Incoming resurrection project... '67 WEM/Watkins Rapier short scale

Here we go again - another disheveled misfit with a twinkle of hope in its... fibers. Yet another British bass from the (mid?) '60s. If interested, check out my thread on a 1963 Burns of London Vista Sonic bass that got me started on these cool UK gems! Project Vista Sonic (rut row, JIO's at it again!) This time it's a short-scale Watkins/WEM Sapphire bass. WEM was more known for their PA systems and tape effect machines and Watkins had apparently been around since '54. There's some similarity to Jim Burns' offers but I haven't found any overlap/connection in print yet. Obviously missing the pg, pu's and electronics/knobs (these are the sellers pics) - I've already researched what will be needed and think I can replace it all pretty authentically. As the white is the original finish (I'm presuming) I'll most likely re-finish it in Oly white. Bridge is not original (looks to be a Hofner style) but the string-stop and bridge cover (bonus) are. Also has both strap pegs. I'm so funny - it's missing the pg, pu's, electronics and knobs - and I'm like "...but it has the original bridge cover!"

24 fret (!) neck/frets are reportedly in good condition and it has Van Ghent tuning machines which were used on a few other basses then. I've seen them on vintage Framus and Hagstrom basses. Pic shows the A string tuner cap/cover missing, but the seller has it and it is included in the sale. It's kinda local so I will be picking it up in the next few days. (and save shipping costs)

This is what it looked like in completed form - and in a very similar red as Burns used. It was also in acrylic and also had issues over time as Burns' finishes did. Knobs are the same as on Burns basses. Need to find or fabricate a bridge like this one - there's always something missing that I'll never be able to find.

Similar plastic tipped tuner pegs as Burns with a zero fret. Thin tuner poles are slotted - Burns tuners have a hole drilled through the pole like modern day Sperzel locking tuners.

The WEM pg section is made of the same material as pg's on Burns guitars/basses - engraving/plaque material. I found a place here in the Bay Area where I can buy some so I've got that covered.

non-original bridge - Hofner style in its place and original bridge cover. (amazing considering how these always go missing)

 

I ordered these clone Ric toaster pu's which look similar enough to the Watkins pu's sans center dots. They were cheap but Korean products are generally good quality so I hope they sound decent. Have the V & T knobs already and have to decide if I will use a 3-way switch or a rotary knob for pu selection. I already have a switch and ordered a rotary pot so will make that call later. The Watkins has only two knobs; the lower one a V and the other I'll assume is a pu selector. Not sure if a tone option is included, but if it's anything like a Burns it may. May opt to keep it simple and just have 2 knobs (V-T) and add a 3-way pu selector switch. Will also order another British jack from Stew Mac and some pots. Do Ric's have 250k pots or 500k pots? The toasters are single-coils as far as I know so I would think 250k.

 

Volume yes, but not clear on the upper knob marking. I'm guessing a rotary pot for pu selection as it's more likely to have that option than to have only a tone knob for both pu's on all the time. I need to do more research.

 

That's great! The manual would have explained what each letter represented!

 

For some WEM/Watkins/Wilson history/background -

Watkins Guitar World - Guitars and WEM Amplifiers

Watkins Electric Music - Wikipedia

http://wem-owners.com/wem-wilson-guitars/my-rapier-33/

 

Charlie Watkins - The father of the tape echo unit .....
With the very first "Copicat" - back in his hands after more than 40 years, a spritely Charlie Watkins muses that he sold this unit (he made the first 10 in his little old shop in Balham High Road, South London in 1958) by responding to Johnny Kidd's pressures to sell him "one of 'vose cat fings guv'nor" and letting Johnny (real name Frederick Heath, born 23.12.1939 in London - already with the patch over his eye at that stage) buy the very first unit. That started it all, and after about six months Charlie had enough money to buy his first factory at 66 Offley Road, London, SW9. I've had a few telephone conversations with Charlie and he's a very interesting old cove - with a sentimental connection to Christchurch, New Zealand from his days as Abel Seaman Charles Watkins in the British Merchant Navy. Charlie wrote me a letter which said that "Forward to the 60s" is his war cry now !

