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

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. :)

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

11:26 "I feel like I'm drifting really far afield, but isn't that kinda why you tune in?" YES...yes that is exactly correct🙌🏼 You're story-telling and meanderings are exactly why I'm here. Never stop🙏🏼

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

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

I was the production mgr for a major symphony orchestra in the 80'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.

Hey Adam! Love everything you do, always been a huge inspiration! Aluminum Oval tube, wardrobe tube, and oval marine tube all pulls up that style of tubing for me. Hopefully that helps!

We used these in film school in 2004. I checked one out of the equipment office one weekend and played old reel to reel tapes my grandfather had recorded back in the 1970’s! It was like time traveling and being in that room. The phone rang and my grandmother picked it up in the background and I heard her voice too! It was shocking!

I love watching Adam geek out on random things. His passion for the things he cares about is always enjoyable to watch.

Thanks for reminding me of Diva. I was obsessed with this film for years. It filled a gap in my soul and satisfied my need for Chic French culture.

Great video! Complete with a shout out to Dan Dugan!, a true hero of the sound reinforcement community!

Dear lord are those two pieces of kit eye wateringly beautiful!

Analog systems always just have so much character. When you turn them on it just feels like they come to life, truly a beautiful thing. Thanks for sharing Adam!

I tune in for a lot of reasons but you drifting around and thinking out loud is one of the big reasons I keep coming back. It's like we're wandering in the woods and you stop to show us something. about a purple mushroom growing under a tree. Cool.

I've always loved these things. One of the most beautiful pieces of equipment ever designed by man.

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.

I think this is a good example of an object that 'sparks joy'!

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

"I feel like I'm drifting really afar upfield, but isn't that kinda why you tune in?".......YES! TOTALLY!!!!.....I almost spit my coffee out when you said that. I actually laughed out loud.... Your ADHD is such an endearing attribute with which you bless us all! Thank you for being so transparent.

Way back when I used a Nagra III for film sound. The III was cool; full track mono with a two-track "pilot tone" head in the middle for sync with a tone from the camera. The pilot tone heads were out of phase so they would cancel out when playing back the full track audio. The build quality of Nagras is impressive, the body carved from a single block of aluminum. Absolutely, in my opinion, the best built tape machine ever made.

VPR-5. If I win the lottery, it'll be one of my first purchases. Electromechanical work of art both externally and internally. The design, machining, wire routing, etc. It is a 1" analog video tape recorder. The video head is about 4" in diameter and the reels are about 10-12" in diameter just to give you an idea of the size of a running unit. Absolutely amazing.

Incredible how quickly the time passed. I have no interest in the subject but Adam's passion just makes you want to listen. He's remarkable.

I have one of the full track mono Nagra III machines and even though it is 60+ years old it still works like new. Absolutely incredible machines!

You are correct. I tune in as much to hear your rabbit hole, historical stories as much as I do for the amazing perspective you bring to observation of the universe around us. Thank you.

I work at Voice of America and we had around 30 Nagra's of different series (3's & 4's). We kept one for a display case but rest of them went to the GSA as surplus about 3 years ago (including the one issued to me for field recordings); I really wanted to keep mine but the boss said it had to go. I did keep some spare parts as reminder's of how we did things before digital.

Fabulous piece of old technology, I love old practical machinery with knobs, switches and buttons and all dials and connections, everything is tactile and tangible. Fantastic! 👍😁❤️

That's in amazing condition! Those covers were yellow even back in the 90's when I was a soundman. Used the Nagra IV-S TC (timecode version) in the commercial film business. Very intimidating device when something didn't go right for a newbie soundman at the time. It was the standard in the industry until about 2000 when DAT really started taking over. The S indicates stereo (2 channel). Sound speed!

OMG Diva , was the stylish film of its time , I must have seen it 25 times

I found the tubing with "rounded oval extruded aluminum tubing," but others here have had good solutions as well. That recorder is just beautiful, it looks like it belongs on a spacecraft!

