rstl99

https://timetales.ca/2021/12/07/stefan-kudelski-and-the-origins-of-the-nagra-recorder/ This is a rough early draft of the beginning of my first piece on the origins of Stefan, and of his Nagra recorder. Just to give an idea of how this is shaping up. Much more to come...

Scott D. Smith (CAS) did a fine job of summarizing the highlights of Stefan's early life in his tribute to him in 695 Quarterly (2013): https://www.local695.com/magazine/the-nagra-recorder-stefan-kudelski-tribute/ I'll be able to fill in many of the details about Stefan's origins as an engineer, and the creation of his Nagra product and company, based on his own words revealed in some fine interviews (in French). Still collecting and organizing materials. Robert

Thanks Petersont, indeed the 744 and SQN was/is for me an interesting marriage of analog and digital (however, it all ends up in the "bit bucket"). I agree it makes for a bit of a heavy kit for some purposes, that SQN is one densely packed and impressively made machine, in my mind. Too bad as you say that SQN never decided to make the jump into an all in one solution. I do check check out gearspace so will look more into the chats there about different solutions, including the Sonosax. Indeed, it's all about having fun at this point, not a money-making necessity for me. Regards.

For the last several years I've been navigating the interesting waters of antique clock and watch collecting, restoration, research and writing. But I think that the time has come back for me to get back to my earlier passion, tape recording and in particular, the Nagra's. I've been wanting for some time to try my hand at writing a piece on the early years of Nagra, say the first 2 decades, up to the launch of the 4.2 and IV-S. The fact that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the production of the Nagra I, encourages me to embark on this now. As a labor of love, and out of respect for Stefan and his early collaborators. Last year I created a humble website to share some of my research and published articles on antique horology, and have recently put up a couple of small Nagra-related articles, to build upon. The first is just a very general basic piece on Stefan Kudelski. https://timetales.ca/2021/03/14/stefan-kudelski-recording-time/ The second is a profile of a Nagra IIci which I previously owned, and sold (in a temporary phase of foolish downsizing) to a collector on this forum. https://timetales.ca/2021/03/14/the-nagra-iici/ So I plan on writing and putting up some articles on the early history of Nagra, a story which sadly has never been told well enough, to date. My articles will be written chronologically, and focus in part on the recollections of Stefan and some of the people who were around him at the time, obtained from radio documentaries that were released after he died in 2013. I'm transcribing these French-language interviews and will translate relevant excerpts for the series of articles. If this subject interests any of you, I could put a link to the articles (under this topic) as they go up on my site. Also, please feel free to PM me with suggestions of any other pertinent material I may not be aware of, to help flesh out the early years of Stefan Kudelski's life and career, and of the Nagra. Regards, Robert

Thanks "sci", I like your thinking on this subject. Indeed a VI is still selling for a pretty steep price on the used market, and if you are right about street prices for used 788T's, SD brings a lot more "bang for the buck", if you take the Nagra aura out of the equation. I'll also as you suggest look into used Sonosax recorders, which is a brand of pro recording gear I've always admired from the outside. On the other hand, my little recording kit below (744 & Sqn) has given me much enjoyment in 4-track personal music recording over the last several years. Regards.

Thanks Philip, nice hearing from you and appreciate your food for thought. Yes I suppose occasionally 4 mic pre amps might be useful instead of just the 2 on the 744, however on several instances I would supplement the 744's 2 pres by plugging in 2 channels from one of my SQN mixers into the two line input channels on the 744. Thereby winding up with 4 recorded tracks to play with in post-recording editing. I was always very pleased with the lovely sound of the SQN mixer, almost preferred it to the mic pre's on my Nagra IV-S. So the 744+SQN provided me with 4 nice recorded tracks. The Nagra VI would give me 4 mic pre's in the box, so that would simplify things for 4 track recording. Plus another 2 tracks (or is it 4 with firmware upgrade?) into which as you say I could patch in the 744, or the SQN if I want to go analog input for those extra ones. It took me a while to get used to the 744 user interface, after recording for years on analog Nagras. So the interface and controls of the VI remind me more of the classic Nagras, not so much like the small push-buttons on the SD 744. Anyway, I'll think some more about my needs and envisioned future recording uses... p.s. are Nagra VI's pretty stable as a second-hand purchase? (buying long-distance sight unseen, no possibility of returning) Regards,

Hi all, I haven't done a lot of amateur recording in recent years, but am starting to get back into that hobby (music, natural sounds, etc.). I still own a fully functional SD 744T, and some nice analog SQN mixers. But I am a long-time Nagra fan (still own several of their analog 1/4" decks). A Nagra VI kit has come up for sale. I seem to recall that the VI can do a bit more than the 744, and some might say it might sound marginally better, but... I assume I can't get a lot for my 744 if I part with it to make room for the VI, and the VI on the used market is probably worth several times what a 744 can fetch. Does it make any sense to move up to the VI, except to scratch a Nagra itch? Regards.

