WEM/Watkins Copy Cat Echo Unit

Really straightforward 1st knob is mix ie; how much dry to wet signal, 2nd knob is sustain ie; amount of repeats ( turn this up and things go mental) 2 gain knobs for each input, these are worth the entry price alone as they can make your clean tone go lovely an' valvey and gnarly sounding...I've even put drums through this when recording to fuzz things up a bit. Lastly 3 push buttons..these are the selectors for the replay heads, 1st one is slapback rockabilly heaven, 2nd is Syd/13th floor elevators and 3rd is Hendrix meets King Tubby in simple terms 1 is shortest delay, 2 is middle length and 3 is longest. Oh I nearly forgot the tape on switch which can also be switched on and off mid-echo as it were to create more sonic mayhem.

Ok if you want pristine endless accurate repeats of your original signal forget it -go and buy some digital thing and be happy in your sterile sounding world. The rest of us will switch on, wait for the valves to glow and freak to the glory of the valve copicat in full flow. Firstly the input gains can be used to really fat up the sound of your guitar, the Fender Stratocaster was made for this unit..it just takes the kinda brittle sounding edge of it and fattens it up. Next start pushing those buttons and turning the knobs, yes its noisy and you can hear a loud thunk every time the tape splice goes across the heads but this is all part of the glorious noise. Did I mention those 3 different head settings? I did but I didn't mention that you can switch them in any combination so that you can have a short repeat plus a long one or all the repeats on at once which makes a beautiful complex almost reverb sound.

I am lucky enough to own two valve units a 1961 and a 62 ( I bought for ten quid a couple of weeks ago in a 2nd hand shop..result ) both of them seem rock solid the oldest one got kicked over and went flying at an "incident" after a gig in London..didn't do it any harm. You can still get the tape loops for these machines and contrary to popular opinion if the heads aren't too worn they last quite along time. There are quite a few people out there in net world that can service these machines so get out there and use em. The thing I love about them, and I have owned 3 of these machines now, is that no 2 machines ever sound the same, they all have their own character.

Never dealt with them

I play psych, garage, rockabilly type stuff amongst other things and the WEM copicat is pure genius. Add a nice old strat or tele and a fuzz box and your there. Nuff said.

I have a seventies solidstate model. It is really easy to use in that it only has 3 buttons and a 4 or five knobs to work with.
The only time I don't use it is when I am lazy. I sometimes use my Aria analog delay pedal instead. In my opinion, the Aria holds up well againist any other BBD delay pedal except for a Memoryman.

I usually play an old Gretsch Corvette into it. I either use a silverface Princeton Reverb or a blackface Champ. I use a variety of effect with it but, my Dynacomp and old chrome Morley Fuzz/Wah are always nearby. It is slightly noisy. I generally keep mine on all the time on a slap back setting because it makes your guitar sound like GOD. I also found out that if you slightly loosen the screws on the clamp on the erase head(the far left one) it allows you to slide it it back and give you a sort of infinite repeat sound. You can easily slide it back and forth to get both this sound and a more normal sound. I also experimented with attaching an extra playback head(from a broken Walkman) to vecro and mounting farther along the tape to get an extra long echo. You can solder a cable with a 1/4" jack to this and run it into input two of your Copicat.

The weak link is the tape loop. I make my own. I found if you bake them in the oven at 200 degrees F for about ten minutes it helps keep the splice together. I have ocasionally had one break during a gig. If you have a spare handy it should take less than a minute to fix.

The company is still around and makes replacement tape loops as well as a new model that costs about a $1000.

Review for the WEM/Watkins IC400 belt drive varispeed Copicat tape echo unit (link for the model I have: http://britamps.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/watkins/copicat/copi11.html ).

Couldn't be simpler to achieve great, warm tones from this machine. Set your input gain control for unity gain, choose how many of the three heads you want on (in this case labelled green/white/red). Set Swell (echo volume) and Repeat controls to taste.

ECHO TONE DEFEAT is for choosing if you want the repeats to have a low pass filter effect on them and is linked to the ECHO TONE control. Using this feature allows tasty lofi echos and also limits the amount of oscillation (feedback) you get.

