proco rat--"vintage"?

[theressomethinginmyshoe]

hey ya'll-

i'm curious about the proco rat pedal--anyone have any info/advice about purchasing these badass babies?

I love the genuinely sharp distortion/tone of the original rat pedals and am wondering if the 90's reissues have the LM308 chip that the original rat's have. I know the *true* vintage pedals cost a few hundo's but I don't really have that much to spend, probably only $100-ish, so I'm wondering if I will get the tone I am looking for, specifically also during the bypass setting, if I purchase one from the 90's.

I've heard the original rats only affect the signal path discreetly when not in use but still chained into the signal path...which is an ideal setting for moi...

I've tested the newest rats; the rat 2, you dirty rat, and the turbo rat, but I don't believe any of the new versions are exactly the tone I am looking for...

anyone with any info/advice about the original rats would be much appreciated.

xxoo
jen

[jv]

I had one of the "Vintage RAT" reissues that I bought about 8 years ago and it did have the LM308 chip in it. I sold it on ebay a few months ago for about $130. I remember seeing a website somewhere that detailed all of the differences between the various RATs.

[wren]

There's a cutoff - I want to say '98, but I don't know if I'm remembering it correctly - where ProCo stopped putting the LM308 in its Rats, but as far as I know, any Rat (Rat II, Rat Reissue, Turbo Rat) made before the cutoff year has the LM308. Don't quote me on that cutoff year, though.

[;ivlunsdystf]

There's always google for when you have a question like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Co_RAT
http://www.ratdistortion.com/history.htm

and probably most helpful for your question
http://happybob.com/rstrand/rat/rat_versions.htm

I just found all that with one search. It took me less time than you probably spent writing the original post. I think the final link answers your question, pretty much, although maybe 'original circuit' is not truly specific enough.

I am quite the Rat enthusiast myself. I have a reissue Vintage Rat from 1995 or so and it's probably the 2nd piece of gear I'd save if my house were on fire (the dog being the first)

[RefD]

how do you qualify your dog as being "gear"?

[Dr Rubberfunk]

how do you qualify your dog as being "gear"?

*struggles to think of good joke about woofers*





*gets coat*

[kayagum]

Slightly off topic- I'm digging my relatively recently acquired You Dirty Rat. (germanium instead of silicon). Great lead tones!

[Jay Reynolds]

how do you qualify your dog as being "gear"?

I tried having the same discussion with Joel after this:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... adgear+one

[joninc]

I HAVE 2 VINTAGE RATS - LOVE EM LOVE EM LOVE EM.

[RefD]

how do you qualify your dog as being "gear"?

I tried having the same discussion with Joel after this:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... adgear+one

seems a bit lock-happy, aye.

[mattwhritenour]

you can also keep your eyes open on ebay or craigslist for a "Roadkill" distortion pedal, similar to the rat, I can open mine up and see if the chip has the model number you are looking for. You can get these for like 10-30$.

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/revi ... rtion/10/2

[Jim Williams]

You can get a LM308 from Digi Key for around a dollar or so. It's an old "super beta" opamp with low speed, high THD and lot's of noise. I have sockets in my custom fuzzes so I can choose which chip works best. I'm currently using TL071's, I have plenty removed from Trident consoles. They are lower noise but have a picket fence worth of upper harmonics and the fet inputs tend to favor even over odd harmonics.

I often joke that the chips some of you love in Tridents are only good enough for a fuzz tone, my rig is proof. One man's perfect console is another man's perfect fuzz tone. Go figure. Adding a DPDT switch to select silicon or germainium diodes is another great mod.

[ashcat_lt]

Of cousre, the LM308 has a different pinout from the TL071 and other modern opamps, so it's not a direct drop-in replacement.

[joel hamilton]

how do you qualify your dog as being "gear"?

I tried having the same discussion with Joel after this:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... adgear+one

seems a bit lock-happy, aye.

Yeah, crazy. One thread that was obviously spam for Apogee got locked, and one thread , referenced here, got locked, then moved after I got PM's from all the die hard dog lovers that just HAD to post pictures of their pets.

Neither of those are appropriate to this forum.

Oh, and to stay on topic:

I like the older Rat pedals.

[Jim Williams]

Of cousre, the LM308 has a different pinout from the TL071 and other modern opamps, so it's not a direct drop-in replacement.

You may be thinking of the old 301 which requires a compensation cap (30pf) between pins 1 and 8. The 308 is internally compensated and is compatible. Besides, only the pins 2,3,4 6 and 7 need to be connected, the other pins can be bent out or cut off. The old RCA CA3140 is another good one, it's all fets inside and clips nicely.

EDIT: I was incorrect, the 307 is internally compensated, the 308 external. Typically a 30 pf cap is placed from pin 1 and 8. If other opamps are choosen, lift out either pin 1 or 8 so they work correctly.