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Binson Echorec Memory System

The Binson ‘Echorec’ delay-echo unit was first introduced in the mid 1950s as a portable replacement for the plate reverbs and echo chambers (a tiled room with a speaker and microphone inside) that were only to be found in large broadcasting and recording studios. At the time the Echorec was considered to be the top-of-the-line, the Ferrari ‘166 Barchetta’ of echo units: “Better than the best” Binson boldly boasted in their glossy sales literature. Although this smacks of marketing hype the Echorec’s reputation is well earned, and a direct result of Binson’s research and experimentation to build a better echo effect.

Their machine operates in essentially the same manner as an audio cassette recorder or tape echo unit. However, rather than a plastic tape coated with powdered iron oxide, the Echorec utilised a metal drum wound with steel recording wire on which to record an electrical audio signal. ‘Record’ and ‘playback’ heads were arranged around the circumference of the drum to create varied audible delay times and echo effects. The apparatus was dubbed a “memory disc” by its inventor, Ing. Bonfiglio Bini.

Binson Echorec Memory System — The Echorec's memory system is made up from over 200 individual parts.

The Echorec was vastly superior to all other echo machines of the time because the drum was more durable and reliable than magnetic tape. There were no tape loops to snap, no noise from tape splices and, if maintained properly, the drum would never wear out. Binson were so confident in this that they even offered a “Permanent Guarantee“. Bini registered several patents for the device and the patent numbers (PAT. AND REG. 35142-105678-585955) can clearly be seen printed on the ‘Plexiglas’ front panel and on top of the magnetic drum of many Echorec models.

This section drills down deep into the inner workings of the Echorec’s pulsing iron heart to describe its individual components, subassemblies, how they function and, more importantly, how their function can be maintained.

The Drum

Close up of the Binson Echorec drum. Note the fine wire wrapped around the drum face – Photograph taken by Luigi Amaglio 2014.

The Binson magnetic drum is composed of three separate parts: the steel axle, balanced wheel and aluminium thread ring. Approximately one hundred turns of 0.1mm (0.004″) diameter stainless steel wire are wound around the circumference of an aluminium thread ring. The wire is “recording-grade” wire—as used in old wire recorders back in the 1940s—and made from chromium-nickel austenitic stainless steel, which has been rendered ferromagnetic by drawing it into fine wire [Ferromagnetic Structure of Cold-Worked Austenitic Stainless Steels P. T. Hobson & W. P. Osmond 1948]. The wire was wound on to the drum using a modified coil winding machine that Binson built specially to do the job. It had to be kept tight against the drum face with no overlaps or kinks, and the beginning and the end the wire were secured by a small pin (the external pin is visible on the edge of drum)—a very tricky operation.

Even more challenging was the following operation of using a lathe and very fine (280 grade) tungsten carbide grinding wheel to accurately mill the rounded edge off the wire so that it was almost, but not quite, semi-circular, creating a very smooth, flat wire surface that could be properly magnetised by the heads. This was a delicate and crucial operation and the milling had to be performed very slowly as the wire would all too easily break. A new worker on the job would break a lot of wire before finally getting the knack—this was among one the most difficult operations at the Binson factory.

Magnetic drums are no longer manufactured and it’s rare to see used, let alone new old stock ones for sale. Consequently, even an old or damaged drum with worn surfaces is still a valuable commodity—it’s irreplaceable—and it’s perfectly feasible to rework it. The drum can be rethreaded with new wire and resurfaced to restore it back to factory-new condition. Take note that the drum must be rethreaded with recording-grade wire, not soft stainless steel wire, which is only weakly magnetic and therefore works poorly as a recording medium. And be aware, recording wire is extremely “springy” and hard—like a guitar high ‘E’ string—unlike copper wire, which is much softer and more ductile. Winding a guitar pickup or transformer with copper wire is a relatively trivial task in comparison to winding the drum.

