Nagra Stories Sound-men won’t ever tell

[Philip Perkins]

30 minutes ago, tourtelot said:

I can add one to the list.

 

From Wiki: 

 

Big World is a 1986 live album of original songs by Joe Jackson.^[4] The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre, East 17th Street in New York City on 23, 24 and 25 January 1986 (except "Man in the Street", recorded during rehearsals on 22 January). The songs are loosely linked by lyrics covering a general theme of post-World War II international relations and global travel.

 

I was hired to record those shows on my Nagra X4S ("Harvey Board") and QGB 10 1/2" reel adapter.  I recorded the 2-mix from the truck and "universal time code" from the production.  IIRC, there were a number of the Denecke TS-Grande displays scattered about for the non-TC 35mm cameras to shoot after a reload.  It was a super-fun coupla days.

 

D.

That's the way it was done then.  Did many myself the same way, with combos of IV-STCs and Harveyized IV-SLs.  The latter was a superior device to the former in every way.  Harvey Warnke RIP.

[The Immoral Mr Teas]

On 2/8/2023 at 2:14 AM, Koyama said:

Are these real?

 

No, but one thing IS certain - its versatility made it a popular choice with recording engineers and producers.

[JBond]

Koyama, Thanks for your post.
Just so you know, when I answered your post the other day, I was away on a trip.  I wrote my comment in notes on my iPhone and then copied/pasted it to Jwsound. After I got home I saw that my post was in super large bold 28pt text. (what an idiot) sorry about that. Even now after correcting it, I'ts still double-spaced.

 

I wasn't making a statement or anything, the size was just a mistake since I have my phone set to a larger text and was unaware of the consequences of transferring to a JWSOUND post. It looked somewhat normal on my phone.

 

"are these real?"  I was the same way as you after first learning about Nagra's use in recording.  I was uncertain as to what extent Nagra recorders played in movies and sound. JWSOUND-Men made it clear to me what Nagra's role in movie history was. 

I think your list originally meant Nagra recorders and not just the IV-S,  if you add

Nagra III, IV-L, and 4.2  it will probably cover everything on the list.

When I bought my IV-STC many years ago I asked the Soundman from whom I bought it if he could tell me what movies and music were recorded with it.

 

 

 He sent me a list of movies and music that he recorded.
Here are some of the music videos he recorded.
1) Aerosmith "Janie got a Gun" Live version
2) Georgia Satellites ' Keep you Hand to Yourself"
3) Drivin and Cryin "Fly Courageous"
4) Stuck Mojo "Rising"
5) Outkast " Miss Jackson"
6) Elton John " The Circle of Life"
7) Arrested Development "Tennesse" and "Mr. Wendel"
Smashing Pumpkins "Live at Six Flags"
9) Bloodhound Gang "Fire Water Burn"
10) Xscape "Just Kickn It"

 

If you own a used Nagra recorder,  you can be sure something of importance was professionally recorded on it at some point in time.                                                                      
I don't mean opening up Christmas presents with the family kind of stuff, I mean famous movies, music, interviews, TV commercials, and music videos.
For sure the Nagra III was used by the Beatles. 

 

 

 

[JBond]

I believe the ChatGPT used "Nagra IV-S" and combined IV-S with all model Nagras. 

It should have known the date the IV-S was manufactured. 

 

I have to be honest I had no idea what ChatGPT was until I just looked into it further.
I thought it was just another type of Wikipedia where people like you and I type in what we think we know.

 

Ask how it determines correct information from false information when there is so much false information about every subject on the internet.
 

 

 

[Jeff Wexler]

2 hours ago, JBond said:

 

 

"Ask how it determines correct information from false information when there is so much false information about every subject on the internet."
 

The simple answer is that ChatGPT cannot differentiate the validity, true or false, of the data sources it is drawing on. 

 

 

[JBond]

Jeff, your simple answer sums it up.  

 

That was an experience talking with chatGPT.
It does not get its current information from searching the internet but from a database in its programming.  