His talk about Diva is so unexpected and great.

I work in audio electronics repair in Australia. There's just something about reel to reels and vinyl that keeps people coming back to them. We've worked on more reel to reel units in the last 5 years than in the 15 before that. Recently got a 16 track Fostex reel to reel in and the sound quality once it was running again was amazing.

...of course, Adam purchases a Nagra IV-S Audio Recorder! I have always wanted one, I use to use one in film production back in the late 80s, and mid-90s!

When you were talking about beauty in its functionallity it made me think of a quote my dad likes. Google quotes it to Antoine de Saint-Exupery.... "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." And I really fell like you almost refernce it all the time in your videos feels like one you should hear if you didnt know it already.

DIVA is a truly AWESOME Movie I have only seen it three times. Thanks fir the video on The Nagra

You're the last person I expected to have this. It's a very rare format. Some of The Beatles' 1969 Let It Be tapes were recorded on Nagra tape. The Twickenham sessions were restored by Peter Jackson for 'Get Back', and they managed to uncover great dialog buried under instruments and pan the different elements to create a stereo from mono mix. It's legendary stuff.

So pleased you mentioned Diva, as soon as I saw the thumbnail that was the film that popped into my head but I couldn’t remember the name.

The moment I saw the word "Nagra," I thought of Diva! 😄I watched it a couple of times when I was young; the first time at the 16mm film club at my small hometown's theatre, where I fell in love with the whole film noir, new wave, newer wave, and "Cinema de Look" thing. Diva, Subway, The Big Blue, Mauvais Sang, A Heart in Winter, and many, many more.

I too have been in love with Nagra reel to reel recorders ever since watching the Conversation on a 19" color TV way back in the day. I still haven't bought one yet. but that day is coming. I can feel it. lol.

This is one of your top 5 Tested videos in my book. I loved it start to finish, *especially* the meanderings 'far afield'. I want to thank you for reminding me about the movie Diva. It was a favorite of mine when it came out and I watched it several times, but it seems to have slipped from memory. Just found it on Prime Video and I'm watching tonight.

Talk about an engineering peak. You could wax on for another 17 minutes and that would not be enough. It’s a masterpiece of engineering in every respect: form, function, execution, performance. When engineering becomes art. It found the right home.

Magnetic tape is mesmerizing, sure the sound isn’t as good as numerical device but the grain is beautiful, I recently made a tape delay because of their very peculiar sound and it’s gorgeous to see it working

Yes Adam, I “tune in” because I can get enough of your stories and adventures. Ramble on Sir! ❤

This is serious amazing. And I could listen to him just tell stories of technology like Neil Gaiman tells fiction. Please NEVER stop sharing your love of technology.

What a beautiful piece of engineering!!

A significant part of my early working life was a Nagra IV-SJ, stereo with an FM channel for annotations. A very pleasant tool. (PS, the sound for Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange was recorded in the field on a Nagra-IV.)

Diva is one of my all time favorite films, the cinematography is wonderful. Thank you for reminding me.

Damn, how old am I? I have worked with the Nagra! At swedish radio! -95. It was a relic already and heavy to carry. but the quality!

13:58: I love how Adam is like he's holding back tears when he says his Nagra is really beautiful.

I saw Diva in 1981, when I was 16. My brother took me to the Valley Art Theater in Tempe Arizona to see it. It was my first introduction to French cinema. Of course the Nagra recorder was also featured prominently that same year in Brian DePalma's Blow Out, which also left a huge impression on me!

Loved “Diva.” Been years since I’ve seen it.

The nice thing about linked gain is that, when recording M/S with mics of different sensitivity (my Schopes CCM4Lg was 13 mV/Pa and the CCM8Lg 10 mV/Pa, so bout 2.3 dB different) You can offset one gain knob, lock them, and then they'll track up and down in sync. Wonderfull

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

I've wanted the small ones ever since seeing Edward Woodward using one in an early episode of the Equalizer

YES! Drifting far afield is indeed why we tune in.