WEM and The Famous Copicat Logo ...
In Charlie's own words .....
"Our most spectacular contribution to that era was, of course, the Watkins Copicat Echo Unit. This little unit was snapped up by the forward looking, along with sound hungry guitarists of the day, and it achieved the status of the 'missing link' in the originating chemistry of legendary '60s music ....."
Considered today as a world industry standard, the modern Copicat is (not entirely surprisingly) miles in advance of the original little units that Charlie lovingly built with his own hands (but minus the nostalgia, of course) ............
The Watkins All-valve Original Copicat (Mark I) .....
Although never utilised by the Shads, the Watkins "Copicat" is credited with being the first tape-loop echo unit. The original "Copicat" Mark 1 was designated as an "Echo and Reverberation Effects Unit", and was produced in a blue and white livery (as shown to the right). Featuring 3 playback heads (individually selectable), seven distinct echo combinations, nil to extreme "reverberation" on all combinations, and a permanent magnet (in the tension arm) as an erase head.
The Watkins All-valve Copicat (Mark II) .....
The Mark II had a black and white panel (as shown to the left) and it sported exactly the same features as it's earlier predecessor. Local Christchurch guitar hero Max Merritt had one in the very early 60s - his was the first I ever saw (and heard live), but I can't be sure which particular model it was. To acquire one in New Zealand in those days, required access to a designated proportion (actually one third) of the purchase price in overseas funds to qualify for the necessary import licence - known as a "No Remittance Licence". The 1960s price was £38-10-0 as evidenced by the product image.
These early machines were quite reliable, although the phosphor-bronze bearings of the shaded pole tape-drive motor were inclined to slop out with continued use. Inevitably one would have to splice one's own tape loops, and with the stretch provided by the spring-tension, a gap would open at the splice, and the classic thump thump .. thump .. would occur as the gap passed the head(s) on each rotation of the tape !!
The Watkins "Custom" Solid-State Copicat (Mark III and Mark IV) .....
A lower profile unit with a larger footprint than their predecessors, the Mark III amd Mark IV Copicats were fully solid-state and featured the same 3 individually selectable playback heads as their famous predecessor. Although more successful than the original Copicat the latter-day version was never to be held in the same high regard as the original Copicat, and accordingly is less sought after by collectors. The tape transport system was essentially the same as the Mark I and Mark II Copicat, utilising a shaded pole motor, and with tape-tensioning again achieved by a sprung arm with integral permanent magnet erase head.

The Watkins Copicat Super Shadow .....
A 5-head, hybrid (valve/solid-state) design with low noise and excellent performance, the Super Shadow model was introduced in the late 80's. Again it features individually selectable heads (in this case four), but also has a continuously variable speed drive motor, which allows for an extremely wide selection of echo combinations in conjunction with the head selections. The unit is similar in style and size to the original Copicat, but with a single (as opposed to the original split or 2-piece) lid. Note the distinctive Watkins style compartment for the power lead - carried over from previous Copicat designs. The Output and Footswitch jack sockets are only accessible only via this compartment (practically, not such a crash-hot design feature I have to say). This particular unit came directly from Charlie Watkins for my own collection. Sadly it hasn't had much use for the past several years.
The Watkins Copicat Super Shadow again .....
A refined version of the previously shown "Super Shadow" model. This time the Output and Footswitch jacks are repositioned onto the front panel (on the lower right hand side, next to the oblong ON/OFF switch). The front panel (screen printed in two colours), completely covers the area formerly used for Power Cord and Footswitch storage to the left of the unit. All other features are unchanged.

(A pack of WEM Copicat Tape Loops)

 

So you were correct Brent - A B C D clearly seen in the bass on the left. The one on the right appears to be the one I have as the bridge-stop cover is the same. The pu's look very much like Roc toasters so I'm good on my replacement choice there. The odd bridge thingy looks like what was on the original Ric's - a horse-shoe like bridge protector. No markings for the two nobs or on the island pg-piece. According to the copy the one on the right was from '67 and has been restored, so the pg is probably non-original and the toaster-looking pu's are most likely not original either. (great minds think alike!) In fact, studying this pic - you can see the pg on the left (original) is thicker/more white showing. The material I have sourced is 1/16" thick and the pg material on my Burns is 1/8" thick. So I plan to layer two pieces together to achieve the same depth as the WEM island piece. The black layer is very thin so I'll have a black layer on the top and back, which will barely be noticeable once on the body. Now if I can fine something like that bridge cover... Time to see if there s a Watkins fb page!

