JBond

For eight long years, I have been studying this now-famous photo of Jeff and Goldie. My research has concluded that Jeff was showing Goldie a magic trick. From the look on Goldie's face, it's clear Jeff pulled what is shown in his right hand out of her ear. The part I can't figure out is, As a Soundman on the set that day, what could Jeff have been showing her that he made disappear and then reappear from behind her ear?

Does anybody remember my original title 8 years ago this month as a tribute to you the Soundmen? Nagra Stories, Only Soundmen Can Tell. I'm sure there are some good ones yet to be told. Dig up some pictures, and tell us what happened that day in History. Geez, it's gotta be better than hashing over the Nagra III numbers - AGAIN!! I was working on another long one. Please stop me.

Speaking of the Nagra III Here is a picture of the Nagra III Prototype - from Nagra Audio This was the beginning.

Hi, Matthias. First, I want to apologize to you for not commenting on your last post. I have not been paying much attention to Jwsound in the last month or so. I read your complete post again, two nights ago, and very much enjoyed it. Talking about your Nagra IS and your family with your kids recording their voices, and your daughter threading the tape - pretty cool! And your wife with the seagull, wow. It sounds like you have a very nice family life. You're a good dad. You're teaching them about life. Just wait till they get iPhones and see how much they like threading the IS after that. For now, it's great that you share the IS with them. In the post, you asked questions, posted pictures, and told a story. This is just how this thread should read. The title is Nagra Stories, and you did a great job on yours. I planned to reply to you sooner but it was too late last night and it's late now but I don't want to put it off any longer. Most of the time when I post something, no one replies or comments - that's just the way it is. Nagra Stories is an old off-beat topic for most modern-day working Soundmen. I'm sure everyone that follows this thread has read your post and it put a smile on the ones who did. It's always easier for people to read than write. Keep up the good posts and family stories. If anyone missed it, Please, go back a few posts and read it. Thank you, Matthias As for the serial numbers, Yes, there were a couple of numbers so far that made us wonder. The years can be considered correct unless they dated a stack of front plates and a few ran into the following year. But the models were all exact for the most part and the year didn't matter. For warranty, it was the number that mattered. It would be nice to know at what part of the assembly the recorder gets its serial numbers. The majority of the numbers fall in line. Even though I'm sure we will find more inconsistencies as time goes on, I'm sure the vast majority will line up to be correct. There will be more mysteries. Nagra always had many mysteries that could be solved if someone had the will and time to investigate. One thing is certain about the 1962 Nagra III number you just posted. It's a 1962 P = pilot model. 1962 is also the first year the pilot model came out. As far as I know, every Nagra made from day one was a professional model. That is what Stefan Kudelski set out to do, make professional recorders. They did not make recorders for the average consumer. Nagra made highly specialized and very expensive recorders for professionals. "It's a Nagra. Swiss and very, very precise." quote from the 1981 French film Diva Nagra was a small company that hand-built every recorder one at a time. They still do. Mix-ups and mistakes may have happened in the early years while the company was expanding. I know they moved their operations, and factories, and records did get lost, etc. When I bought my 1958 Nagra III with the serial number 5858 I determined based on all the other Nagra III's serial numbers it was a 1958 and the 58th one made. The previous owner contacted Nagra and they confirmed it when I told him it was 1958 after I received it. The mistakes could be as simple as they used a front plate that already had just the year on it, as the consecutive numbers kept rolling, and that's what mattered to them that the numbers were correct. Well, it's late, thanks for posting, and keep up the good work. Keep gathering more serial numbers and feel free to expand my chart. One more thing, From what I have noticed, the mixup is always in 1965, 1966 Only Nagra II and III and their accessories had the year at the beginning of the serial number. Nagra dropped that procedure starting with IV-L in 1969. Possibly, Nagra found that emphasizing the year in the serial number may not be necessary since all of the Nagra III models were made with only minor improvements year after year. 1962 and 1967 were the exceptions. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part.

Well Hello, It's been a while, You know, you are one of the highlights on page one in my directory? Just click on the 790 790 GREAT Nagra III Collection by BGAULLIER

"NAGRA ISS"

I don't know what the H means, Maybe someone will tell us someday.

The first two digits are the year 64 followed by the number made 4380 since the beginning in 1958. To put this chart in perspective, it's from another post. I made this chart for referencing the years and numbers shown with the actual photos of the Nagra III's on eBay for sale, to make sure there was no disturbance in the consecutive order of the numbers. The chart also proved there were not 240 1958 Nagra III's made. It's the picture of the chart thats part of my collection, not the recorders in the chart as my wife thought when she saw the post.

