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Nagra Stories Sound-men won’t ever tell


JBond

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2 hours ago, tourtelot said:

My MG is negative ground.. Can't remember when they changed it over.  Late 60's I'm guessing.

 

D.

That electrical system caused me endless grief, all those wonky Lucas parts!  One MG mechanic told me that the reason the English drank warm beer is that they had Lucas refrigerators.   I had a heated discussion with one small-town mechanic who was convinced I had hooked up my car's battery backwards....

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Okay, not to drag this thread much further OT than I already have, it is my studied opinion that Lucas parts work just as well as any other in a well sorted and maintained vehicle.  I say Lucas gets a "bum rap."  All the Lucas stuff on my car works just as it should.

 

D.

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8 hours ago, tourtelot said:

Okay, not to drag this thread much further OT than I already have, it is my studied opinion that Lucas parts work just as well as any other in a well sorted and maintained vehicle.  I say Lucas gets a "bum rap."  All the Lucas stuff on my car works just as it should.

 

D.

No sale, at least on parts made for 1960's UK cars.  I had a series of terrible Lucas voltage regulators, switches, generators (this was  pre-alternators) and so on.  They made lots of money for mechanics in several CA cities that year...

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8 hours ago, tourtelot said:

I say Lucas gets a "bum rap."  All the Lucas stuff on my car works just as it should.

 
Gee, just when it was getting kind of fun.
 
I expect that Lucas probably makes good quality components today and I wouldn’t be uncomfortable driving a car with Lucas electrics. However, the reputation for iffy devices is well earned. I purchased an MG in 1973 and had many occasions to curse the electrics. I had batteries actually freeze in the winter; replacement with lower cost Delco cells corrected the problem. Failing point sets were the worst. The hard fiber block that rides the distributor cam was so soft that it would wear away in fewer than 1000 miles causing the points to close. Only a month after a tuneup, the car would fail to start.
 
Things are better now and all is forgiven (but not forgotten). Let me close with a few Lucas sayings:
 
The Lucas corporate motto: “Get home before dark.”
Lucas holds the patent for the short circuit.
Lucas – Inventor of the intermittent wiper.
Lucas – Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch – Dim, Flicker and Off.
 
David
 

 
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2 hours ago, Philip Perkins said:

No sale, at least on parts made for 1960's UK cars.  I had a series of terrible Lucas voltage regulators, switches, generators (this was  pre-alternators) and so on.  They made lots of money for mechanics in several CA cities that year...

 

Okay, fair enough.  I have no 1960-era Lucas parts in my 1976 car :)

 

D.

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On 8/2/2017 at 8:17 PM, JBond said:

I have an extra 1967 Nagra III and a bunch of Nagra III accessories that won't fit in my case.   I would like to get a small roll around sound cart from the early 70's to add to my collection.  My idea is to set it all up as it would be in actual use. The recorder, mixer, pads, pencils anything that would be utilized on a movie set back in the late 60's early 70's using a Nagra III. 
 I know the Nagra IV or 4.2 was out then, but I have the Nagra III equipment already. Everything but the cables. I have to get all the cables etc.; It has to look like its all ready to go. 
I have both the Sennheiser MKH 815T and MKH 805 also.  
I want the set up to be a snapshot in time of how it was in use.
I think it would be a nice addition to my collection. 
I wish I never sold my Sela mixer, but I plan to use a Nagra BM mixer to keep it all Nagra.  What do you think?  
Maybe the things I have are not what was used on the cart. I don't know. 
Does anybody have any vintage pictures they can post of sound carts from the Nagra days? So maybe I can get some ideas? It can have any Nagra in the picture.  I just want to see what it looked like back then. 
Today's carts are all lit up and computerized. 
 

 

 

OWKsunl.jpg

 

 

Sela was the way most of us rolled in the old days.