 

It can be influenced as you can see below. After I corrected the Nagra III date it lists 50's 60's 70's but now it knows 1958 for the Nagra III.
The dates of the Nagra's were all off every time I asked for specific dates. Finally, since it did not know the correct dates it just said the approximate dates.

 
 For the next year, it will be sucking up every bit of information from everyone then it will be unstoppable and scary, because who is doing the programming.

 

My questions 

 

 

Can you list the years and models of the Nagra recorders?

 

So of course the dates were off in Koyama posts,

[JBond]

My friend Chat did a good job writing a Nagra Song which I asked for. 5 seconds later voila. Of course, I will take joint credit. Hey, I asked!

 

Wow! the possibilities are endless. Think of commercials and advertising people. Not to mention people in the music industry. Kids in school! Nobody will ever have to do anything ever again.

That can't be good. It took 5 seconds and it's written down just copy and paste.

The Nagra Song by Chat&Bond.😎

Chat also booked a gig for us at Radio City in New York, on Sept 23, 2023

and I didn't even ask 😳

 

 

 

 

The Nagra Song 

byChat&Bond

 

 

Verse 1: 

In the world of sound recording, there's a name you need to know 

Nagra, Swiss-made, a classic that's aglow 

With its precision, clarity, and durability

A tape recorder that's second to none, 

 

 

Chorus: 

Nagra, the sound of excellence, the gold standard for all to see 

Nagra, capturing memories, preserving history 

With its timeless design and iconic look 

Nagra, the tape recorder that's always in the books

 

Verse 2:

From the film sets to the studios, Nagra's been the choice 

For the professionals who want to hear their voice

With its compact size and portable design

Nagra's the tape recorder that's always in line

 

Chorus: 

Nagra, the sound of excellence, the gold standard for all to see

Nagra, capturing memories, preserving history 

With its timeless design and iconic look 

Nagra, the tape recorder that's always in the books

 

Bridge: 

From its early days to the present time

Nagra's legacy will always shine

With its commitment to quality and craftsmanship 

Nagra, a name that's synonymous with excellence

 

Chorus: 

Nagra, the sound of excellence, the gold standard for all to see 

Nagra, capturing memories, preserving history 

With its timeless design and iconic look

Nagra, the tape recorder that's always in the books

 

Outro:

So when you're in the market for a tape recorder that's top-notch

Remember Nagra, the one that will never stop

With its classic style and timeless sound 

Nagra, is the tape recorder that will always be around.

 

 

 

[Clay Reeves]

Aloha, for your information an original  Nagra 111 from 1958 sits in Location Sound in North Hollywood. What a fantastic recorder. I have recorded on various Nagras  well  over hundreds of tapes from mono to stereo , you can still record acceptable sounds on early Nagra recorders. Thanks

[Koyama]

Wow! Thank you all for your responses and especially for the fact check! Obviously chatgpt needs to do much more homework about history, And if one day the Chatgpt is coming for a job as a history teacher, we should be cautious in dealing with it.

 

I was just hit by an inspiration that, if one day AI takes control of everything, and it must also compile "history" for those who obey it. Fragments of various events are stitched together through vague language and also videos by deep fake. In a sense, this is like a dream, which also happens to fit with the art form of cinema -- these people just live in cinema.

 

The Resistance, however, refused to accept the "dream" made by AI. They use physical, linear recording approaches to avoid the Information Contamination from AI, like tapes, films (as a fundamentalist resistance fighter, disk-based storage media is not allowed). The scroll would be an important intent, and all the ways the Resistance would record would be based on it (their writing was also recorded on scrolls, not pages of books) ... ...

 

The ending is pessimistic, because in any case the resistance is trapped inside the cinema by us ... ...