The production person told me their script has changed and the event to be filmed is in the early 50's, and asked me if I happened to have a Nagra I to loan them! I told them there were maybe only a handful left in existence, and all those are likely in museums and worth several thousand dollars, and I would not loan one if I had one. I pointed them to the museum of magnetic sound in Texas and maybe they can loan them a suitable vintage recorder of the early 50s (non-Nagra), whatever that may be... Unless someone here has a nice Nagra I that you would want to lend out? :-) And by the way, no the director is not Tarantino!!

Actually, I dug out a spare III that I had bought for parts some years ago. The motor transport works and it plays back, it just doesn't record and I have no time nor inclination to figure out what component has failed in it. Anyway, the production only need a Nagra III with reels turning, so I'll lend them this one (if they give me enough money to cover its value which is not very high, a few hundred $'s). Well, we've all heard stories about Nagras falling out of planes and still working, so this could be another good story! I'll read the contract before I agree to ship it. So sad to hear that story about the vintage Martin (being a guitar player and owning a few vintage Martins). I hope Kurt Russell felt pretty sheepish after that incident (although maybe he had no awareness of what he had in his hands). Thanks folks.

Thanks Mike and Crew, that's helpful. Yeah, I like my old Nagras and this III is in fine shape, which gives me pause sending it off out of town like that. I may decline the offer, though it would be interesting to see my Nagra featured in a tv series.

Hi all, Someone up here found out I own some vintage Nagras and wants to rent my III for an upcoming film shoot. Period piece set in the 60s and they need a III with reels turning. I've never loaned out anything like this and assume there will be some kind of contract that ensures I get the darn thing back, but what kind of daily rate would be acceptable for something like this, any idea? Thanks.

Thanks, I hadn't seen that diagram on the SQN site. I now realize mine has the BBC PPM scale. I didn't know scandinavians had their own standard... I suppose this page has all the information anybody would ever want on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_programme_meter

I just saw an SQN 4S mixer online that has different meters on it than mine (which is a more common 1-7 range, left to right). I know they came in different configurations. Can anyone tell me what range that is (I assume dB) and what it's best used for? It reminds me of the modulometer on my analog Nagra. Thanks.

Darn, I should have picked up a used VI before the firmware updates made people want to hang on to them! My recording is largely live music, and not the type necessitating loads of mics, so my 744T and SQN IV mixer combo suits me fine. Speaking of SQN, I just picked up a nice mono unit (SQN 3-M) that I'll have some fun feeding my mono Nagras for old-style recording. I really like the sound of the preamps in the SQN.

Bonjour Philippe, intuables, ces Nagra III !!

Pro-Sound in NYC have a service shop that still has analog Nagra skills and parts (at least they did a year or so ago when I bought something from them).

Here's the picture of Stefan that I framed, from the NY Times obit. Yeah, looks like a later version with pilot. In one of those french interviews, Stefan said that the Nagra I's and II's were built in more of an "artisan" manner (in part, employing craftsmen of swiss watch-making background, left job-less in the aftermath of WWII). Only when the II's showed themselves to be popular, garnering interest in radio, journalistic and scientific circles, did he realize the time had come to come up with a solid and more professional design, and a larger manufacturing capacity -- that's when they came up with the III. Stefan designed the electronics and left the mechanical components design to others. He said that because at the time the company had no distribution or dealer support around the world, they had to design the machine to be extremely reliable and able to function in almost any condition, because there would be no possibility of getting it repaired "out in the boonies". He jokingly said that they built it "too well, too reliable", so that owners basically could use them almost forever. Of course, it's a well-known fact that he originally designed his first recorder as an experiment with the idea of coming up with some tape-based control mechanism for machine shop equipment. Only when little interest was shown in his idea, did he decide to adapt it for recording sound. I was in Paris last year, standing in the square in front of Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral, as the chimes struck noon. I recorded the moment using my pocket Canon camera and thought of Stefan, up there in the bell-tower, recording the sound on his first Nagra, which won him the prize for a recording competition that year. It set him on his way.

