ECHO CAT

1.0.1

Wavesfactory Echo Cat Page 1

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................3
GETTING STARTED ............................................................................................................ 3
SPECIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 3
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................................................................3
INSTALLATION ........................................................................................................................................... 4
TROUBLESHOOTHING ............................................................................................................................ 4
DEMO EVALUATION .................................................................................................................................4
AUTHORISATION ......................................................................................................................................5
PARAMETERS .............................................................................................................................................6
USER INTERFACE .............................................................................................................10
MAIN ............................................................................................................................................................10
HEADS .........................................................................................................................................................11
TAPE ............................................................................................................................................................ 12
MOTOR ....................................................................................................................................................... 13
MASTER ......................................................................................................................................................14
MAIN MENU...............................................................................................................................................15
AUTO-UPDATER................................................................................................................15
PRESETS ............................................................................................................................18
ABOUT ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
SAVE / LOAD / DELETE...........................................................................................................................18
SUPPORT ...........................................................................................................................19
FINAL WORDS ...................................................................................................................19
CREDITS .............................................................................................................................19
EULA .................................................................................................................................. 20
CHANGELOG .....................................................................................................................21

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INTRODUCTION

Echo Cat is a tape delay emulation audio plug-in based on the sound of the WEM Copicat.
First conceived by Charlie Watkins in 1958, it was the iconic sound of The Shadows. The initial
production run of the original Copycat sold out on the first day, and soon the Copycat was the sound
of the sixties. The Copicat is a recording icon and continues to be used throughout the decades.
Based on the Mk IV SOLID STATE Watkins Copicat. Meticulous attention to detail retains all the
character of the original hardware, but the plugin offers features not originally possible.

GETTING STARTED

SPECIFICATIONS

‣ Copicat emulation.
‣ Tape echo with three playback heads.
‣ Input and output volume.
‣ Sustain (feedback), and mix.
‣ Tempo sync.
‣ Volume, pan and high-pass/low-pass filters for each head.
‣ Hiss with auto-mute.
‣ Wow and flutter.
‣ Tape age.
‣ Random signal loss.
‣ Tape loop gap effect.
‣ Hum with auto-mute and frequency selection.
‣ Varispeed with modulation.
‣ Ducking with M/S.
‣ Tone with bass-treble high-shelf filters and LP-HP filters.
‣ M/S output volume.
‣ Mono, stereo and fake stereo output modes.
‣ Oversampling.
‣ Preset system.
‣ Resizable GUI.
‣ Auto-updater.
‣ Formats: VST, VST3, AU, AAX (64 bit only).
‣ Platforms: macOS, Windows.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Mac OSX 10.7 or superior.

Windows 7 or superior.

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INSTALLATION

MAC
Double-click on the PKG file downloaded from Wavesfactory.
Follow the steps to install the plugin.

The installer will place the different plugin formats in these folders:
‣ AU: Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Echo Cat.component
‣ VST: Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/Echo Cat.vst
‣ VST3: Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Echo Cat.vst3
‣ AAX: Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/Echo Cat.aaxplugin

The installer will also create a folder in Library/Application Support/Wavesfactory named Echo Cat
that will contain all the necessary files like presets, user manual and license.

WINDOWS
Double-click on the EXE file downloaded from Wavesfactory.
Follow the steps to install the plugin.

The installer will place the different plugin formats in these folders:
‣ VST 64 bit: C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Vstplugins\
‣ VST3 64 bit: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
‣ AAX 64 bit: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins

The installer will also create a folder at C:\Users\’username’\AppData\Wavesfactory named Echo Cat
that will contain all the necessary files like presets, user manual and license.

TROUBLESHOOTHING

If Echo Cat doesn’t appear in your DAW plug-in list you can try following steps:

‣ Re-scan all plug-ins.

‣ If you’re on Windows make sure that the plug-in is in the correct folder as the installer will place it
in the default VST location and your DAW may be using a custom one.
‣ Make sure that your OS version is 10.7 minimum on Mac and Windows 7 minimum on Windows.

If Echo Cat crashes your DAW on start-up or while using it please delete it from the folder and
reinstall it.
Make sure that you have the latest version by downloading the installer from the website:
https://www.wavesfactory.com/audio-plugins/echo-cat

If the crashes continue, contact support with any available crash reports, specifying your OS version,
DAW version and any other valuable information that you may have.
https://www.wavesfactory.com/support#contact

DEMO EVALUATION

Echo Cat will run in demo mode by default. It will output a 2-seconds volume dip every 60 seconds,
parameters won’t be recalled when saving the session and preset saving is disabled. All other
features will be available for full evaluation with no specific time expiration.
While in demo mode the plugin will show the authorisation panel every time you open the UI, if you
still want to evaluate it you have to click on “Continue evaluation” at the bottom of the pop-up.

