#10

i have had a nagra III for over a decade now. a beautiful machine that works as well as it did in 1957. One minor issue that can arise is that of old belts getting funky. start an ebay alert for your model and check periodically for parts or accessories. also one thing that can get going on them is leaky caps over time, so having a bit of experience of replacing bits can be useful. and/or finding a pal who is good at fixing gear or having a great local tech. i say local as id do my best to not travel/ship it a lot. things can get knocked out of whack a bit more than you may realize at the beginning. also get a degausser and find the manual/schematic and keep them handy. one last thing! always be sure what youre plugging into it wont hurt the electronics. phantom power or some sort of weird active banana jacks in the in/outsā€¦

good thing you have two as well! wish i had two! :smiley:

3 Likes
#11

Iā€™m curious where Nagra users are getting tape? I have a long-term loan of a 4.2 and havenā€™t done enough with it. I asked a friend a while ago and he said often buys used tape on Ebay but that sounded to me like lots of cause for dirty heads. If you do buy new stock, would appreciate recommendations for brand, etc. Thanks!

#12

Bringing this post back to ask: Whatā€™s a fair price for a Nagra III?

#13

price for a Nagra III depends on conditionā€¦
check eBay for what they sell for
(ie finished auctions, not what people think they want for them)

re tape
Last time I bought tape I got 10x Quantegy 408 Mastering 1/4" Tape
from quantegy.com but site is goneā€¦ so eBay is likely only optionā€¦
bear in mind you will want to have your Nagra lined up for a specific tape type

ps useful link:
Guide to the Nagra 4.2 and Production Sound Recording PDF
http://www.videoeditsystems.com/358_CTVA/NagraGuide2003.pdf

#14

Excellent tape for Nagras:

https://www.recordingthemasters.com/

1 Like
#15

Another nice portable tape recorder is the Uher report series. The ones with Monitor in name have three heads so you can monitor while you record. Plus youā€™ve got four speeds to choose from which is great for tone control and half-speed playback. Beautiful machines as well!

1 Like
#16

Thereā€™s https://atrtape.com as well, which might be easier to order in the US

2 Likes
#17

Thank you all. Iā€™m looking for a reel-to-reel in order to begin adventures in tape looping. The Nagra III seems to be the deck that folks gravitate toward, so thatā€™s why I asked. Perhaps this is the wrong thread to ask (but Iā€™ll beg forgiveness since itā€™s been dormant so long), but what are some good, reliable machines to keep an eye out for? Should I buy from a place that refurbishes these things ($$$)? Or go the route of servicing one myself? Iā€™m fairly technically handy, but have no experience with these little dudes.

#18

@mattlowery: I think the III or the 4.2 will be great. There are tons of 4.2s out in the wild as it was the standard video/film audio tracking tool for several decades. For servicing in the US I have used Trew Audio and been very happy with the results. Chances are good whatever you buy will work fine though, these are built for abuse.

1 Like
#19

Excellent information, thank you!

#20

Let me know how it goes, I really love my Nagras and also love seeing what other people do.

#21

In addition to ATR, tape can be ordered from Full Compass: https://www.fullcompass.com/category/accessories/digital-tape-media/audio-media/

#22

made some dummy reelā€™s

IMG_4839
IMG_48393264Ɨ2448 1.47 MB

IMG_4835
IMG_48353264Ɨ2448 1.46 MB

IMG_4845
IMG_48453264Ɨ2448 1.62 MB

IMG_4819
IMG_48193264Ɨ2448 1.55 MB

15 Likes
#23

just casually machining new Nagra pieces :stuck_out_tongue:

those are awesome.

1 Like
#25

i did some experiment this morning :test_tube:

nagra IS + norns

2 Likes
#26

Loopholder (for max 540cm)
The pulleys are with ball bearings, so the tape is not sliding

IMG_4860
IMG_48603264Ɨ2448 1.31 MB

IMG_4852
IMG_48523264Ɨ2448 1.66 MB

9 Likes
#27

Ha! Thatā€™s really clever. Iā€™d love to own a Nagra one day, but I doubt Iā€™ll come across a decent one at a decent price. Regarding the bearings / rollers, have you seen Hainbachā€™s Destruction Loops videos? It seems like good quality tape can really take a beating. Iā€™m not saying the rollers are overkill, but it seems like one could probably be fine using a static pulley made from a really smooth material. Either way, this is cool.

#28

Running the tape over 16 turnā€™s adds up. My idea was to keep the ā€œfrictionā€ on the heads low. They are made out of very soft iron. There more tension there more wear off. As well I wouldnā€™t use any abrasive material (for disintegration Loops) like sandpaper as particles move with the tape. Maybe I am too careful, but in precision mechanics, you get very aware about what fine dust from grinding can do to metal over time.

3 Likes
#29

Oh yeah! Those are all good points. I didnā€™t even think about how the additional contact & friction with pulleys would cause extra drag on the motor. I am going to chalk up my outburst to being tired and distracted this morning. Otherwise ā€“ Iā€™ll have to give back my Mechanical Engineering degree :frowning:

#30

Would you like to trade it with the nagra ? :slight_smile:
I am probably too careful with this piece of hardware.

Anyone know how to turn off the pilot indicator ?
The flicker noise is sometimes too loud.
Can i just remove the ā€œcrystal jumper plugā€ or temporary desolder it ?

Btw: I got the idea from here (sorry for the off-topic):