The milling and finishing work is vital if the hi-fidelity performance of a brand new machine straight out of the Binson factory is to be achieved. If the wire is left round the head will only be able to make direct contact at one small point on the wires’ circumference as shown in the cross-sectional drawing (a) below. It can be seen that just about all the head to wire contact is lost to air gaps (coloured in blue), which results in a weak signal being ‘printed’ on to the drum. In practice this means there’s no possibility of attaining those lingering, crystal clear repeats as heard on Pink Floyd’s 1973 track ‘Time’ from ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ and the signal to noise ratio of the Echorec will be lousy too. Drawing (b) shows how milling off the wire rounds maximises surface area of the wire (coloured in orange) creating a wider recording track for the head to magnetise.

Head and six turns of recording wire in the Binson Echorec — Head and six turns of recording wire in cross-section magnified approx. 100X (a) Unmilled recording wire causes poor contact with the record/playback heads; (b) Milled recording wire yields much improved head contact.

On an historical note, wire recording machines used to zip along at a rapid rate of 2 feet per second (24ips). However, even though the wire was passing the heads at speeds higher than a modern professional studio tape machine, the audio performance was still poor. By increasing the effective surface area of the wire Dr Bini improved the audio fidelity of the Echorec in comparison to the old wire recorders.

The drum is a superb example of vintage high precision engineering, being accurately milled to exceptionally fine tolerances. Although the drums were manufactured in the Binson factory, the high level of precision machining required between the drum axle shaft and axle housing meant that the lapping and calibration work had to be undertaken by an external company that specialised in building injectors for diesel motors. The drum and housing were manufactured as a pair, matched one-to-one with the same serial number so it’s important to note that if purchasing a spare drum that the axle housing is included as well. Never buy a spare drum without the axle housing: it will never work properly.

Early Binson machines were fitted with drums milled from a solid lump of iron. They were very heavy, weighing in at almost 3lbs. This bit of over engineering was almost certainly intended to keep ‘wow’ and ‘flutter’ (slow and fast pitch variations due to changes in the rotational velocity of the drum) to an absolute minimum. All that mass meant that once the heavy metal drum had attained rotational velocity it would remain stable—the angular momentum of that spinning chunk of iron acted like a mechanical low-pass filter effectively filtering out any transient fluctuations (‘flutter’) in mains voltage or unpredictable dynamic frictional changes, reducing overall wow and flutter to a vanishing point.

The same approach was adopted in idler wheel driven turntables, such as the Garrard 401, where the mass is an alloy platter rather than an iron drum. The wow and flutter of a 401 is measured at 0.05%—right at the limits of what test gear could measure at the time. Technically there’s no reason why a properly serviced Echorec should not approach this figure or, to put it another way, wow and flutter should be inaudible in a properly serviced Echorec.

Later on Binson began fabricating their drums from 3mm thick pressed mild steel. The result was significant reduction in weight—the new drums weighed just under 1lb. The reasoning behind this may be that Bini realised all this mass was overkill, that the rotational stability was not significantly impaired by reducing the mass of the drum. Consequently he decided they could ease off on the specs and save money on international shipping costs of their new model Echorecs.

A steel boss was attached to the center of the drum using a process known as rotary friction welding to which the hardened steel shaft was then joined by an interference fit. At the time friction welding was a new development. Bini was utilising the latest cutting edge technology to achieve the highest possible concentricity and ensure wow and flutter was kept as low as it could possibly be.

The Heads

The picture on the right shows a Photovox tape head. These heads were manufactured to much higher levels of precision and possessed a narrower gap than earlier designs. This improved the high frequency response of Binson’s machine significantly. Additionally, note the chamfered edges of the head—the head profile is not the same as a standard ¼″ reel-to-reel tape machine head. This modified head geometry was intended to improve head contact with the hard convex surface of the magnetic drum and so make it easier for Binson technicians to align the heads properly.

The drum must be kept lightly oiled at all times to reduce frictional wear where the heads contact the drum. This ensures a long service life. Any light lubricating oil such as sewing machine oil will do, however care must be taken that none of the oil finds its way onto the rubber idler wheel.