On 12/13/2017 at 6:31 PM, JBond said:

Finding a nice clean Nagra III is hard to do, there is always a lot wrong with them cosmetically.  I must have bought and sold 5 of them before finding two mint ones to keep. 
I only had one that didn’t work, what I find is most are all beat up but still work. Although, I don’t use them other than just proving everything works. I still check out just about every Nagra III that comes up for sale just to see if there are any differences in them.  I still see some nice ones now and then. 

 

 If you want I can post when I see a nice clean one up for sale or message you. I have three already and do not desire to own any others.  Unless you like the idea of a project. But what it sounds like because of the battery leakage and wires disconnected you have nothing but problems in front of you. The plastic piece is only the obvious.  When you do finally get it going the fact that the serial number is scratched out is a turnoff. 
Unless the outside is in really very good condition, it sounds like what you have is not worth fussing with. 
The first one I ever bought  and the only one I bought not working was for 50.00; the battery acid was so bad on the inside it reached into just about every part of the unit.  You can always sell it and start over.  I never had any problem selling a Nagra III even the 50.00 dollar one sold for 95.00.  I’m not sure how much you paid, but they can easily be had in working condition.  It's the cosmetic condition that's hard to find.
But all that being said I'm pretty fussy when it comes to a run of the mill Nagra III. Maybe you like fixing them up that's OK I understand that.  
I hope you'll find some answers here on Jwsound.  In fact, there are probably people on here that have the part you need.
Just know its easy to sell a Nagra III for parts and buy a real keeper.  That's what I did.

NEVER remove the motor housing.

The motor is over magnetized and removing it will affect the efficiency of the motor, resulting in increased battery drain!

On 10/6/2017 at 7:52 AM, MarkC said:

Hello again :)

 

To Sound-men would you say you used a mono Nagra, for film sound, longer than the Nagra stereo? I would be interested to know how long you used a mono Nagra machine in comparison to a stereo Nagra.

Also when was it when the digital framework began to interest you? How long was it till you moved from analogue to digital?

What about microphones? Did the technology develop in parallel?

 

All the best

MarkC

REQUEST: Nagra Mastrclass Video's

 

If any of you master's would be interested in a walk through of how you used to or still do setup your Nagra, I would love to see any video's. General Setup and Tips and Tricks please. Always here to learn!!

 

MarkC

Probably 50/50 mono vs IV-STC.

Then DAT, now Cantar.

Mics didn't evolve as much as RF did.

Edited by traut
misspell
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On 10/22/2017 at 3:38 PM, mikewest said:

Hi Mark C,

 

I used my two Nagra 4.2 recorders for 13 years for drama and documentary work.

I regularly aligned the machines to achieve the best possible performance using a

Nakamichi T-100 audio analyser.

For me the 4.2 was the ultimate recorder with all the facilities you needed.

I built my own KAT unit (which added a 3rd microphone channel) and I added

a 48v phantom setting to it unlike the Nagra version.

I used a Nagra 4STC for Cousteau expeditions for 4 years.

Although it offered time code and two channel recording, I realised that it's noise performance

did not match the 4.2 due to it's two narrow tracks with a guard band.

I also felt that the headphone amplifier was not as good as the 4.2.

I move to DAT in 1993 then to hard disk in 2004 and on to CF and SD cards.

 

Microphones did not immediately develop quickly, I had worked with high quality condenser

units since 1966, the Sennheiser 804 was a breakthrough in directional microphones and the

next significant leap forward was the Sony ECM-50 electret personal microphone around 1974.

Currently there are many great electret personal microphones for use with radio systems.

A very innovative Japanese manufacturer Sanken now sell an interesting range of electret units.

In the last 15 years SoundField microphones allow recordings that can produce 5.1 results.

I own an SPS-200 that has achieved stunning results with a full orchestra

 

The greatest  audio developments were in radio microphones with Audio Ltd, Sennheiser and then

Lectrosonics as UHF transmission developed plus pre-emphasis then double ended compansion systems

and currently digital systems that offer remarkable dynamic range and quality.

