Nagra
Encyclopedia
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
referring to any of the series of mostly battery-operated portable professional audio recorders produced by Kudelski SA, based in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne
Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne
Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne is a municipality in the district of Lausanne in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is a suburb of the city of Lausanne.-Geography:...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
The machines were initially designed by Polish inventor Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski is a Polish audio engineer, famous for creating the Nagra series of professional audio recorders....
, and his company won numerous technical awards for their precision and reliability.
History
Nagra-brand tape recorders were the de factoDe facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
standard sound recording systems for motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and single-camera television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
production from the 1960s until the 1990s. Their physical appearance, with the single transport selector and large reel-to-reel tape deck
Reel-to-reel audio tape recording
Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel, rather than being securely contained within a cassette....
are still the stereotypical image most people have of a professional tape recorder. A Nagra IV-S recorder prominently appears in the 1981 movie Diva
Diva (film)
Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier . It is one of the first French films to let go of the realist, harsh mood of 1970s French cinema and return to a colourful, melodic style, called cinema du look...
, which features an opera fan making field recordings
Field recording
Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside of a recording studio. The recording is typically recorded in the same channel format as the desired result, for instance, stereo recording equipment will yield a stereo product...
of his favorite opera singer; another Nagra (a Nagra III) features prominently in the 1981 John Travolta film Blow Out
Blow Out
Blow Out is a 1981 thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, serendipitously captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a...
about a freelance sound effects engineer. Another Nagra III may be seen in the Beatles' movie Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
. In the film The Informant! the FBI installs a Nagra in Matt Damon's character's briefcase to covertly record conversations related to ADM price fixing. A Nagra SN is featured in the 1974 psychological thriller The Conversation
The Conversation
The Conversation is a 1974 American psychological thriller film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman...
.
The word "nagra" comes from Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski is a Polish audio engineer, famous for creating the Nagra series of professional audio recorders....
's mother tongue Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
word "nagrać" and stands for "to record" or from the Polish phrase "nagra", which stands for "will record".
The analogue Nagra recorders have a reputation for extreme ruggedness and reliability, essentially being the "Swiss watch" of audio tape recorders. Their cases are highly durable, and every component, from the transport rollers to the gain pots
Potentiometer
A potentiometer , informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used , it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on...
, have the feel of excellent engineering. The feature that gave Nagra the edge in quality and film use was Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski
Stefan Kudelski is a Polish audio engineer, famous for creating the Nagra series of professional audio recorders....
's development of the Neo-Pilottone
Pilottone
Pilottone and the related neo-pilottone are special synchronization signals recorded by analog audio recorders designed for use in motion picture production...
system, where synchronization
Synchronization
Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
data could be recorded on the tape in the middle of the audio track, but without crosstalk onto the program recording.
Kudelski SA defines Neopilot as follows: "Full track monophonic recorders (Nagra models III, E, IV and 4.2) use a patented system in order to control the speed of the NAGRA during playback to ensure it turns at the exact same speed as the reference (Projector / Camera / Perfo-tape machine). The frequency of the pilot signal is typically 50 Hz when filming at 25 fps and 60 when filming at 24 fps. The reference standard was originally derived from studio lot power line "mains" or when on location from manually controlled motor/generator sets, until the development of accurate crystal controlled sync signal generators. The Neopilot sync record head is physically located after the record and playback heads on the tape path. The sync track is recorded down the center of the tape. The head is constructed in such a manner that it creates two very narrow parallel tracks which the signal to each is applied 180 degrees out of phase with the other. The result of this is that it can be picked up by the sync head during playback but is canceled out when running across the mono audio playback head. The start point of a take is marked by an audible clap recorded on tape and the visual meeting of the "sticks" on the film clapper board and the synchronization to the magnetic film is maintained using the pilot signal throughout the take."