Also note that the one on the left is badged Wilson (came a bit later in '68) and has a very cool roller-saddle bridge. The Brits were spot-on with this design so early. The Schaller 3D roller-bridge from the early 80's owed a lot to it. It's similar to ones on Gretsch guitars and basses. I found a few floating-type bridges on eBay but I just may need to make my own bridge, possibly a roller saddle bridge because this ss will need very specific string-spacing at the bridge.

Close-up of the bridge 'guard' (?) - possibly also a mute device seeing the inner bar and 2 screws.

 

Just talked with the guy I bought the bass from and will pick it up locally on Monday. He said it's been kicking around for years as a project-to-be and was originally at Marty Balin's (Jefferson Airplane/Starship) studio, but that's all he knew. The seller owns a record label and has done a lot of major events over the years in the Bay Area as a promoter. Anyone's guess how/when and by whom this bass made it over the pond. So far I'm getting the impression it's a sort of rare duck.

Also, bought a Watkins hs decal on eBay from the UK - the one on it is pretty chewed up, and I may want to sand the whole neck down and refinish it.

 

Found this cool EKO VOX CRUCIANELLI ITALY TUNE-A-MATIC BASS BRIDGE 1960s-70s NOS on Reverb that should work well on the bass. Being NOS the slots on the saddles haven't been cut yet so would give me a bit of wiggle room for correct spacing. Being a short scale with what looks like a relatively narrow neck should work with a VOX bridge as they were also narrow width. Push comes to shove I could fabricate wider saddles to accommodate correct spacing. It's not 'authentic' but it will look 'in character' and is of the same vintage. Plus it's "Seriously well made of heavy duty brass with perfect chrome". Will also negate needing anything else like the weird horseshoe thingy - it would just be in the way of palm-muting anyway.

 

Still trying to find out if this model was the Rapier or Sapphire bass - I've seen it referred to as either. This is a refine in "Ice Blue" which was an option but rare. The 'wrap-around' bridge thingy had a rubber 'mute' as I suspected. Knobs aren't original. No engraving on the pg and missing the WEM island so most likely not original. I plan on having my pg engraved with VOLUME & TONE and A B C for the 3-way pu selector switch for 'proper' authenticity.


It also came in a classic 3TSB - with different pu's, knobs and Wilson bridge/stop cover.

This is another refin in satin gunmetal grey on a lefty Wilson. Note different style bridge, pu's, 4 knobs and a pu switch. Looks pretty cool in this finish.

And a white example (presumably original) - orig bridge, no string-stop cover, non-orig knobs, 2 different style pu's (toaster & Teisco) and no WEM pg island. Not sure what the 3 holes are under the stop, but the stop has 3 screws in the same order only upside down...
A red one currently on eBay - someone put a thumb-rest in the "island" space. Also, it looks to have very similar pu's as on my Teisco Del Rey short-scale from '65.
...and a black Wilson example with no chrome plate, 2 knobs and a switch and a different bridge/stop cover. Seems like a limited palette with red being the most common.

 

If you put enough considered TLC in a project - it can reward you with a surprisingly nice playing/sounding bass! At least that's been the case for me so far!

 

When I bought the Umma Gumma LP right when it was released - I obsessed over the runway gear pic on the back cover of touring Pink Floyd and the red letters WEM were eternally etched in my cerebral library. Had absolutely no way of knowing anything about what it stood for or where it came from - just understood that if Pink Floyd was using it... it was golden. There's so much of UK guitar/bass history that has been overlooked in the US, until now if there is anything I can do about it! But having said that, I feel that Watkins/Wilson were a thing, but the bigger thing was WEM amplification and echo boxes. Case in point- I found a WEM amplification fb page, but nothing for Watkins/Wilson guitars/basses. That does tell you something. Burns on the other hand is probably the most 'famous' British brand outside of VOX, and you all know why that is.

 

Welcome aboard Sam - means a lot to me as you are one of my favorite Luthiers Corner cell-mates!

 

Mark Knopfler's album "Kill To Get Crimson" shows a Watkins "Rapier" bass behind the liner notes. Looks to have Ric "toaster" style pu's.

 

196? trade-show display for WEM LTD (LTD was sooo British wasn't it?) There are two "Rapier/"Sapphire" basses, w/o the floating WEM pg island.