Oh, that's nice, It's hard to find 1964 Nagra III's in that condition, Or any Nagra III in that condition. I really like that first beauty shot with the headphones and showing the tag, Cool. Welcome to JWSOUND and JBond's Nagra Stories feel free to post again.

Can I get a confirmation from people who use the Microsoft system so I can confirm this Apple hyperlink I'm using works for everyone? Or whatever computer you are using let me know if this link doesn't work for you. Thank You Old, rare Nagra Service Photos bring back memories for the Soundmen

JBond's Rewind Series... Remember this, Philip? I took it down shorty after posting in 2018, but saved it. It's your post that took me forever to find and quote. Funny you should mention kitchen blenders Philip. I was going to show my ugly broken DAT collection, but you're right, blenders are more rewarding and they work. I have over 303 blenders in my collection. I have big blenders, and small blenders; some even have the last thing that was blended in them. Those are the most collectible. There's this very rare prototype blender I have been trying to find. If the history is true, they say it was used for blending drinks for JFK. If it was used by JFK, how come it wasn’t sold anywhere? They only made one? Make of that what you will, but I think it's just a myth. I’m still gathering facts about this story. I’ll be posting more rare Blenders and many high-speed blending stories soon. I’m also looking for Soundman Stories with Blender use. I'll be posting plenty of blender stories and pictures of over 300 blenders from 4 different angles in the upcoming weeks and months. Remember, every blender is a mixture of electronics, metal, and glass on the outside. It's what you make of it on the inside. Truly, a wonderfully useful item, but the look is what got me started. Most of all, it can blend anything. I have a lead on the blender that Lindsey Graham used to destroy his cell phone after Trump gave out his cell phone number, boy that would be great to own someday it's the Holy grail! Thanks Philip, BTW I don't have a DAT collection, and never owned a DAT recorder. R J Blender-man

