One of very many items from Calum Hunter's superb home studio. This classic (the Floyd type) Echorec 2 was in storage at his parents' home when we cleared the studio so it was shipped down to us separately. I was nervous - it's heavy, fragile, and sent by inexpert packers - but it arrived safely. It had clearly been serviced recently by an expert. All sockets are quarter-inch, and the mains socket is IEC (much safer than the original as well as more convenient). It doesn't have a type / serial number plaque.
Switching on, the motor seemed good - not completely silent, but I don't think any ever were. At first there was some wow on the audio, and the audio did cut out sometimes. Running it for an hour or two, both problems stopped. Further use for another couple of hours did produce the smell of warm electronics, but again I think that's normal.
It sounds as warm and characterful as you would expect. The most useful variations are switch positions 1 to 4 - I didn't hear a lot of change from 5 to 12. The tone control doesn't do a huge amount.
It may be that you will eventually want to take it to one of the experts to have a service, but in the meantime you'll have huge fun as it is. I set up some arpeggiations and just enjoyed letting the Binson do its thing for hours at a time. The effect output is also a lot cleaner than any Binson I remember - really excellent signal-to-noise.
Cosmetically, this is an absolutely beautiful example. I think it's fair to call it near mint. The hurried photos really don't do it justice - it looks and feels maybe 10 years old, not 60. Of course there are little bits of wear when you look very closely, and one of the classic knobs' white pointers (on the tone control) is part missing. But it is pretty stunning, trust me. I haven't seen a better looking Binson ever. The knobs are the nicest sort, by the way, with 6 sets of ridges and smooth in between - and of course the famous slightly concave NOSNIB /BINSON centre pieces.
Packing 12GBP to include a UK or Euro mains lead.
