From Modest Mike’s Mods 
All of our modified pedals are warrantied as new!
A while back someone told me "Mike! Griff Hamlin is demoing your modified Phat Rat 2 on YouTube!" So I checked and sure enough, Griff has a video on YouTube where he demonstrates different overdrive/distortion pedals, and he saves our Phat Rat 2 for last. This was one of the first ones sold, about six years ago. The pedal Griff is playing through has the same mods that we do today, only it does not have the gain switch that we have added recently. Check out this video before you buy a Rat mod or a modded Rat! And I just can't emphasize this enough...USE YOUR HEADPHONES!
Griff Hamlin Demos Modest Mike's "Phat Rat" - YouTube
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Griff Hamlin has had a successful and varied music career that has spanned nearly three decades. We sent Griff an email and asked for permission to show part of his video here on eBay and on our website. This was his reply:
"I love the Phat Rat... seriously it's the best sounding one I've played and I still use it a lot. I had a Keeley Rat also for a long time. You're welcome to use the video to promote it or demo it. And if you need a quote for your website I'll be happy to provide it.
Thanks,
Griff"
Griff has a more recent video demoing a TS/9 Rat that I built for him. This video is very educational, and shows a different way to use a BD-2:
Overdrive Stacking And Gain Stages - Types Of Overdrive Pedals
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About the mod:
A few years back I got my hands on the AMZ E-book. I studied those mods, and then more study of variations of the original Ruetz Rat mod (now we install a toggle switch so that the Ruitz mod is optional. We wanted to smooth out that harshness, and the Ruetz mod was a good start! Then we replaced several capacitors and resistors with metal film capacitors and resistors, some with different values. We added a germanium diode in series with one of the other diodes.
What a difference! This mod takes the edge off of the harshness. This pedal now sounds smoother, more like an overdrive/distortion…instead of distortion gone wild. This overdrive/distortion sound was exactly what I was looking for. When the band gets loud, you can crank this baby way up now. We have improved the bias and raised the input impedance. This modded Rat 2 gets a full bodied sound, warm in the middle, and remains transparent when you push it. Instead of sounding like a noise in the background, your sound cuts right through the mix, and will be heard nice and clear above any band.
Our modified Phat Rat 2 has it all...no pedal stacking needed here!
Did You know?
In the late 90's the Pro Co folks were innovative in the art of true bypass. Most Rats are true bypass...not a buffered just as good as true bypass blah blah blah…usually it has hardwired true bypass. So keep in mind, if you are thinking about getting one of our "Phat Rats" you will have a great sounding pedal that does not suck tone!
*It seems strange to me that the folks at Pro Co went to all that trouble, but then left the external power jack as one of those obsolete jacks that almost no one uses any more. That's not very convenient.
*So we drilled out the hole and replaced that baby with an up to date standard 9 volt DC jack! Now, you can use most any 9 volt external power source, just like on your other 9 volt pedals! No more batteries! Well, you can still use a battery if you want to.
"Dear modestmikesmods, Hello Mike,I just finished up trying out my new modded Rat and IT SOUNDS AWESOME, nice punch and tight bottom with a very pleasant high,it also sounds a little more compressed....this is why I'm a TONE JUNKIE....Thanks for modding my pedal....Kevin"
“Hey Mike,
Everything arrived quickly and safely. I LOVE your mods!! I am going to send you my wah pedal over the next week or so for your mods on it. Also, the blue light is excellent!
Thank you for your professionalism...quick turn around...and excellent playing (I have listened to your youtube Steely Dan stuff....truly outstanding! I will certainly pass along your name.
Thanks again,
Patrick W.”
"Your modded RAT is awesome. It will definitely find a permanent place on my pedal board! Thank you very much!!! Cheers, Markus"
"The only good Rat is a Phat Rat!"
“Excellent communication & packaging, speedy delivery! Super distortion pedal!!!"
We got this email from Joseph a little while back:
"Hey Mike, I have an odd request from surfing your website. I had my Rat 2 modded pretty recently by another pedal maker and I'm not really digging the outcome. Is it possible for you to re-mod (if you will) a rat pedal into your "Phat Rat"?"
We did the Phat Rat mod, and replaced the switch that the other guys had put on there with our own gain switch. We just got this email back from Joseph:
"Mike, this Rat mod is incredible... that switch is great! It does great high gain, great low gain and can even be used to put some more hair on my amps dirty channel without feedback."
We received this email from James:
I received your modded Phat Rat, and it isn't hateful sounding as the reissue one. It sounds just like the you tube demo, I'm real happy with the tone starting smoother and the sustain really holds notes strong with clarity. The treble isn't at all harsh so the tone capacitors you replaced are right on!
"Hey Mike,
I just wanted to thank you again, the Rat sounds great! I used it with the whole band yesterday and this thing rocks! Much more usable than before (not counting when it was out of commission). With a little eq I can get some great Marshall-esque sounds. It can definitely create some very dynamic, versatile tones now. I'll be contacting you soon to mod my Dyna Comp and TS-9, hopefully next month when I have a little more money. Keep doing what you're doing!
Best,
Charlie"
From eBay member bassman74bass:“Worth every penny!! The Phat Rat is amazing!”
From Spain
Carlos purchased our modified Phat Rat and modified Dyna Comp with added Tone control:
“I wanted to let you know that I've received the pedals ok, great sounding! Just want to thank you for your attention, and I will have an eye on your store to check out the great mods you do!”
From Dave:
Hi Mike,
I just wanted to say thanx for the fantastic job you did on the Rat and the Cry Baby, I love the way the Rat sounds and the Wah /Volume mod is amazing!
From Matt:
This... this is simply phenomenal. I have a Mad Professor One that was already an immaculate pedal, but this sweetheart,
oh my! This thing is just otherworldly impressive. The harshness from older Rat 2's is not present and the Distortion is smooth throughout. From the moment I plugged it in I fell in love (and it took me a little bit to fall for the Mad Professor One). Wonderful job, wonderful pedal. Thank you!
From Pat:
Mike,
I am extremely pleased with the sound of this RAT pedal. Absolutely outstanding, just what I was looking for and more. I actually sound good, like I know what I'm doing :). I love the gain switch. I feel I got a great deal, thanks so much!
I received the Ross-modded Dyna Comp and Phat Rat back today; thanks again for the super-speedy customer service. Both pedals sound great, and I’m very satisfied with the whole experience. Since I’m basically a Telecaster & reissue Fender Bassman, clean-tone kinda guy, the modded Dyna Comp fits beautifully and won’t be switched off very often. It’s also nice to have the Phat Rat (and other pedals you’ve modded for me) as part of my new tonal arsenal. Thanks Mike!
Bryan LaVell
Who’s next?
“We make your sounds...sound good!"
Thanks for looking, and keep rockin!
Mike
Check out all of the mods and modified pedals at our eBay store.