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Oil and Alcohol: Binson Echorec Export Rebuild Completed!

The air in my workshop is now heavy with the strong scent of machine oil and alcohol. This marks the completion of my first Binson Echorec rebuild for a paying customer! The oil and alcohol were used during the endless hours of head alignment and idler wheel tweaking that were essential to get this old Echorec (1962) operating close to original factory new condition. Head alignment is fantastically fiddly to get just right on these machines as it involves alignment in 3 planes. Additionally, there’s alignment between all five heads to consider as well as the tracking force of each individual head on the drum. It really is a challenge and much, much more complex than azimuth adjustment on a typical reel-to-reel tape machine, which is a breeze in comparison.

The idler wheel can be a pain in the ass too – I found myself getting extremely frustrated with the inordinate amount of time it was taking to complete the job. It’s not rocket science, but it’s one of those things that demand time and require the patience of an angel, however when it starts to run true, and you hear those pristine endless repeats or self-oscillation, well it’s as close to a miracle as this athiest can get. The devil very much is in the detail here. You can learn the theory, but it really comes down to spending time and getting involved, something that is in short supply in today’s world. Anyway it’s done, a complete rewire, respray and setup, effectively a new machine just like an Echorec that rolled off Binson’s production line back in the 1960’s, and hopefully good for another 50 years or more.

Effectrode doesn’t currently offer restoration, rewiring or setups of Echorecs but it’s a service we’re aiming to provide in the not too distant future. In the meantime I’ll be writing more articles and will get a detailed article on the intricacies of Echorec head alignment online as soon as I can. Stay tuned more info on these fabulous machines!

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4 COMMENTS

Bram Stolk May 15, 2016 at 07:42:11 Log in to Reply

Hello Phil, Great information on your Binson blog pages... I am working on a Binson Echorec 2, trying to get the heads properly aligned using a signal generator as an input source and an oscilloscope to monitor the outputs of the various heads. Question: What is about the correct setting for the trimpots to obtain distorsion free signal levels. E.g magic eye shall be closed at e.g 1 kHz 200 mV input? What is to be expected for 3dB freq response curve? In general, where to find Binson specs?

Phil May 15, 2016 at 03:00:09 Log in to Reply

Hi Bram, I advise you contact Antony Miln at 'Soundgas' as these guys service and repair Echorecs. All the best with your restoration project.

Walter Wedler April 11, 2016 at 09:40:23 Log in to Reply

Thank you for this amazing Binson Echorec Site! The only thing I am missing on your site and anywhere else is a tube-location chart. I removed all tubes when I started using a Boss digital delay pedal. My Mod. T7E uses ECC 81, 82, a. 83s. I can not remember where goes what. Help please.

Phil April 13, 2016 at 08:14:39 Log in to Reply

Hi Walter, Most of the tubes are 12AX7s (ECC83s) except for the bias oscillator tube which is a 12AU7 (ECC82)

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