Nagra 4.2 Reel to Reel
This is for nostalgia, more than pratical I-podding! The manufacturer still says the NAGRA 4.2 is a portable mono full track 6.35-mm (¼ inch) analogue audio tape recorder designed for radio, cinema and television applications. I think the cinema application means as a prop in films that have some form of police interrogation in the script or on site surveillance. A reel-to-reel machine immediately tells the audience something is being recorded, even though the cost per MB makes it totally in-efficient in these days. It is a bit like the sound of a telex machine or Morse Code in news jingles.
The NAGRA 4.2 contains separate recording and playback heads for confidence playback, built-in monitoring speaker switchable to source or tape, a reference generator, modulometer, alarm indicator for power supply and tape transport. It also has high-pass filters for recording or playback and a switchable automatic level control and limiter. It is a beautiful piece of mechanical and electrical engineering.
It will also turn you into the Hunchback of Notre Dame when you have lugged one of these beasts around an exhibition. Some people still swear by them - I just swear at them.