And obviously the varispeed control allows you to set the speed of the belt-driven motor. ;)

My setup changes everytime I post a review here, but for the record I'll list my main equipment. GUITAR: '94 Gibson Les Paul Special (dual P90s, awesome tone), AMP: Fender 'Custom' Twin (switchable dual channel, two input model), EFFECTS: Boss GT-8 (the best floorbased multi so far IMO).

The GT-8 has an external loop for outboard effects so I tend to use the Copicat in this loop, with it placed BEFORE the GT-8s onboard delay. I have not found it to be that noisy, it's been serviced recently so this is probably why.

In my opinion this slays the Roland Space/Chorus Echo units, the Korg SE-500 and Fulltone Tube Tape Echo units I've tried. I sat down with the RE-201, Fulltone and this Copicat one afternoon, and I kept coming back to it. It's warm and full of character (some say quirky), whereas the other units felt too clean to me.

This is as good for straight up echos (ie 50s rock and roll, Shads) as it is for creating crazy shoegaze textures, delayed/verbed walls of textural ambience. The oscillation works best when you select one head only and turn the ECHO TONE DEFEAT off, crank the reepats all the way up and listen to the tone... beautiful. It's not quite as good as the very first varispeed model, which I've tried too (the blue one with gold control panel), but it's not a huge difference.

I can't see myself using any other model of tape echo to gig or record with to be honest. Charlie Watkins design has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.

Yes it is as reliable as an old tape echo unit can be, just try not to drop it! Clean the heads with a swab every 10 or so hours of use, keep a regular supply of tape on hand (which you can still buy new, try that with a Space Echo!) and you will be all set.

Charlie and his associates have been pleasant and friendly when I've dealt with them. The biggest support possible has been given - the fact you can still get brand new OFFICIAL copicat tape loops. No need to hack your own together!

I've been playing seven years. Yes this is a good match for everything I need a good delay for, it's analogue warmth plays off nicely against the cleaner digital effect of the GT-8's delay.

If it were stolen or lost I'd be pissed off... Copicats are getting rare, especially varispeed models like this one. I'd go looking for the model that is superior to this (the original) should it get stolen.

I've compared it to a handful of other tape echos and it won with very little trouble. I just found this to be much more alive and vibrant sounding than the competition, which I believe is how a tape echo should be, not 'clean' sounding like the Roland/Fulltone/Korg stuff. If I want clean I'll use digital!

I wish it were easier to make it oscillate when all the heads are selected (it oscillates best with only one tape head selected), but this is a minor gripe. Overall a great piece of kit.

Three buttons (halo/echo/repeat) selecting tape heads & therefore the length of the echoes; 'halo' being the shortest, 'repeat' being the longest. Motor on/off switch, Swell (volume of repeats) dial, Reverb dial which changes the number of repeats from 1 to the-amps-gonna-explode infinite repeats, and to gain dials for the two inputs. My model has a footswitch which turns the echo on off, though I'm told some don't.
In short pretty self explanatory. The exposed tape is easy to change if requiring a little care.

My setup: Fender Telecaster-> Fuzz Face-> Shredmaster-> Small Stone Phaser-> Crybaby-> Digitech Whammy-> Boss Bass Chorus-> Boss DD3-> COPICAT-> Fender Amp.

The unit adds a lot off warmth to your tone due to having a tube in it, great if you haven't already got a valvestate amp. And to my ears also a bit more sustain, which can be altered with the gain settings on the unit itself. There is a small but noticeable amount of noise when the units turned on, but thats part and parcel of tape delay.
I wanted a tape delay principly for the infinite feedback with detiorating soundquality trick, especially the way the sounbd builds and builds. Not to mention just standard echo and reverb...
People seem to mention that this can give you Hank Marvin's sound, so if you want that fine, but I prefer noisier sounds and the copicat obliges. Good for doing Syd Barrett impressions

It fell of my amp and still works, despite being at least 30 years old. Tape is a bit exposed I've knocked it off once or twice, but so long as your careful...

