MEAZZI Emulation

[Twangaway]

On the subject of meazzi s..............Is it true to say that...He tried Joe Browns meazzi..Went and got his own..Then bought Echomatic 2 (badged as a vox) then bought a baby binson..started putting tape on the echomatic 2 (possibly having probs with dioxide on a wheel)( think I read that somewhere) then got a longtom...echorec 2...and so on... ?

Hello Gary, me thinks you got the story wrong. Hank simply did not go and get his own after hearing Joe's Meazzi. As far as I am aware it has been well documented in earlier discussions or threads that Hank was given the Meazzi By Joe Brown who simply could not get on with it, and that Hank was fascinated by it and the creative potential it unleashed and the rest is history. I bet Joe Brown can confirm that if someone asks him again. Not so sure Hank had a Vox version at all, but he certainly had a Baby Binson pre Roland days that followed.

Twangaway

[Didier]

I'm afraid I've not tried the PB Box, but again, I don't believe it actually introduces the Meazzi circuit to the guitar signal.

It does, The first PB Box model introduced in 2000 did that through solid state circuits, the second model introduced in 2004 uses an ECC83 valve for a closer Meazzi sound emulation.
Of course it's not a 100% Meazzi sound emulation, but it's by far the closest among all the available specialised units available.

Didier

[MeBHank]

David, the two contradicting accounts have been told for years. I believe the official version, however, is that Joe didn't give his own Meazzi to Hank, but just let him try it.

Didier, thank you for clarifying that about the PB Box. It would seem, then, that using Patrice's unit would be another way of getting closer to the recorded sounds.

J

[Gary Allen]

Hi Twangaway...I honestly dont know how he got the 1st echo unit.You just read these things..I was also informed that he had 2 echomatic 1s...1 being a 5 head and the other being a 6 head with the belief that the 5 head was kept in the studio and the 6 head for live stuff....Its all part of the mystery.............Gary

[Amanda]

Hi,

The "Wheel" SEP / Vox / Meazzi Echo units were originally fitted with the
rubber tyre around the wheel, around which the tape was fitted.

Binsons used a magnetic disc and Schaller used a drum coated with oxide!

As for tape life and sound we should be able to hear for ourselves when Alan Jackson's Model 2
Vox wheel echo is finished, hopefully this year.

The term Echomatic 1 and 2 was according to Alan coined by Charlie Hall, to describe
the machines for his Quadraverb patches.

The actual Vox / SEP models are The Model J, F and Echomatic 2.

The main differences in circuitry between the Meazzi and Binson machines
are the way the signal is processed, Binson machines have "pre-emphasis" and "De-emphasis"
on record and play respectively where the Meazzi records a "Flat" signal on to the tape / disc.

If anyone wants a description of how pre-emphasis and de-emphasis work I'll post one.

Regards

Amanda

[Gary Allen]

Nice one Amanda and many thanks for your reply.......Gary

[David Martin]

Hi,

The "Wheel" SEP / Vox / Meazzi Echo units were originally fitted with the
rubber tyre around the wheel, around which the tape was fitted.

Binsons used a magnetic disc and Schaller used a drum coated with oxide!

As for tape life and sound we should be able to hear for ourselves when Alan Jackson's Model 2
Vox wheel echo is finished, hopefully this year.

The term Echomatic 1 and 2 was according to Alan coined by Charlie Hall, to describe
the machines for his Quadraverb patches.

The actual Vox / SEP models are The Model J, F and Echomatic 2.

The main differences in circuitry between the Meazzi and Binson machines
are the way the signal is processed, Binson machines have "pre-emphasis" and "De-emphasis"
on record and play respectively where the Meazzi records a "Flat" signal on to the tape / disc.

If anyone wants a description of how pre-emphasis and de-emphasis work I'll post one.

Regards

Amanda

Go for it Amanda!

[Didier]

The "Wheel" SEP / Vox / Meazzi Echo units were originally fitted with the
rubber tyre around the wheel, around which the tape was fitted.

Binsons used a magnetic disc and Schaller used a drum coated with oxide!

As far as I know, the SEP / Meazzi / Vox "wheel" echo units used an oxide coated drum, but this oxyde coating was prone to wear. There are rumors that Dick Denney covered the drum with magnetic tape on Hank's unit as a cure, which could only be temporary, as the tape would also wear out...
Binson units use a steel wire wound around the drum.

Didier

[des mcneill]

Ok Amanda,I'm sitting comfortably, please explain pre-emphasis and de-emphasis.
Des.

[MeBHank]

The "Wheel" SEP / Vox / Meazzi Echo units were originally fitted with the
rubber tyre around the wheel, around which the tape was fitted.

Binsons used a magnetic disc and Schaller used a drum coated with oxide!

As far as I know, the SEP / Meazzi / Vox "wheel" echo units used an oxide coated drum, but this oxyde coating was prone to wear. There are rumors that Dick Denney covered the drum with magnetic tape on Hank's unit as a cure, which could only be temporary, as the tape would also wear out...
Binson units use a steel wire wound around the drum.

Didier

Correct. I believe Dick said that after the oxide wore off and tape was needed that they used to get the tape to adhese to the drum with sewing machine oil (or similar). I have heard that the tape was changed nearly every day.

Regarding the steel wire on the Binsons, I am curious to know the difference to the sound compared to oxide. I have been told that even with a Meazzi circuit, an echo with a Binson style "wire bound" drum would sound different to one with oxide or tape. Amanda, once you've finished working on this Binson and have also completed the alterations to my drum echo I'd be very interested in conducting an A/B test.

J