Jwsound Nagra Stories, where "Analog Life lasts longer the more you rewind." Okay, so you're home relaxing, kicking back, and reading Jwsound Nagra Stories, and suddenly, the phone rings. Who the H… is…? It's your neighbor. She says, " Can you please come over and help me get my tractor running? " I'm getting desperate and don't know what to do. So you drop what you're doing and rush right over. You get there, all out of breath, and this is what you find. Would you wake her, I'm here…and help get her tractor started? Stand there and quietly wait until she wakes up. Or Of course, you would return home and finish reading JBond's Nagra Stories on Jwsound ... again! For a quick index to select posts, click the blue links below. 42 Jeff Wexler's movie list 1000 "NEW" The Nagra ISS, the Story 364 CIA the Second Recorder 455 Nagra II Video 146 Meet Jeff Wexler(Youtube) 307 Nixon Resigns Picture 373 “New” The Nagra Story, updated Feb 2018 478 The Third Covert recorder 151 My Nagra VPR-5 319 “New” The Nagra JBR updated Feb 2018 400 The Nagra SN (Copy ) 479 The 1966 Covert recording 102 Well, we DID have Big Drinks the day. 333 A Special Gift 404 There’s only One, Nagra I 480 The Fourth Recorder 225 What I found out about the Nagra I 335 The Nagra DH Difference 405 Great Nagra Collection “Vienna Collection” 482 Finally, Fifth and Final Record 232 Conversation with Stefan Kudelski 337 The Mystery of the Yellow Recorder 422 An appropriate answer 430 What happened to - Serie Noir? 252 The First Nagra III 347 CIA issued Recorder 425 Early Nagra SN serial #’s 363 Dating & "New" Reverse Record 268 The Sony and the Telefunken 790 GREAT Nagra III Collection by BGAULLIER 952 Earliest Known Nagra III by PiO 576 The Nagra IS Differences by DELA #27 Senator Mike Michaels interview 681 1st 1959 Nagra III by Antonine 922 Jwsound gets Attention from Nagra Audio 154 Marilyn and the 1960 Nagra III Video 962 The Gold SN - Test 220 A different kind of Soundman 282 1969 Zuiko 1st Microcassette video 906 “New” The Nagra SN Series - 131 Adam Savages Nagra IV-S YouTube 1003 The Nagra 1 Story that sold for 20,000.00 JBond's Rewind Series…. The Nagra I that was sold to two people The Nagra I sale update five months later by SRS148 JBond’s First Reaction Seeing Haskell Wexler Credits Old, rare Nagra Service Photos bring back memories for the Soundmen Nixon's Resigns cigarettes led to BIG troubles in production. Can you believe I sold that Nagra D because It took up too much room in my case? That's the reason I always repost the Nagra Stories Directory. When I started making that Directory /index, someone said, what do you need an index for? I already read it; why would I want to see it again? That's correct, but what about the people who have never noticed it? I wanted to make it easy for myself and others to find specific posts quickly without having to read through many pages searching for something posted in a moment, but now I can't seem to find it. Was it on page 35 or page 46? Maybe it was 25? Today, the thread is 52 pages long, with over 1,300 posts and 370,000 views. More and more people are starting to find Jwsound Nagra Stories for the first time. I repost the index or link to it once or twice a year for those just learning about Jwsound Nagra Stories. People find Jwsound Nagra Stories primarily by just searching Nagra on the internet. I know I have the index on the front page, but when someone clicks a link on the internet, it does not always bring you to the front page of a thread. The Directory is not just about myself, as some may think when I keep reposting it. In that Directory, there are clickable links to find many people who have posted on Nagra Stories. Like Vienna, who one day found himself on Jwsound and showed us his Great Recorder collection with some recorders we never saw before. Another link for BGAULLIER, who showed up one day out of the blue with his extensive Nagra III collection. He logged and documented all the different details of the Nagra III from year to year from day one. Seriously, you would find this type of content only on Nagra Stories. The new members who found their way to Jwsound have links in the directory. They are Antonine, BGAULLIER, PIO, and VIENNA . I have a link to a 1960 Nagra III video of Marilyn Monroe Chanel # 5 perfume sent to me by Stefan Kudelski's daughter. I have a link where I promote an excellent and enlightening video about Jeff where you feel you now know him after viewing. Here is a link to a video of Senator Mike Michaels shown in a perfect light after an unfortunate ending on Jwsound. A link to Stefan Kudelski's interview and Jeff Wexler's fantastic movie list, where he documented the movies and the recorders he used for each movie. It details the adjustments made with his sound equipment during his long career in the film-sound industry - excellent information. I asked him for it. It's in my collection. I also have a link to Dela's collection. By the way, Dela has posted some of the best commentaries and content, sharing his knowledge and collection. I have watched Dela help many people over the years; he is always eager to assist. Without Dela, I would have given up many years ago. So thank you, Dela. Phillip and Jeff also added a lot to keep the thread going and exciting. These people, along with many others, took the time to make a post, and those posts are the only reason this thread kept growing over the years. These are the people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. If not for them, Nagra Stories would not exist today. WHY? Do you know where threads go if no one posts to them? I'm not sure myself, but I think, I heard, they go to the deep dark bottom of the muck where nobody ever goes - AND- maybe even get kicked off of that position beyond muck. The only way Nagra Stories continues to grow is to attract more people to Jwsound "outside" of Jwsound members and make them feel comfortable enough so they will share their information, their collections, and their thoughts. My content has been told already. It is old news for Jwsound members. Attracting new people to the site is how it grows from here. I know members are sick of seeing that index posted, but believe me, members are not the reason it is reposted regularly. It benefits all of us to improve the thread with new content. Besides, one more post keeps me off the muddy bottom. I post stupid stuff like my last directory post, trying to be funny to bring people here to Jwsound. Hopefully, some people get my sense of Seinfeld's humor. Now a Quiz- What page is that Nagra 1 story on? Quick!! You have 15 minutes to find it, Meanwhile, "Jwsound Nagra Stories, where Analog life lasts longer the more you Rewind, Rehash, and Replay."

Thank you Jeff Wexler for recognizing my efforts. I truly appreciate it. That means a lot coming from you.

