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New to Nagra!!


Haggy38

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On 9/9/2018 at 2:53 AM, JonG said:

@Glen Trew I strongly disagree with this statement, not discounting your expertise, but you know I’m a big Nagra fan too and they do add a little something that digital machines don’t have. I did a movie last year that wanted me to use a Nagra and listening side by side with my digital mix track, it was night and day as far as that special something. Granted the Nagra I used was one of Dan Dugans hot rodded Nagras, so you know those are a lot quieter and high performance than a stock Nagra, but non the less it was a superb experience and the movie sounds great!

 

I'm sure the movie sounded great, as did so many others recorded with the Nagra 4 series (including IV-S). But that "something special" can only be distortion, whether it's the harmonic type or tape hiss, or the effect of being over-driven into tape saturation or the hard-hitting, slow to recover nagra limiter (tape saturation being the preferred option for me), necessary with analog tape because of the need to record with only 12dB of headroom above the 0VU reference to minimize tape hiss. Instead of comparing one recording to the other, but the more telling test is to compare each recording to the mic, itself, and listen for which is the closest. Assuming that all the links in the chain are properly set with both the analog tape and nonlinear recorders, the closest to the original signal will be always the 48K, 24 bit digital recording.

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On 8/8/2018 at 10:45 PM, dela said:

Here is a new(ish) image of my Nagra shelf and the Nagras a bit more on display; unfortunately I don´t have room for having them on a fixed display. But at least they are constantly visible and easy to get to...

Once in a while they are out working too. In the shown setup you can actually see three generations of recorders working together.

nagrahylde.JPG

Søborgnagra.JPG

Nagraer og Pico copy.jpg

 

Hi DELA, first of all congratulation for your hugh collection. VERY impressive.

I have only a small collection of Nagra's, Studers, and Stellavox.

Just received my "new" income, a Nagra IS, but to fix it, I am looking desperatly for a SERVICE MANUAL.

If you have one and like to share it would be very helpful.

 

Thanks in advance  

Mike Bormann-Mayer

email: michael24@gmx.de

Phone: +49 176 31469649

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Hello Everyone .I have a Nagra lll sitting in the cupboard and tried to get it working again.Total Novice!! It playsback but not on the tape speaker only on the External Monitoring connection.Any reason why this would happen ? Thank you.There are other issues as well The Meter is not working in playback or record and cant record as well.

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Just now, oleg ditrich said:

Hello Everyone .I have a Nagra lll sitting in the cupboard and tried to get it working again.Total Novice!! It playsback but not on the tape speaker only on the External Monitoring connection.Any reason why this would happen ? Thank you.There are other issues as well The Meter is not working in playback or record and cant record as well.

 

Hi Oleg, the first thing I would do is open the lid and check if the speaker is wired up: it may simply have been (deliberately?) disconnected. Apart from that I would maybe ask who is about in Australia who might have experience servicing these things! Good luck!

 

PS, If you haven't already done so take a look at 'Images of Interest' here on JW for the lengthy Nagra Stories thread started a while ago by J Bond: a treat for Nagra enthusiasts.

 

Jez

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello, everyone! 

 

I'm new to the site.  So, I apologize if this has been answered/discussed elsewhere, but I have not had enough time to go through all the old threads.  This forum is such a wealth of knowledge.  I'm glad I was allowed to join. 

 

Something you all might be able to help me with:   I've been looking to pick up a Nagra 4.2/Nagra III for music-production-related uses.  My question for you all is how much maintenance is generally required on these machines and are there people in the U.S. that will still services them?  It seems to me that parts might be hard to come by for a Nagra III vs. a Nagra 4.2, as well.  

 

Any tips you guys would have in locating and purchasing one?  Things to look for/consider (other than basic things, like condenser v. dynamic mic capability?). Ideally, I'd be able to see it function in person.  But given the scarcity state-side, I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. 

 

Thanks, everyone! 

 

Eric 

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eBay is generally the best source if you don’t personally know people who used them in the field and still have them. Regarding maintenance, a III will be difficult to service, and those who still service Nagras generally won’t do anything older than a 4.2. However I only have one Nagra (a III) that needs servicing. My others all work flawlessly, and some have probably never been serviced. 