 

Sounds like a weird low-budget sci-fi script. Basically off the topic of this post. Just for fun:)

[Koyama]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm continuing gathering the information about the nagra iv-s to enable me to use and maintain my machine better. And I find there was a series of "newsletter" called "GDAN"(Gazette & Digest for the Absolute Nagrist), which is said to contain a lot of information about nagra recorders. However, the only thing I know about it is its name. I have tried to search it (by using something like textfiles.com), and I fail to find it.

 

So, is there anyone having idea about where I can find these documents? Thanks!

[dela]

Regarding the GDAN newsletter: On the sound forum gearspace.com there is a user (Plush), who once mentioned that he was somehow involved in the newsletter. It was created by the late Al Swanson, and it seems that at that time it wasn't´t distributed digitally. But you might sign up on gearspace.com and ask him directly, he seems to still be active there. If you succeed, please write back, if it is possible to get them too.

 

I have attached a link to the thread where he mentions it:

 

https://gearspace.com/board/all-things-technical/515237-nagra-4-s-nagra-4-2-a.html

[DHB]

Hi,

 

I found jwsound the other day when looking for repair hints for the suddenly-dead Left channel of my early-type IV-S (serial number 2697) ..and landed on page 30, and haven't stopped reading till I got here, on page 54..!

 

So - of course - I've read ALL these Nagra posts, and seen a fair bit here about (consumer) DAT and (pro) PortaDAT [..I use both, but the PortaDAT takes a bit of 'warming up' in the mornings till it's happy to run..] and a bit about Olympus' micro cassettes, but have seen no reference to what - for me - is Sony's really terrific, micro-miniature digital NT-1 and NT-2 ('Non-Tracking') tape devices. These are eminently 'hide-able', the published spec goes down to 10Hz ..but sounds and feels to me more like 5Hz, with the right mics.. can run for 1 hour each side of the postage-stamp-size tapes - yes, you take it out, turn it over, and use the other side too! - or, in the case of the NT-2, get 90 mins continuous recording with auto-reverse and no loss during that auto-reverse (..audio goes into a buffer and is <i>then</i> saved on tape).

                    

 

With all the talk about tape-based spy recorders, the teeny NT series (only those two varieties were made), take the biscuit! [..UK expression, meaning 'are the absolute tops'.]

 

(Meanwhile, I've taken my IV-S to Mike Harris at Shepperton (UK) to get its dead Left channel fixed: everything else is purr-fect!)

[DHB]

CORRECTION:

 

Now that I've gone all the way back to the very start of this thread - and have now read Page 8 - I see a white Sony NT-2 in JBond's collection!

 

Bravo! ..But there's no sign - as far as I've seen so far in this thread - of Sony's normal size, analogue, all-the-same-device 510-2, 5550-2, or APR 2003 (..which were pretty much stereo copies of a Nagra E; the first two with mic jack sockets, and the APR with XLR sockets, and the possibility of camera sync). [The Sonys, though, don't have all the quirky little switches, knobs, buttons and 'Modulometer' of Nagras ..though they do have similarly accurate motor speed control!]

 

I haven't found a mention (yet) of the old wind-the-handle British-made EMI 'Midget' (actually massive!) portable tape recorder, used, among others, by BBC radio reporters during WWII and after ..and by David Attenborough for wild (pun?) sound for the early 'Zoo Quest' TV series (shot with a Bolex H16).

 

Could this have been an inspiration for Kudelski's wind-the-handle Nagra 1..?

[JBond]

Hi  DHB

Welcome to JWSOUND Nagra Stories, I appreciate your post and your thorough reading of the thread. 