I had these recorders sitting inside cupboards in my little "studio" downstairs, until one day I realized they were some of my most prized possessions so I bought the glass shelf unit at Ikea and now have them proudly on display in my living room-dining room. Visitors get a kick out of looking at them, and don't have a clue... On top of the shelving unit is a framed photo of young Stefan standing proudly in his lab, with one hand on his prized creation, the Nagra III.

Some very interesting rebroadcasts of french audio and video pieces on Stefan were posted on swiss and french websites after his death, which offered very interesting things about Stefan and the early days of the company. One documentary from the early 90's interviewed some of his early collaborators when they were just working out of a house. One thing I recall Stefan saying in a late interview, only a year or so before he died. In it he said something like (going from memory here) "as a refugee, you always go through life with a bit of a hung-dog expression, and have to learn to swallow your pride and it sometimes lends you a certain arrogance perhaps". I think he was reflecting on his life, having had to leave Poland because of the war, resettling in Switzerland, starting over, trying to make a life for himself and his family. I find it sad that his company have not published a proper biography of Stefan. I was told that Roland Schellin, who wrote the book on the history of Stellavox, has had a book on Kudelski-Nagra ready but the company won't allow him to publish it for some reason... The early years of the Nagras would be very interesting to know in detail, but sadly most of the people involved directly are now gone, and I'm not sure that much of that corporate knowledge still remains in the "mother ship"... I have a lot of respect for Stefan, and am happy to also own one of his early Nagras (a IICi, which I bought last year from someone in Rome who was given it by his old uncle, an italian reporter). I also own a III (the iconic Nagra) and some of the IV's. Bit of a shrine I suppose... And they all work! (except for the IICi, I haven't gotten around to checking the electronics yet, though the mechanical transport works perfectly).

Other thing I noticed is they playback with the main selector switch on the first playback position, not the second one that would actually send the signal to the loudspeaker. Nitpicky, I know... Still nice to see the old 4.2 doing the job, and the reference to baking the tape to get a signal coming out was kind of cool too.

Bonjour Philippe, PM sent. --Robert

You're welcome, it's an interesting machine without a doubt, and Kudelski always had a knack for elegant, efficient design, layout of controls etc. As Senator said, the two sets of batteries are to power up the tubes on board. The crank winds the spring motor which moves the tape across the heads. As you know, the III not only did away with the crank (with the dc motor), but the tubes as well, going with the then-new transistors. I still think it's Stefan's most ground-breaking achievement and the "classic" Nagra.

That's the goal - "it WILL record", as the Nagra name states! Bit of a winter project, checking out tubes, caps, rigging up 9v batteries to provide the necessary voltage (it originally ran on 2x1.5v D batteries, and 2x67.5v batteries, which were also used on portable tube radios). Then find some suitable vintage tape stock to lay some sound on. Should be fun. Another few pics for your viewing pleasure. Solidly and neatly built, as to be expected from Kudelski. Two small gears that run the spring tension gauge in the front panel Thorens spring drive, with pretty massive flywheel to help keep tape movement reasonably constant View of top and tape path, tape flows from right to left, erase head faces right, record/playback head faces left The innards revealed, after removing the bottom cover. 1.5v batteries fit in lower left, big 67.5v batteries fit on the right side. Playback-Record switch on left, spring tension gauge in middle, tape transport switch on right

Yeah, it's neat to see the reels spin smoothly with no batteries nor AC connected! You can see a lot of swiss clockwork elements in the internal construction. Stefan Kudelski said that after the war there were many experienced clock-makers looking for work, and some of them found a home in his shop and helped with the mechanical design (especially on the compact SN model that came in the early 60s). The IIci was a transition machine for Kudelski, the last model with the Thorens spring motor, but the first model with printed circuits (what the "ci" stands for) inside. I personally think the Nagra III was his greatest achievement, a quantum leap ahead in portable recording capabilities that set the company on its way, innovative in its design, which stood the test of time (lasted for 10 years until supplanted by the IV series that improved on it in many ways). But I'm glad to finally own one of the earlier machines, built in a converted house when there were only a dozen or so employees in the company. Maybe Stefan himself did some QA work on these before they went out the door...

I recently bought one, a 1957 Nagra IIci, from a chap in Rome. Very nice machine, spring motor still works perfectly, have not got around to checking out the electronics yet. Came with the original leather case, in very good condition too.