T-Rex Binson Echorec Magnetic Disk Delay

The T-Rex Binson Echorec is a drum delay pedal: a stompbox recreation of the classic Binson Echorec, the Italian magnetic drum echo used on records by Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin¹. Where most delay pedals simulate that sound digitally, T-Rex's version is an analog recreation in stompbox format, built around an actual rotating magnetic drum². The original Echorec worked on a magnetic disk that used a thin wire, rather than a tape, to imprint the delay signal, and T-Rex's take keeps that principle with a custom-engineered drum alloy the maker says delivers consistent magnetic response and durability¹³.

Every unit is handcrafted in Denmark by T-Rex, and the project took eight years in total to get this complex vintage effect into production³⁴. As of October 2026, T-Rex's webshop lists it as sold out⁵.

A magnetic drum echo in a stompbox

The original Binson Echorec recorded onto a spinning metal drum rather than a tape loop, with multiple playback heads reading the signal back at different intervals. That design is what gives drum echoes their character: several short, distinct repeats that can also be blended into a wash. The T-Rex version is a cloned modern-day recreation of the original, described by gearnews.com as an analog effect housed in what Guitar World called "a (massive) stompbox" with "a pretty bomb-proof enclosure for the rotating drum"¹.

The pedal uses two recording heads with short and long delays. According to Guitar World, the short head is spec'd to directly reproduce the original Echorec's timing, while the long head is a new option allowing you to capture a longer initial sample¹. Delicious Audio describes the result as delays of up to 1.2 seconds, considerably more than the approximately 300 ms available on an original Binson⁷²⁸. For comparison, Catalinbread's Echorec pedal page puts the original's maximum delay time at 300 ms, and Delicious Audio's Echorec clone roundup gives about 300 to 330 ms².

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson noted the pedal carries over visual touches from the original, including a Magic Eye vacuum tube saturation indicator and playback head buttons 1 to 4⁹.

The controls: speed, tone and repeat/swell

T-Rex lists the full control set as Echo Volume, a switch for Record Head 1 or Record Head 2, Drum Speed, Record Level, Playback Heads 1 to 4, Repeat, a switch for Repeats and Swell, Echo Tone, and a Bypass switch and indicator³.

The Repeat/Swell toggle is the key mode switch. Guitar World describes it as selecting "between the echoing 'repeat' effect, or the reverb-like 'swell' setting": repeat gives discrete echoes from the selected playback heads, while swell blends the heads into a continuous, reverb-like wash¹. Delicious Audio's Echorec clone roundup likewise lists "selection between repeats and swells" among the pedal's features².

The speed control works the way the original's did, by changing how fast the drum spins. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted "there is also a control that can adjust the speed by plus or minus 20 per cent," and there is a tone dial for EQing the repeats¹⁰.

Built in Denmark, eight years in development

T-Rex describes the pedal as an "authentic magnetic drum delay, faithfully recreated by T-Rex," with every unit handcrafted in Denmark³. The project was long: gearnews.com reported it "has taken 8 years in total to get this complex vintage effect into production"⁴. The modern recreations are all built in Denmark⁴.

On That Pedal Show, Mick Taylor and Dan demoed the pedal alongside a vintage Binson Echorec Baby and several Echorec-style emulators, describing it as "made by the laudable people at T-Rex in Denmark"⁸. Mick Taylor also noted a practical detail for pedalboard builders: "it's not a true bypass thing"⁶.

Delicious Audio's take was similar, calling it "a gorgeous and pricey take on the Binson Echorec that's very close to the original, but with the controls on the top and a footswitch, and delays of up to 1.2 seconds," while flagging the $2,100 price tag as a con⁷.

Reviewers who saw the Magnetic Disk Delay noted what looks like a pretty bomb-proof enclosure for the rotating drum, a practical point for a pedal built around a spinning magnetic disk¹. The same review found that T-Rex has done an excellent job in maintaining the voodoo charm of the original¹.

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Price and availability

T-Rex's webshop lists the Binson Echorec at €1,998.00, with a dedicated power supply at €39.00, and shows the pedal sold out as of October 2026⁵. At launch, Guitar World reported a retail price of $2,100¹, and Guitar Pedal X listed it at €1,700 / $2,100 / £1,649 in December 2023⁹. gearnews.com's pre-order coverage cited a Thomann price of €1999.00, with a Thomann listing also showing $1,690.00 / £1,533.00 / €1,798.00⁴.

For players weighing alternatives, Delicious Audio's roundup of Echorec-style pedals covers several other approaches to the sound, from the Catalinbread Echorec to the Dawner Prince Boonar². T-Rex itself also makes tape-based delays, including the T-Rex Replicator and the compact T-Rex Replicator Junior, which pair well with this page's subject for anyone comparing mechanical delay formats. More generally, see the delay pedals type page for the full range of echo effects.

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