You are correct about the Sony NT1 and NT2,
 I own both and could not believe the sound when I first heard them. I just never got around to talking about them. 
One reason because I am very disappointed in the NT1
It has that rubber finish Sony thought for some reason would be better,  but instead, it turned a very historic recorder into junk, if you keep it long enough. I bought mine new in the box on ebay many years ago at a very good price. It was never opened or used and I never unwrapped most accessories are still factory wrapped. After a few years the recorder that was in my case started to deteriorate.
For whatever reason the rubber coating melts under its own power and turns to a soft sticky garbage finish.  I'm unsure if this finish was only on early models or for the total production of the NT1.  I have seen some that look perfect.
I saw on youtube people are now removing the melted garbage finish-off. I have not tried doing that yet because if it removes the silk screen directions off the NT1 I would just as soon throw it in the pail.  
The NT2 is a much better unit except for the oversized lever to open the cassette door. I had to make this display stand because there was no way to stand it up.  The NT2 has a beautiful all-metal metallic silver case. (not white)  I know most people bought it to use it and not display it but it should be able to stand on its own.
Probably because of the condition of the NT1 is why I was not in a hurry to talk about them. You are right though, they should be talked about. 

 

 

 

 

[JBond]

 

but, Mom, It's a SONY...by Kudelski

 

 

It was listed only as a NAGRA III, with no mention anywhere it was a Sony. OK, I thought another Nagra III.  I'll check out the date. I click on it, and look through the pictures.  It was a buy-it-now 599.00.

It looked like it could be mint but needed cleaning, so I thought about it for a few hrs.  What are the chances of finding a SONY NAGRA III and on top of that in mint condition for 600.00?  So I kicked it around some more and had dinner...
Yeah, right, more like, as fast as my brain could process the word SONY and direct my much slower analog fingers to click the Buy-it-Now button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DHB]

Regarding the NT-1 sticky coating; I've found that the best antidote is to wipe it gently with plenty of methylated spirits, and the sticky rubber just comes off, but the printed material remains.

 

The result is a sleek, black, smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom shiny recording device, with BRILLIANT highs and lows, and can be used as a 'wild track' recorder ..I use mine mainly with an old Europe-sold 'Vivanco' teeny stereo electret condenser lapel ('lavalier') mic (model number EM-36?), which comprises TWO omni mics in a tiny, tiny package with terrific range from, say 20kHz down to about - incredibly - 5Hz or 10Hz. It picks up the rumble of bus tyres (tires) on the street outdoors ..as does the superb NT-1. Brilliant for outdoor band (music) recordings!

 

I've found the NT-2 to be rather more finicky, and doesn't like - as described in its instructions - longer tape than 90 mins. The extra usefulness of the NT-2 is that it has built-in Line-In sockets; the NT-1 needs the additional can't-remember-the-name-of-it add-on push-in adaptor for a Line-In connection, but the all-mechanical NT-1 seems much more robust than the more finicky electronically-controlled NT-2.

 

(The way they were made so small is that there's no complex tape threading: the tape is just pushed against the rotating head-drum when inserted, and the drum rotates twice as fast on replay than when recording, so the heads gather all the data even when not properly aligned with the recorded diagonal 'stripes', and then software re-orders any out-of-order segments, like collating data on a 'fragmented' hard disc. However, there's no off-tape 'confidence' monitoring, unlike the HHB PortaDAT.)

 

But brilliant recorders, especially the NT-1..!

 

(I may add photos, after lunch..)

 

[By the way, your new Sony / Nagra III deck is SO much like the Sony 510-2, 5550-2, and APR 2003 decks; I wonder where they got their design from...]

[JBond]

Thanks for the tip about the finish. Post some pictures of it if you can. If you have one of those SONYS that look similar to Nagra's design post that also. 
From what I remember about trying my NT, having the earbuds on and speaking into the mic at pause, the sound at that point through the earbuds sounded like a deep, rich, clear powerful, full sound. It wasn't recording or playing back if I remember correctly. It must have something else other than just the digital tape, do they have some sort of pre-amps in them?, actuality  I associate that sound with my IVS-TC or even my NAGRA 4L playing back some prerecorded CANON copier commercial tapes for Radio commercials. I have those somewhere still.  Such a rich clear sound.

[The Immoral Mr Teas]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:44 AM, DHB said:

 

                    

With all the talk about tape-based spy recorders, the teeny NT series (only those two varieties were made), take the biscuit! [..UK expression, meaning 'are the absolute tops'.]