Adam: I have always wanted a Nagra myself; congrats on your acquisitions. One word of warning about your plan to try to remove the yellowing on the lid: "Retrobrighting," as the H2O2 process is often called, can make the plastic more brittle, so there's that. Further, the yellow will come back within months. Just an FYI.

Those are two gorgeous pieces of equipment!

Hah! I recognize that beast... I've seen it many times in Creature Comforts (the original short film - v=PCOWE0EiCyo), never really realizing it was a real thing. So cool! Nice score. :)

I saw Diva when it came out-loved it-and iirc, one of the characters says something like ‘oh, you have a Nagra’ which always stayed with me

I remember when Nagra's where the only thing used for film audio.

I recorded a Carlo Ponti film with one in New Mexico in the mid 70’s, it is a masterpiece, a pleasure to record with

Something about the old analog devices has always appealed to me. There's just something about having a bank of meters, switches and dials that a digital display can never replace.

Diva! One of my favorite films. I was (and still am) captivated by that film, its music and the Nagra itself. It got me hooked on French cinema, Erik Satie and field recording.

I think one was featured in Blowout, as well. Extruded aluminum tubing, oval profile.

Another First Class vid Adam and thanks for airing a mutual passion for these incredible recorders. My first exposure to a Nagra was filming a dance sequence on a 747 at Kennedy airport when I was in high school. It was a mono machine and I was running playback of the music. I felt like it was a Swiss watch turned inside out on steroids! A beautiful piece of art. Later I too acquired a Model III and a IV-S. Digital be damned! Nothing sounds like a IV-S! Thanks for sharing this!

For the elongated tube type, maybe reach out to a metal shop or company that deals with metal tubing and materials and they might know what its called?

Love the movie Diva. Love Nagras. Have never owned one (and I'm unlikely to) but this video scratches the itch.

The nagra 4s looks like it was designed to be on an Apollo mission. I would said it has space grade type beauty

I watched Diva when it came out. One of my favourites still. My girlfriend of the time worked for a broadcaster and recognized the recorder and said "that's a Nagra!".

Where does one find a Nagra? Btw, the conversation was a masterpiece, especially looking back now how serious the technology was used. Brilliant video, thanks for sharing

I love the aesthetics of Nagra audio equipment. They are a work of art in form and function.

NAGRA name comes from NAGRAć - "To record" in polish.

I totally understand. That/s a wonderful piece of kit.

techmoan could have done an hour on it easily.

I used two Nagras for remote recording for years. In a a&b format to not miss a word. They are great to edit on. I love those machines.

Three cheers for Nagra, I still use a Nagra V and a couple of Nagra Ares BB+ as backups. Changing sub a bit, it's called rectangular tube (its aircraft stuff) - I used to work, for years at what was the Boeing Surplus Store. before they canned it. Back to Nagra I have used the IV and found the V to be even quieter. The best two channel recorders ever made - I also use Zaxcom. Keep up putting out this great stuff.

ive always wanted a struder or a nagra since i was a kid. Just the look of them you know they will sound great.

Made my living off a Nagra 4.2 for many years. The STC was a great machine, but the 4.2 was the workhorse.

I had the Nagra VI Anniversary Model. I recently sold it, but it was a thing of beauty. When Nagra turned 60, they made 60 of anniversary model. That and a Nagra Seven work wonderfully together.

There is something incredibly charming about vintage technology. And what a beautiful piece that is. I'd love to have one of my own. Thanks for sharing with us!

Some of my favorite films!! The Conversation (I love its tie-in with Enemy of the State), Diva... SO GOOD.

Adam I get it !!! Your passion and connection to the sophistication , beauty/ eligiance, the degree of engineering & aesthetics ; is within itself beautiful. You appreciate and care about the time and thought and character put into such things. Cheers

That is the perfect balance of form and function.