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AUTHORISATION

When purchasing Echo Cat from Wavesfactory you’ll receive an e-mail containing the username and
serial number formatted like this:

Username: john@doe.com
Serial: 1234567890987654321

You have to copy this to the clipboard by selecting it and either:

‣ Right-click and select “copy”.
‣ Press Ctrl + C on Windows or Cmd + C on Mac.

Important: Make sure that you copy them without empty spaces as it will result in a not valid
authorisation.

Then, open the plug-in and the authorisation panel will appear. Insert your username and serial.
Press the “paste” button and the contents of the clipboard will be copied accordingly. Finally, press
the Activate button. If the information is correct he plug-in will save your serial number in
Wavesfactory/Echo Cat/License. If the information is not correct the panel will
In order to de-authorise you can simply delete the file inside Wavesfactory/Echo Cat/License.

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PARAMETERS

‣ Input - ranges from -24dB to +24dB.

This parameter sets the gain of the input signal. This way, you can drive the preamp and tape
saturation. Increasing the input signal will result in more saturation, more high frequency
attenuation, more compression and less noise. Decreasing the input signal will result in less
saturation, more high frequency, less compression and more noise.

‣ Sustain - ranges from 0% to 100%

Set how much of the output signal is fed back to the input signal. Increasing its value will result in
more repetitions of the delay signal. On higher values, the unit will start to self-oscillate. If you want a
true replica of the original WEM Copicat, then never set this parameter to 0% as it will result in no
feedback at all. On the original, the feedback signal was never 100% removed.
If you want to immediately stop the repetitions, you can click on the panic red button on the top bar.

‣ Mix - ranges from 0% to 100%

Mixes the dry and the wet signals. The dry signal is not processed by the plugin in any way. At 50%,
both signals will be at full volume. 0% is the dry signal at full volume and no wet signal. 100% is wet
signal at full volume and no dry signal.

‣ Output - ranges from -24dB to +24dB.

This parameters controls the volume of the output signal.

‣ Power
Bypass switch.

‣ Head 1, 2 and 3
These switches enable and disable each of the heads.

‣ VU meters
The VU meter shows you the volume of the input and output signals from -20dB to +3dB.

‣ HQ
Enables and disables oversampling.

‣ Panic (!)
When clicked, the tape will be erased.

‣ Tab menu
Heads, tape, motor and master. Clicking on these switches will take you to the desired panel.

‣ Heads
This page contains all of the parameters related to the playback heads. From top to bottom you can
see the set of parameters to control the first, the second and the third head.

‣ Signal volume indicator

The red light indicates if there is signal passing through the head and its amplitude.

‣ Time - free or synced to tempo.

This parameter works in conjunction with the sync button. If the sync button is enabled, the Time
parameter will show the time synced values that you can use to sync the head to the tempo: 1/32,
1/16T, 1/16D, 1/16, 1/8T, 1/16D, 1/8, 1/4T, 1/8D, 1/4, 1/2T, 1/4D, 1/2, 1/1T, 1/2D and 1/1.
The minimum delay time is 25 ms and the maximum is 1.2 seconds, like the original.

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‣ Sync
Set the Time parameter to be synced to the host tempo or free.

‣ Volume - ranges from -100% to 100%.

Places the signal from this head in the left, right, center or anything in between.

‣ HP - ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz.

High-pass filter that acts only on this head.

‣ LP
Low-pass filter that acts only on this head.

‣ Tape
This page contains all of the parameters related to the sound of the tape loop.

‣ Hiss volume - ranges from -96dB to 0dB

Sets the volume of the hiss noise from the tape.

‣ Auto-mute
If enabled, the plugin will detect that there is no signal coming through and the hiss will be
automatically stopped. If it’s not enabled, the noise will continue even if there is no input signal.

‣ Mono - Stereo
If enabled, the hiss will be stereo (different noise on each channel). If not enabled, the hiss will be
the same on each channel. The original Copicat is mono only.

‣ Wow - ranges from 0% to 100%.

