Boonar is on David Gilmour's pedalboard

When I started designing guitar sound sculpting devices, I had a reference point in my mind – a sound which I was aiming for. For me and for many others, I believe, the perfect sound was embodied in the music of Pink Floyd. This was a band which greatly influenced and shaped the rock music of the 20th century. Since the 1960s, they were ahead of their time, using the most modern music equipment, innovating and forming trends. The one effect that truly defined the Pink Floyd sound from their very beginnings with Syd Barrett, and which David Gilmour continued to use, is the Binson Echorec echo machine.

Produced in Milan, Italy, the Binson’s Echorec had its peak in the 60’s. It was unique in its construction, utilizing a specially designed steel drum, which carried a durable flat metal ‘tape’. The drum was driven by an AC motor via a rubber jockey wheel, which kept the transport very stable. Record and playback heads were arranged around the drum periphery. The Echorec 2 was manufactured by Binson between 1961 and 1979. It produced a very unique echo-reverb effect that can be heard on the Pink Floyd songs like Echoes, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Time, and many more. David Gilmour used the Echorec 2 model until the 1977’s Animals tour. Then he replaced it with digital delay units which were more reliable as Echorec units were quite bulky and needed regular maintenance of the memory system to work properly.

When I started working on developing Boonar I admit that it had crossed my mind many times how cool it would be if one day it got into the hands of David Gilmour. Namely, Boonar is designed as a faithful replication of the Binson Echorec 2 with added modern features and I cannot think of a musician who could better recognize that than David Gilmour.

A few months ago, it would have been just another ordinary working day in the Dawner Prince office, if the phone hadn't rang. It was Phil Taylor, David Gilmour’s technician. We closed the deal in the short time and one Boonar was on its way to the Astoria studio in London. 

The other day, they released photos from Royal Albert Hall and the last show of Rattle That Lock tour. Boonar was on David Gilmour's stage pedalboard. What a spectacular ending of a tour, what fantastic news for our company!  

Photo courtesy of David Gilmour official Facebook page

We are extremely proud and incredibly honored. 

Zoran