Adam, the *moment* you mentioned Diva it was like every tune came rushing back into my mind! Love learning about Nagra. “You don’t like anything.” 😄

My uncle was a field officer in Berlin through the 60's to the mid 80's. He had a Nagra recorder on display at his house alongside a Minox camera. If these items could speak! Amazing pieces of engineering.

Oh WOW!!!! Haven't seen one of those in YEARS!!!!

Buddy the looks of both Nagra make me want them too! They have the ULTIMATE Retro Future Look. The looks so super tech, again, i love them. WANT THEM TOOOOOO! Just don't have the money LOL. Good Deal, i am happy for you!

It’s a trip down memory lane again on this one. My father was a film maker, and no matter what the device was they were recording audio on, he always called it a Nagra.

OMG! Sentimental Walk is amazingly haunting. Now I have to watch Diva. Thanks.

Always lovely to hear someone be so enchanted with Nagra machines. I have tried to get one over 30 years and in 2020 I finally got a Nagra IV. Beautiful condition and was a BBC model and used on so many fantastic programmes (Attenborough etc). Its the one thing I have bought for myself and I love it :) The pre-amps are extraordinary and astonishing. Im sure you will have some great sessions ahead

Looooved The Conversation. Adorrrred Diva. When I first used a Nagra IV with an Arri 16BL to make a short film in th 70s … well, I fell in love with both. My Nagra and I had to get a room.

The 4S is a FANTASTIC recorder. I have fond memories of blowing the minds of people making portable recordings with DAT machines. The Narga knocks 'em down with ease. 😀

11:26 we can listen to you passionately ramble all day, Adam

Go on as long as you want! Beautiful engineering is something worth reverence. That Nagra evokes something indescribable like a Rollei TLR. Pure function begets astounding form.

Nagra is now a super high-end stereo equipment company. Their design aesthetic is very similar to their beautiful recorders of yore. The first time I saw a Nagra recorder was in the film "The Informant" and I had to stop the movie, rewind and pause until I could make out enough detail to do a Google search. Didn't take long to find out that it was a Nagra. I can see why Adam is enamored with these things. They truly are like pieces of jewelry. They're the audio equivalent of a mechanical Swiss watch. Gorgeous. Edit: It appears Nagra still makes high-end recording gear, as well.

Yours was built in 1976. It's in superb condition considering that.

I have a IV-S which I bought from where I worked which was used to record sfx for radio dramas and documentaries. It was infamous for having been accidently dropped into the Pacific Ocean when the technician fell off a slippery rock off Queen Charlotte Island. The report was that the technician and Nagra disappeared under the water and then suddenly the Nagra appeared as if by magic above the water at the end of a hand. A few seconds later the technician followed. The machine was almost immediately dumped into cold fresh water where it stayed until it was returned to the maintenance department where it was painstakingly cleaned and all the internal components were replaced. The machine worked for many years after this but the battery compartment finally rusted out to the point of not being usable except with an external power supply. Later the microphone input circuit boards failed so it could only record line level input source material. To this day it still plays back flawlessly.

Completely get this episode, Geek Love for extraordinary items. Thank you 😃👍

I delighted in your obsession about the Nagra. I, too have a Nagra story when i was a sound man for an anti-war film in 1965.: - the film was, "Sons and Daughters", directed by Jerry Stohl, who is known for his photo book, "I Am a Lover". - ( the Nagra is still in use but back then, it needed 35 D-cell batteries when you took it into the field. ) - i took it out in Golden Gate park and carried it while i recorded the sound of my boots, swishing around in water. - this track of one set of feet was then multiplied in the studio to give audio to AP footage of American soldiers crossing a creek in Vietnam

Love the movie Diva, and this old recording technology. This is my perfect video

Господи, какой увлечённый, счастливый человек! Завидую.