Binson Echorec Resources

We're Binson specialists with many years' experience restoring, testing, fine-tuning and using these machines. In the last few years we have undoubtedly sold more of these machines to satisfied customers all over the world than anyone else. We've spent years and countless hours understanding how these machines were built and how to restore them to their full potential.

See our current Echorec listed for sale here; but note that most of the valve units we restore are sold before they reach the site - if you are interested in one of these and don't see one on here then contact us now to discuss your requirements.

OK, so what is an Echorec?

Binson Echorecs are amazingly-engineered machines: where a tape echo's input sound is recorded to tape, on a Binson it is recorded onto a circular spinning disc which has replay heads positioned around it. It is possible to select single and repeating echoes or reverb-like swells - these units have a sound all of their own. They look fantastic at night (or on a darkened stage) with the magic eye valve glowing green and the backlit plexiglass fascia.

Binsons were one of the must-have pieces of equipment for bands in the early sixties, alongside the Fender Stratocaster and Vox AC30. Famously-used and abused by Barrett, Gilmour, Waters and Wright of Pink Floyd in the 60s and early 70s (Echorec 2s are very much in evidence on Live at Pompeii and can be seen on photos from many Floyd live shows), Binsons are increasingly sought-after today by studios, mix engineers and producers for their unique sound: Michael Brauer (Stones, McCartney, Coldplay) famously has an Echorec 2 in his arsenal of vintage delays.

Soundgas Approved Binsons...

Every vintage Echorec we sell represents a very substantial investment of several experts' time and effort: often an extensive overhaul or complete rebuild by a highly experienced Binson expert, followed by additional work, calibration and fine-tuning in our workshop. And a Soundgas Approved Binson comes with our full after-sales support (manual, maintenance notes and personal support as needed), plus we guarantee the functioning of every machine will be second-to-none. You WILL find cheaper "serviced" machines available online, but you will not find better, and no others come with a 6 month warranty against faults.

Some of the information here first appeared in Tony's blog post: Buying a Binson Echorec - Modern Pedal or Vintage Machine?

This section of the site will grow as we gather all our Binson information together in once place. Pages that are completed or under construction will include:

• Why buy a vintage Binson Echorec (and what to look for if you do)
• Which Echorec pedals are best?
• Basic Binson Echorec care and maintenance
• Some of our favourite Binson demos
• Echorecs we have known - an archive of (almost) every Binson we've sold.

For much of the best information online about Binson construction, history and restoration we recommend Phil Taylor's Binson pages on the Effectrode website.

And for a (nearly) definitive guide to the bewildering number of models and variations that Binson produced there is AudioExMachina's Echorec Bible.

Looking for Binson parts or help restoring a machine you picked up cheap?

We do have some parts available to buy from time to time. If they are available they will either be listed here on the site, or they are often auctioned on our ebay account. Unfortunately we are not currently able to supply parts to specific orders.

And the same applies to requests for pointers for restoring a Binson. There is information out there (see the links above) but other than that we don't have time to answer queries about the specifics what you need to do to revive a machine. What we will say is that much of the work is both time-consuming and pretty specialist - definitely not for the faint-hearted, and definitely a labour of love. And the final point to note is that if you have picked up an un-restored Binson on ebay, please on no account switch it on - because of the way the wire degrades in many of these they can be extremely dangerous. We have had more than one mains shock off one of these and do not recommend it!