Photovox Playback head for the tube Binson Echorec B2 – Photograph taken by Luigi Amaglio 2014.

Even the slightest drop will cause the idler to slip badly against the drum resulting in excessive ‘wow’. In the worst case all traction is completely lost and the motor shaft just spins uselessly against the idler wheel (and drum), which remains stationary. Any oil contamination should be removed as quickly as possible with isopropyl alcohol.

The record and playback heads are positioned around the circumference of the drum, the first of these is the record head and the others are the playback heads giving four possible different delay taps. There is a delay of approximately 75ms before the first playback head reads the recorded signal from the drum, 150ms for the second head, 225ms for the third head and the longest delay is 300ms for the fourth head. Heads are selected with the knob on the front panel which gives 12 separate echo selections from one head alone to complex multi-tap effects. The impedance of a tube Echorec (‘Baby’ or B2 model) playback head is typically in the region of 600Ω—700Ω and a record head is 400Ω—500Ω. The record head has a wider gap (10μm) than the playback head (5μm) and fewer turns of wire, hence lower resistance. A wider gap ensures that the magnetic flux permeates deep into the magnetic recording medium (the recording wire), resulting in strong magnetisation, that is a high-fidelity signal is recorded on the drum. A wider gap also means poorer frequency response particularly on trebles if the record head is used as a playback head.

A Word On Head “Relapping”

If the Echorec drum does happen to be in need of rethreading and resurfacing then this is certainly an indicator that the machine hasn’t been properly maintained and serviced, for instance the drum face hasn’t been kept lightly oiled or the machine has been operated with misaligned heads. Over time the precision contoured shape of the tape heads is worn away by friction against the drum ultimately resulting in poor contact between the head and drum face. Recording and/or playback quality gradually degrades—in practice this means, a loss of high frequency response of the delay repeats, a higher incidence of dropouts and excessive background noise/hiss.

“Relapping” can restore adversely worn heads to their original performance. The process essentially involves fine grade sanding or polishing to remove material and recontour the shape of the head. This is highly skilled work that should only be undertaken by an experienced technician such as Terry Summers (Summertone). As long as the head isn’t too badly worn it’s possible to rework it to “as new” condition. Generally heads can only be relapped once—after that too much material has been lost to restore the correct head profile without altering the length of gap and curtailing it’s high-frequency response. If the heads are beyond repair then replacements can be obtained from Photovox company in Italy—the original supplier of heads to Binson back in their heyday in the 1950s.

The Erase Magnets

Erase magnet assembly — The Echorec erase head is made up of an assembly of three permanent magnets.

The Echorec erase head is made up of a cluster of three small permanent ‘Alnico‘ rod and bar magnets similar to those Leo Fender utilised in the manufacture of the single coil pickups for his ‘Stratocaster’ electric guitar back in the 50s.

The larger U-shaped magnet assembly does all the real work of erasing the recorded signal from the drum. The magnet assembly is made up of a 10mm long Alnico rod magnet of 8mm diameter held within two short, curved lengths of 2mm thick mild steel. These meet at one end where a tiny shim of copper 0.5mm thick is inserted. The shim prevents the steel ends from touching creating a “gap”.

This entire assembly is a permanent magnet erase head. The break in the magnetic circuit causes the magnetic field to bulge so that the flux is no longer confined within the steel. When the assembly is placed in close proximity to the magnetic drum, the lines of flux permeate the recording wire wrapped around it. This re-randomises the magnetic domains within the wire, thus erasing the recorded signal.

This primitive arrangement has a major drawback in that it magnetises the recording medium. The magnetisation induced (effectively “DC noise”) on the recording wire is small, but it is enough to accentuate hiss (broadband random, aka “white” noise). It will also highlight any manufacturing imperfections that affect the smoothness of the drum’s surface. In practice this noise manifests itself as a sporadic low-pitched rumbling or periodic thumps, severely degrading the sound fidelity of the machine.

