JHS Pedals Packs Nine Elusive Rat Variants Into the PackRat

October 30, 2021 · 5 sources

JHS Pedals announced the PackRat, a compact distortion pedal that puts nine versions of the Pro Co RAT circuit into one box. The newly announced pedal gives a player "9 Rat pedals in one very compact pedal," as Gearnews put it on the announcement¹. MusicRadar described it in the same terms: the PackRat "crowds 9 classic and rare RAT distortion circuits into one compact stompbox"².

The nine circuits are not loose approximations. Guitar World reported that the PackRat "contains nine authentic, rare and vintage versions of the classic rodent-themed distortion pedal," and that the versions are guided by a proprietary digital runway system of 261 components via 40 switches³. In other words, rather than building nine separate analog circuits, JHS Pedals used a digital component network to recreate each Rat variant's behavior, with the player selecting between them.

What the PackRat covers, as reported at launch:

• Nine different Rat circuits in one pedal, spanning classic, rare and vintage versions of the Pro Co RAT¹³
• A proprietary digital runway system of 261 components, routed through 40 switches, that carries the circuit variations³
• A single compact stompbox format, in place of a board full of individual Rat units²

MusicRadar later characterized the company's motivation in compiling the nine-circuit pedal, noting that JHS Pedals "was so besotted with this gnarly and versatile pedal that it compiled a nine-circuit mega-Rat"⁴. Gearnews counted the PackRat among the standout pedal releases of 2021, asking readers, "How about 9 Rat pedals in one compact unit?" when rounding up the year's notable effects⁵.