GEAR REVIEW
JHS PEDALS PACKRAT | Michael Hodge
KEY FEATURES
• Nine Rat classic and rare pedal versions
• Faithfully modeled with precision audio analyzation
• All analog circuits are digitally routed
• -Small standard footprint
Joshua Scott of JHS Pedals has just come out with his tribute to Rat history with the PACKRAT . He has taken nine of the best historic , rare , and current versions he could find and put them all in one fantastic single-space pedal . Each Mode represents an individual RAT pedal , and through digital control , the signal is routed through a completely analog circuit . Josh spent several years collecting , analyzing , and deconstructing over 100 pedals .
The result is something so cool and seemingly impossible to pull off .
OUT OF THE BOX : The PACKRAT comes in a cardboard box further protected by red squiggly shredded paper . The pedal feels solid and well constructed . Inside the box is a manual in seven languages , a small round lapel pin , and a white JHS sticker for your pedalboard case or maybe your bedroom door .
The PACKRAT is a standard single-sized pedal , coated in black . The in and out jacks are on the sides , and a BOSS style 9vDC jack is on the back . On top are four knobs : Volume , Distortion , Filter , and Mode selector . The Mode selector is a rotating switch starting with the oldest Rat versions to the newest going counterclockwise . On top is a red LED indicator for the Footswitch and a white on black outline of a smiling rat with red painted eyes . Nice touch !
The original Proco RAT was invented in 1978 by Scott Burnham and Steve Kiraly . The name RAT was inspired by their rat-infested basement workshop . There have been quite a few Proco Rat pedal releases in the last 40 years with names like Brat , You Dirty Rat , Turbo , and LA metal . Builders like Josh have come out with their versions and custom mods .
IN USE : I was pumped to play through this pedal and learn as much as I could about all the different RAT tones possible inside one box . I love the RAT sound . I ' d bought a used beat-up one in Nashville while working on a Steely Dan cover of Black Friday back in the late ' 90s . Plugging straight into the RAT nailed the tone for that solo . Since this review , I now know that one was the 1986 V3-B # RT-032993 .
As I began playing through the nine PACKRAT