To combat this the Echorec is fitted with an additional pair of ‘polarisation magnets’ which demagnetise the drum to return it to a neutral state. One of these magnets is affixed to the side of the U-shaped assembly and the other is mounted on its own bracket. Both magnets are small Alnico bar magnets of dimensions 10mm × 8mm × 6mm.

How it Works

Magnetism is a curious thing: an invisible force that attracts or repels and can even be transferred to other ferrous objects, such as a screwdriver, so it becomes magnetic too. This is essentially the principle by which cassette players, video tape recorders and the Binson Echorec operate. A ‘record head’ prints a magnetic signal onto the recording medium (the drum) and then a ‘playback head’ reads the signal.

In an Echorec there are four playback heads positioned around the circumference of the drum. Each head reads the signal from a different point along the drum’s surface creating four different delay times. Further, there’s an erase magnet which wipes the recorded magnetic signal off the drum. Without this the signal would just keep overlaying itself to build up into a cacophony of sonic mush and self-oscillation.

Now, as the drum rotates it’s surface passes through the intense localised magnetic flux field (20) of the erase magnet. This wipes the printed signal from the recording wire but also magnetises it. This residual magnetisation is removed by an arrangement of magnets positioned in an alternating N-S pole pattern (as shown in the figure below). As the drum surface continues to move through these progressively weaker magnetic field reversals (21, 22, 23) the wire gradually becomes demagnetised.

These additional magnets are vital as without them any remanent magnetism in the wire would cause a severe reduction in recording/playback fidelity.

How an erase magnet works — Demagnetisation described in US patent 2,594,394 published April 29th 1952

One final point. Alnico magnets have a low coercivity. This means they’re easily demagnetized by stray magnetic fields, temperature fluctuations and mechanical shocks, such as being dropped on the floor. For this reason an aging Alnico magnet can lose its magnetic mojo over the years and decades, and become weaker until ultimately it can no longer function effectively as an erase head. However, Alnico possesses low coercivity; it’s easily re-magnetised. An old magnet can be restored back to full strength by simply placing it within close proximity of another strong magnet, for instance a neodymium magnet. There’s just one important proviso though: make sure the polarisation is correct, otherwise the magnet’s “North” and “South” poles will windup being reversed.

The Idler Wheel

The magnetic drum is driven by a rubber idler wheel. The idler isn’t directly connected onto the motor shaft, but is mounted on a metal base-plate that’s free to slide towards the shaft and the edge of the drum. Pressure of the idler wheel against the motor shaft and drum is maintained by a spring-loaded mechanism. This arrangement is effectively a ‘clutch’ (similar to that found in a Garrard 401 turntable) and its purpose is to transfer the rotational velocity of rotor (motor shaft) to the drum. The powerful, high torque AC motor and idler wheel/clutch arrangement ensure the Echorec’s drum spins at a stable speed at all times.

Binson Echorec rubber idler wheel – Photograph taken by Luigi Amaglio 2014.

Binson’s first idler wheels were made from a 4mm thick rubber disc of diameter 55mm sandwiched between two thin aluminium discs. In the centre is a 10mm ‘Oilite’ sintered bronze bushing of 6mm internal diameter. The whole assembly is push-fitted together (and possibly glued) so that the aluminium discs add stiffness and support to the rubber disc. This type of idler wheel was fitted to the gold panel ‘Echorec 1°’ (model ‘T5E’). The idler installed on the ‘Baby’ was of the same construction, being essentially a miniaturised version with a diameter of just 34mm.

Later models, such as the Echorec 2° (‘T7E’) and ‘Export’, are equipped with a new, better engineered, technically superior idler wheel. The rubber is moulded directly onto a circular brass former which houses a steel bushing. Like the aluminium discs, the brass significantly improves the strength and rigidity of the rubber wheel. This helps to prevent the idler wheel’s shape from deforming whilst spinning and driving the magnetic drum.