 

 

New to me, and interesting! thank you!

I still have my WMD6C from the 80s and a D3

 

Joseph, that 'Sony' III is beautiful, and I know that money is money but I think you got yourself a bargain ... if it looks that good only after you polished it up good job and give me some tips so I can do the same to my own III

 

Jez

 

[DHB]

Well, Mr Bond.. (..man with bowler hat comes in to escort Bond to the lift which will drop him into the piranha pool..)

 

Here's a picture of the Sony (..based on Sony / Kudelski recorder?..) 5550-2 which was sold in Japan:

 

   

 

The three knobs and a meter of the Nagra III have metamorphosed into two concentric gain knobs at the left, two circular meters, and a select-the-function circular knob (right). The vertical switch at extreme right is the FF / REW switch, and the large orange button is a latching Pause.

 

The reel-retaining rings are the EXACT same size and thread as a Nagra's and are interchangeable with a Nagra (I lost a Nagra reel-retainer, so use a pair of Sony screw-on rings).

 

In Europe this was sold as the Sony 510-2 (..the '-2' meaning 2-track recorder..) but the two Sonys are identical, except that the Japanese (TC-5550-2) version has a 110v mains adaptor - it slides inside the machine at the rear, in place of the rechargeable batt or D cells - but the European version (TC-510-2) comes with a 230v adaptor. (In the States it's probably a 110v or 120v adaptor.) These were meant as roving radio reporters' machines and have no pilot-tone head, but they DO have a varispeed knob, to match to other machines' speeds.

 

They have three tape-type settings (rightmost of the four recessed knobs on the left of the deck, just to the left of the circular lid lock), three bias settings (to the left of that knob), varispeed knob (left again) and two fixed speed settings (leftmost knob) giving 33⅓ (..whoops, no..) 3¾ and 7½ips. [..Don't you find it odd that 33 plus 45 equals 78..?]

 

Anyway, the almost identical APR-2003 has the same mechanical deck - though without the varispeed - and with XLR mic connectors instead of the two 'telephone jack' mic sockets of the other two machines. (The APR-2003 could also be fitted with pilot-tone if required, making it a proper film-sync recorder.) ..They all take only 5" reels. But there was a small outfit in Hong Kong which made a 10½" QGB-like adaptor, both for Nagras and for these Sonys, except that it was a purely mechanical add-on, like the Stellavox version, and was driven off the recorder's own reel hubs with belts.

 

And here are the Sony NT-1 and 2..

 

 

Look how shiny the black NT-1 looks (..with its open tape slot..) after having its sticky rubber coating gently wiped off with meths!

 

The little open flap at its rear is the battery socket - it takes just a single AA cell! - but also allows the NTU-2 adaptor - that small black box with a long thin finger - to be inserted there, giving a 1.5v (mains adaptor) input AND two Line-In sockets ..which aren't available on the little NT-1 recorder itself. (NOTE that cleaning the NT-1 with meths does NOT wipe off the printed labelling on it.) There's a little mock-leather slip-in-your-pocket case for it, and the NT-1 takes 60, 90 or 120 minute teeny weeny tapes. (That's 30, 45 or 60 mins per side, then remove and turn over and re-insert for the other half of the recording time ..like old 4-track analogue tapes! ..But these are DIGITAL, and give incredibly detailed sound from 10Hz to 20kHz!)

 

The right-hand NT-2 (with a teeny tape sticking out of its slot) does NOT like 120 min tapes, and takes 60 and 90 min tapes, but offers lossless auto-reverse, so a total running time of 90 minutes ..that is 2x 45 mins. (The NT-2 DOES have built-in Line-In sockets.)

 

The mics I generally use with these (..I use my devices, and don't keep them in display cabinets, sorry!..) are the late-sixties-to-mid-seventies Vivanco-brand lapel mics, shown here:

 

 

These (..old, and only available on eBay now..) take a single AA cell in the little matchbox-sized power supply box (..or will run off Sony's 3.5v 'plug-in power'..) with an On/Off switch and a Mono/Stereo switch on it. The mics seem to have been sold in Europe as 'EM-35' mics, but in the UK (..as shown on the teeny tie-clip at upper right..) were called 'EM-216' mics.