This parameter controls the amount of wow. Slow pseudo-sinusoidal pitch fluctuations caused by
inconsistencies in the motor speed. The wow signal is not perfectly shaped as it introduces
randomness into the equation, making it sound like the original hardware, less predictable and more
analog.

‣ Flutter - ranges from 0% to 0.01%

This parameter controls the amount of flutter. Rapid pseudo-sinusoidal pitch fluctuations with
randomness.

‣ Age - ranges from 0% to 100%

At 0%, the parameter doesn’t add anything into the sound. While gradually increasing it two things
happen: the frequency response is altered, losing high frequency content and gaining low
frequencies. Asperity noises is increased. Asperity noise is caused by random imperfections on the
surface of the tape. It’s frequency dependant and its commonly referred to as 3D effect.

‣ Signal Loss - ranges from 0% to 100%.

Also known as “wear”, it’s a parameter that controls the amount of high frequency that’s randomly
lost. It’s driven by two random oscillators set at different frequencies and it gives a very distinctive
sound to the signal.

‣ Loop gap - ranges from 0% to 100%.

Tape loops are just a strip of tape glued together. You can’t have a perfect tape loop, there will
always be a little gap from where the tape ends and starts again. This gap creates a momentary
signal loss, and it’s subsequently repeated by the heads. In Echo Cat you can set the amount of
effect or leave it at 0% for a perfect artificial tape loop.

‣ Motor
This page contains all the parameters related to the motor that makes the tape spin.

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‣ Hum - ranges from -96dB to 0dB.
Hum is a sound associated with alternating current which is twice the frequency of the mains
electricity. The sound often has heavy harmonic content above 50-60 Hz. When analysing the
sound of the Copicat, a loud hum was present. We didn’t include it in the first prototype, but when
comparing the sound of the original with the plugin, we missed the hum.

‣ Auto Mute
When enabled, the plugin will detect that there is no signal coming through and the hum will be
automatically stopped.

‣ 50 - 60 Hz
Sets the frequency of the hum noise. Depending on the frequency of the mains electricity.

‣ Varispeed Amount - ranges from -10% to 10%.

There was a version of Copicats that introduced Varispeed. You are able to change the speed of the
motor so the times of the heads would vary. In Echo Cat you can change the speed of the motor to
get that tape pitch effect. You can also automate it using the modulation section.

‣ Varispeed Smooth - ranges from 0.% to 100%

Controls the time it takes to the motor to achieve the desired speed. This also controls the slew
effect when changing the Time parameters on the Heads section.

‣ Modulation Depth - ranges from 0% to 100%.

Sets the amplitude of the low frequency oscillator that controls the Varispeed Amount knob.

‣ Modulation Hz - ranges from 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz

Sets the speed of the LFO.

‣ Waveform
Choose between sine and triangle waves.

‣ Master
This page contains all the parameters related to the output of the plugin.

‣ Ducking Amount - ranges from 0% to 100%

Echo Cat will turn the volume of the wet signal down when the dry signal is present. Using this knob
you’ll set how much reduction is applied. At 0%, no reduction will be applied.

‣ Ducking Speed - ranges from 0% to 100%

Sets the attack and release ballistics of the ducking effect. At 0% the attack will be set at 10ms and
release at 300ms. At 100% the attack will be set at 100ms and the release at 3000ms.

‣ Ducking Target
You can set Echo Cat to perform the reduction to the full stereo or just to the mid channel, leaving
the sides untouched.

‣ Bass - ranges from -12 dB to +12 dB

Applies a low shelf filter to the output signal.

‣ Treble - ranges from -12 dB to +12 dB

Applies a high shelf filter to the output signal.

‣ HP - ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz

Applies a high pass filter to the output signal.

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‣ LP - ranges from 20Hz to 20KHz
Applies a low pass filter to the output signal.

‣ Mid - ranges from -24dB to +24dB

Controls the volume of the mid channel (L+R) of the output signal.

‣ Side - ranges from -24dB to +24dB

Controls the volume of the side channel (L-R) of the output signal.

‣ Mono
Sets the output signal to be mono. If the track is already mono, it doesn’t do anything.

‣ Stereo
Sets the output signal to be stereo. If the track is already stereo, it doesn’t do anything.

‣ Fake St.
Applies a 5ms delay to the right channel, which results in a sensation of a wider sound.

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USER INTERFACE

MAIN

The main window shows a representation of the tape loop with the record, erase and playback
heads. With the common parameters at the bottom: input, sustain (feedback), mix and output knobs.
VU meter that shows the input and output level. A power switch that will bypass the signal coming
from the plugin. Finally, you can find the three switches that enable each head, tap or repetition.