Like the old ‘T5E’ idler, the bushing in the newer wheel is also of 6mm internal diameter, however it’s countersunk at the base and fabricated from hardened steel rather than sintered bronze. These changes to the design of the idler help to improve stability and ensure ‘wow’ & ‘flutter’ is kept to an absolute minimum.

How to Keep the Idler Wheel in Good Shape

The idler wheel is another one of those irreplaceable Binson manufactured parts. N.O.S. ones rarely come up for sale and when they do, they’re always expensive. However, keep in mind that a new idler wheel made in the 1970s and stored, unused in a dark cupboard or drawer will inevitably age. As the decades roll by the rubber hardens and loses it’s elastic properties until, eventually, cracks appear. The specified shelf life of vulcanised rubber is a mere five years, meaning an idler wheel that’s fifty years old is well along the road on its journey to deterioration—there’s no escaping the chemistry of decay.

It’s difficult to assess how serious a problem this really is. Measurements made of the “Shore hardness”, the resistance a material has to indention, indicate that the rubber in Binson’s idler wheels is of medium hardness, around 80 on the Shore A scale. This is comparable to the rubber used in the manufacture car tires. Seems reasonable. However, it also seems reasonable that the rubber in an old idler wheel must have hardened over the decades.

To put it another way, the idler wheel now no longer conforms to Binson’s original specifications. What does this mean in practice? Well, a harder wheel will make less effective contact with drum surface, possibly slip and cause loss of traction resulting in increased wow and flutter. There’s little that can be done about the ageing process in rubber but measures can be taken to prevent it being physically damaged.

For instance, if the Echorec is being stored or not used for long periods it’s a good idea to ensure that that idler wheel is not left in physical contact with the motor spindle. If the metal spindle is left pressing against the rubber it will eventually deform it, leaving an impression or dint in it. To prevent this from happening, make sure that the rubber wheel is pushed clear of the spindle by removing the tensioning spring.

Slightly deformed or hardened idler wheels can be sometimes rescued by soaking them in hot water or applying heat with a hair dryer; the heat softens the rubber, so that it can return to its original shape. Rubber can also be softened chemically using a product such as MG ‘Rubber Renue’ 408A, which can miraculously restore traction to even the most hardened of idler wheels.

Deep indentations resulting from the idler wheel being left parked against the motor spindle are not so easy to remedy; it’s not possible to remove them using the methods outlined above. If the original wow and flutter performance of the machine is to be restored then there are two options available. One is to grind or mill out the dent by removing rubber from its circumference. Binson built a machine specifically for this job. Their lash-up consisted of a large motor and belt-driven grinding wheel. The idler wheel being worked on was held in position with a clamp assembly. This assembly allowed the idler to be brought into contact with the quickly spinning grinding wheel and rotated.

The second option is to ‘retread’ the idler wheel. This involves removing all the old rubber, replacing it with new and then using a lathe to machine the wheel to the correct diameter and thickness. The new rubber must be of the correct type and hardness. There are still a few people around who can undertake this task to the necessary precision required to restore the idler to factory-fresh condition: no wobble, no wow, no slippage.

The Motor

The earlier model ‘T5E’ and prototype Ecorecs were fitted with a German made Lorenz (type EMKG 302-10b) single phase AC induction motor, which required a capacitor to get it to start spinning. Incidentally, Lorenz also developed Hitler’s “unbreakable” cipher machine, the Lorenz SZ42, enabling German High Command to communicate with their forces via radio in complete secrecy during WW2. The Lorenz capacitor start motor in the old model T5E really does look like something you’d find in a vintage typewriter, wire recorder or cipher machine and is an exemplary instance of 1940s German engineering, being reliable and trouble-free. However Binson, always on the quest for something better, and more cost effective, eventually replaced it with an ingenious ‘shaded-pole’ induction motor. Most of the ‘black-panel’ model ‘T7E’ (and ‘B2’) Echorecs are fitted with powerful 40W shaded-pole motors.