 

Things to consider when purchasing a Nagra: what do you want to plug into it? There are various mic pres around, so be sure you know what you’re looking for. Mic pres for dynamic, T Power, 48V phantom power, old Sennheiser mkh xx4 type power, and combinations are all possible to find installed in a Nagra. 

 

You should also consider reel size, accessories needed, and power requirements. Let’s not forget those cables!

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I have a Nagra lll n got it cheep and did record but now when I switch to hi-fi record does not power on or move at all don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or messing up don’t know what the ba button is for any help would be nice want to record with this deck again 

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On 4/22/2019 at 9:09 AM, Lookout said:

Hello, everyone! 

 

I'm new to the site.  So, I apologize if this has been answered/discussed elsewhere, but I have not had enough time to go through all the old threads.  This forum is such a wealth of knowledge.  I'm glad I was allowed to join. 

 

Something you all might be able to help me with:   I've been looking to pick up a Nagra 4.2/Nagra III for music-production-related uses.  My question for you all is how much maintenance is generally required on these machines and are there people in the U.S. that will still services them?  It seems to me that parts might be hard to come by for a Nagra III vs. a Nagra 4.2, as well.  

 

Any tips you guys would have in locating and purchasing one?  Things to look for/consider (other than basic things, like condenser v. dynamic mic capability?). Ideally, I'd be able to see it function in person.  But given the scarcity state-side, I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. 

 

Thanks, everyone! 

 

Eric 

Hello Lookout. Looks like you are in Chattanooga, which is about 1-1/2 hour drive from the Nashville office of Trew Audio, which is likely the last remaining Nagra service center in the US (and beyond?). During this Covid-19 downtime, last week I went through and dialed in a nice IV-L that I'm willing to sell. Contact me directly to discuss it if you like at glen@trewaudio.com.

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Maybe the label was 'designed' to be peeled off and put over the switch when in position...? Or maybe not! Kudos btw Glen for last week's adverts regarding getting everyone's Nagras sorted. My IV-S is in good shape / serviced by a friend and (crucially) in England but it brought a smile to my otherwise dour face to get your email.

 

Jez

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Thanks! The switch is very short, so it is hard to accidentally flip.

 

So if I only record without need for sync (and might want to edit tape) - do I turn it to crystal or 50 Hz?

 

Any idea on the connector? I have seen the additonal connector on one other machine on youtube - sure that is not an addition Nagra made to later models? Seems tidy inside.

 

Cheers,

Hallvard

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18 hours ago, hallvard said:

Thanks! The switch is very short, so it is hard to accidentally flip.

 

So if I only record without need for sync (and might want to edit tape) - do I turn it to crystal or 50 Hz?

 

Any idea on the connector? I have seen the additonal connector on one other machine on youtube - sure that is not an addition Nagra made to later models? Seems tidy inside.

 

Cheers,

Hallvard

 

The options are either ON or OFF. The selection you want if not needing locked sync is OFF.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Everyone, 

 
What a great forum. I've been reading this thread and gathering information and wanted to share that I just got a Nagra E I'm excited to begin working with. A shout out to Forrest Forbes for sharing with me the pdf user manual. 
 
I was wondering if anyone might have any tips or tricks (or anything I should look out for) for the Nagra E that are specific to that machine?  (just getting started) 
 
Best!
Daniel 
 
IMG-9543.jpg
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I am ready to solder up the Tuchel connector for an external PSU. But I am a bit uncertain about the pinout in the schematic (see below).

 

What does "back view" mean? Is this seen from inside the Nagra or outside?

 

I plan to solder to the pins matching 2 (plus) and 5 (negative), but not sure if 2 is up and right looking from the outside or up and left.

 

I tried to measure 2 and 4 relative to ground, but got zero ohms for both...

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

EDIT: Back view means as seen from the soldering side of the connector, inside the chassis. So I got it working with 2 positive and 5 negative.

 

 

Screenshot_20200507-220636_Drive.jpg

Edited by hallvard
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Thanks alexbooy! I can then check the schematic for the IVS. That is great help. It also corresponds with what I thought (the most sensible interpretation of "back view").

 

The wiring inside goes to ground on the line in from one of the pins, so that's another hint :).

 

EDIT: It was the same pinout. Thanks again!

Edited by hallvard
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