Sent WEM and email inquiring about replacement tapes, got one back a few days later, no complaints.
Asked about a 'technical' matter, again a quick reply but not much helpful info...

Play noisy psychedelic, glam /punk oddness, the Copicat suits fine.
The only feature I'd like is a more inclusive way of changing delay times, this has only three presets, but they suffice.
If it were stolen maybe I'd get something different, it depends how available a replacement would be!

It takes a while to get used to. But its all cake once you do.

The best tape echo I've heard. I was fortunate to find a early 60's tube cat and it sounds awesome.

It is a little noisy, but I think that is a part of the sound.

I plug a Gibson Les Paul or 355, through the Copicat, into a Vox ac30
and the sustain is unbelievable. I use it also for a preamp, without the tape running...just to get the extra tube sound.

You can get a lot of wierd sounds out of this unit.

I don't know about the reliability. It does need maintenance (clean heads, new tapes.) It's lasted this long...about 40 years.

There is a Watkins website. I think the guy that actually invented the copicat is still around answering questions.

You can also buy tapes directley from him.

I bought this on ebay a few months ago for about 300.00 dollars. I've seen them go for more (about 500 and up.) I was really happy to find a tube one because most that are available now are the solid state echos.

I use it mainly for recording. I don't think it is very reliable for live shows, because the tapes do break. Mine is about 40 years old anyway so I kind of baby it.

It does make a great preamp.

I would highly recommend buying one of these if you could find the tube ones. I've also heard good things about the solid state, but the tubes give it more warmth.

Plug in, Select your tape head combination, Adjust Gain, Swell and Sustain/Reverb.
Play! Not very hard really is it!

Multiple inputs with separate gains, 3 and 4 playback heads with separate switches, input for a footswitch (some come hardwired), some have a ?Motor on/off? switch. You can?t adjust the speed of the tape motor (although on some models it is possible)
Without doubt these are my favorite Echoes. I?ve used a few. I own 2 cats, one a ?60s valve jobbie and a ?70s solid-state model. Both sound excellent. OK your limited to 3 or 4 echo speeds both you can mix the up to get some great rhythmic patterns. The ?motor on/off? switch is great for special FX and the tape itself is very accessible for real-time manipulation. If you?re used to digital delays analogue may take a little while to get used to, but once your get into it nothing else will do.

These need more care and attention than a boss pedal! Regular cleaning, tape replacement and general looking after. Worth it though.

I love it.

A few months ago the band I was producing in my home studio came to me with a 9 minute song that they wanted lots of psychedelic noises at the start. I asked them what they had in mind, and their guitarist pulled out this big black box that turned out to be a WEM Copycat (one of the later solid state models). We plugged it in to see what sounds we could get out of it, and the first thing that happened was the tape loop itself broke. No problem, fitted one of the spares and away we went getting lots of deep swells, and eerie atmospheric noises. We also got some cool sounds from playing a note, then hitting the switch that starts the motor running (Whoorp worp wrp wp p . ....). It sounded so cool we also used it for the solo on the same song.

We initially tried plugging the Copycat into a valve amp, and miking it, but we got better results from patching the units output straight into the mixer. The sounds were exactly what we were looking for, but the unit itself generated quite alot of hiss, most of which we removed using the noise reduction in Cool Edit Pro, but further experiments revealed that using a better grade of tape (rather than the 30 year old loops that were with it), resulted in a better sound. I also had the oppertunity to splice 1/4 inch tape, which is almost a dying art in itself.

We are planning to use it at the album release party, but we don't know how we will go. I cannot forsee any problems except for the tape breaking, but the newer tape we are using doesn't seem to have any problems. Apparantly the original owner used the unit on 50 gigs + but the machine was almost new then. I trust it to a point, but I wouldn't stake my career on it, just in case.

1/4 inch tape is still available if you shop around. I'm sure there are people selling it on the net, but I've not investigated it myself as I have a rather large pile of it slowly oxidising in my cupboard, and making your own loops isn't that hard. As for dealing with the company, are they still around?

