProCo RAT Pedal and Myths Debunked

[@Sailingfortuitous]

JHS should make a pedal called the Rhatt Shull that is specifically designed for mediocre slide tone.

[@Davidthestratman7]

That'd be so awesome haha

[@BlurredTrees]

😂🎉

[@keithfriend2118]

Come on, the sparkle paint Novo and P-90s make it sound better.

[@johnmcminn9455]

I think that tone was Dave Gilmore approved, so it could be the Pink Rhatt

[@gaz71gw]

Sick burn

[@ahriik]

The image of Josh with an armful of RATs, crying while eating Subway, trying to figure out why they all sound the same, is a funny one for sure

[@jhspedals]

😂😂😂

[@TheTVstew]

Did jhs save anyone else’s life lmao these people are treasures

[@9ZenMedia]

Bro my entire life has been saved so many times by so many KZbin channels it’s hard to keep track.

[@TheTVstew]

@@9ZenMedia relatable content

[@phillseagram]

Quarantine would have been a lot darker without this and other pedal shows.

[@jhspedals]

Thank you all!!! We're so honored to be part of your journey. Keep it up! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@findantu]

Not life but tons of cash on pedals I thought looked good then sound bad or just not what I'm needing.

[@corpse-in-orbit]

Nick - on the Tone/Filter pot taper question, I've always guessed that the people who designed the Rat realized that it sounded best with Tone below 50%, but they quickly realized that guitarists don't want to set Tone low. They want more, uh, Tone. So you flip the wiring, and now setting it at 70% is actually setting it at 30%, and bang, classic Rat.

[@yanthetrooper67]

Below 50 it's sound so nasal it hurts my ears personnaly

[@KennethDonnellyStargazer21]

@@stoneysdead689 compression comes to mind, even equalizers. That's what I used

[@onerandombruh]

That's actually useful information, thanks.

[@martijn_yt]

Yeah, true, but we also don’t like to ‘filter ‘ our guitar too much. So we like to turn down the knob that is labelled ‘filter’ so our tone is less ‘filtered’, although because of the ‘new user interface’ with the ‘reversed ‘tone/filter’ knob functionality‘, we really should turn it up now 😂

[@Greg-om2hb]

I was introduced to the Rat by an amazing busker in San Francisco’s financial district around 1981. It was a shocking and humbling experience, because he had withered arms, only one hand and only two fingers. (Lookup Thalidomide.) He wore a tubular slide held on by a rubber band, over a terry wrist band. He held the pick between two fingers has been crafted into opposing pincers through surgery. He setup the lap steel, Rat, and a battery powered amp on a small stable on the sidewalk. With that rig he played thunderous, high energy electric blues far beyond anything I have been able to summon using two hands and ten fingers. I saw him playing on several occasions, and I took away several lessons from that experience.

[@kyleatkins1466]

I also have a similar experience. My guitar teacher was a dwarf who’s hands were disfigured and he played an electric as a lap steel and I’ve never heard a better guitar player.

[@timmungenast]

Thank you for that story, Greg. Stories like that teach me an important lesson: "stop complaining and practice more."

[@MitchellHudson]

I remember that guy! He played great slide guitar!

[@PatStyles]

I remember him too! I saw him at Market and Powell often. He was awesome. I eventually started playing lap steel myself.

[@Dungeon_of_Regret]

This comment needs to be up top, really interesting side bar here to chase. Hope jhs sees this.

[@davydawg01]

This is an amazing article and video. My father bought a RAT in the 80s and has had it since. I started playing guitar in the early 2000s and the RAT was my first distortion pedal handed down by my dad. After watching thus video I have identified it as a 1979 version 1D. Very cool history!

[@Unusualsuspect24]

Josh man, you're a great guitarist and it's time to accept it. When you talk down on your playing; those of us who can't play even half as good, feel twice as bad.

[@blacksalamann]

I mean...he's not the flashy kind, he's more like the "everything I play no matter how simple it is sounds freaking good" type

[@juancarlossuarez7486]

@@Unusualsuspect24 he's actually agreeing with your opinion besides pointing at the obvious objection others would make

[@MaTTheWish]

@@Unusualsuspect24 well he does wear cool t-shirts. Even if you never heard if the brand though.

[@GoLongboardBroseph]

he has good taste

[@stanlindert6332]

Yeah

[@lexzbuddy]

I had a rat in the early 90s, I wasn't too fond of it. I gave it away to my neighbour's daughter, she still has it. All's well that ends well. Probably worth a few bucks these days :) I actually gave her a Fender strat when she started playing. I wasn't a strat fan and never played it so it was like new. The look on her face when I gave it to her was priceless, it made my day. It turns out purple was her favourite colour so that was a bit lucky :) I gave her a wee practice amp too, 25 watts I think with a 10" speaker so it had a bit of oomph for a beginner. I am sure that gave her parents many years of pleasure too. It definitely pays to be nice. She still plays to this day so definitely a good call. She still has the Fender 20 something years later and she says she plays it all the time. That pleased me to hear.