 

Phenomenal bass - just like the NT recorders themselves. I've never known a mic with as much clean bass response ..except for the M-Audio valve (tube) 'Sputniks', or the CAD e300² battery-powered (2x 9v PP3 rechargeable) large diaphragms.

 

These are stereo omnis (marked L & R) but I dare say could have a tube slipped over the end to turn them into shotguns ..but never tried it.

 

And, Mr Bond, as for your comment: "..From what I remember about trying my NT, having the earbuds on and speaking into the mic at pause, the sound at that point through the earbuds sounded like a deep, rich, clear powerful, full sound. It wasn't recording or playing back if I remember correctly. It must have something else other than just the digital tape, do they have some sort of pre-amps in them?.." ..you were listening to the input signal, which is what you hear when you press its circular 'Record' button before - or without - pressing the 'Forward' transport button.

 

Sure, they have pre-amps in them, for varying the gain, or volume, or call it what you will (..with a separate headphone volume output). The little Sony stereo mic shown in your photo - which comes with the recorder - isn't particularly good, but with really great mics, and really great 'phones, the sound of the teeny NT recorder is ..well, as I said, just phenomenal!  No 'confidence' (playback while recording) heads, but I've never had a failure - yet!

[dela]

The Sony TC 510-1 is a remarkable recorder, in that it is a recorder that is a bit of a mystery: What is the meaning with it? Who was supposed to use it? Why did Sony, normally being masters of miniaturization, design a recorder that was larger than the Nagras? 

 

The TC 510-2 is an example of a product that was conceived more as a copy of an existing product than a result of an actual need. It seems that the brilliant Sony engineers were given the task of making merely a Sony version of another manufacturers top product. The only problem was that the designers had just about no idea about what the users actually needed, and what was important for its use. The result was a recorder that looked nice, but had some serious shortcomings (for professional use). Some of them were (in no particular order):

 

- No balanced XLR mic inputs with phantom supply. Jack inputs? I have never seen a seriously professional microphone with a jack connector...

 

- Only 5" reels. I know that the Nagra IV machines also had this problem, but if you took off the lid of the Nagra, it could take 7" reels. And if you needed it with a lid, you could get a 7" compatible lid.

 

- It was larger than the Nagra, and it was very unergonomic (square form factor, sharp edges). I really wouldn't  want to carry that around; I would end up with bruises all over me.

 

- Was it easy to service? In a word: No. The drive system was difficult to take apart, and if an electronic fault occurred, you would open it up, sigh deeply and close it again. It is a very service un-friendly machine, which is a problem, because it had some serious mechanical issues after some years (f.ex. the locking mechanism for the Record-position broke). They were also prone to the sintered bearings seizing up, which is itself strange, since they were supposed to be self-lubricating.

 

But it was much cheaper than a Nagra, you might say? Yes, but more expensive than an Uher Report recorder, that was smaller, more ergonomic and also just accepted 5" reels. Unsurprisingly the users agreed, and that is why Uher and Nagra had such a large market share (in each their part of the price range), and the TC 510-2 ended up as a bit of a rarity in the overall picture.

 

I had a Sony TC 510-2 for a short while, and I managed to iron out a variety of quirks, and when that was done, it was a really nice machine. It sounds great, and the heads are very hard to wear down. But I ended up selling it to a friend (for the same symbolic sum that I paid for it), because although I liked it, it always ended up on the floor and being neglected there, not really giving as much joy as the Nagras. So that went to a better home...

[JBond]

That was a very good write-up dela, about the Sony 510
I just want to add as I was working on a reply to the 510 and the NT-1 and was going to just say this about the 510 being a copy.