 

I will try to find my measurement and test sheet for the Nagra 4.2

 

mike

Hi Mike,

I worked for Cousteau 1998-2004?

Mostly with JMC, but went to Antarctica with JYC for 3 weeks.

Wonderful memories.

Cheers, Mate!

Traut

On 10/22/2017 at 3:38 PM, mikewest said:

Hi Mark C,

 

I used my two Nagra 4.2 recorders for 13 years for drama and documentary work.

I regularly aligned the machines to achieve the best possible performance using a

Nakamichi T-100 audio analyser.

For me the 4.2 was the ultimate recorder with all the facilities you needed.

I built my own KAT unit (which added a 3rd microphone channel) and I added

a 48v phantom setting to it unlike the Nagra version.

I used a Nagra 4STC for Cousteau expeditions for 4 years.

Although it offered time code and two channel recording, I realised that it's noise performance

did not match the 4.2 due to it's two narrow tracks with a guard band.

I also felt that the headphone amplifier was not as good as the 4.2.

I move to DAT in 1993 then to hard disk in 2004 and on to CF and SD cards.

 

Microphones did not immediately develop quickly, I had worked with high quality condenser

units since 1966, the Sennheiser 804 was a breakthrough in directional microphones and the

next significant leap forward was the Sony ECM-50 electret personal microphone around 1974.

Currently there are many great electret personal microphones for use with radio systems.

A very innovative Japanese manufacturer Sanken now sell an interesting range of electret units.

In the last 15 years SoundField microphones allow recordings that can produce 5.1 results.

I own an SPS-200 that has achieved stunning results with a full orchestra

 

The greatest  audio developments were in radio microphones with Audio Ltd, Sennheiser and then

Lectrosonics as UHF transmission developed plus pre-emphasis then double ended compansion systems

and currently digital systems that offer remarkable dynamic range and quality.

 

I will try to find my measurement and test sheet for the Nagra 4.2

 

mike

Hi Mike,

I worked with Cousteau 1998-2004?

Mainly with JMC.

Went to Antarctica with JYC.

Wonderful memories.

Cheers, Mate!

Traut

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Hello, I have just joined your community and I appreciate all the information about NAGRA Recorders.

Regarding the JBond communication of December 2016, I can provide more information regarding NAGRA III serial number.

I collect NAGRA equipment and I have a small collection. I have no NAGRA I nor II, my collection begins with NAGRA  III.

The oldest is the NAGRA III 58 34. The NAGRA III have been manufactured from 58 to 68. If the general look have been maintained during these 11 years,

there are a lot of modification from one model to another. Erase head, front plate, case lock, Vu meter, A/B, Tone, and etc. but from the beginning there was room enough to put a fourth head for pilot, even if Kudelski loose a lot of time before introducing the Pilot in 62. 

NAGRA III Serial numbers :

I have a NAGRA III 59 222, which means that the 58 serial stops around 220 items.

The next one I have is the B 60 408.

So we can imagine that year 59 begins from number around 221 to approx. 400. Something like 180 units manufactured in 59.

1960 Roma Olympic games, 480 units have been manufactured among them 100 was ordered by RAI, Italian state radio.

NAGRA III_58_68.jpg

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Quote

BGAULLIER

Hello, I have just joined your community and I appreciate all the information about NAGRA Recorders.

Regarding the JBond communication of December 2016, I can provide more information regarding NAGRA III serial number.

I collect NAGRA equipment and I have a small collection. I have no NAGRA I nor II, my collection begins with NAGRA  III.

The oldest is the NAGRA III 58 34. The NAGRA III have been manufactured from 58 to 68. If the general look have been maintained during these 11 years,

there are a lot of modification from one model to another. Erase head, front plate, case lock, Vu meter, A/B, Tone, and etc. but from the beginning there was room enough to put a fourth head for pilot, even if Kudelski loose a lot of time before introducing the Pilot in 62. 

