WEM WATKINS CUSTOM COPICAT

WEM Custom Copicat for sale dating from the mid-late sixties in superb cosmetic condition and excellent working order for a 45 year-old valve Copicat. The case has minor scuffs and scratches and the faceplate is in stunning condition (see photos).

One of the black plastic grilles has been replaced with metal mesh for safety; the footswitch socket is on a trailing lead – the original footswitch is not present. 

Compared to the later IC Copicats the valve units don’t usually produce such clear echoes, even when in good order. Custom Copicats sound lovely both as a pre-amp and as an echo unit with good strong repeats that break up in an evocative fashion, and run into self-oscillation when the ‘reverb’ knob is turned up for authentic dub effects – great valve saturation. The echoes have a good tone for an old valve Copicat and degrade with a dark crunchy quality; they cannot be described as accurate repeats – this is not a digital delay – but they have a sound and vibe that is most pleasing and create a unique effect that sounds ‘right’. 

These valve Copicats make great preamps, and are increasingly sought-after to add character and warmth to digital recordings (eg the Arctic Monkeys used a Custom Copicat when recording their ‘Suck It And See’ album – see Sound On Sound magazine July 2011), as a result they are becoming harder to find, especially in good working order. 

It’s fitted with a new tape – these are easy to bulk buy online, but if the winning bidder wants some spares, please message us for prices/quantities. For best performance tape loops should be changed regularly.

It is a UK 240v unit so will require a step-up transformer for use in USA/Canada. We do not recommend using cheap generic Chinese mains transformers and can supply a high quality UK-made transformers if required.