[@TheRealcdawg22]

I need a neighbor like you. Not that I need you to give me stuff. I just mean someone nice and thoughtful. Our neighbors on one side of us are horrible, inconsiderate people. Sorry.

[@lexzbuddy]

I have a neighbour a few doors down, he has a chip on his shoulder and thinks the world is due him respect. He's rude and self centered yet contributes absolutely nothing good, ever. You get them everywhere, free with every neighbourhood. I feel your pain.

[@TheRealcdawg22]

@@lexzbuddy They don't use trash bags so their garbage is always strewn about our yard. They park cars in front of our house, but they don't park in front of their own, nor do they park in their own driveway. The oldest kid is s real piece of work. I bet you get the idea. Take care.

[@roosternm6830]

I gave a teenage girl who is the step daughter to my nephew......pheew, a left handed late 90s MIM Strat as she is left handed. She is also handicapped so getting money together to buy a guitar just couldn't happen. That kid lost her mind over it. She keeps it with her day and night. She can't get enough of it. Didn't take her long to start learning to play. I see her every once in a while and she shows me what she's learned. Makes me feel good to see someone so young who is so inthusiastic.

[@jaydeus]

My first guitar was a gift to my neighbors from country legend Gene Autry. A rare El Degas acoustic, and the fact they sold it to my mom for 75 bucks when it could have sold for 500 said everything about their love for the next generation of musicians. Bless you and other good neighbors everywhere!

[@mercedesescobarmusic]

I read somewhere that Bonnie Raitt uses a Pro Co Rat to add a bit of grit to her tone. What struck me the most about this is the huge missed opportunity from Pro Co to approach her and release the signature BONNIE RAT (or the Raitt Rat)... Am I rite???

[@NoNameNo.5]

HAH!

[@johnbowman3630]

TBF, Bonnie Raitt is one letter away from being a RATT herself. The shoe fits!

[@chrismilligan7998]

There’s something heartwarming that someone can produce a 1h40 video on a series of pedal and over 100,000 people will watch it

[@jaydeus]

Almost 400k

[@arthritis00]

420k by now (10th october 2024, 3:40 pm cet (marking this shit down so it doesn't get lost to time or whatever))

[@corpse-in-orbit]

I'm always amazed when a pedal truly hasn't been superseded - e.g., a Fuzz Face is a classic sound, but you could argue that there are better, more usable, more musically versatile fuzzes now, whereas (I would say) the Memory Man or the early treble boosters have truly never been improved upon. And hearing that Bud Box Rat, it's just, well, "There it is." Best distortion pedal ever made, 45ish years old, and they got it dead right from the first unit.

[@andkemp]

the very first pedal I ever purchased (Italy, 1999: I was 17, so 22 yrs ago) was a RAT 2, and I'm so proud of that 'cause I barely knew what a pedal was... but I... CHOSE it, by playing and trying it in my town's local shop. I just entered the shop, and asked to try some stuff, to "make my guitar sound big"... I wasn't even sure if I needed a distorsion pedal.. the guy that used to work there just sit me, put the first guitar he had next to me in my hands, and put in front of me three pedals. He just said: "listen, here's three pedals that you NEED. Play them, choose one, and they're gonna be perfect anyways, so just see what is best for you". They were a Marshall Guv'nor, a Big Muff (big enclosure), and a Rat 2. I needed 5 minutes, maybe less... I was blown away by the Rat, easy story. And again, I'm proud of myself after so many years, because only much later on, after playing it for years, I discovered what piece of guitar history I had CHOSEN with my ears, and not with stories heard on the internet or somewhere else. So... thx JHS for celebrating once more this huge pedal, and thx for helping people discovering sounds with their ears, and only with them.

[@sammonroe31]

I know I'm asking for a lot of work, but I'd love more of these deep dives into the history of circuits or whatever else inspires you! I haven't watched it yet but I already know it's amazing. ALL HAIL THE RAT

[@PedalChainsAddiction]

A bandmate bought me a Rat2 in 2002 when my DS-2 failed and I never looked back. I had worlds of fun writing and playing with that pedal. Thanks for the marvelous history lesson. I look forward to getting my grubby little hands on the PackRat.

[@t3r080]

This is why I subscribed and hit the bell for JHS Pedals channel years ago! THIS. RIGHT. HERE. Love these history classes :)

[@bldallas]

Seriously, one of the top 3 guitar related channels on YT. I also really like Ted Woodford’s luthier channel and Darrell Braun’s guitar review channel. Greatness.

[@jhspedals]

Thank you!

[@cgripp256]

At first I thought, no way I’m going to make it through an hour and a half of pedal history on ONE pedal. I was wrong. And I greatly enjoyed it. I almost picked up the lil rat a month ago. I think I’ll go look for a RAT2 per recommendation right now!

[@theoryofthirds]

Thank you for elevating the pedal discourse. Honoring the history, respecting the circuitry choices, and then adding some JHS spice. Projects like these do more than just support/promote a new pedal; they deepen the conversation about sound manipulation.