Some more recognition for Jwsound, As my Nagra Story, The Mystery of the Nagra SN Serie Noire, gets read by others worldwide, I noticed the other day that an online virtual museum from the Netherlands called Crypto Museum made some surprising changes to its Nagra SN History description. Crypto is one of the largest, if not the largest, trusted sources on the internet for this type of equipment. Crypto has substantially modified its previous Nagra SN history description to include new details found only on Jwsound - Nagra Stories. Crypto also listed Jwsound forums and JBond in the credits as clickable blue links directed to this site, Jwsound. I don't have to tell Soundmen how it feels to see credits for your work. Not that this compares to your movie credits, but you get what I'm saying. I have no affiliation and have never communicated with anyone from Crypto; I just visited their site many times. So this was a surprise for me. Of course, prominent websites such as Crypto Museum would update their site as different information comes forward and give recognition to the author. Thank you for that. That is what makes Crypto such a reputable and knowledgeable website. It also means others are visiting Jwsound. I have noticed slight changes with Nagra's latest information on the SN since my story. The most notable was adding the SN manufacture date. The date of the SN was always 1960 (prototype developed), which is true but leaves one to assume the SN has been around since 1960. It was not. This is why everyone speculated for decades. Everyone merrily wrote the same stories until some JBond guy on Jwsound started raising questions around 2016. Today, Nagra makes it clear the SN was manufactured from 1970 to 2003, but to be fair, Nagra now lists their whole line of recorders, past and present, and manufactured dates. So maybe that's just a coincidence. They also removed more of, but not all, the statements about JFK, but I think not for reasons JFK didn't ask for it. If you read the story, you may agree. I point this out because no one would ever notice it if I didn't. I know, I know, nobody cares about this. I watched, and it just aggravated me to see these stories get written and told repeatedly. I've been collecting covert recorders for at least 20 years. How could a secret recorder exist for 11 years (11 years! ), and no one has ever seen it, not even the people who would have used it? So, At Last, Vindicated, Hopefully, No more new stories/statements like this from 2016 From 1960, unbeknownst to the man in the street, the Nagra SN (for ‘série noire,' or ‘black series,' make of that what you will!) went on sale to selected customers. It would be another eleven years before the device became available to the general public.” Although it sounded good, there was no truth to it. Nagra left little clues about that 1960 prototype over the years on old web pages, magazines, and even interviews in Mr. Kudelski's own words. Someone just had to be interested enough to gather the information and put it all together, with the help of the people listed in the credits at the end of my story. I'm glad to see this new understanding of the history of the Nagra SN starting to be told. Any future attempts to tell that old version will prove the writer knows absolutely nothing about what they are writing about and, like everyone before them, just copied other's mystifying phrases and shadowy variations without doing any research of their own. The Nagra SN history has been corrected, or at least another version has been told. My version of the Nagra SN does not diminish the fact that the Nagra SN, call it whatever you like. Black Series, Serie Noire, or just plain "Small Nagra" (as Nagra employees called it) will forever be the coolest, smallest, most sought-after precision Reel to Reel recorder of its time and that ever existed. Made in Switzerland by the famous Stefan Kudelski. Thank You, Sir, RIP. Credit: From the Crypto Museum website. https://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/rec/nagra/sn/index.htm Credit: From the Crypto Museum website. References Nagra - Audio Technology Switzerland, The Nagra SN Nagra website. Retrieved March 2012. Nagra - Audio Technology Switzerland, The Nagra SNST-R (special version) Nagra website. Retrieved March 2012. Nagra, Production overview and quantities Internal Nagra document. Date unknown, est. 2000. Günter Hütter, Overview of models and specifications Personaly correspondence, May 2018. Nagra Audio, Personal correspondence January 2019. JBond (username), Nagra Stories Sound-men won't ever tell JWSound Group forum, 29 January 2015. JBond (username), The Mystery of the Nagra 'Serie Noir' JWSound Group forum, 5 August 2016, updated February 2018. Wikipedia, John F. Kennedy Visited 1 May 2021. Credit: Nagra Audio