NAGRA III Serial numbers :

I have a NAGRA III 59 222, which means that the 58 serial stops around 220 items.

The next one I have is the B 60 408.

So we can imagine that year 59 begins from number around 221 to approx. 400. Something like 180 units manufactured in 59.

1960 Roma Olympic games, 480 units have been manufactured among them 100 was ordered by RAI, Italian state radio.

 

 

 

 

Welcome BGAULLIER, 
I'm glad you posted here on Jwsound 
You are a true Nagra collector, Thank you for posting your Nagra III part of your collection. How did you happen to find Jwsound? 

 

Please feel free to post as many Nagra pictures as you like. 
It's the only way we can get a complete history of Nagra items. 
A couple of things since that Dec 2016 post,  a 1959 Nagra III has surfaced from a man in Belgium named Antoine Martens.  He posted pictures of his 1959 Nagra III serial number 59105  Its on post #681 page 28
His Nagra serial # 59 105 is painted in the same wrinkle finish as the 1958 Nagra III,  a Nagra II wrinkle type finish. I noticed your serial # 59 222 is now painted in the gray hammer-tone paint used on all Nagra III's we know today. 
So your post narrows down when the paint changed,  somewhere between 105 and 222.  It is too soon to tell if there was a serial number 400 in 1959. I think that is too high I would guess there was about 250 1959 serial numbers ended about 350 but only a guess, time will tell.


I am finding out the past serial numbers that were released are not accrete since it was reported that 240 1958 Nagra III's were produced. That number has been debunked when a 1959 Nagra showed up with a 105 on it and now backed up by your serial number 59 222.  Its clear that 240 produced for 1958 is the wrong number.

Since you have one for each year can you list some of the differences that you have found that are not commonly known?  

 

Do you have any Nagras with tape direction arrows in red etched into the deck lid. 

v6Uqiya.jpg

 

irQRwKc.jpg

 

Any of your recorders have the early head covers as shown in this picture below?.  It looks like your 58 and 59 has them, is this correct? 

If the covers are removed it leaves space for the third head. You would never know bu looking at this picture. 

 

 

sbFIVV3.jpg

 

In this next picture of my 1958 Nagra III you can see the head covers are removed but can see the holes that were filled in. It is unknown if this was done at the factory or a former owner removed the head covers and added guides on the sides of the heads as the picture shows.

On my 1958 the tape path is different from later Nagra III's. noted by the red arrows.

On any of your early Nagra's do you see signs of the holes being filled as this next picture shows?  It would probably be on the 1960 machine  if any. On the 58th Nagra III ever produced its either Nagra was experimenting with the plexi tape guides and the red arrow tape paths   or a later technician removed the head covers and added the later Nagra III guides on the sides of the head. 

 

 

 

 

68qOSA7.jpg

 

 

Below is my latest serial number database that I started,  it does not reflect the new numbers you have just presented.

Again please feel free to share any information and post your pictures. 

You have a very nice collection of Nagra III's, they all look in excellent condition.

Thank you 

 

 

t0cA7p4.jpg

 

 

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Here is an updated Nagra III picture list and the span of serial numbers known per year as of Jan 2, 2018, this includes  BGAULLIER ten recorders, of course this will change over time, but you can see roughly the dates and serial number range for each year. 
 
 

1958)  22 - 58            

1959) 105 -222          
1960)  408- 667
1961)  827- 1471
1962)  2103- 2529
1963)  2998- 4104
1964)  4147- 5520
1965)  6204- 7623
1966)  6714- 8475
1967)  9556- 11769
1968)  12303- 13874
 
When listing the years and number range above, I found two problems; 1)  was a mistake on my pictures list 65 5348 was supposed to be 65 6248 and has been corrected. 
2) when adding BGAULLIER’s number for 1965 (7623) this blows up my database; this is the first time this has happened.
As you can see under 1965) in red the previous year should not be a larger number than the following year if the serial numbers are meant to be consecutive.
Either this is a mistake somewhere, or Nagra has a whole different way of adding serial numbers then previously thought. Could this mean serial #65 7623 also will have the same number in 1966? 66 7623?  
Does anyone have a Nagra III serial number that contradicts the consecutive order written in the above list?   
 