[@Cavemaaaan]

As a cool part of the adjacent-history to the very first ProCo Rats, Systech which was originally in the same Kalamazoo-MI building as you explained earlier, used the same knobs that were used on the earliest-original Rat pedals that you show. My two Systech Phase Shifters have the silver-insert/black-body "Bud" knobs - used for the Emphasis control knob on my two units :) Dan Gibbs, near Flint, MI :)

[@treecavecreative1581]

I think the phrase you were looking for in the mess of the version history was a 'rat's nest'. :)

[@JEDCLAMPIT550]

I first heard of the Rat and bought mine in the middle to late eighties before the LED version mine has the brackets... I absolutely love the RAT...I have performed as a working musician and its been on my pedalboard from the time I bought it in the eighties until present... absolutely nothing ever was able to kick it off my pedalboard...except for the last four years I performed in a Southern Rock festival performance band and they didn't care for the RAT so I used a BB Preamp instead to accommodate them... but now I'm in a different band and the RAT is back on my pedalboard where it belongs! Great show Josh!

[@Sturphy]

So the first cut to Nick has the camera focus on the pedals instead of Nick... and it's awesome. Can you do a show that is just exploring every inch of your collection???

[@philotomybaar]

Looks like a soft focus filter. Looks like they’re doing something different with the video.

[@philotomybaar]

@@aceflibble Got it. But doesn’t the focus on Josh look softer too? Maybe they’re using the Woodcutter filter?

[@lordgraga]

@Sturphy you mean this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2POmpiFpLJ9o8k

[@TheChadPad]

The operative word is "can"

[@andrewjakes5296]

Dirty

[@josephwright5921]

If the world doesn’t implode or explode, 50 years from now, guitarists and pedal builders will still be watching JHS videos.

[@fortheloveofnoise]

we will be lucky to make it 50 months...

[@AJNpa80]

3 years in and America already decided it wants to have a king, 47 years to go, who knows, explode? Maybe we'll turn into giraffes!

[@ScottyBrockway]

There's a Bud Box one somewhere in Washington State, I remember seeing it at Al's Guitarville in the late 80s.

[@Magic_Man916]

What I personally love about the rat is that the gain goes all the way down to nothing.. I don't like when an od or distortion pedal always has some level of gain when engaged

[@stillpist]

I have a WFRI and it has a decent amount of od level gain when all the way down.

[@deacondeschenes7508]

I would very much love to see an episode on Addison’s bass rig. He’s always got the best bass tones!

[@brownmonkeybananayellow]

I agree their jams always sound really good

[@BlackReaperMetal]

@@brownmonkeybananayellow I'm with it

[@nicholasmurt]

Josh, guys, this is so damn rad. LOVE seeing the history of this passion we all have. You guys are doing great, hard work! I’ll admit when I started watching you guys the silly idea of “just try stuff” has stuck with me and has debunked a lot of dumb guitar falsities. So thank you for everything!

[@skyviewdesign]

You mentioned that EarthQuaker Devices uses a standard enclosure, but if I recall, they're actually using their own custom enclosures now. I remember hearing they used to use the standard ones, but they found they could make their own for cheaper or something. The Octoskull logo is actually molded into the baseplates now. Pretty much spot on with the standard size dimensions, but they're their own enclosures. It's crazy.

[@jhspedals]

Yes, we do the same. It's still a standard enclosure though. 125b size.

[@skyviewdesign]

@@jhspedals ah gotcha. So by standard, you’re simply referring to the size and not so much a specific manufacturer or supplier. Rock on!🤘

[@pedalgazer7109]

Holy poop guys- I freaking loved this- and for four solid reasons. 1. You've taken a sort of curatorial (is that a word) view here- and done an incredible service in documenting the history of the proco rat- the people, the designs, the back story- this is a true labor of love. 2. I too am an analytical person and so I strongly applaud your ethic of "let's cut through the B.S. magic and myth with simple science and rational thought. Way too many people indulge in magical thinking- and not just when it comes to pedals. We need this sort of reality check. We could use this sort of thinking in congress to be honest- but that's another story (Josh for congress 2032!) 3. I waited an hour and a half to finally hear about this woodcutter mythology and I was enthralled- so cool. Plus, I'm an English teacher- not surprised at all that a teacher was also the most efficient builder- it's sink or swim out there and only the strong survive. 4. I love seeing how much you all enjoy playing together. Watch the drummers face in the last jam. You guys are a band- in the real sense of the word- aka- not maybe a band with a name, and shows- but a group of people who have forged a musical connection and love playing together. That last jam - more than anything- makes me want to buy another JHS pedal and support such a warm company. Love you all- keep up the incredible work!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jhspedals]

Thank you!!!!

[@PurposefulPorpoise]

First time Rat listener here. The "Clean Rat" prototype is what i always thought a Rat sounded like from just looking at the black enclosure, ugly harshness. Pleasantly surprised to find i actually enjoy the sound of standard 80's Rats

[@JohnFromArlingtron]

I'm the proud original owner of a "4A Rat II" bought new in the day but I don't think it could have been as late as 88 when I bought it so I'm voting sometime in 87 it came out. Surprised you didn't mention that the external 9v is a 1/8 inch mini plug. Makes it a PITA to wire into a board power supply.

