Binson was an early manufacturer of echo machine

Echo machine

An echo machine is the early name for a sound processing device used with electronic instruments to repeat the sound and produce a simulated echo. The device was popular with guitarists and was used by Brian May, Jimmy Page and Syd Barrett among others. Nowadays it would normally be called a Delay...

s. Unlike most other analog echo machines, they used an analog magnetic drum recorder instead of a tape loop

Tape loop

In music, tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms...

. Their most famous product was the Binson Echorec.

Two of the most famous users of Binson units were Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

's original frontman Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...

 and guitarist David Gilmour

David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...

. The classic Binson delay effect can be heard on songs such as "Interstellar Overdrive

Interstellar Overdrive

"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition written by Pink Floyd in 1966, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording, 16:52, can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in...

", "Astronomy Domine

Astronomy Domine

"Astronomy Domine" is a song by British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, was the first track featured on their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn . The lead vocal was sung by Barrett and keyboard player Richard...

", "Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. The song is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, although it was not originally explicitly written with him in mind. It was first performed on their 1974 French...

" and "Time

Time (Pink Floyd song)

"Time" is the fourth track from English progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon, and the only song on the album credited to all four members of the band...

". Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

 of Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 also used a Binson echo unit which was used on the drums in "When the Levee Breaks

When the Levee Breaks

"When the Levee Breaks" is a blues song written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song is in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927....

." Binson echo units were also used by Hawkwind

Hawkwind

Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....

, and more recently by Tarantula Hawk

Tarantula Hawk (band)

Tarantula Hawk is a psychedelic progressive metal band from San Diego, California.- Members :* Braden Diotte – bass guitar, electronics* Dylan Scharf – keyboards, guitar* Dave Warshaw – drums, guitar, sampler* Rob Morrison – bass, sampler...

. Jon Courtney

Jon Courtney

Jon Courtney, who grew up in Reading, Berkshire, is a singer, guitarist, and keyboard player in the British rock band Pure Reason Revolution. He was also the sole songwriter on their first two albums...

 of British Nu-Prog band Pure Reason Revolution

Pure Reason Revolution

Pure Reason Revolution are a British rock group formed at the University of Westminster in 2003 and who are playing their final dates together in November 2011. Their music incorporates elements of progressive rock and electro. Their music has been variously described as 'Astral Folk' and 'New...

 is also a frequent user of the Binson units.

In Pink Floyd's 23-minute long song "Echoes

Echoes (Pink Floyd song)

"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...

", Roger Waters

Roger Waters

George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...

 used a Binson Echorec to create the eerie underwater wind noise heard during the first interlude (10:40-15:02 on studio recordings, underneath the screaming whale song produced by Gilmour); he vibrated the strings of his bass guitar with a steel slide and fed the sound through the Echorec. Waters reproduced this sound during live performances. The Binson Echorec was a major part of the early Pink Floyd sound, until they started to use the VCS3 Synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 in 1972.

See also

• Roland Space Echo
• Watkins Copicat
• Echoplex
  Echoplex
  The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s and was used by some of the most notable guitar players of the era; original Echoplexes are highly sought after....
  
  
• Meazzi Echomatic
• Klemt Echolette

External links

• http://www.binson.com
• http://www.meazzi.org.uk
• http://www.echomatic.co.uk
• http://www.esemusic.com
• http://www.gilmourish.com/?page_id=74
• http://www.toneheaven.ndirect.co.uk/British%20Echos.htm
• http://www.hendrixguitars.com/Ef022.htm (picture gallery of Binson echo machines)