 
 
2Vsxb6W.jpg
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Hi guys. I finally got my Nagra III (the one with the deleted serial no) working ok ! 

Really pleased, did not waste my money after all. It plays back fine, have not tried recording yet, really only interested in playing tapes on it anyway.

Unfortunately, the internal speaker is stuffed, the cone is totally destroyed, no idea how this could have happened, as if someone has deliberately wrecked it ! So will need a new speaker at some stage.

Now running it in more, these old decks improve after awhile of running I find.

The caps in it need to be regenerated, ha !

I will post another better photo in the morning, is kind of late here now....

 

IMG_1413.JPG

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Hello, sorry to let you wait a while.

I have another N III which causes problem with your list, it is the number 65 7562

Here is the list of Nagra III I own.

In fact, I suspect some problem in numbering some years ago.

I had contact KUDELSKI factory in order to obtain more information on the N III manufactured.

They answer : forget it, all the list was made by hand and the paper have been archived somewhere or destroyed !

But the numbering is quite curious sometime and this is the reason why I made an extended list with the complete number.

At the beginning there was no pilot and all Nagra III was mainly used by radio network. The number begins by B - Why B ? 

it seems that nobody knows today why the number begins by a B !

Then in 1962 the pilot version appears and as the system was called NEOPILOT by KUDELSKI it is quite easy to understand why they are named NP.

Until 1966 the 2 versions exist : B for radio and NP for cinema/TV. But in 1965 on some item an H appears after the number. What does that mean ?

Nobody give me an explanation for this H.

After 66 it becomes more complicated - NPO - HPO - PHO - BHO - BH... What is sure is that all number beginning by B is originally a radio model even if 

it has been modified to pilot later and PXX number are for pilot.

The number conflict appears for year 65/66

At a time I was suspecting a double numbering - one for pilot and a second one for radio but it is not possible.

Here is the list of my NAGRA III nd some pictures of N III.

Enjoy and excuse my poor English. 

NAGRA III List.pdf

58_34.jpg

58_34_2.jpg

60 408.jpg

62 2328.jpg

64_5334.jpg

65_7623.jpg

66_8021.jpg

68_13397.jpg

Well maybe a pdf file is not very convenient 

Here is the list of my NAGRA III

 

1958

 

34       -  36

     

1959

 

222

     

1960

 

408     -  599

     

1961

 

1080   - 2010

     

1962

 

2176   - 2328    - 2573

   

1963

 

2907   - 3129    - 3178   - 3975

   

1964

 

4978   - 5334

     

1965

 

6053   - 7562    - 7623

   

1966

 

7605   - 8021    - 8366

   

1967

 

9678   - 9993

     

1968

 

12527 - 13279 - 13928 - 13397

   
           
   

Detailed number list

   
           

1958

 

B 5834

B 5836

   

1959

 

B 59222

     

1960

 

B 60 408

B 60 599

   

1961

 

B 61 1080

B 61 2010

   

1962

 

NP 62 2176 H

NP 62 2328

BH 62 2573

 

1963

 

B 63 2907

NP 63 3129

B 63 3178

NP 63 3975

1964

 

B 64 4978

NP 64 5334 H

   

1965

 

NP 65 6053 H

NP 65 7562 H

NP 65 7623

 

1966

 

NPO H 66 7605

HPO 66 8021

PHO 66 8366

 

1967

 

PHO 67 9678

BHO 67 9993

   

1968

 

PHO 68 12527

PHO 68 13279

BH 68 13928

PHO 68 13397

           
   

B = Radio - NP & PHO = Pilot - if nothing else specified

           

1962

 

BH 62 25 73

Radio model  modified > Pilot

 

1963

 

B 63 2907

Radio model  modified > Pilot

B 63 3178 = Radio

1964

 

B 64 4978

= Radio model

   

1967

 

BHO 67 9993

= Radio model

   

1968

 

BH 68 13928

= Radio model

   
           
   

Radio model : No pilot head - no pilot indicator on front

I made a sort of history of NAGRA III from 1958 to 1968.