[@kma5699]

In the 80s my first wah was a DOD FX-17 and it also had a 1/8” power input jack like the RAT. I had 1 AC adapter with switchable voltages that the end has a 9v lead and 4 different sized plugs. Pretty sure i had to use the same adapter for my Casio VL-1 keyboard and it was a pita using 2 of those type of adapters as the Jack would be loose and the power would cut off lol

[@MikeSadlerAU]

Wow! I'm 60, and a huge RAT fan. I can just imagine the excitement when they first played that 'A' chord through the Bud-box prototype... possibly bigger than my excitement when I first heard one through a 100W Marshall full stack run *just* broken up a couple of years later. Changed *everything* for me :-)

[@Fuhgitboutit]

I always think of this. With the rat or big muff in their first days i always wonder why no one palm muted an open e and chugged lol the potential for extreme metal has been around for so long

[@erichsixnine1796]

The excitement Josh exudes in this episode is, I think, infectious. I wish I was this happy more often. The whole crew is exceptional, and I feel privileged to watch so many great shows.

[@jimcamp2423]

Woodcutter Doug, really should've let that myth live on. He was a beast for productivity. New myth, legend has it Woodcutter Doug outperforms SMT mass production rate, only Rat pedal builder with a zero defect rate ever.

[@jhspedals]

This is like a new John Henry legend.

[@RichFranks]

I bought a small box, white-face RAT in 1984 or 85. In the early 2010s, it finally died. I contacted ProCo, and they said send it in. They fixed it for me. I can't say enough about that kind of service. Still using my ProCo pedal board, too.

[@freehey629]

A lot of guitarists do like using their eyes instead of ears. Some people really don't like it when they have to set a pedal knob to anything other than 9 to 3 o'clock.

[@farber2]

I am in Kalamazoo, my family is from here, and Gibson is the big thing here, but Pro Co gets overlooked if recognized at all.

[@brad207]

I love the myth debunking that Josh does in this video

[@robertlewis5439]

I bought an original Whiteface Rat for $75 IIRC new from Apple Music in Portland, Oregon, C. 1985 when I was 17. The Rat 2 came out a year or two later, and I was disappointed because my Rat didn't have a status LED. I enjoyed the sound when I was young, but sold it on Ebay a couple years ago because I wasn't using it much and figured a more dedicated guitarist should have it - I know, dumb. Now, I have a cheap Chinese version with multiple clipping options - $19 - and I'm just as content with that. If you buy equipment for prestige or investment, recognize that, but if you're not a blues dentist, you can have great sounds with other, less-pricey gear. [As far as investment goes, if I had put the $75 into the S&P rather than into a pedal, I'd have over $780. I got $180 from the Whiteface after Ebay's tax. That $1200 rat on Reverb probably won't sell at that stupid price.]

[@itsmewildbill2296]

Okay, this is the best thing that's happened today (so far) and I'm just 20 mins into this. Just amazing the work and research that you guys put into these shows, love it - thanks!

[@tiliabythesea-seaglassjewe7599]

Absolutely love your channel! My husband plays guitar - I don't - but I learned so much about pedals and your show is so interesting, even for someone who doesn't have a musical bone in them ;) PS I was going to order a T Shirt for Christmas but sadly shipping to the UK is the same price as the T shirt (and then we have import taxes, handling fee and VAT on top of that, which would make the T Shirt somewhere in excess of $80...)! Anyway - Josh your humour is fab and we love your show!!!

[@daniellang3782]

Excellent review of perhaps my favorite pedal. I first got bit by a Rat in a jam session back around 1992. The drummer had one, and let me use it. It was from the late 80’s, and I had to have it. He reluctantly sold it to me. Next came a 80’s White Faced Rat . They were identical sonically. It has been killing me for a long time listening to people cry that one is better than the other because it’s the same exact sound. In fact Rats are the most consistent pedals I’ve ever owned. Won’t go into how many I have or sold or have had stolen from me but a Rat is a Rat. Love these guys who say the chips sound different too, but sorry fellas, they sound exactly the same in reality. Thanks Josh and friends, you did a great job here. (I never thought of putting one on my bass, thanks for that too)

[@amdsixtyfour]

cant thank you enough for all of the mythbusting you do. as someone who got their first full time job in 2017 it has been a constant struggle to feel the fomo of missing out on the "good" chips or circuits

[@kylethompson1987]

My packrat got delivered today, it sounds great! Nice surprise in the box from Josh, don’t want to spoil the surprise for others, but I do wonder if there’s one in every box or if I got lucky! I also have the Jam pedals rattler which has the 308 chip and to be honest despite the hype for it I like it the least of all the rats I’ve tried. I like pretty much every setting on the packrat more.

[@pantone369c]

I don't know if I've ever been more excited about the release of a KZbin video before.

[@PopsIntrepidPedaler]

Agree!

