The Gurus Echosex 2° T7E is a delay pedal that recreates the sought-after Binson Echorec 2° T7E, the vintage Italian drum echo unit. Gurus Amps announced it on 24 July 2017, with release to the world's distributors from September of that year at a street price of 599€1. It carries all the features and controls of the old Binson Echorec 2° T7E model, but in a stompbox with no moving parts12.
Gurus' stated goal for the project was to give players an alternative to buying an old, expensive, unreliable and very rare original unit, while keeping the musicality and creativity of the old Binson Echorec 2° intact2. The pedal is enclosed in the same dimensions as the company's 1959 Double-decker pedal, 8" x 5" x 2", and includes an integral valve in its circuit13.
A recreation of the Binson Echorec 2° T7E
Gurus positioned the Echosex 2° T7E as a way to get that behavior without the upkeep of a 1960s machine. As the company put it in its announcement21:
"With the Echosex 2°, which will stay in production, Gurus wanted to recreate that kind of magic of the "old Italian Echo"1
The pedal sits within a small family of related products. The earlier Gurus Amps Echosex 2 came before it, and the Foxgear T7E Baby from Foxgear is designed as a direct emulation of a Binson Echorec in a compact form3. Like those pedals, the Echosex 2° T7E is not a copy of the original machine's mechanics: Gurus describes it as having no mechanical parts in movement, giving absolute reliability in any condition with no maintenance needed1.
The Multi-Heads switch and the echo, rep and swell modes
The core of the pedal is its head selection system, mirroring the multiple playback heads of the original drum echo. The Multi-Heads control is a 12-position switch, paired with a 3-way selector for echo, rep and swell mode1.
The three modes work like this, as described in reviews of the circuit family:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Echo | One echo tap for the selected head combination3 |
| Rep | Adds feedback to the selected head combination, so repeats build on themselves3 |
| Swell | Applies feedback to all four heads at once, delivering a reverb-like wash3 |
Guitar.com's reviewer, Matt McCracken, explained the swell setting in the T7E circuit in more detail: it applies feedback to all four of the playback tape heads, bypassing the head combination knob in the process, which gives a more reverb-like effect, the kind used on Pink Floyd's Time4. Guitar World's Trevor Curwen described the same three working modes, Echo, Rep and Swell, in his review of the Foxgear T7E Baby, noting that the Baby is based on the Gurus Echosex 2° T7E34.
Because swell engages all four heads regardless of where the head selector is set, it works as a second, ambient voice for the pedal: distinct repeats collapse into a wash, closer to reverb than delay in character43.
Reliability, bypass and the valve
Where the original Binson depended on a spinning drum and mechanical heads that needed care and servicing, the Echosex 2° T7E takes a different approach. Gurus states it has no mechanical parts in movement, which the company describes as absolute reliability in any condition, with no maintenance needed1.
The bypass is selectable between true bypass and a spillover mode12. Spillover means the repeats already in flight continue to fade out after you switch the pedal off, rather than cutting dead, which suits the multi-tap echoes this circuit produces.
The pedal also carries an integral valve in its circuit, a feature the later Foxgear T7E Baby dropped when it shrank the design down3.
Who plays it
Gurus announced the Echosex 2° T7E for release to the world's distributors from September at a street price of 599€1. The company describes the pedal as having no mechanical parts in movement, which it presents as absolute reliability in any condition, with no maintenance needed, a contrast with the original drum-based Echorec machines that required regular upkeep.
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Gurus Amps
gilmourish
Eric Merrow
Questions
What is the Binson Echorec that the Echosex 2° T7E is based on?
The Binson Echorec was an Italian magnetic drum echo unit that recorded and played back the signal with real mechanical heads. Binson made several versions, including the Echorec 2 and the Echorec Baby. The T7E was the model number of one of these units, and the Echosex 2° T7E reproduces its features and controls in pedal form.
Does the Gurus Echosex 2° T7E have moving parts?
No. Unlike the original Binson, which used a rotating magnetic drum and mechanical recording and playback heads, the Echosex 2° T7E has no mechanical parts in movement. Gurus describes it as absolutely reliable in any condition, with no maintenance needed.
Is the Echosex 2° T7E true bypass?
Yes, and it is selectable. The pedal offers true bypass or a spillover mode, so you can choose whether repeats cut off immediately when you switch it off or fade out naturally after the effect is disengaged.
What does the swell mode do on the Echosex?
Swell applies feedback to all four playback heads at once, bypassing the head combination selection, which produces a reverb-like wash rather than distinct repeats. Reviewers describe it as the kind of effect used on Pink Floyd's Time.
Which guitarist is documented using the Echosex 2° T7E?
Steve Lukather. Gurus Amps' announcement names him among the musicians using the pedal, stating that he uses it for all of his soloing parts.
Sources (4)
- Gurus Amps Presents the Echosex 2° T7E, Premier Guitar, 2017-07-24
- Gurus Amps Announces Echosex 2° T7E Pedal, Guitar World, 2017-07-24
- Foxgear T7E Baby review, Guitar World, 2022-05-17
- Foxgear T7E Baby review: an affordable Echorec tribute for Floyd fans to fawn over, Guitar.com, 2022-02-22
Steve Lukather