Commercial motion pictures were traditionally filmed using a dual system, that is picture on photographic film in the camera, and sound on a magnetic tape recorder. Neopilot was the standard synchronization system used to synchronize these separate elements until the late 1980s, when timecode became the preferred standard. Nagra used a special, very narrow timecode track in between the space of channel 1 and channel 2 on the stereo Nagra IV-S and T models. The advantage of timecode over Pilottone is that timecode encodes positional information (essentially time-of-day) with respect picture in addition to the simple speed information encoded by the earlier Pilottone system, thus greatly improving the identification of picture and sound takes. The timecode information is utilized by visual timecode slating systems, like the award winning Denecke model commonly used by major studios; similar slates were also manufactured by companies like Ambient of Germany and PSC of Valencia, California. By the mid-1990s, the use of analog 1/4" tape began to transition to DAT
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
, which also used time code. By the mid-2000s, the industry trend was firmly set to non-linear recorders, such as Zaxcom's Deva and Aaton
Aaton
Aaton is a motion picture equipment manufacturer, based in Grenoble, France. Aaton was founded by Eclair engineer Jean-Pierre Beauviala, whose efforts have been primarily focused on making quiet, portable motion picture hardware suitable for impromptu field use, as for documentaries...
Cantar systems, along with lower-cost recorders from Sound Devices.
Although digital recording
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
is now the norm for most dialog recording in motion pictures and television series, sound effects recordists still use analog Nagra tape recorders for certain kinds of background sounds, particularly explosions, gunshots, and other loud sounds of extreme dynamic range. Engineers advise that while digital recording is technically more accurate, analog tape recording
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
still has the edge in terms of being able to handle unexpected signal overloads.
Models
Nagra recorders are identified by their model number, which indicates their technological generation and features:- NAGRA I - The very first prototype with clockwork motor and miniature tubes, appearing in 1951. Two were sold to Radio Genève.
- NAGRA II - The first production model, miniature tubes equipped, clockwork motor, appearing in 1953.
- NAGRA II CI - The second generation fitted with printed circuit boardPrinted circuit boardA printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
s replacing chassis wiring, appearing in 1955. - Nagra III NP - The first Nagra usable for film work, appearing in 1961. Monaural, Neopilot sync
- Nagra IV-L - Monaural, Neopilot sync, featuring two microphone inputs and a built in audio limiter. Introduced in 1968.
- Nagra 4.2 - Same as the IV-L, but added powering for microphones and built-in equalizers. Introduced in 1972. In the '80s one could upgrade a 4.2 to record SMPTE timecode.
- Nagra IV-S - Stereo Nagra, recording two-track stereo. It had dual level potsPotentiometerA potentiometer , informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used , it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on...
, limiters, and equalizerEqualizationEqualization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
presets. It was introduced in 1971. It originally employed a 14kHz sync signal that is not compatible with the earlier Neopilot sync. This signal is recorded employing FM modulation on a third or center track that could simultaneously be employed as an additional but lower quality "cue" track. In 1984 Nagra introduced timecode support. With timecode support an IV-S became a Nagra IV-STC. - Nagra IV-SJ - Stereo Nagra for instrumentation and logging. Pots are replaced with switches to set gain in precise steps, no limiters, and when present, the microphone inputs are for high-voltage unbalanced instrumentation mics rather than low impedance balanced with T-power and phantom.
- NAGRA E - A simple, single-speed (7.5ips), mono recorder aimed at radio reporters was introduced in 1976.
In addition to these field recorders, Kudelski S.A. produced a studio recorder called the Nagra T-Audio, designed mainly for use in telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
s for transferring dailies. All of the above machines use 1/4" tape.
Kudelski SA have also produced a series of miniaturised reel-to-reel recorders using 1/8" tape. These machines are referred to as SN (for Série Noire) and production was originally ordered by President Kennedy for the United States Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
. http://www.nagraaudio.com/highend/pages/productsSNSTR.php
The SN range comprises the following models:
- Nagra SNN - monaural, full-track, main tape speed of 3-3/4 ips.
- Nagra SNS - monaural, half-track, main tape speed of 15/16 ips (multiplying the recording length at the expense of the dynamic range and high-frequency response).
- Nagra SNST - stereo, intended more for security service "two microphones to record two different people talking" usage than hi-fi usage due to technical limitations.
- Nagra SNST-R - full hi-fi stereo.
A special version of the SN using unique tape cassettes was made in cooperation with JBR Technology and widely used by US domestic intelligence agencies.
