ProCo RAT Reissue Distortion Pedal

90s Model

By 1991, the RAT pedal reached a point of fame where people began to feel nostalgic for the original vintage model, coinciding with a big boom in the vintage instruments market. ProCo made its first reissue in company history and it proved to be a huge success, despite it essentially being the same RAT circuit that had been in production since 1981. In some ways, as successful as this reissue was, it only fed the misguided belief that vintage RAT units had some special mojo in their circuitry. Guitar players are known for listening with their eyes, and this model had a certain charm that recalled the memories of the “old RAT I shouldn't have sold” or “the RAT I could never afford back in the day”. 

According to interviews with ProCo employees, this reissue was also an attempt at regaining Scott Burnham’s interest in his own pedal. He had begun to dislike the new versions of the RAT and made it clear as ProCo grew that he prefered things the old way. 

The Vintage Reissue RAT can easily be identified from the original in two ways. First, the ProCo logo does not contain the “Sound Inc” screen print portion. The reissue also features an easy access battery compartment on the pedal’s bottom. This version was made from 1991 through 2005.