La Rata.

Based Pro co’s Rat.

Distortion

By PCB Guitar mania Mania

Project link

La Rata takes the maximum advantage of one of the most iconic drives, the Pro
co’s Rat. This board allows you to build many different verssions of this classic
drive, from the 1978 original with the LM308 to the ones in current production. We
also added the most popular mods on it, such as diode selector, Sweep control (the
famous ruetz mode) and Softness control for the clipping section.

 Ready to be wired as True Bypass.

 Tight design to fit in a 125B Enclosure with pots on board.
 Versatile to build many different versions of this classic drive
 Sweep and Softness mods available.
 Diode toggle selector on board.

Page 1 of 5
La Rata
By PCB Guitar Mania
BOM
Resistors
Rat Rat II Turbo Rat You Dirty Rat
R1 47r 47r 47r 47r
R2 100k 100k 100k 100k
R3 100k 100k 100k 100k
R4 1M 2M2 2M2 2M2
R5 1M 2M2 2M2 1M
R6 1K 1K 1K 1K
R7 560R 560R 560R 560R
R8 47R 47R 47R 47R
R9 1K 1K 1K 1K
R10 1K5 1K5 1K5 1K5
R11 1M 1M 1M 1M
R12 Omit Omit Omit Omit
R13 10K 10K 10K 10K
R14 Omit 10K 10K Omit
R15 2k2-4k7 2k2-4k8 2k2-4k9 2k2-4k10

Capacitors
Rat Rat II Turbo Rat You Dirty Rat
C1 100uf 100uf 100uf 100uf
C2 1uf 1uf 1uf 1uf
C3 22n 22n 22n 22n
C4 1nf 1nf 1nf 1nf
C5 100pf 100pf 100pf 100pf
C6 2.2uf 2.2uf 2.2uf 2.2uf
C7 4.7uf 4.7uf 4.7uf 4.7uf
C8 30pf 30pf 30pf 30pf
C9 4.7uf 4.7uf 4.7uf 4.7uf
C10 3n3 3n3 3n3 3n3
C11 22n 22n 22n 22n
C12 1uf 10uf 10uf 10uf
C13 10nf 10nf 10nf 10nf

Semi-conductors
Rat Rat II Turbo Rat You Dirty Rat
IC1 LM308N LM308N OP07 OP07
Q1 2N5457 2N5457 2N5457 2N5457

Page 2 of 5
La Rata
By PCB Guitar Mania
Diodes
Rat Rat II Turbo Rat You Dirty Rat
D1 1n4001 1n4001 1n4001 1n4001
D3 1n914 1n4148 5mm red led 1n34A
D4 1n914 1n4148 5mm red led 1n34A
D5 Your choice Your choice Your choice Your choice
D6 Your choice Your choice Your choice Your choice

Potentiometers and switch

SOFTNESS 10k B Trimpots
SWEEP 1K Trimpots
VOL 100k A
DISTORTION 100k A
FILTER 100k A
Clipping SPDT On-off-on

Modifications
The Clipping switch allows you to choose in between the stock diodes settings and an extra
pair. The second pair is the only one that will be affected by the Softness trimmer.

You could mix with the diodes of different versions to have a much more tonal richness.
Many people prefer the mix of stock diodes and Red leds.

The Softness trimmer controls the clipping Threshold, an interesting modification that worth
trying. If you are looking to have a more traditional version, you could just turn it to zero, or
just bypass it with jumpers in between the pads 1 and 3.

The Sweep Control changes the distortion frequency and the overall character

of the effect. As with the softness control, you could just bypass it with a jumper in between
the pads 1 and 3.

General Building notes

To populate the PCB it’s recommended to follow this order.

1. Resistors & diodes

2. IC Sockets (set up the proper IC at last)
3. Capacitors, starting with the smaller ones and the ceramic ones.
4. Electrolytic capacitors (always check the polarity)
5. Transistors

Page 3 of 5
La Rata
By PCB Guitar Mania
 6. Wires
7. Potentiometers
8. Off board wiring

Off Board Wiring

Drilling the enclosure

This Project has been planned to fit into a 125b.

Check the Attached “Drilling templates” to drill the box properly. The files are on Scale 1:1,
ready to print in a A4 page.

Page 4 of 5
La Rata
By PCB Guitar Mania
Schematic
C TR L
LED
2k2-4k7
R15

9V R1
47r

1n4001
100k C1
R2

C13
100uf

10nf

R12
GND
LM308N

4.7uf
1M 1K 3 IC1 22n Q1

C9

2
R9 1K5

CLI PPIN G
6 2N5457

1
R4 R6

C12
2 8

1uf
2
C4
1K FILTER R10

1 nf
100k

C2 C11
R3

100k A

C10
4
1
C3

22n

3n3
GND

1uf

100k A
3

1
30pf

R 13

R 14
R 11

VOL
10K
2

1M
1n914
1n914
IN GND C8 SOFTNESS OUT
GND 10k B 1

GN D
2M2

100pf
R5

GND
GND
C5
GND
GND

100k A
DISTORTION
R8

3
1

2
1 47R
SWEEP

560R
1K

R7

C6 C7

2.2uf 4.7uf

GND

Page 5 of 5
La Rata
By PCB Guitar Mania