Any Nagra users here?

leddy

leddy

Well-known member
I am waiting for delivery on a Nagra IV-S I purchased. Looking forward to it. I like going direct to stereo when I can, and I only do remote recording. I've been wanting a Nagra for a long time. I finally decided to pull the trigger.

It's going to be a couple of weeks before I get it and record with it. But I was hoping to see if anyone else here uses one.
 
I've never used one myself but I have seen them in use on location film shoots and know they were considered standard equipment on any professional film event for many, many years! These days they make digital field recorders but I'm sure the sound quality and durability of the one you have coming will be first rate in every sense imaginable! ;)



Nagra_IV_S_by_dangeruss.jpg



Cheers! :)
 
Mono IV-L yes. I use it for mono one & two mike location recording and mono mix down from our live to stereo 1/4" stuff. It gets used quite a bit.

CIMG2094small.jpg


:)
 
Nice photos.

Jedblue, can you tell me about your tape choices on the Nagra?

I only have a few Tascam 22 machines, so I have a shelf full of LPR 35 and Scotch 207. I'm hoping I can get good results with the LPR35, otherwise I have to experiment.
 
leddy said:
Nice photos.

Jedblue, can you tell me about your tape choices on the Nagra?

I only have a few Tascam 22 machines, so I have a shelf full of LPR 35 and Scotch 207. I'm hoping I can get good results with the LPR35, otherwise I have to experiment.
Click to expand...

RMGI SM911, same as I run on the PR99 and MX5050. On the speed switch there are choices for each tape speed - normal and low noise. I did look in the manual as to what they did and have tried the low noise option but I just stick to 7 1/2 or 15 ips normal for what I use the Nagra for.

Cheers

:)
 
jedblue said:
RMGI SM911, same as I run on the PR99 and MX5050. On the speed switch there are choices for each tape speed - normal and low noise. I did look in the manual as to what they did and have tried the low noise option but I just stick to 7 1/2 or 15 ips normal for what I use the Nagra for.

Cheers

:)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm hoping to be able to run LPR35 due to the fact that I can get longer recording time from the 1800' reels instead of 1200'. I ordered a manual for the Nagra. I'll have to see how difficult it is to set up different tapes and go from there.
 
Not a user, but I am intrigued by how they get away with running such an outrageously flat record eq curve (Nagramaster has a high freq roll off at something around 11KHz, IIRC) without overloading the tape and getting high end distortion. Maybe the typical program content for these machines is not so strong on high frequency info as a typical studio rock mix? What are typical reference operating levels on these machines?

Cheers,

Otto
 
ofajen said:
Not a user, but I am intrigued by how they get away with running such an outrageously flat record eq curve (Nagramaster has a high freq roll off at something around 11KHz, IIRC) without overloading the tape and getting high end distortion. Maybe the typical program content for these machines is not so strong on high frequency info as a typical studio rock mix? What are typical reference operating levels on these machines?

Cheers,

Otto
Click to expand...

This thread has a lot of good info:
http://www.rtprdsnd.tk/operating-level-of-nagras

Here's the last post:
In addition to the other comments about general fluxivities in use,
remember that the stated Nagra fluxivities, such as the 510 nWb/m at
modulometer 0 dB, are in IEC/DIN mesurement method. It translates roughly
to about 460 nWb/m in the American ANSI measurement method. This 510 nWb/m
Nagra zero level is about 5.3 dB hotter than an American ANSI 250 nWb/m
level, which is commonly called a plus 3 dB (over the old Ampex level of
185 nWb/m).
 
Got the Nagra - looks like one of the channels might be bad...
 
Last edited:
Thankfully both channels are working. I think it was just a knob slightly between two positions not making contact. Everything is good.

It really does sound good and is very flat. Here's the playback response from an MRL tape:

32 -3
63 -1
125 -1
250 0
500 0
1000 0
2000 0
4000 0
8000 0
10000 0
12500 0
16000 +1
20000 +1

7.5 IPS is about the same but rolls off 1-2 db from 2k-10k then really falls off as you'd expect. I'm hoping to improve that a little through some adjustment. I'm running LPR35 at the moment. I'd like to keep it that way to get 1800' of tape on the reel instead of 1200'. There is a bias switch that can easily change it but I'm waiting for the manual to arrive before I make any changes. Luckily, it sounds great as-is.

It looks like a newer one. It has SMPTE time code and also came with the 7" cover. The cover is even in great shape with no cracks. As such, I think it will hold good value over time.
 
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