Pro Co RAT

Pro Co RAT2

The Pro Co "The RAT" is a guitar effects pedal produced by Pro Co Sound. The original RAT was developed in the basement of Pro Co's Kalamazoo, Michigan facility in 1978.[1] Numerous variations of the original RAT pedal are still being produced today.

The basic RAT has changed in appearance over the years, but its tone has remained largely the same, although there is a general consensus that the mid-1980s versions are superior sonically. Pro Co has also introduced tonal variations of the RAT, including the Turbo RAT, and You Dirty RAT, among others.

The Pro Co RAT became very popular in the early 1980s, thanks in part to notoriety gained by its use by artists such as Jeff Beck[2] and Joe Walsh. Since that time, the RAT has been used by some of the most influential guitarists in the world. This list includes Francis Dunnery, Kurt Rosenwinkel,[3] Matt Bellamy, David Gilmour,[4][5] Kevin Eubanks,[6] Thom Yorke,[7] Bill Frisell,[8] John Scofield,[9] James Dean Bradfield, John Christ, Dave Grohl,[10][11] Justin Chancellor, Lawrence Chandler,[12] Kevin Shields, Andy Summers,[13] Thurston Moore,[14] Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg of Pavement, Ichirou Agata of Melt-Banana,[15] Paul Reynolds of A Flock of Seagulls, Graham Coxon,[1] Bernard Butler, Alex Turner,[16] Jerry Cantrell, Peter Buck, Nuno Bettencourt, Paranoid Time, James Hetfield, Joe Perry,[17] Buzz Osborne, Sunn O))), Justin Shekoski, Kurt Cobain,[18] Krist Novoselic, Sonny Sharrock,[19] Nels Cline of Wilco[20] Steve Scarlet of The Sinisters, Viletones, Voodoo Bunny and John Linger of Neils Children.

History

The origins of the Pro Co "The RAT" can be traced back to the mid-1970s, when Pro Co engineers Scott Burnham and Steve Kiraly repaired and hot-rodded existing distortion pedals, such as the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face. Burnham decided he could build a superior product from the ground up, and designed "The RAT" pedal.

In 1978, "The RAT" was being built as a custom-order product. Only twelve of these pedals, commonly referred to as the “Bud Box" RAT, were produced. Each pedal was built in a standard project box, hand painted, and hand drilled. By 1979, as the pedal became more popular, Pro Co began mass-producing them. This iteration was built in a custom designed, rectangular sheet-metal enclosure, with an L shaped removable top/back section giving access to the internals. The top panel was labeled with Pro Co Sound "The RAT" and the three control knobs as Distortion, Tone and Volume.

In 1983, Pro Co switched to a smaller, U-shaped enclosure. Finally, in 1988, the RAT2 was introduced, which included an on/off LED. Various RAT2 circuit board layouts and wiring configurations have surfaced in the last few years, including the noted "RAT3 version A and B" all under the RAT2 moniker. The RAT2 model is still available today, but in 2008 production moved to China and is now manufactured by Neutrik for Pro Co Sound.

Other models of RAT products include:

Circuitry

The Pro Co "The RAT" is a distortion pedal with a very simple circuit, based around a single op-amp, originally the Motorola LM308 (later switched to Texas Instruments OP07DP). The distortion is produced using a variable gain circuit with diodes shorting the output to ground to produce hard clipping of the input waveform. This distortion stage is followed by a passive tone filter and volume control. This is the same scheme as the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, although there are major differences between the two circuits. A major difference is the opamp used, the LM308, known for its poor slew rate; it accounts for the sonic difference between the two pedals. The most popular RAT pedal, the RAT2, features true-bypass switching.

Versions of the RAT

Current product line

Discontinued products

Non-RAT pedals produced by Pro Co

Popular modifications to the RAT

The RAT is a popular pedal for modifying. Some of the possible modifications include:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Williams, Stuart (2 August 2010). "Pro Co Reissue '85 Whiteface RAT". MusicRadar. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Ross, Michael (1998). Getting Great Guitar Sounds: A Non-Technical Approach to Shaping Your Personal Sound. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7935-9140-4. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kurt Rosenwinkel". Guitar Player. Retrieved 29 January 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  4. ↑ Riis, Bjørn (18 April 2011). "Tip of the week (11) – Overdrive and distortion". Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Cornish, Pete. "David Gilmour's Pink Floyd 1994 Rig". Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Charles H. Chapman (2001). Mel Bay Presents Interviews with the Jazz Greats-- and More. Mel Bay Publications. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7866-5946-3. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Hunter, Dave (2011). The Rough Guide to Guitar. Penguin Books. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-4053-8244-1. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Cleveland, Barry. "Bill Frisell". Guitar Player. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. ↑ John Scofield. "Equipment". johnscofield.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Doyle, Tom (June 2011). "FOO FIGHTERS: Recording Wasting Light". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Dale Turner (1999). "Rockin’ Grohl Hoochie Foo". Guitar One.
  12. ↑ http://www.guitargeek.com/lawrence-chandler-bowery-electric-guitar-rig-and-gear-setup-1994/,
  13. ↑ Gill, Chris (1995). Guitar legends: the definitive guide to the world's greatest guitar players. Harper Perennial. p. 127. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. ↑ Jeff Kitts; Brad Tolinski (2002). Guitar World Presents One Hundred Greatest Guitarists of All Time from the Pages of Guitar World Magazine. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-634-04619-3. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "GuitarGeek". Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  16. ↑ Hunter, Dave (2011). The Rough Guide to Guitar. Penguin Books. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-4053-8244-1. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  17. ↑ Pete Prown; Lisa Sharken (2003). Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends: How to Sound Like Your Favorite Players. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-87930-751-6. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  18. ↑ Jim Berkenstadt; Charles R. Cross (2003). Nevermind: Nirvana. Music Sales Group. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8256-7286-6. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  19. ↑ Jeff Kitts; Brad Tolinski (2002). Guitar World Presents One Hundred Greatest Guitarists of All Time from the Pages of Guitar World Magazine. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-634-04619-3. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  20. ↑ Nels Cline. "Tech Talk". nelscline.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  21. ↑ DIY Tube Guitar Amp Page
  22. ↑ http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/FKR/images/MightierMouse.gif
  23. ↑ Robert Keeley Electronics Guitar Effects Pedals Mods, Custom Built High Fidelity Compressor RKFX BOSS IBANEZ Ross Boost Overdrive Distortion Chorus Analog Delay
  24. ↑ Vodka Mods - High Quality Guitar Effects Pedal Mods
  25. ↑ Kinnatone Custom Boutique Effects and Mods
  26. ↑

External links