The shaded-pole motor does not require a motor start capacitor nor does it require brushes—brushes are carbon contacts that supply current to the rotor (the bit that spins)—to conduct current into the rotor winding. Instead—and this is the clever part—currents are induced in the ‘rotor’ by induction and manipulating the shape of the magnetic field with thick copper wires (the shaded poles) embedded in the iron laminates of the ‘stator’ (the bit that stays still). The magnetic field in the stator laminates is generated by the AC current flowing in the primary winding, just like a transformer (there’s an excellent explanation of how shaded-pole motors work about 7 minutes into this YouTube video).

Because there are no brushes to wear out, rotor windings or start capacitor, the shaded-pole motor is exceptionally reliable and requires little maintenance. Furthermore, the rotor is factory balanced during manufacture to ensure even distribution of mass around the axis of rotation. Balancing is achieved by removing, or adding, a small amount of material from the metal alloy fins on the bottom of the rotor. The process reduces mechanical noise and vibration—stresses which cause excessive/adverse wear on the motor bushings—to significantly extend the life expectancy of the motor. A properly balanced shaded-pole motor runs so smoothly that it’s almost inaudible when operating; an essential prerequisite if it’s to be used in hi-fidelity audio equipment, such as a Binson echo machine or Garrard 401 turntable.

The rotor spins at fixed speed. Its synchronous speed is determined by the AC mains frequency and number of poles in the motor winding (not voltage!). This is 50Hz in UK, Europe, Australia and most of the world, except America where it is 60Hz.

The speed of the motor can be calculated:

ω = 2 × 60 × f / n

where

ω = pump shaft rotational speed (rev/min, RPM)

f = frequency (Hz, cycles/sec) = 50Hz

n = number of poles = 2

ω = 2 × 60 × 50 / 2 = 3000RPM

The voltage selector switch on the side panel of the ‘T7E’ selects various tap points on the primary winding of the power supply transformer allowing the machine to operate from European 220V, British 240V or U.S.A. 120V AC mains power. The transformer primary winding also doubles as an ‘autotransformer‘ ensuring the shaded-pole motor always sees the specified 220VAC it requires to operate correctly. This is essential as although the motor is synchronous, that is under no load conditions it spins at the same speed regardless of applied voltage, at low voltage it may not have enough torque to start up under load. This is because at reduced voltage the torque of a synchronous motor is reduced by the square of the voltage ratio. What this means in real terms is that if the voltage falls from 220V to 110V the torque decreases by a factor of four and the motor may stall, overheat and burnout.

It should also be kept in mind that the motor speed in a European Echorec will be about 20% faster when operated in America resulting in the overall delay time being 20% shorter. Altering the diameter of the rubber drive wheel or changing the voltage WILL NOT alter the speed of the disc. Echorecs manufactured for the American market under the ‘Guild’ brand name were fitted with motors that had smaller diameter spindles to correct the gearing ratio so the idler wheel was driven at the same speed as European models.

Incidentally, it is possible to roughly deduce the age of a particular model ‘T7E’ by examining the side of the motor where there’s normally a date of manufacture stamped in black ink. This isn’t a completely accurate estimate as the motor may have been sitting in stores for awhile, however the Echorec will certainly be no older than this date.

A few vital statistics taken from a real Echorec model ‘T7E’:

Measured drum diameter (d) = 4.7″
Drum circumference = π × d = π × 4.7 = 15″

Measured rotational speed of drum = 71RPM, so every minute, 71 × 15″ = 1065″ of the magnetic band on the drum surface passes across the heads. Converting this to inches per second:

1065 / 60 = 18ips, which is very respectable tape speed for hifi reproduction

The motor spindle circumference can be calculated from:

Drum ω = 71RPM
Drum circumference = 15″
Motor spindle ω = 3000RPM

Spindle circumference = 71 × 15″ / 3000 = 0.36″

The measured the spindle diameter was just over one tenth of an inch, which gives a circumference of about 0.31″.

