Show and Tell - Vintage Nagra Spy Recorder

The Cassette Tape: A Treasure Trove for Record Collectors and Music Enthusiasts

Cassette tapes have been a staple of music listening for decades, and for many collectors, they remain a prized possession. One such collector is Sean, who has amassed an impressive collection of vintage cassette tape recorders. In this article, we'll delve into the world of cassette tapes and explore their history, features, and significance.

The Cassette Tape: A Compact but Mighty Recording Device

Cassette tapes were first introduced in the 1960s as a compact alternative to vinyl records. They used the same size tape (E8 inch) as reel-to-reel recorders, but with some significant differences. One of the most notable features of cassette tapes was their ability to be easily recorded and played back. The E8 inch tape was divided into two tracks, allowing for a full track recording setup, which was a game-changer for music enthusiasts.

The Deluxe Super Deluxe: A Stereo Recording Experience

As the music industry evolved, so did the cassette tape recorder. The deluxe super deluxe model, also known as the SNST, introduced stereo recording capabilities to home users. This allowed for a more immersive listening experience and opened up new possibilities for musicians and music producers. The SNST was also notable for its high-quality electronics, including an erase head, record head, and playback head.

The Stereo Version: A Sign of High Fidelity

For those who wanted the best, there was the stereo version of the cassette tape recorder, known as the SNNST. This model boasted even higher fidelity than its predecessor, making it a favorite among audiophiles. The difference was largely due to the improved electronics and the addition of a headphone jack, which allowed for more precise monitoring.

Recording Capabilities: A Variety of Options

The cassette tape recorder offered a range of recording options, including manual rewind and playback. This allowed users to control the length of their recordings, with some models capable of capturing up to 20 minutes of music on one reel. The unit also featured an automatic level control system, which ensured that the signal was optimized for playback.

Accessories and Upgrades

One of the joys of cassette tape collecting is the range of accessories and upgrades available. From lavalier microphones to headphone jacks, there were plenty of options for musicians and music enthusiasts looking to enhance their recording experience. Some models even came with built-in loudspeakers, allowing users to monitor their recordings in real-time.

The Playback Unit: A Treasure Trove for Collectors

For those who had already mastered the art of cassette tape recording, the playback unit was a true treasure. This device featured a built-in speaker and allowed users to listen back to their recordings with precision and clarity. The playback unit was also notable for its high-quality electronics, making it a favorite among audiophiles.

Democracy and the Music Industry: A Perfect Match

Cassette tapes played a significant role in democratizing music distribution. With the advent of these compact recorders, musicians could now create and distribute their own music to a wider audience. This led to a proliferation of independent labels and artists, creating a vibrant and diverse music scene.

Movies and Music: A Long History of Collaboration

Cassette tapes have appeared in numerous films over the years, often as a prop or a plot device. From "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" to "Mission: Impossible", cassette tapes have been used to add an air of authenticity and nostalgia to movie scenes.

Collecting Vintage Cassette Tapes

For collectors like Sean, vintage cassette tape recorders are a prized possession. These units can be found on eBay, but they often come with a hefty price tag. One of the key things to look for when collecting vintage cassette tapes is the condition of the pinch roller. This component can dry out and rot over time, rendering the unit unusable.

