Looking a Delay Pedal with similar effect as Watkins CopyCat

[Chman]

I'm looking for a delay pedal with similar time delays as an old Watkins CopyCat.

If you don't remember these they were a tape loop echo unit with one record head

plus three individually selectable replay heads spaced about 150 mS apart.

The good thing was that you could select the second and third playback heads without the first one.

So the echo would be ORIGINAL -delay of 300mS- FIRST ECHO - delay of a further 150mS - SECOND ECHO.

These were then fed back to repeat and gave a very realistic echo.

The echo effect would be | || || || fading away.

So, are there any pedals which can be set to produce this type of delay?

[newey]

chman-

Hello and Welcome to G-Nutz2!

Sorry, I don't know of any pedals that clone the Watkins Copicat. A quick search found a bunch of VST plug-ins to emulate that unit, but no hardware.

Someone else may be along with a suggestion for you. I've never even seen a real Copicat, much less played through one, so I don't know much about it. My first thought was that (I think) the Roland Space Echo had multiple playback heads as well, and I know Boss makes a digital pedal to clone the Space Echo (Boss RE-20), but I don't know whether that was similar to the Watkins 3-head system you describe.

[gckelloch]

Any delay with at least two taps and feedback can do some variation of that. There must be a delay that can also route the feedback of each tap into the other so that successive delays become more complex. That's a nice effect. My favorite setting in an old Lexicon PCM41 was to mix the modulation and attack envelope so there would be some transient dependent pitch shift and then modulation on the note sustain. That with crossover feedback taps would be cool. Filtering and tape distortion simulation is also great.

Don't know what pedal does it all, but the all digital Strymon "El Capistan" should do what you want and a lot more. It's more tape delay type focused than most pedals.

This $50 all analog tape delay pedal simply has two independently controllable taps: www.donnerdeal.com/products/donner-tape-delay-guitar-effect-pedal-white-tape-stereo-tape-delay-transparent-boost-true-bypass?variant=40046452080813¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsD5Yxd3sAgwMw6XBHxvEZLBtj5P9mrI7S6ilLAA9xbS1RpQ_uxEqqwaAmGzEALw_wcB

[Chman]

Thanks gckelloch that looks like it would be the job.

I would need to find a UK supplier since the Donner advert says "We only ship to USA."

I'll try to find one because I have seen adverts for Donner poping up on FaceBook.

Thanks for your assistance and to newey also.

EDIT:

Found it on the Donner UK website.....

Unfortunately out of stock, but I've left them my email, so they can inform me when it's back in stock.

[Chman]

I manged to find the Donner White Tape Stereo Delay suggested by gckelloch on the US Amazon

web site and with zero reponse from UK/EU Donner, I ordered it from the US.

It has now arrived and does the job just fine. I can set two different delays for the stereo channels.

One mono input feeds left and right channels without any mods but I had to combine the two outputs

to feed one amp (no biggy).

It does exactly what I wanted...... now it's time to let my 60s Watkins Copycat have a well earned rest

Thanks again.

[gckelloch]

Jan 26, 2022 11:28:09 GMT -5 Chman said:

I manged to find the Donner White Tape Stereo Delay suggested by gckelloch on the US Amazon

web site and with zero reponse from UK/EU Donner, I ordered it from the US.

It has now arrived and does the job just fine. I can set two different delays for the stereo channels.

One mono input feeds left and right channels without any mods but I had to combine the two outputs

to feed one amp (no biggy).

It does exactly what I wanted...... now it's time to let my 60s Watkins Copycat have a well earned rest

Thanks again.

Great news. You sure the L (mono) out doesn't combine both delays when there's nothing plugged into the R out? It usually does in effects like that.

[thetragichero]

Jan 26, 2022 11:28:09 GMT -5 Chman said:

now it's time to let my 60s Watkins Copycat have a well earned rest
Thanks again.

betcha it could bring back a decent return on a site like reverb. folks seem to snatch that type of thing up.

[Chman]

gckelloch

Thanks for the suggestion but tried it again and the unit is only prepared to supply the

two outputs (L & R). But like I said no biggy, I just combined the signals using a couple

of resistors inside a jack plug.

[Chman]

Jan 27, 2022 8:48:05 GMT -5 thetragichero said:

Jan 26, 2022 11:28:09 GMT -5 Chman said:

now it's time to let my 60s Watkins Copycat have a well earned rest
Thanks again.

betcha it could bring back a decent return on a site like reverb. folks seem to snatch that type of thing up.

Yep, I probably could plus a have a 60s AC30 TB as well that I don't use.

One day....... perhaps