What I really want to do (but the owner won't let me) is strip it out, and rebuild it into a more rugged, more compact unit, and set it up as a guitar effect with several footswiches, and (if I could work out how) a variable tape speed controlled by an expression pedal. Overall though, it's a good unit that did the job we assigned to it, and we got the results we were after.

This is a straightforward unit - a solid state model, with 4 playback heads, one button for each head. There's a swell control (i.e. mix), sustain (feedback) and a level control for each of the four (!) input jacks.

I have searched all my life for an echo unit that reproduces that authentic Hank Marvin twang - this is it! I've tried the Danecho, the Akai Headrush and others besides, but not one of them came close to the Copicat in terms of warmth and ambience. It produces a rich, organic echo that seems to enhance the whole sound of the guitar - so good I take every opportunity I can to play palm-muted notes just for the joy of hearing the echoes!

I give it a '9' because it's pretty noisy, but some would say that's just part of its charm.

I've only used this at home - I wouldn't be confident about using it live without a back-up, but then I've never tried it, so it might be fine. To be fair, it's a good many years old, and I've had no trouble from it so far.

I've e-mailed Charlie Watkins about replacement tapes, which you can still get from WEM (and some shops) - #8.50 for 10. He mailed me back within a couple of weeks. However, any repairs are going to have be done by some friendly electronics engineer.

This may not be the Holy Grail of tape echo units, but I love it all the same. I've just bought a knackered old valve version for #50 which I'm having overhauled - it's supposed to be even warmer. Can't wait...

I've had about three copycats since the early 70's two of them being solid state and one being an earlier valve version if memory serves. I got one because the band I played did Wishbone Ash covers and apparently Messrs Powell and Turner used them. I always bought second hands ones so I don't know about manuals but they are simply enough to operate with a bit of tweaking about. I suppose that the effect of reverb or echo helped me as I'm not a great guitarist by any stretch of the imagination but it gives lots of what I'd call edge and really makes the guitar sing. I use a Gibson SG STD and added on a Cry bay wah wah pedal which was an obsessional useage thing. For the uninitiated it is basically a tape loop running over heads and the delays etc can be altered to give a sort of canyon echo or a very full reverb. The tapes don't last long and the machine gives of lots of hiss, on fact the one I have now seems to have a wobble on the motor speed which sounds eerie. Lots of pub singers in organ and drum back up used them to give the singing in the shower effect pre karioke days, even the Shadows may have used them.

Think I've probably answered some of these earlier I'm using a fender Twin Reverb, the effects are as good as anybody else who used them in my book but the problem is no information is available and as I explained mine seems to be in it's death throes. The tapes didn't last too long and I'm sure it is noweher near as good as the much aclaimed Space Echo which came out later but for #50 uk money they are worth picking up if they work I would dearly love to get hold of one or listen to anyone who stills uses the things.

Not a very dependable pice of kit due to no back up although I used it for over 150 gigs and it never let me down once only thing was to put in a new tape for each gig

Struggling at the moment to find anyone who knows about them but this is the first posting and maybe there is a subculture somewhere on the net that is very bouyant they may have even relaunched them who knows, I live in the sticks so maybe a trip to my local music shop would be prudent.

I play sort 70's rock mixed and mashed with early punk the Chameleons are one of the most unsuccesful musical touchstomes of all time for me and reading their webpage has got me rekindled into the music thing again after 25years I noticed that they used a Roland 501 and chorus pedal plus other reverb stuff, it's a haunting kind of feel and very dark, goth rock has been mentioned whatever that might be. I also like it because I'm not the best guitarist in the world but I can get by with the "Cat" when it works. I'm looking at buying a cheap didgital echo pedal and because of my meagre budget and lack of lottery win seems to be going towards a Jen Echo unit which is supposed to be similar to analogue by all accounts.

If anyone either side of the pond has some views on these steam driven old Copy Cats drop me a line on Janred55@aol.com I would be keen to network it through and who knows maybe they still make em!


Thanks for the site it should keep me busy a plenty, maybe even get the cobwebs off the greasepaint tin eh!