February 1, 2026
Rat Race: riffs, receipts, and regrets
History and Timeline of the Proco Rat Pedal (2021)
RAT pedal drama: Kalamazoo roots, JHS vibes, and 'you used it wrong' wars
TLDR: A meticulous history of the ProCo RAT busts myths about its rare “Bud Box” origins and spotlights Kalamazoo roots. Comments explode with JHS-level obsession jokes and a reality check: many used the pedal wrong—it's best as a boost—sparking playful fights between gear nerds and casual players.
The internet’s favorite distortion box just got its own myth-busting origin story, and the comments are playing power chords. A deep-dive timeline of the ProCo RAT traces it back to Kalamazoo’s 1970s music scene, with engineer Scott Burnham—literally titled “Hippie in Charge of Technology”—accidentally birthing a stadium-ready stompbox. The piece torches the long-held rumor that a dozen early “Bud Box” RATs were made, claiming eleven pedals and one wild double-RAT for a guy named Tom. Cue the gear archaeologists dusting off their relics and the gatekeepers yelling “receipts!”
Community energy is split between “teach me, professor” and “okay nerds, relax.” One user coolly drops a related podcast, while another throws a cheeky jab that this kind of obsessive cataloging screams JHS—the YouTube pedal historians known for going turbo on minutiae. The spiciest moment? A late-’80s veteran admits he thought the RAT sounded bad… until he learned it’s meant to boost your amp’s distortion, not be the whole show. Suddenly there’s a mini culture war: the “you’ve been using it wrong” crowd vs. the “a good pedal shouldn’t need a seminar” crowd. Between Kalamazoo lore, hippie job titles, and “boost, don’t bash” revelations, the RAT isn’t just a pedal—it’s a comment section rock opera.
Key Points
- •ProCo Sound was founded by Charlie Wicks in 1974 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, immediately after the Sound Factory closed.
- •ProCo initially made speaker cabinets (with JBL), mic and guitar cables, and stage snakes, building a national reputation.
- •Scott Burnham designed the RAT circuit around 1977–78 (possibly as early as 1974), with early “Bud Box” RATs in Bud Industries enclosures.
- •Early production comprised twelve circuits installed in eleven pedals, including one double-RAT unit, making them extremely rare.
- •Engineer Steve Kiraly assisted in the RAT’s development; Burnham aimed to create a superior distortion capturing stadium rock at manageable volume.