I try to point out the differences and upgrades.

The first NAGRA III from 58 and 59 had a complete different sub chassis.

 

NAGRA III – From 1958 to 1968

 

I – Case and Chassis

There is an aluminum main chassis housing all the equipment : Head, roller, capstan…

This main chassis is assembled to a sub-chassis screwed to the case by a hinge to facilitate the opening of the recorder. A second hinge is used for the transparent lid.

In order to secure the equipment, a synthetic rubber gasket is inserted in the assembly between the main and sub chassis.

Before 1960 the sub-chassis is a simple aluminum belt hooping the main chassis.

Angle bars are screwed to the main chassis in order to assemble to the sub-chassis.

The gasket is situated all around between the main and sub chassis.

 

After 1960 the sub-chassis is a complete machined frame directly screwed to the main chassis with a flat gasket.

 

1_Caisse comparaison.jpg

 

NAGRA III differences and upgrades.

 

1958 and 1959 models are very similar except the paint and the microphone cannon plug which is factory made on early model.

The 1958 model have a different paint darker than the light grey used since 1959.

Until 62 the recorder are manufactured in PRILLY LAUSANNE

The lid is flat.

Stroboscope rollers are drilled.

Push button for fast-forward very small

Housing of the head is particular and is used to position the tape correctly without any other tape guide.

The erase head is narrow.

Opposite to the hinge the lock is made of 2 aluminum parts assembled by a screw.

The monitoring output plug is narrower than common electric plug in EU.

The motor equipped with a tachometric wheel is not housed in case.

 

1960 :

Tape guides appear and the heads are positioned to reserve room for a future pilot head.

Stroboscope rollers have their definite shape.

Push button for fast-forward become large

The assembly parts opposite to the hinge become a simple square part of aluminum

 

1961 :

More than thousand NAGRA III have already been manufactured.

Little modification – on front plate monitoring output adopts electric plug spacing.

Engraving on potentiometer adjustment bar become larger.

 

1962 :

The manufacture moves to PAUDEX VAUD

The year of pilot

Fourth head appears with the pilot signal indicator on the front plate.

Push button without any marking appears and is able to generate a tone

 

1964 :

A/B button appears

 

1965 :

Erase head changes for ferrite

 

1968 :

New modulometer for 1968 and late 1967 model.

 

1968 the last year of NAGRA III

 

2_Lock_58_59_60.jpg

3_Engraving.jpg

4_NIII_1958_Model.jpg

5_NIII_58_Int.jpg

6_NIII_59222.jpg

7_NIII_an_60.jpg

8_NIII-Année_62.jpg

9_NIII_An_64.jpg

10_1962_Case.jpg

11_Chassis.jpg

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Good work Spectreman.  Just goes to show how well a Nagra III is made, with your determination and skill you now have a unit you can be proud of. 

 

Thank you BGAULLIER for the fantastic job and pictures explaining the Nagra III's You are a true collector. I know how much work that was for you to do. Thank you very much. You have a beautiful collection of Nagra III's best in the world.

 So you own 25 Nagra III's Wow!!

I'm almost afraid to ask,  how many Nagra's do you own all together?

 

I had this ready to post just as you posted, I also heard the same serial number story from Nagra. Yes, they added all sorts of letters to the serial numbers but the running number of units made was still the same. 

 

Here is how I determine how many were made. 

 

At first when BGAULLIER  new numbers messed up my chart I thought could there be many more Nagra III's than I thought.  But then I remembered this.