In that Adam Savage video, I really like the way he acts when talking about Nagra items - the enthusiasm and excitement, with the wide-open eyes in complete awe of the Nagra. He acts out what we all are feeling about Nagra but we just can't express it as well. At least that is how I see it. I can definitely relate to his enthusiasm like Dela and others. That's how I feel, and I believe the many people reading these forums feel that way about Nagra because they searched Nagra to find the forums. I am a subscriber to his channel and saw the video before it was posted here on Jwsound. Although if you watch Adam Savage regularly, he has that same enthusiasm about everything - a bent piece of aluminum he's been drilling holes through for an R2 D2 Star Wars thing, an adjustable bench for his portable bandsaw, or whatever he's doing. He just has that kind of personality and spirit. I like him, like millions of others do. I'll tell you right now, very few people have that Adam Savage excitement when I show my Nagra collection to them or have any emotion at all. Over the last 35 years, I have collected a lot of different things in that room. It's my own private little museum so there is a lot of different stuff to view. When we get around to the recorders in the back of the room, I say, and over here is my recorder collection. I open up the cabinet doors, recorders all lit up and sparkling under the lights, and you would not believe the lack of interest after the initial WOW at the first site. Once they comprehend what they are looking at, the interest quickly fades for most when it comes to friends, family, new friends, etc., unless they are collectors or someone already interested in recorders. I'll pick up an SN and bring it up to them and say look at this, look how all the screw heads are polished. It's like a piece of jewelry. When the reply is ehh that's when I know not to go any further, That's when I close the doors and say over here is an 1890s watchmaker's bench ... I just move on. Although I did have one guy who kept saying "look, the hairs on my arms are all standing up." He was so excited. People are more interested in my 1920 Dentist's office display than tape recorders. Even the thought of sitting in the dentist's chair and drilling is better than looking at recorders for them, well, up until the point I say hop up let me take a look. No takers on that one. I know most people aren't interested in recorders. It doesn't bother me, just like I would not be interested in someone's beer can collection or matchbook collection. It's a fact of life. That's why I started posting on Jeff's site to show people who can relate to Nagra and who enjoy that kind of stuff.

Pretty cool, Thanks for posting that clip of a Nagra II in a film. Probably the only 4 seconds in the whole film that showed it. Very few people today would ever spot that and know what it was. The second picture is blank/missing? Stereo Nagra III?

1st thought Wow, a great video showing 1977 history recorded on the Nagra SN of the day. I never saw this before. Thank you Daniel for posting it. Now I get it, fooled again. This is the same mind game as my Nagra II video. I had to think about it for a minute it looks like SN is playing the sound back, but it's not. The magic of movies. I keep forgetting the sound you hear in movies is added later. It's really all smoke and mirrors but it works very well.

Full disclosure, that video is running on the windup motor only, the audio was added to the video. No other power but winding it up, It takes two types of batteries, I never tried recording or playback with batteries. Maybe someday I'll try it with batteries or a couple of power supplies and see what happens. I noticed yesterday Youtube changed some of my videos and some are not working or missing. Thank you, Fred

I'm happy to see that yellow mark on your recorder as it's further proof and backs up my story. My three-letter friend in the story did not have the yellow mark on his recorder or the nameplate which made it a mystery for almost 20 years. It's easy to understand a novice seller or collector might try and remove the yellow mark not knowing its place in history. You can also thank Jeff, without Jwsound my Yellow Recorder story would never have been told and no one would ever have known about the yellow mark and its meaning or of the super rare recorder for that matter. Now you found one for yourself thats fantastic I'm glad the story helped. It looks like on yours someone also tried very hard to remove that yellow mark but gave up. A little bit of pledge furniture polish will let the mark blend back nicely with the contrast of the leather don't worry that mark was meant to stay forever the pledge won't remove it. You have the recorder now, Were you able to pick up a copy of the children's book also? That is a must-have to go with it.

Hello Quad, Welcome to Jwsound Nagra Stories. I'm glad you posted. I'm sure I speak for others as well, I would love to see you post some pictures of your collection of tape recorders. Even the toy recorders, I'm always interested in seeing different recorders, especially ones I do not have or know about. I'm glad my Yellow Recorder Story allowed you to find and acquire one for yourself. I'm wondering if yours also had the yellow mark on the recorder also? I look forward to seeing your collection and more posts from you. Do you also have the tiny Russian covert recorders like my American covert recorders? There are a few of Russian recorders I would like to add to my covert recorder collection if I ever get the chance.

Sure, go ahead

Another member send me these videos of the Nagra MX 4 channel mixer, looks like it has already been posted on Jwsound a few years ago. Anyway this is the rare Nagra Mx mixer. Thank you dela and mono

Thanks, Dela, sounds even more interesting once I got to the point of the plastic lid, the first thing that came to mind "Stellavox" does anyone have a picture? I wonder if this was before or after Stellavox was selling their cool mixer? dela you always come through with a world of well-explained information, Thank you, Sir. After I just wrote that reply to dela I did another search and this time I found it, funny the first time I did a search it tuned up nothing but Sony MX, I guess I gave up too soon. I see now it's well after the Stellavox mixer. Still pretty cool and a must-have for a collector. That would be a good piece to add to any Nagra collection Looks expensive and with only ten made you did well srs148 Now there is only 9 left.