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In article . com writes:

I've been following the edifying discussions on the new portable
2-track recorders on the market - the Sound Devices, the Edirol etc,
because I've been looking for the same thing:

So, after going back and forward, I've started to wonder why I don't
just buy a Nagra IV-S. My impression is:
- that they sound good enough
- they are reliable
- the mic preamps are competent enough for low level music releases
- they sell for less than the Sound Devices 2-track unit
- their resale value is likely to be better than a digital device,
though the portable DAT's maintained more value than most digital
devices
- they're kind of cooler-looking

But, I must admit, I don't have any experience of analog tape.

How sad! Kids these days! and all that.

Is there a lot of complicated
maintenance to be done on these decks that I don't know about (I am
reasonably, though not very, competent mechanically)? Can you still get
tape for them?

A IV-S can be set up fine to work with Quantegy 456 tape, which will
continue to be available in some form or another soon, and for a
while. At the moment, there's a "gas crisis" so this isn't a good time
to inquire about tape.

As far as maintenance, there are some routine adjustments that should
be made periodically. You'll need an alignment tape, an oscillator,
and an audio voltmeter - total cost will be $100 to $500 depending on
what you get. There's a special tool for adjusting head alignment
that's practically unobtainable. There are some tricky adjustments
that don't need to be made very often which need to be done by someone
who knows how.

Nagras are pretty rugged, but there are surely a lot of them that have
been beat to **** and laid dormant for many years that are appearing
on eBay. Your best bet is to buy one from someone who specializes in
Nagra repair so you'll know you're getting one in good shape that
isn't going to need an expensive trip to the shop once you discover
that it isn't working as well as it should. I'd suggest Dan Dugan
Sound on the west coast (Bay area) and Vark Audio on the east coast
(DC area).

Oh, and I'm looking for something that's smaller and more portable
than a Nagra. It's portable, sure, but still a shoulderload.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
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