The Nagra IV-STC was the standard for film and classical music recording until the mid-1990s, when DAT
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
recorders became reliable enough to use in the field. In response, Kudelski produced two digital recorders to compete:
- Nagra D - 4-channel PCM digital audio recorder. Instead of recording to the DAT format, the D used a digital reel-to-reel format using a helical scanHelical scanHelical scan is a method of recording high bandwidth signals onto magnetic tape. It is used in reel-to-reel video tape recorders, video cassette recorders, digital audio tape recorders, and some computer tape drives....
head and 1/4" tape on 5" and 7" reels. The tape is identical to that used on Digital Audio Stationary HeadDigital Audio Stationary HeadThe Digital Audio Stationary Head or DASH standard is a reel-to-reel, digital audio tape format introduced by Sony in early 1982 for high-quality multitrack studio recording and mastering, as an alternative to analog recording methods. DASH is capable of recording two channels of audio on a...
machines such as the Sony PCM-3202Digital Audio Stationary HeadThe Digital Audio Stationary Head or DASH standard is a reel-to-reel, digital audio tape format introduced by Sony in early 1982 for high-quality multitrack studio recording and mastering, as an alternative to analog recording methods. DASH is capable of recording two channels of audio on a...
and Mitsubishi X-86ProDigiMitsubishi's ProDigi is a professional audio, reel-to-reel, digital audio tape format with a stationary head position, similar to Sony's Digital Audio Stationary Head, which competed against ProDigi when the format was available in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s...
series. The unique format, combined with its heavy weight, made it somewhat unpopular with many production sound mixerProduction sound mixerA production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production using professional audio equipment, for later...
s, but year after year many great-sounding films were completed with Nagra Ds (and the newer 24-bit/96 kHz Nagra DII). Despite some popularity in the late 1990s, the Nagra D and DII are a rarity on U.S. films as of the mid-2000s.
- Nagra V - 2-channel PCM digital audio recorder, 24-bit/96 kHz, removable hard drive based recorder with timecode support. Has the additional benefits of being very light, and producing files easily processed by non-linear editing systemNon-linear editing systemIn video, a non-linear editing system is a video editing or audio editing digital audio workstation system which can perform random access non-destructive editing on the source material...
s. Originally released with the Orb removable hard drive system, which proved to be unreliable. The drive system was replaced by Agate Technology's DN-Boy system in October 2002. Unlike the analog Nagras, the Nagra V digital recorders have not been adopted as readily for the motion picture and TV industries, which mostly use competing digital multi-track machines such as the AatonAatonAaton is a motion picture equipment manufacturer, based in Grenoble, France. Aaton was founded by Eclair engineer Jean-Pierre Beauviala, whose efforts have been primarily focused on making quiet, portable motion picture hardware suitable for impromptu field use, as for documentaries...
Cantar, the FostexFostexFostex is a Japanese manufacturer that is one of the largest transducer and OEM speaker makers in the world, founded in July 1973 by Foster Electric Co. Ltd.-Company history:Fostex , founded in July 1973 by Foster Electric Co...
PD-6, the Sound Devices 744T and the Zaxcom Deva (as of the mid-2000s). In 2008, Nagra has introduced a new model, the Nagra VI, a portable 6-track digital recorder touted as "the natural successor to the NAGRA-D / DII multi-track digital recorders."
Other equipment
Aside from its line of motion picture sound recorders, Kudelski S.A. originally produced and continues to produce high-quality recorders for electronic news gatheringElectronic news gathering
ENG is a broadcasting industry acronym which stands for electronic news gathering. It can mean anything from a lone broadcast journalist reporter taking a single professional video camera out to shoot a story, to an entire television crew taking a production truck or satellite truck on location...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
recording. The ARES-PII hand-held recorder for journalists, and the Universal digital recorder, the ARES-BB+, both introduced in 2004, are state-of-the-art digital recorders recording to compact flash PC cards. They offer USB file download and can record both linear PCM or MPEG compressed audio. Nagra's main business in the 2000s has diversified into digital security encrypting systems, including cable TV and satellite descrambling systems and other high-tech components, while audio occupies a smaller side of their manufacturing.
In 1997, Nagra launched the PL-P, a vacuum tube phono preamplifier, beginning a range of high-end audio equipment comprising preamplifiers, amplifiers and CD players. That range is intended for audiophile consumers (as opposed to exclusively professional equipment manufactured hitherto).