 

This Nagra statement below. 

Success of the NAGRA III was huge, and delivery times were between 6 and 8 months.

Production has to be increased continually. In 1964 office space and manufacturing space is rented in Renens, then in 1965 in Malley. At the

end of the year a factory in Neuchâtel is purchased. A vast piece of ground is purchased in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, for the construction

of a dedicated factory. In 1967 the 10’000th NAGRA III is celebrated

 

According to that statement, the dates and serial numbers listed below seem to match up.  The 1967 10,000th  recorder fits below in RED 

Except for 1965, I don’t have an answer for that yet.  Unless his serial number is different somehow. 

Overall It seems very few Nagras III's were produced in the10-year period.

 

For example

From the chart below. Take the last number shown in 1965 and the first number shown in 1967, subtract 7623 from the first number in 1967 9556.  Even if those numbers were the start and finish of the 1966 Nagra III (which they are not) the absolute best possible outcome for the year 1966 Nagra III’s produced would be 1,933 and the least made would be 1,761.  Even though only 57 serial numbers were used in compiling my so-called database, you can see how one can determine roughly how many were produced in any given year except the last year. So In 1966 there were between 1,761 and 1,933 Nagra III's produced.

 

So now you say, So,… Who cares?  Well, when I started this I had no idea at all how many were made per year. Now I can start to see roughly which Nagra III's are the rarest by number and so can anybody reading this. Right now for 1960 the most that could have been made is 1,436 the least 259  It looks like in the early years just a few hundred were made each year. So over time I think the 1960 number will be closer to 259. The only year you can't do that is 1968.

 

 I just added  BGAULLIER  latest serial numbers that would affect my chart in blue  (only the lowest and highest number matter each year) To make it less complicated the letters in the serial numbers do not change the total number made so they are left out for this purpose but are nice to know.

As you can see the more serial numbers I get the more accurate it will be in determining how many units made each year.

 

1958)  22 - 58            

1959) 105 -222        

1960)  408- 667

1961)  827- 1471 2010

1962)  2103- 2529 2573

1963)  2907 2998- 4104

1964)  4147- 5520

1965)   6053 6204- 7623

1966)  6714- 8475

1967)  9556- 10,000 -11769

1968)  12303- 13874 13928

 

 

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JBond, I agree with your post, but I think that during 1960 more than 250 have been manufactured for the reason why RAI order 100 units.

So to my opinion, it would be closer to 400 than 250... but today nobody can say.

 

I have some other pieces aside.

For NAGRA III is was easy, only 2 different type : radio or cinema/tv.

For NAGRA IV and 4 it is another story. Too much models have been designed...

Some NAGRA IV and 4 plus lot of accessories like QGB, mixer, preamp, synchroniser, IV S music and IV S film, IV SJ, SN and SNST, IS and NAGRA E red and blue (blue version for Radio France), a VPR5 which is a very nice product and a NAGRA T AUDIO fantastic machine.

More recently ( more than 10 years ago) I bought a NAGRA V that I still used very often and a NAGRA VI I use... let say, nearly every day.  

 

Apart NAGRA I have some other portable devices like UHER 4000, 4200, 4400 and 1200  pilot version.

I of course I own some STELLAVOX  SP 7 and SP 8 a SONY Professional EM 2-NS and a military TELEFUNKEN portable recorder.

 

Well portable recorder is something like a passion.

 

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JBond, I agree with your post, but I think that during 1960 more than 250 have been manufactured for the reason why RAI order 100 units.

So to my opinion, it would be closer to 400 than 250... but today nobody can say.

 

 

You miss understood me.

Yes, I agree with you, 400 is closer to 259 than the possibility of 1,436 1960 units.

 

Quote

 Right now for 1960 the most that could have been made is 1,436 the least 259  It looks like in the early years just a few hundred were made each year. So over time I think the 1960 number will be closer to 259. 

 

You have a pretty sizable collection, I knew there were other larger Nagra collectors, but I understand not wanting to put their collection on line. 