In the top left you can see the Echo Cat’s logo, that will display the main panel when clicked. Right
after that, you can see the HQ and Panic buttons explained above. At the centre you can see the
presets box with navigation arrows for easy preset surfing. More on the right you can see a burger
menu icon that toggles the main menu. More on that later. On the top right there’s our logo which
will show you the Echo Cat’s info panel when clicked.

At the bottom right corner you’ll see the icon indicating that the whole GUI is resizable. Just drag to
resize. The plug-in will remember it’s size and it can always be reset by clicking on the main menu
and selecting “Default size”.

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HEADS

This page lets you control all the parameters related to the playback heads.
With three rows, one for each head, that contain time, sync switch, volume, pan and high-pass and
low-pass filters.

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TAPE

In the Tape panel you can find three sections: Hiss, Cat-facts (or Artifacts) and Loop gap.

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MOTOR

In the Motor section you can find three sections: Hum, Varispeed and Modulation which controls the
Varispeed Amount knob.

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MASTER

In the Master section you can find three sections: Ducking, Global Tone and Output.

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MAIN MENU

The menu on the top right contains these elements:

‣ About: this will open a pop-up panel that shows the version number and credits.
‣ Read user manual: the folder containing the user manual will be opened.
‣ Go to website: this will launch https://www.wavesfactory.com/audio-plugins/echo-cat in your
default browser.
‣ Open presets folder: it will open the presets folder so you can manage the preset structure.
‣ Default size: selecting this option will reset the plug-in to the default size of 850x663 pixels.
‣ Enable/Disable OpenGL: if you’re having issues with the rendering of the plug-in you can try to
enable/disable OpenGL.

Extra:
If an update is available the menu will also feature an option named “Check for updates (1)”. More on
that in the next chapter.

AUTO-UPDATER
In order to make the plug-in easier to use and improve the user experience we’ve included a new
method for updating it. Rather than sending an e-mail for letting you know that there is an update
and tell you to go to the website and download it, we’ve thought of a better method.

The plug-in itself will warn you that there is an update available by displaying a red icon at the top
right of the main GUI.

This icon will only appear if your computer is connected to the internet and if it’s possible to perform
the update.

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When clicking on this yellow update icon this panel will appear:

If you don’t want to install the update you can postpose it by clicking “No”.
If you don’t even want the plug-in to warn you again you can toggle the “Don’t ask again” switch.
Then, the icon will disappear but a new option will appear in the main menu named “Check for
updates (1)”. This menu option will trigger the same process as the yellow update icon.
If you would like to perform the update (always recommended!) you have to click on “Yes”.
The plug-in will ask you where you want to download the installer in your hard drive using a native
window. In this case, in a macOS system.

If you click on “Cancel” or if something goes wrong, an error message will appear indicating that
there has been an error and you should try again.

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If a valid location has been set, the download will begin.

In this window you can see the download progress. Here we depend on the server speed and your
own connection speed. Usually, it should be fine and the download should be ready in 1 minute (the
installer’s size is roughly 100MB).
You can always click on “Hide” so the plug-in downloads the installer in the background while you
work in the main interface.

Once the download finishes the plug-in will launch the installer automatically, you should install the
plug-in normally. Then, this message will appear.

Then, as you can read in the window, you should relaunch the plug-in and everything should be
updated.
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PRESETS

ABOUT

At the top centre of the plug-in you’ll find the presets menu. It will be set to the “default” preset
when you open the plug-in for the first time. It works like a regular preset manager where you have
a list that it lets you pick any item and all parameters will be changed accordingly.
The presets are stored in .wfp (Wavesfactory Preset) format in:
‣ Mac: Library/Application Support/Wavesfactory/Echo Cat/Presets
‣ Windows: C:\Users\’username’\AppData\Wavesfactory/Echo Cat/Presets

You can directly manage the presets in this folder, if you create different sub-folders for drums, bass,
guitars, mastering, each containing a set of presets, Echo Cat will take care of that structure and will
show it accordingly using sub-menus.

To open the presets folder you can simply click on the top right menu and select “Open presets
folder”.

SAVE / LOAD / DELETE

The first three elements in the presets menu are: Default, Save and Save As.
Select the default preset for going back to the initial state. This default preset can’t be changed or
re-saved.