[@TrixiLovesYou]

I scored a brand-new R2DU this year. So 2021 didn't suck completely, because I had been looking for one on the used market for years. It was dug out from the storage of a shop, and yes, it came in the original box, unit, footswitch, powersupply all in the original thick plastic wrap. Even has old price tags on the box and when it arrived, I had this weird time warp experience, some of you probably can relate. I would have been fine with a regular second-hand unit, but I'm not complaining. And I play it, so none of the collecting bullshit.

[@rorschach1]

Roadkill was my first pedal back in 1997. I used it with fender vibrochamp. I used it to play smashing pumpkins songs.

[@Volv89]

First (and only) pedal I built myself was a RAT with different clipping diode options. Stuck it on my board and it never came off. It's more or less an always on pedal for me, usually as light overdrive near the end of my chain. Absolutely love it. Very much enjoyed this deep dive into its history.

[@heavybrett-al4082]

Just love how Josh and the boys deep dive into the history and the science of pedals, fascinating stuff👍

[@ElvesvsShinyRocks]

It's important to me that you understand that your username is amazing.

[@FallChildsin13]

I worked at Pro Co around late 2005 to early 2006. I made cables and eventually ran the cable cutting machine in Kalamazoo. Love the Rat.

[@Doomlord777]

Do you know the years that "woodcutter" worked the line? I have an 88 and a friend has a 91.

[@FallChildsin13]

@@Doomlord777 No I don't unfortunately.

[@UCzXVkBgACR256zX3LpxahjA]

@1:10:05 The font looks a lot like Eurostile, designed to match the shape of old TV screens. If it's not that, then it's definitely a clone, fonts are kinda like pedals. The font on top that says "DISTORTION/FILTER/VOLUME" is actually Helvetica.

[@Yupppi]

I can't believe how Rat sounds just like what I'd want, but I still don't own one. And that I played a friend's Rat some years ago before knowing much about it other than having seen it around, and thought that pedal sounds stupid. It's mind-boggling to me that a company like Proco where they had pretty much one pedal product that barely changed and the back-stabbing was so big inside the house.

[@justabill63]

Been waiting on this one. Thanks Josh and co. for the awesome show. Love the history, and especially the pedal tests/ jams.

[@Ameen2310]

Could we please have a similar episode on Tube Screamers? I'd love to see Josh tell the world that all Tube Screamers after TS9 are the same circuit.

[@kalkidasofficial]

Thanks to your previous episode I bought the Ibanez LA Metal, wow!!!! This is my new favorite OD/Distortion pedal! Love it!!! Thank you Josh!

[@jhspedals]

Yes!

[@DavidLeeKing]

I saw the Rat rack unit! In the 90s, when I attended the Recording Workshop. One of their teachers had the Rat rack unit. I'd never heard of it, and now I know why (because hardly anyone bought one). Cool video!

[@jmendi55]

I have an original white face that I bought new (when I was a much younger man) and haven't played in decades. You've inspired me to break it out and A/B it with my Helix . And I agree with M M below - you are a serious player - great ideas.

[@thejacobean]

What an amazing episode. I bought an off-the-shelf, Guitar Center, $69 Rat and instantly found that classic Foo Fighters sound and my mind was blown. It is currently on my board for heavy blues rock (gotta keep the distortion low and it still absolutely rips). Filthy little animal, maintains clarity and punch. LOVE THE RAT. I would play a Lil' Rat but I love that classic black tank looking back up at me from the floor.

[@kylegoodman5196]

I would love to know the major differences between the Rat and the DS1.

[@kylegoodman5196]

@@SJ-yd6hl I would agree, I was hoping to know what the circuitry differences are. I like both pedals for different reasons.

[@bradmathis8196]

You can pull up schematics for the Rat and DS-1 and compare. Generally speaking, the DS-1 is more mid-scooped, and arguably has less usable range in the controls.

[@OPdbx]

The biggest difference is the RATs filter and the DS-1s harsh tone control

[@coloneltrumpman]

The major difference is the people using it. The Rat is a great stand alone distortion unit but a piece of crap to boost a cranked up amp (it's mentioned in the video at some point). The DS1 is a pedal that most people use it the wrong way. DS1 is a crappy harsh distortion unit, but put it in front of a cranked up amp and push it with the DS1's volume, while zeroing the distortion and adjusting the tone to taste. Very different animals and both great to do different things. Unfortunately, most people don't know what to do with the DS-1

[@kylegoodman5196]

@@coloneltrumpman I wouldn't say the Rat is bad to boost a cranked amp, it just creates a very sludgy fuzzy sound. Listen to Trevor Peres, rhythm guitarist of the OG death metal band Obituary. He uses a Rat 2 into a gunned JCM800 to produce his tone, which is absolutely crushing.

[@derrickbaranowsky5715]

Wow, just realized I have a version 1 from 1979. I always knew the year, but didn't know it was that early in RAT's production. Very cool episode Josh and co.

