Rat2 - USA vs MIC

I've just acquired a pre-2003, made in USA, square (not sloped) enclosure Rat2 and had a chance to compare it to my made in China Rat2, the latter with a chip socket using both the LM308N and the OP07DP chips. The USA Rat2 does not appear to have the 308 chip in it, but I cannot read the detail on the chip to tell exactly what it is.

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Build Quality - Although I have no issues with the overall build quality of the made in China Rat2, as I've gigged extensively with it with no problems, the USA Rat2 just seems to be more "solid." Can't better explain it, just a tactile observation.

Circuit Board - Again, I have no issues with the MIC pedal, but the USA circuit board is a work of art in comparison. I don't think it is hand-wired but it sure looks it. (I'll try to post a photo later.)

Tone - Here's the big difference. The USA pedal sounds much better, despite ProCo claims that the circuits are the same. Maybe the circuits are the same but there has to be some difference in the individual components, because the difference is significant. The distortion knob generates a creamy overdrive all the way to 12:00, then a very usable distortion through about 2:00 - after that it will blow any shredder off the stage. The filter control is different too - with the MIC pedal, anything less than 2:00 is borderline too shrill. With the USA pedal, 12:00 on the filter control sounds great.

I'm not really trying to get into yet another chip discussion, but the USA pedal with its unknown chip sounds better than the MIC pedal with the 308 chip. In this case, I don't think the chip is the main tonal difference between the two pedals.

As always, tone is highly subjective, and I was perfectly happy with my MIC Rat2, until the USA pedal arrived and bumped it off my board.

The later Rat chip is the OP07, as I recall.
Al

I can't take it anymore, I need a real RAT!

I was given a Rat 2 pedal by the son of a friend of mine. It was given to him by his guitar teacher. The input and output jacks had been damaged, and his teacher figured it would be a good project to learn repairs from. He had no interest in fixing it. The pedal has been sitting in my gig bag for several years.

Your posts made me pull it out about an hour ago. I have a box full of 1/4" audio jacks, so I broke out my soldering iron and fixed the pedal. It's hard to date ProCo pedals by their serial numbers. Mine was made in the US, and I was able to date the pots from the codes stamped on them - October 1988.

I haven't played through a Rat in years! I love the tone I'm getting from my Teles through it. I suspect I need to use a new battery though, the one I put in the pedal had been used in a guitar for a couple of years.

Thanks for to JoeNeri for the OP. I don't think I would have gotten that pedal working again if you hadn't mentioned one.

I was given a Rat 2 pedal by the son of a friend of mine. It was given to him by his guitar teacher. The input and output jacks had been damaged, and his teacher figured it would be a good project to learn repairs from. He had no interest in fixing it. The pedal has been sitting in my gig bag for several years.

Your posts made me pull it out about an hour ago. I have a box full of 1/4" audio jacks, so I broke out my soldering iron and fixed the pedal. It's hard to date ProCo pedals by their serial numbers. Mine was made in the US, and I was able to date the pots from the codes stamped on them - October 1988.

I haven't played through a Rat in years! I love the tone I'm getting from my Teles through it. I suspect I need to use a new battery though, the one I put in the pedal had been used in a guitar for a couple of years.

Thanks for to JoeNeri for the OP. I don't think I would have gotten that pedal working again if you hadn't mentioned one.

A cool Rat story! Enjoy!

And yeah, Teles seem to love Rats.