The delay time can be calculated from the measured distance between heads which is 1.3″ (34mm). If the drum speed is 18ips = 457mm/s then delay time for the first playback head is:

First tap = 34 / 457 = 0.074s = 74ms

and the Second tap = 2 × 74 = 148ms

and the Third tap = 3 × 74 = 222ms

and the Fourth tap = 4 × 74 = 296ms

Bini put a great deal of thought into the positioning of the record and four playback heads around the circumference of the Echorec’s drum. Their relative distances are not entirely arbitrary and were chosen so that the delay times are musically related to one another. If the fourth tap is considered as representing a quarter note then the third tap is a dotted eighth note. This particularly inspiring repeat pattern has been put to good use by guitarists such as David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and ‘The Edge’ (U2) to build some compelling riffs and grooves. Continuing on, the second tap represents an eighth note and the first tap a sixteenth note. These shorter delays can be heard in slap-back and rockabilly music from the 1950s and, again by Gilmour to good effect on tracks such as ‘Time’ (The Dark Side of the Moon).

Just a one more thing. The ‘T7E’ motor is fitted with self-lubricating sintered bronze bushings (not to be confused with brushes mentioned earlier). These bushings hold the rotor in position and allow it to spin freely. Over long periods of time the bushings do dry out, which degrades the speed stability of the motor eventually giving rise to increased motor noise, ultimately destroying the bushings and ruining the motor (replacement bushings for these old motors are essentially unobtainium). So be warned, even self-lubricating bushings don’t last forever, and because the motor is hidden within the Echorec chassis, and difficult to access, the task of oiling them is more often than not never even considered, let alone undertaken.

Servicing the Memory System

Servicing jobs, such as cleaning and oiling the drum or installing new anti-vibration mounts for the motor are relatively straightforward, however there are other tasks, for instance aligning the heads that are beyond agonising. It is possible to make an attempt at head alignment without electronic test equipment, however do keep in mind that the high frequency response of a typical guitar amp only extends up to around 6KHz—you won’t be able hear high frequencies let alone tweak the Echorec to reproduce them. And, even if a high fidelity amplifier and speaker system are utilised, the human ear is easily deceived. For this reason head alignment is almost certainly best carried out by a qualified electronics technician with access to an oscilloscope and signal generator and experience of aligning heads on reel-to-reel machines.

There was a time when Binson and their international distributors would undertake this and other Echorec servicing work. For example, the picture above shows a completely refurbished memory system. This work was undertaken by Eric Snowball, Binson UK in 2009. All an Echorec owner need do was remove the memory system from the chassis of their machine, pack it carefully and post it to Eric for him to work on. At the time Binson UK had the capability to reface the drum, relap the heads and clean and electroplate the mounting plate and any corroded metal parts so that the memory system could be restored to “factory new” condition—the original audio performance of the Echorec was restored!

This bespoke specialised restoration work did not come cheap though: rebuilding the memory system is labour intensive work costing in the region of £700-00 back in 2009. The take home message: Look after your Echorec. It’s essential to perform basic maintenance and employ sensible practices to preserve the performance of any delicate, precision mechanism, and the Echorec really is the very definition of a delicate, precision mechanism. Make sure the heads are aligned properly, the drum is kept lightly oiled, the idler wheel isn’t left parked and pressing against the motor spindle for long periods when the machine isn’t in use, that the drum bearing gets regreased every few years and the motor bushings are periodically lubricated too and, do use your Echorec… often. These machines love to be used—it keeps all the moving parts, well, moving! If you promise to commit to undertake just these few simple things then I promise your Echorec will continue to operate beautifully for many, many years to come.

Special thanks to Luigi Amaglio for supplying excellent close-up photographs of various Echorec components and Eric Snowball, David Bozzoni and Marcello Patruno for supplying supplemental technical info for this article.

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_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
mailchimp_landing_site	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_email	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_previous_email	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.current_email		This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.previous_email		This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.

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Binson Echorec Memory System