 

That SONY 510 looks great, maybe they copied the control knob ring. It's hard to copy a Nagra III when you have so many ideas of your own as SONY did.
 SONY was a huge leading manufacturer of tape recorders dwarfing Nagra's operation, but SONY was not concentrating on the details as NAGRA was. Sony saw what Kudelski was doing with the NAGRA III and thought that they could do it better. 
 Let's just say it may have been Sony's answer to the NAGRA III but not a copy.

 

 I think dela's details explains why. 

[DHB]

Regarding dela's great description of the TC-510-2 ..I agree.

 

It was really a radio journalist's recorder. The 'professional' version - the APR 2003 - DID have XLR inputs (and could be adapted, or supplied, for film use). A couple of handy things about the 510-2 were that (a) it had that large Pause button - I found that useful - and (b) you could choose WHICH tracks to record on; the two small buttons on the right of the deck let you choose to record on Track 1 (Left) or Track 2 (Right) or both (Stereo). It doesn't, though, have the facility of, say, a studio Otari (and others) to use the other track of the Record head (..the track you're NOT recording on..) as a (lower quality) playback head, to achieve perfect sync with an insert (Punch In), so as to match the (other) already-recorded track. 

 

The 510-2 - and its two clones - were often broken by careless users who - despite the red warning on the front of the machine! - did not press IN the right-hand control knob when switching to the Record position ..and that would break, as dela says, the little plastic protective safety collar inside! People offered 3-D printed replacement collars on eBay (..and even expensive non-breakable steel collars!..) but I found it was quick'n'simple to replace a broken plastic collar using a knob from almost any mixer's EQ (..'boost or reduce'..) section: same internal diameter; just snip off the very top of the knob, snip off most of the 'skirt' around the bottom of the EQ knob, leave a small section remaining as the safety 'preventer' to lock you out of Record unless you first pushed IN the big outer selector knob, slide on and SuperGlue the replacement safety collar to the shaft, and Bob's your uncle!

 

Simple fix: took about 15 mins with no dismantling necessary, except taking off the bottom of the machine (..and then replacing it, of course!)

 

The Sony's appeal was really in its looks; it had similar-looking 'tension rollers' (..to a Nagra..) and a similar 'swinging-arm-mounted' pinch roller. (It did also have a similarly precise motor-speed feedback system as Nagras.)

 

It was, essentially, a 'poor man's Nagra' - with really reliable speed control, but only 5" reels (unless you bought the non-Sony 10½" big-reel adaptor - and you couldn't use that 'out in the field').

 

[Presently struggling to fix my aged Report Monitor ..but I'll manage somehow: it makes a horrible grinding noise at present!]

 

Mr Bond says "..Sony saw what Kudelski was doing with the NAGRA III and thought that they could do it better".

 

Er, I think they just saw that everyone was buying an expensive Nagra, and they thought they'd build a cheap knock-off, and also thought that simple radio journalists, and tape-fondlers, wouldn't be able to tell the difference! 

 

 

[DHB]

EXTRA:  The one thing the Sonys DID have over the Nagras was ..AN ACCURATE TAPE COUNTER! ..for pinpointing a section of tape you wanted to wind back - or forward - to!

[DHB]

Well, Mike Harris bumbled about with my IV-S for a week but couldn't find or fix its sudden failure to record on the upper track (..though he did re-solder what he said was a dry joint in a filter circuit somewhere..) so now it's off to Petronel in Kent, who did such a great job servicing my Studer last year.

 

Special thanks to dela; I found your advice very useful - and the 'Synoptic Diagram' which you'd scanned and posted - in 'Nagra IV-S input chain issues' in the 'Equipment' section on jwsound here.

 

I'm more mechanical than electronic (spanners rather than 'scope & signal injector) but perhaps Petronel will sort it out within 30 minutes, in which case I'll post the results ..but that might be a distraction here, and I should post in 'Nagra IV-S input chain issues' instead.

 

But yours very appreciatively,

 

DHB.

[JBond]

DHB, Post your finding here so we can follow what happens.

Thanks