It took me a long time to get up the nerve to post on line.  I'm learning more though from collectors like you.

Do you keep your collection in one area? Post some overall pictures if they are displayed, Everyone likes seeing Nagra pictures.

Welcome to JWsound

What I have liked about this site from the beginning, it's the only place where the people on here recognize, know about, appreciate and have used these recorders.  Recording the world's favorite movies of the time.  I can't believe the number of soundmen on this site and the movies they have recorded, forever etched in history with the machines you and I admire. You don't see that anywhere except for here on JWsound.  When you watch a movie, keep an eye on the sound credits.  Depending on the year, it was recorded on a Nagra of some type and most likely by one of these famous people on JWsound. 

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On 1/2/2018 at 5:14 PM, traut said:

 

Hi Traut

Just saw you post

Yep I remember they mentioned the Antarctic trip and thought about prepping Alcyone!!

I first worked with them in NZ 1986 and continued on and off till 1992

Then worked with JMC until 2008

Still in touch but time passes!

I guess you worked with Antoine Rosset?

Cheers

Mike

mike@mikewestgatesound.co.nz

 

 

On 1/2/2018 at 5:14 PM, traut said:

 

 

 

 

Edited by mikewest
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48 minutes ago, tourtelot said:

Hey, for all that know.  How hard is it to find a Nagra stereo machine of any sort with two-track heads?  Ie. no sync track, center track, etc.  Ie. ie. for two-track music recording?

 

Thanks.

 

D.

In my part of the USA they were quite rare.  In the heyday of 1/4" recording I knew of only 2 here in SF, while there were many more IV-S machines with pilotone, with that number dwarfed by the numbers of IIIs, IV-Ls and 4.2.   Until timecode came along.....

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I know of a place (in Copenhagen), where they have a NOS wide track record head for the IV-S. Unfortunately not a corresponding playback head... 

 

Then you just need the IV-S, but that might well be a standard 2mm track width machine, which is (relatively) easier to find.

 

 

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4 hours ago, tourtelot said:

Hey, for all that know.  How hard is it to find a Nagra stereo machine of any sort with two-track heads?  Ie. no sync track, center track, etc.  Ie. ie. for two-track music recording?

 

Thanks.

 

D.

 

Trew Audio has installed many standard width 2-track heads on Nagra IV-S recorders. However, if I recall correctly, we received the last of these 2-track heads from Nagra a couple of years ago. That said, there may be a set on some shop's shelf, but remember that to achieve the small advantage of the wider track heads, the bias board should also be replaced to the one designed for these heads.

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Hi.  The top plate of my Nagra III is pretty dirty with grime from lots of use.  Plus there is some black pen writing that has been partly cleaned off.

Can someone recommend what type of cleaning agent or material to use to get it nice and clean again ?

I don't want to disassemble the unit to be doing this either...

Thanks, Chris.

 

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After thinking about it, I removed what I use to clean.
I can just see someone spraying the corrosive product all over to make a dirty Nagra look good for "sale" and not being at all careful. You would not want the product to get around or under the nameplates, hinges controls, etc. and later down the road possibly damaging an otherwise good Nagra finish.
I would NOT recommend using any product that is "corrosive". It was irresponsible for me to do that. I sometimes forget this is a post online. 

Just use a good safe household cleaner, 409 or Fantastic, etc.. Then follow up with some auto spray wax on a rag, never spray anything on the Nagra itself.  You would not want whatever cleaner you use to get around or under the nameplates, hinges controls, etc.  Spray the cleaner or wax on a clean, soft, tee shirt type cotton rag ONLY not spray the machine.

For sellers, all true collectors would rather have a Nagra "as is" uncleaned condition, we can clean it up ourselves. You can mess up a finish if you clean it improperly and hurt the value of the recorder.  When I buy something online I ask the seller to leave it alone and not clean it before packing for this reason. 

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