[@bmckee5430]

Love your pedals & you company! This is the pedal I've been secretly stashing Reverb sales for. I have several JHS pedals on my board and my one request is that you start using an LED light that is less bright. They are so bright that I can't see the settings on stage or rehearsals in dark rooms. It honestly hurts my eyes. I have to put tape over the light! A few other companies do the same thing and it's really frustrating. Maybe I'm getting old and have bad eyes sensitive to lights or something, but please consider swapping in something that isn't so bright. Thank you!

[@kma5699]

More recently i noticed pedals are using bright LEDS. Not a fan of this either

[@emersonbelland4982]

I agree, but a careful dab of nail polish (in whatever fashionable tone you like) will bring it down 90% while still being useful. A wipe with acetone to clean up if you want to sell it and boom. No more complaints

[@kma5699]

@@emersonbelland4982 point is, manufacturers should know what customers want. This has been a pet peeve for me for over 10 years now. With all the LED fabs since the 80s since the advent of the LED flashlight, there is not like a limited supply of these (well maybe now there are with shipping shortages), and also the end user shouldn’t have to mod what was made correctly from the start. It wasn’t like manufacturers said to themselves 10 years ago, “you know what, i think people want a brighter LED lamp so they can see it easily on a dark stage” but then hearing complaints the LED is blinding their eyes for it being too bright. Stick to what works. All my pedals from the 80’s and 90’s never blinded me and I’m able to see them perfectly on a dark stage.

[@kma5699]

@@emersonbelland4982 I’m a stickler to keeping my pedals completely stock for resale value. Also not sure acetone around a painted enclosure would harm paint, as i know it melts plastic. Again this is an issue that shouldn’t have to be dealt with by the customer

[@dahlbaker]

This is really good. History lesson, company perspective, PackRat concepts, etc. I already have the Bonsai and the Muffuletta. Gain staging on the dirty amp side of my rig will now have endless combinations with the PackRat (on order) in the mix. "There is dirt and then there is JHS dirt." It's entertaining to watch Josh obsess over the painting/printing issues associated with these pedals because he connects with them as a manufacturer. I'm going to keep the box on this one...

[@PopsIntrepidPedaler]

Finally a new Longform show; God I've missed these..

[@jackk100]

I first played a Rat in the mid 80’s, when someone loaned it to me to put in front of my Roland JC120. It sounded fantastic. I used it on some really heavy, dirty recordings, for both rhythm and lead. No other distortion pedal needed. At some point that band split up and the Rat went back to it’s owner. I’ve missed it, but was stoked to learn from your vid that I don’t need to go looking for an original 80’s Rat: an off the shelf modern one should give me the same sound. Very interested in trying that, after many years of hesitation. Thanks!

[@NyMyers64]

That was a great episode, really enjoyed the deep dive. I had never paid a lot of attention before but after Josh talking about it over a number of past episodes, I see so many shootout vids with the knobs in the same place. I'm even talking about pedals from different companies, like here's a TS9 and a different brand tubescreamer like pedal.

[@Adamhauk22]

I found that incredibly informative. Well done guys. One of my favorite mods to do to a Rat is the popular Ruetz mod adding a pot in place of a resistor, as well as using BS170 or 2n7000 mosfets for the clipping diodes. I've got a stock Rat with a added 7 way rotary for clipping diodes

[@beneath_the_woods]

Thank you for making these videos, the RAT is my favorite distortion pedal!

[@mikewallner1]

Friend of mine moved out of town and left his 90s big box reissue Rat behind. At first I hated it and couldn’t understand why it was considered good. It’s now my only distortion in my board. You have to work with the knobs. There are truly great sounds in there. After watching this (thank you Josh for this) I definitely want to buy a smaller newer (led) version and not feel like I’m missing out on the magical tones of my old Rat.

[@paulsonn1308]

Update from your last rat vid, I went ahead and bought your packrat :D excited

[@marvinm.messier1120]

Today I found an old, well-used looking, (dented a bit, but not rusty) V1 Big Box in a pawn shop for next to nothing. Very lucky today. It has tone written on it instead of filter. Tone gets brighter clockwise, and the pedal sounds great. No mods by the look of it - now I'm trying to figure out the date from the pots. All 3 pots read 1378118, so I'm guessing it's probably early '81?. Any idea how to read the pots? Any ballpark idea what it might be worth? Thanks

[@onionheadguy7094]

This is great you guys should always spend 10 years exhaustively researching each episode!

[@shawnalove5050]

I can't remember when I first saw or discovered the Rat, but I think I had the big one with the middle knob called "Tone". I remember having to unscrew and open it up to change the battery and feeling like that was a hassle. It eventually disappeared and I had to get a replacement. It was the more common one with either the black or white face with the LED in the letter A. What I loved most about the Rat, was that to me, it was the perfect distortion sound. It was both heavy and smooth. I had a 57' reissue Strat and a Fender Super Reverb (silver face) and my tone was unstoppable! I also remembered first opening the Rat box and finding the piece of paper inside saying "THIS IS NOT A TOY". One last thing... for some reason, it seemed to me, that people just did not "get" the Rat. Like the rest of the public did not understand how amazing and wonderful it sounded. Other pedals felt wimpy IMO compared to the Rat. All of the equipment I mentioned is long gone, but after watching this most excellent video on my all time favorite distortion, I'm certainly getting another one! Thanks JHS Pedals!

