Binson was an early manufacturer of
echo machineAn 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 loopTape 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 FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band who, in the late 1960s, earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and in the 1970s, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art,...
's original frontman
Syd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and artist. He is most remembered as a founding member of psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, providing major musical and stylistic direction in their early work, although he left the group in 1968 amidst...
and guitarist
David GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour CBE is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo...
. The classic Binson delay effect can be heard on songs such as "
Interstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition by Pink Floyd, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in London, which was...
" and "
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...
". Binson echo units were also used by
HawkwindHawkwind 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 more recently by
Tarantula HawkTarantula 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...
.
Binson was an early manufacturer of
echo machineAn 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 loopTape 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 FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band who, in the late 1960s, earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and in the 1970s, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art,...
's original frontman
Syd BarrettSyd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and artist. He is most remembered as a founding member of psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd, providing major musical and stylistic direction in their early work, although he left the group in 1968 amidst...
and guitarist
David GilmourDavid Jon Gilmour CBE is an English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer, and one of the songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a record producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo...
. The classic Binson delay effect can be heard on songs such as "
Interstellar Overdrive"Interstellar Overdrive" is a psychedelic composition by Pink Floyd, which appears on their 1967 debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn at almost ten minutes in length. An earlier, longer recording can be heard on the soundtrack to the film Tonite Let's All Make Love in London, which was...
" and "
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...
". Binson echo units were also used by
HawkwindHawkwind 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 more recently by
Tarantula HawkTarantula 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 CourtneyJon Courtney, who grew up in Reading, Berkshire, is a singer, guitarist, and keyboard player in the British rock band Pure Reason Revolution. He is also the sole songwriter...
of British Nu-Prog band
Pure Reason RevolutionPure Reason Revolution are a British rock group formed at the University of Westminster in 2003. Their music incorporates elements of progressive rock and electro. It has been variously described as 'Astral Folk' and 'New prog'...
is also a frequent user of the Binson units.
In Pink Floyd's 23-minute long song "
Echoes"Echoes" is a song by Pink Floyd, including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written by all four members of the group , "Echoes" provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd's album Meddle...
",
Roger WatersGeorge Roger Waters is an English rock musician. He is best known as the bass player and one of the main songwriters and lead singers in the English rock band Pink Floyd from 1964 to 1985...
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.
See also
- Roland Space Echo
- Watkins Copicat
- 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 most of the notable guitar players of the era; original Echoplexes are highly sought after....
- Meazzi Echomatic
- Klemt Echolette
External links
- http://www.binson.com
- 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.penumbra.co.nz/allthegear.html (see half-way down this lengthy page for text about, and pictures of, Binson devices)
- http://www.hendrixguitars.com/Ef022.htm (picture gallery of Binson echo machines)