History

The echosex project got its start almost two years ago from a challenge of Binson echorec enthusiast Tullio Ferro, one of the most renowned and appreciated Italians songwriters, to Guglielmo Cicognani, considered one of the world's best echorec restorers.

The basic idea was to fix the well known issues of the beloved Binson:

• The first issue was the unit’s reliability.
• The other problem was the max delay time of only 310ms ca.
• Also, the wearing of the mechanical parts contributed to the differences from one unit to another.

So, we started from here, from the idea of bringing back the things guitar players most search for in a Binson unit, leaving behind features that are less important and still trying to solve the problems noted above, all while creating an object that could bring back to life all the feelings that only an old Binson could give without paying thousands for it.

The result obtained after more then one year of work is the Echosex 2°, a beautiful object that recalls at the same time the feeling of the precious Binson and the stability of a modern tool.

Controls

The controls respect the “Macaroni” english used in the original description of the Binson. For the new added control, we chose the same “style”, calling it “age of damage” regarding its function to control the simulation of the malfunctioning of the old mechanical system.

The construction quality is tank-like and very well engineered. All the controls are in the right place and it also has dip switches that permit the setting of the pedal for different situations (adj. I/O levels, programming the footswitch button). In facts, as it was with the Binson, the Echosex 2° has the possibility to be used as a tube pre-amplifier ( for voice, bass, or keys) too. The dip switches also provide the option of having the echo trail fade or cut off when the bypass button is pressed.

In the center of the panel it is well shown the tube, a double triode 12AX7B super selected and balanced personally by Guglielmo Cicognani himself. The tube is lit in green and surrounded by LED that follows the dynamic of the input signal like the magic eye in the old Binson did.

The control “Volume Echo” is a mix control the will let us increase or decrease the quantity of effect mixed with the dry signal, up to the 50% in relation to the guitar signal.

The “Length of swell” controls the feedback, namely the quantity of repeats desired starting from 1 and going to infinite and self-oscillation.

This is in fact one of the first characteristics of the Binson, the possibility of looping endlessly the repeats until the echo starts to oscillate.  The “Length of swell” control, works in close synergy with the “Bass Treble” pot, letting you brighten or darken the repeats to obtain a particular psychedelic flavour a la Pink Floyd, dynamically enhancing every note played.

The delay time the Echosex 2° doubles the original Binson capability, going from 60 ms to 660 ms. This parameter is controlled by the “Echo” pot. The modality chosen between the heads combinations of the Echorec is the number 4, the one corresponding to the single and most far head capable of the longest delay (310ms) that we found around the 6 and 7 position on the Echosex 2° control.

The “age of Damage” control lets you shape the personality of your own echo unit. In fact, this control determines the quantity of aging of the mechanical parts that usually changes from a unit to the other, making every single echorec a unique object. As an example, there was a rubber wheel that pushed against the magnetic disc by a spring. When that unit was unused for long periods, that rubber wheel became oval and pushed the disc irregularly. This parameter has been the most difficult to create. In fact, Guglielmo Cicognani had to physically measure the moving parts of the original units to calculate how this “aging” affected the sound. The effect is something beautiful that goes from a light and lush modulation to a strong pitch shifting.

Sound

The repetitions are generated by the trusty PT2399 processor used in the most famous delay units. To avoid the cold characteristic of a modern delay, Guglielmo Cicognani developed an unprecedented way of using this component. Once the repeat is generated, it is treated just like the dry signal, by our reproduction of “Binson System” composed by tube preamp-heads simulation-filters.

This is the very core of this machine and it is what makes the Echosex 2° so true to the original.

The Echosex 2 is an instrument of its own, not only an effect unit. It is a tool that takes you on a magic carpet ride through aetherial and tridimensional ambiences, sparking your creativity and giving you a way to create unheard of textures.

Translation provided by Eric Dahlberg of JRR Shop. It is not to be used without prior consent.