[@mpelgudmir]

My puppy decided to eat my ProCo cable today. She's a fan.

[@TheLochs]

I remember these from the early 80's, one of my instructors at GIT used one, Frank Gambale.

[@danielhelderman5228]

Josh, PLEASE make a JHS Clean RAT!

[@derrickbullock4540]

I so totally enjoy these long videos/vlogs about pedals. I have seriously, legitimately learned so much from watching you guys & I have found a revamped love for pedals again. I went nearly a decade as a straight boring plug-in & play guitar/amp player with no pedals except a Boss tuner pedal. I used my tube amp’s gain/overdrive for so many years. Thanks to you guys, I’ve started not only playing, but buying pedals again & playing guitar has become ‘fun’ again. And that guys is a gift that I wish I could literally pay you back in cash for! So thank you guys so very much! Once I subscribed to the channel, I immediately became a junkie & started watching all the time! I use your videos to cheer my bad days up as well as use them for information before a pedal purchase. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼‼️

[@JETallacksen]

Josh, did you guys consider/look at the Pro Co Rat Tail (guitar cable with a Rat circuit in it) when you were making the Packrat?

[@jhspedals]

Yep

[@geoffblack9655]

That’s some damn thorough analysis right there. Love it. Love you guys.

[@billyshears6622]

I thought this episode would be straight torture for 1:40:00 🤦🏻‍♂️ but you guys have managed to entertain us again. Wow, you guys are SUCH A TREASURE to the music community. I really mean that. Praise cannot be high enough for your extreme efforts on these topics. It's unreal.

[@Herfinnur]

You should do a “the early years” version of the Pack Rat where all the sounds are exactly the same

[@impronen]

Maybe make the version change knob not connected at all, so everyone can savour the major differences of the early rats?

[@Herfinnur]

@@impronen LMFAOF!

[@MoggioMTB]

Hah! Good to know all those early rats are the same despite friends insisting their differences. A mate had the best bass tone with a Rat so I bought one and never liked it. I never liked it until one day in a different band, doing some different music it was the perfect pedal. Then about 9months later it was over and I never played with it again. I've modded it no end and never found a use for it again until my son took up bass and he loved it. Its so awesome that an abused pedal from the mid 80s still works perfectly too. Great show!

[@slickered57]

Packrat is an amazing pedal and the LA Metal is killer on bass.

[@JordanSeal]

LA Metal is also killer on guitar. Maybe my favorite setting 😅 (and that's a high bar).

[@cloudshad0ws]

@@JordanSeal I dunno, the Caroline and Turbo Rat settings are pretty great.

[@JordanSeal]

@@cloudshad0ws Oh, no doubt, they're fantastic. I also really like Dirty. But man, I love that LA Metal.

[@cloudshad0ws]

@@JordanSeal I will have to revisit... My only issue with the pedal (and I understand it's probably unavoidable given how it's wired) is that each setting has wildly different volume parameters so you can't really switch between them quickly without turning all three knobs. Really a minor gripe.

[@robertschererx]

I have a Turbo RAT (first owner from the early 90s) and haven’t been using it much at the beginning because I didn’t understand how to combine it correctly with an hot amp. It was in its original box for many years and last week I stumbled upon a video of several ways a RAT pedal can be used. I gave it a shot in front of my Mesa Dual Rectifier and BINGO!!! I dialed it in as described in this video and it’s just amazing! Compared to the Tubescreamer it’s less noisy and I can have it engaged even in the clean channel when dialing the gain a bit back. It adds a certain character to the sound that is very unique. The Tubescreamer adds just edge and aggression, the Turbo RAT adds something more interesting. I wished you had it demoed in the video because it was the first real change to the circuit 🤷🏼‍♂️ Great nerdy video anyway 😜👍🏼

[@peterwelsh1932]

Got the Rat in the 90s. Given to me cause of course. Got another recently: Keeley Mosdded FTW! Keeley modded Rat is the one you want with a jam or at a band. One of the 3 switch settings will cut through the ensemble, every time. NOTE: POWER JACK = HOLEY RAT CHEESE, Keeley sound settings are so cool, BUTTalso: SO NICE TO HAVE A REAL STANDARD POWER JACK! WTF IS UP ITH THAT?! REAL POWER JACK FTW-AF😹☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🐊🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🔚

[@ubertwerpify]

An outstanding chronology and historical remembrance of my favorite pedal ever - thank you JHS team..

