No this isn't spam, and it's not a lament over a dead animal. Actually, I have some pedal related questions.

1 - I have a ProCo Vintage RAT pedal that I use at least twice a week with my band. It's been iffy lately, and today it finally kicked the bucket. What happened is that it keeps fading in and out irregularly. Sometimes it's the volume that fades in and out, and sometimes it's just the distortion that fades in and out. It's not the cables and it's not the battery, I checked both. Any ideas on what's going on and whether or not it worth trying to fix?

2 - If it can't be fixed, I need some distortion pedal suggestions. There's so many out there, I could use some suggestions. I'd like one that sounds like a RAT, fuzzy with a sort of vintage quality that still has what it takes to be used for higher gain modern rock. I'm already having trouble justifying the money to fix my RAT with my parents, so if I do need a new pedal it needs to be in the $100 or less range. If it were a really, really nice pedals with great reliability and quality that sounded perfect and that I'd use all the time, I might be able to up it to about $150. But I really don't want to have to go that high.

Thanks!

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Looks like you can still get another Rat if you really like it and can't fix the one you have.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRCVINTRAT

No reason why it couldn't be fixed. It's fairly low-tech stuff. Only problem is if you took it to someone that was qualified to fix it, they might end up charging you something close to the price of a new pedal. That's a shame because for someone who had the knowledge and the equipment to troubleshoot it, it's probably not that big a deal.

You might try running it off a power pack if it's currently running on batteries. See if that makes a difference.

Yeah, I don't even know how to wire new pickups in my guitar. I don't really have the tools or the workspace. One of these days I really need to get around to learning how to do stuff like that though.


I did. I refused to work then too.

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Problem solved! I talked to the guy who made my Screamin' Eagle (sbnpedals.com) and he's going to fix it for me for FREE! All I have to do is pay for shipping, which isn't all that much since we're both in Texas.
He's even going to add an LED for me if he can.

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Did it have the LM308N mod?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PROCO-RAT-LM308N-MO ... m153.l1262

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

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You could probably take it into a tech or any other electrician. If it is beyond repair, however, the Ibanez TS-808 is a great substitute.

I don't know. I know it's an older model, but I don't know how old.

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I didn't know Rats needed to be "modded" to have LM308's. Both my Rats have the LM308 op amp. Maybe the Turbo Rat had different circuitry but the standard Rat was built around the LM308. Being that the LM308 is now discontinued, possibly it was designed out of late model units.

If you open up your Rat you can easily spot the LM308. Its a small black or gray rectangular part with 8 pins.