In order to save a new preset you first have to tweak the parameters to your taste, then open the
presets menu and select “Save As”. This will open a native OS window that will let you name the
preset and save it in the presets folder.

When you have a preset loaded and you tweak it, the Save label will appear with an asterisk like
this: Save*. This means that the preset has been modified and you can save it directly without going
through the “Save As” dialog.

If you want to save a new preset based on a saved one you can select “Save As” and the save
dialog will appear.

Deleting a preset is as easy as clicking “Delete…” or delete the file in your computer.

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SUPPORT
If you find any bug or you have any questions please get in contact with us following this link:
https://www.wavesfactory.com/support#contact

FINAL WORDS
A huge thanks to all people involved in this project. Beta testers, video makers, reviewers, artists,
designers, composer friends and coding friends!
We hope you like it as much as we do and it helps you take your mixes to the next level.

Thank you very much for supporting Wavesfactory.

CREDITS
‣ Production: Wavesfactory.
‣ Design: Jesús Ginard, Pau Obrador.
‣ DSP: Jesús Ginard, Ivan Cohen.

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EULA

I. Grant of License:
In consideration of payment of the Licensee fee, which is a portion of the price you paid,
Wavesfactory, as Licensor, grants to you, the Licensee, a nonexclusive right to use this copy of this
audio plugin (hereinafter the "SOFTWARE") on a single computer. All rights not expressly granted to
Licensee are reserved to Wavesfactory.

II. Software Ownership:

As the Licensee you own the disks on which the SOFTWARE is recorded or fixed. Wavesfactory shall
retain full and complete title to the SOFTWARE recorded on the enclosed disks and all subsequent
copies of the SOFTWARE, regardless of the media or form on or in which the original disks or copies
may exist. This License is not a sale of the original SOFTWARE.

III. Copyright Restrictions:

This SOFTWARE and the accompanying printed or written materials are copyrighted. Unauthorized
copying of the SOFTWARE, including those instances where the SOFTWARE has been modified,
merged, or included with other Software, or of the printed or written materials, for any reason, is
expressly forbidden. Licensee may be held liable for copyright infringement which results from such
unauthorized copying.

IV. Restrictions on Use:

Licensee may physically transfer the SOFTWARE from one computer to another, provided that the
SOFTWARE is used on only one computer at any one time. Licensee may not electronically transfer
the SOFTWARE to multiple computers over a network system. Licensee may not distribute copies of
the SOFTWARE or accompanying materials to others. Licensee may not modify, adapt, translate,
reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or create derivative works based on the
SOFTWARE or it's accompanying printed or written materials.

V. Transfer Restrictions:
Licensee shall not assign, rent, lease, sell, sublicense or otherwise transfer the SOFTWARE to
another party without prior written consent of Wavesfactory. Any party authorized by Wavesfactory
to receive the SOFTWARE must agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER

VI. Limited Warranty:

Wavesfactory warrants that the disks on which the SOFTWARE is furnished to be free from defects
in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of
purchase. Your receipt shall be evidence of the date of purchase. Any implied warranties on the
SOFTWARE are limited to thirty (30) days from the date of purchase. Some states do not allow
limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. All
programs and accompanying materials are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. The
complete risk as to the quality and performance of the programs is with you. Should the program
prove defective, you assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.

VII. Remedies:
Wavesfactory's entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be at Wavesfactory's option either (a)
return of the purchase price or (b) replacement of the disk that does not meet the Limited Warranty
and which is returned to Wavesfactory with a copy of your receipt. This limited Warranty is void if
failure of the SOFTWARE has resulted from accident, abuse, modification, or misapplication. Any
replacement software will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty
(30) days, whichever is longer.

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VIII. No other Warranties:
The above warranties are in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not
limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. No oral or
written information or advice given by Wavesfactory, its dealers, distributors, agents or employees
shall create a warranty or in any way increase the scope of this limited warranty. No Liability for
Consequential Damages Neither Wavesfactory nor anyone else involved in the creation, production,
or delivery of this product shall be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental
damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use this product (including without limitation,
damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information and the like)
even if Wavesfactory was previously advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not
allow limitations on the length of an implied warranty or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty
gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

CHANGELOG
All bug-fixes, additions and all relevant changes made to Echo Cat will be documented here.

# Version 1.0.1 - 20/10/2020

- Improved: CPU optimisation.
- Added: Mix and HQ parameters locked.

# Version 1.0.0 - 14/10/2020

- Initial release.

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