[@Jammonstrald]

My introduction to the Rat was Jonny Greenwood's "angry" tone on his guitar. I loved how thrashy and aggressive it was and thought it would complement my mainstay overdrives that were more "classic" sounding. I looked it up and found he used a vintage rat and a shredmaster. The shredmaster was not easily obtainable, but a reissue vintage Rat was. It wasn't even days into using it that it became my go to tone. It's so unique and massive, and it is underrated how much they respond to playing dynamics, i fell in love with the sound and feel. One day while at a rehearsal studio I volunteered at, I was jamming on some rental equipment the studio had and played through the Chinese slope and was really impressed with how much i liked it. I had been using the vintage reissue for years, and whether it's voodoo magic or not I felt like the Rat 2 had more mojo to it. Plus it just looks awesome. I asked the studio if I could buy it and they weren't selling rental equipment, so I found an old early 90s Rat 2 and picked it up. Maybe it's the pixie dust on the lm308, maybe it was built by the woodcutter, or maybe it's the girth, but that Rat 2 sounds magical. I've been using it ever since.

[@juanmarino4593]

Am I the only one completely terrified about people working in a factory where the only door out could not be opened?

[@Plexyglazz]

I watched with my RAT2 and R2DU next to me on the couch. They really enjoyed seeing so much family again.

[@tehsamjones]

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage

[@avaderavrahamsa6725]

Still just a muff in a cage! 😅

[@evannovitzke]

lol

[@jeffallen3382]

My first history of a RATT pedal was at Kik & Associates music store mid 80's if I remember correctly. My friend had a habit of shop lifting. He would show us his haul when we got back to the car after looking around and testing guitars and gear... One day Chris reached over the case while the store clerk wasn't looking and grabbed this RATT pedal. We all knew of this pedal and we were so excited to see this that me and my other buddy Jim (Chris's cousin) completely ignored the fact that Chris had just shoplifted this. Needless to say I stopped hanging around Chris for fear of being busted along with him in his clepto phase. This video brought back a lot of old memories that I had completely forgotten about. I don't own a RATT pedal but I do have the Nembrini plug in RATT. I think I'll go play some of that now.

[@nekiayrrah]

Playing this video through my PackRat

[@bryanbeyersdorf9506]

I purchased a Rat 2 in 1988/1989 ( it was winter unsure the month) while in Germany with my first guitar. In 1995 I sold guitar and amp to pay for wedding rings. I held on to the Rat hoping when time allowed I would start playing again. In 2017 I purchased a guitar and started playing again.So glad I retained it, and stunned on current asking prices .I was unaware of the following the Rat has . Purchased a Fat Rat in 2019 and love its options . Thank you for the history lesson.

[@bstoner1300]

Next compilation pedal idea: The CEO - every boss OD/Distortion/Fuzz all in one JHS box

[@mlgespegsky000x]

Impossible

[@potatoheadhaoy]

Man, I had a mooer black secret and I had to sell it for grownup reasons. I know, first world problems. But it's such a versatile pedal. I like to mess with extreme settings on pedals just to see what they do, and the rat just has so much good stuff in it. Boost, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, eq filter, volume cut, etc... I can see why shiina ringo referenced it in her music.

[@Floortile83]

1hr39min video. THANK YOU! I needed something to escape my life today.

[@cassiusnymh]

4A Rat Two and V5 Turbo owner over here in the UK! The 4A was passed down to me from my mum! So nice to see this history properly explained

[@PeterDebreceni]

That Ring-Mod Rat is like an early Gonkulator. Ratulator?

[@MrLanceDaily]

They could also call it The Rat’s Nest

[@Davidthestratman7]

Bubonic plague!!!!!

[@stevenpipes1555]

I respect your handling of this situation. Its not easy to admit when your wrong. KZbinrs need to be more careful for this though. I worked at Parker Guitars in the 90s when Ken was still the owner. Ive heard so many KZbinrs describe to their audiences how Parkers were made and almost every single one was incorrect. Some were closer than others but none were correct. People forming their opinions about quality and pricing, based on this kind information are mislead! I wish i had a dime for every time i heard someone say that Parkers were made of carbon fiber, or that they had carbon fiber necks. Another good one was that Ken was ripping people off selling "funny shaped Strats" for twice the price! The truth is that every single process for guitar construction had been completely re imagined, re tooled, and frankly re invented by Ken Parker. The fact is that the Fly was a completely unique, one of a kind, instrument. And mabe if people knew more about just how cool they actually were, they would still be around!

[@kalkidasofficial]

Josh, the world is asking for "the klon pack". You are welcome.

[@waynehicks1969]

I really enjoyed this episode. I have been playing guitar for years and got my first Rat a few months ago, because they are inexpensive and I heard John Scofield played/plays one. I like it and use it from time to time.

[@poynt99]

Great video guys! Always a pleasure to watch and learn. Only other comment I might make is that op-amps and cap types can and do sound different, although not everyone hears the difference. In 1991 while working on a multistage guitar preamp, I did discover that tantalum caps sound a bit darker or warmer than regular electrolytics. Also, the OP07 is not really an exact drop-in replacement for the LM308 as the internal topology is quite different, and it may have different clipping characteristics. On the macro plane, it may indeed have a similar slew rate and gain bandwidth product, which will contribute to the pedal's particular tone if compared to a much better audio op-amp in its place.

[@j.r.242]

You guys are life savers. I mean that literally, it’s hard for me and I’m sure others at there to shut off our minds and/or relax. Music does the trick and for some reason so do you all. Thank you.