Adam Savage's New Nagra IV-S Vintage Audio Recorder!

Comments · 934

• DA

  @davereevs3397 · 4 years ago (edited)

  What's funny about Adam is that whenever he makes a pause , you're never quite sure if he's about to say something profound,  getting slightly emotional,  or he's holding in a burp. :)

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• KA

  @kaysb80 · 4 years ago

  New wish for a colab: Techmoan  and Adam, discussing reel-to-reel machines for two hours.

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• BI

  @bigjonseattle · 4 years ago

  The Nagra IV-SJ was my workhorse for 10 years recording machinery vibration data on ships. &nbsp;The SJ has calibrated stepped attenuators instead of pots so vibration levels could be determined on playback.<br><br>Our Nagras had the expanded cover to take 7&quot; reels. &nbsp;I recorded hundreds if not thousands of reels of tape, lugging that beast up and down ladders on ships.<br><br>You missed pointing out one of the really neat features ( it looks like yours has it) – the Swiss watch that is one of the idler pulleys. &nbsp;It shows the recording TIME, driven by the tape passing over it. &nbsp;Our takes were usually one minute, which it flawlessly indicated.<br><br>Something you may not realize, the Nagra IV (at least the SJ, but I believe all of them) is a three channel recorder. &nbsp;The third center track is FM, and can be used for annotation without interfering with the other tracks. &nbsp;Because it&apos;s FM, it&apos;s frequency response is DC to around 4kHz. &nbsp;This was sometimes useful on very slow speed machines for recording data below 10Hz.<br><br>The microphone for the cue track has a red LED that lights up when it&apos;s keyed. &nbsp;I took advantage of this a few times when somebody was complaining about whatever I was doing. &nbsp;Key the mic, hold it out in front of me, and explain &quot;I just want to record this for my boss to hear.&quot; &nbsp;Somehow, most &nbsp;people decide that&apos;s a good time to shut up. 😉 &nbsp; I don&apos;t recall ever asking my boss to listen to one of those rant sessions.

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• MR

  @MrBlacksharpie · 4 years ago (edited)

  Hey Adam, the tubing can be found searching for &quot;aluminum oval closet rod&quot;. That&apos;s also what that steel oval tubing is used for mainly.👍

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• IN

  @inspector4133 · 4 years ago (edited)

  I was the production mgr for a major symphony orchestra in the 80&apos;s, and we used an Nagra reel to reel for recording performances to later replay on local public radio. They were solid and had excellent audio performance. In ten years of performances, (as we gradually transitioned to digital recorders) we never had one fail.

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• SE

  @SeltenLive · 3 years ago

  Hi! This is Hainbach, it&apos;s good to have you back.

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• CH

  @chrismorris1304 · 4 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqlk6RaFRjs&amp;t=686">11:26</a> &quot;I feel like I&apos;m drifting really far afield, but isn&apos;t that kinda why you tune in?&quot;<br>YES...yes that is exactly correct🙌🏼<br>You&apos;re story-telling and meanderings are exactly why I&apos;m here. Never stop🙏🏼

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• ST

  @StiffenStorm · 10 months ago

  I&apos;m also touched to tears when I see such a well engineered machine. Pure beauty.

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• LA

  @larserikertzgaardringen7426 · 1 year ago

  I started my career as a radio reporter with such a recorder. I particularly remember a report I did inside a gigantic hydroelectric plant under construction. We were going 10+ miles into a tunnel that was going to carry water through a mountain, which was under construction. The circumference of the tunnel, or pipe if you will, was only 1.4 meters, so it was impossible to stand upright. My Nagra VI looked like lead, and my spine like red-hot lava. My back reminds me of that work day every now and then.

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• FR

  @freemanmanfree5719 · 4 years ago

  The Nagra aesthetic is literally iconic, &nbsp;similar to NASA, classic Braun, and Eames. &nbsp;Thoughtful, &nbsp;practical, &nbsp;and exact.

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• PE

  @petermoore9504 · 4 years ago

  When I was at the BBC back in the 80s they were still using these for topical news recording. I believe they used 24 AA batteries because you could get them anywhere in the world. Even as working tools they were regarded as a work of Art.

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• CL

  @clark9992 · 4 years ago

  The Conversation, &nbsp;was one of my two favourite non comedy movies for decades, and is still probably in my top five.

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