Conclusion

Cassette tapes are more than just a nostalgic relic of the past; they're a testament to innovation and creativity in music distribution. For collectors like Sean, these units offer a unique glimpse into the world of recording technology and music production. Whether you're a seasoned collector or just starting out, vintage cassette tape recorders are sure to delight and entertain.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey it's Norm from tes.com and for today's show and tell I'm once again joined by Shan Charles worth glad to be back Sean well here for your inventor project working with Adam on a secret project but also bringing some really cool things you have an amazing collection of just awesome things I like cool toys yeah old old mechanical stuff we're all Cut From the Same Cloth so what do we have today today I brought in the nagra SN spy recorder SN means nothing to me spy recorder sounds amazing so let's let's give you a sh so here it is wow so let me let me give you a little story so so cueli uh is a Swiss company founded uh like 1951 by a Polish guy Stefan kudelski and he uh he started this ngra sound recording company so ngra I believe in Polish means will record okay okay so nras were like the industry standard for film and TV production for to record your audio for many many many years uh so they'd make a deck like this big that Ed 12d batteries to run and they use 7in quarter inch re toore tape and they're they're just indestructible have really high sound Fidelity and and are great just beautiful machines like beautifully made uh so this the SN or Siri Noir I think which is Black Series um was introduced in 1971 uh it's still cold war yeah now now technically this was introduced to the consumer in 1971 The Story Goes that about 10 years previous to that so you're like early 60s uh noger was commissioned by the CIA to produce recorders for them that could be easily concealed and and for that for that day this was very concealable I mean it's about the size of a paperback novel and uh you could put this in a book you could put yeah you could put this in your in a book in your Cod and and relatively easily and um so the story is that they were developed originally for for clandestine operations and then introduced to the public later okay so who bought these when it was in 1971 1971 they were a lot used a lot by journalists um because you know as as we did you our stereo about article there was like not that many portable uh recording options so used by like uh uh journalists and stuff like that anything that you needed to be portable um and they did various versions so so my particular version is the SNS which is a half track recorder so think of a cassette tape uh you you record a cassette tape flip it over it uses the same size it's a E8 inch tape and then they also made the snn which was a full track recorder so it had higher Fidelity um and then they made the deluxe super Deluxe was the snst which was the stereo version and then they even the the most prized is the snst which was the highi stereo version and all fit in the same package all fit in the same package they look virtually identical but you the heads would differ and and some of the electronics inside so it has a an erase head a record head and a playback head okay and so you know when you had this stereo model you could do some really nice like you know go to a show and and get some good bootlegs you know this is just nicely machined it's beautiful and that's that's part of what I love about it like just every little knob and detail and lever is just absolutely gorgeous I'm looking at these edges here and this lid yeah and then and then they did stuff like you had you had like the whole little operation diagram inside and and even the the reels are made out some of the reels are even made out of brushed aluminum they're just absolutely gorgeous how long could you make a recording for um you know I don't I don't know I don't remember off the top of my head how how long these run because uh there's different speeds you can set them at so you get different recording but I believe one reel will run you at Le 20 minutes kids don't know these days like with cassette tapes and VHS you can record at lower qualities and get longer recordings exactly and and um it's just it it's automatic level control it does have a little gauge but it will automatically set the levels for you there's a variety of microphones that you could plug in on this uh this is just a little lavalier uh mic that you could get for it and um headphone jack right here it has a headphone jack over here and then you could also have various different uh accessories that plugged in as well as well and the whole thing will operate with the cover on and has little windows so you can see how much tape you have left and read the the meter so uh basically uh I'll fire it up here oh it works oh yeah you can actually record on this unit we can record on this unit it's recording right now uh unfor it doesn't have a built-in loudspeaker so you'd have to use headphones or Adam has one of these and he's lucky to have the playback unit which is this beautiful device that has a loudspeaker on it um and and you could record and you can monitor while you're recording cuz it has the playback head on it and then when you're done you could flip it over and record on the other half track on on my particular model um now it gets really fun when whenever you want to then uh rewind with this you would unthread it so it's a manual actually I can I can I can demonstrate without having to unthread it but it basically there's a a rewind position and then I love this this pops open and Tool a little there it goes and then you basically hand crank this hand crank rewind yeah hand crank rewind till it's Tau oh boy and then he just pulled it down and it pops back in this is in great condition too it's it's a really really really I was really lucky to fin one this my go it's the kind of thing that you would see in like a 70s 60s spy film an up close shot of its spinning and then a bunch of dudes in suits smoking cigars listening to the T you still see these show up in in movies all the time like one of my favorites is it's an oddball but lemony snickets okay he's got this really weird car and his dashboard audio deck is is one of these mounted into the the dashboard uh but you'll see them all the time um they're a great little recorder they do show up on eBay but they're kind of they they go quick and they're expensive my recommendation one thing you want to look out for is the the pinch roller here is rubber and they dry rot okay so that's if you're looking at pictures of them be is something you can repair their spare parts for you can get spare Parts but the I think the pinch roller is like $125 still yeah from ngra vintage spy recorder yeah vintage spy recorder all sorts of awesome things thank you so much Sean absolutely and this is like not even the coolest thing you've brought for for your inventor ship here you guys won't believe what he's been working with Adam on check that out in the future more shown tells on test.com I'm Norm thanks again Sean thank you we'll see you guys next time bye forhey it's Norm from tes.com and for today's show and tell I'm once again joined by Shan Charles worth glad to be back Sean well here for your inventor project working with Adam on a secret project but also bringing some really cool things you have an amazing collection of just awesome things I like cool toys yeah old old mechanical stuff we're all Cut From the Same Cloth so what do we have today today I brought in the nagra SN spy recorder SN means nothing to me spy recorder sounds amazing so let's let's give you a sh so here it is wow so let me let me give you a little story so so cueli uh is a Swiss company founded uh like 1951 by a Polish guy Stefan kudelski and he uh he started this ngra sound recording company so ngra I believe in Polish means will record okay okay so nras were like the industry standard for film and TV production for to record your audio for many many many years uh so they'd make a deck like this big that Ed 12d batteries to run and they use 7in quarter inch re toore tape and they're they're just indestructible have really high sound Fidelity and and are great just beautiful machines like beautifully made uh so this the SN or Siri Noir I think which is Black Series um was introduced in 1971 uh it's still cold war yeah now now technically this was introduced to the consumer in 1971 The Story Goes that about 10 years previous to that so you're like early 60s uh noger was commissioned by the CIA to produce recorders for them that could be easily concealed and and for that for that day this was very concealable I mean it's about the size of a paperback novel and uh you could put this in a book you could put yeah you could put this in your in a book in your Cod and and relatively easily and um so the story is that they were developed originally for for clandestine operations and then introduced to the public later okay so who bought these when it was in 1971 1971 they were a lot used a lot by journalists um because you know as as we did you our stereo about article there was like not that many portable uh recording options so used by like uh uh journalists and stuff like that anything that you needed to be portable um and they did various versions so so my particular version is the SNS which is a half track recorder so think of a cassette tape uh you you record a cassette tape flip it over it uses the same size it's a E8 inch tape and then they also made the snn which was a full track recorder so it had higher Fidelity um and then they made the deluxe super Deluxe was the snst which was the stereo version and then they even the the most prized is the snst which was the highi stereo version and all fit in the same package all fit in the same package they look virtually identical but you the heads would differ and and some of the electronics inside so it has a an erase head a record head and a playback head okay and so you know when you had this stereo model you could do some really nice like you know go to a show and and get some good bootlegs you know this is just nicely machined it's beautiful and that's that's part of what I love about it like just every little knob and detail and lever is just absolutely gorgeous I'm looking at these edges here and this lid yeah and then and then they did stuff like you had you had like the whole little operation diagram inside and and even the the reels are made out some of the reels are even made out of brushed aluminum they're just absolutely gorgeous how long could you make a recording for um you know I don't I don't know I don't remember off the top of my head how how long these run because uh there's different speeds you can set them at so you get different recording but I believe one reel will run you at Le 20 minutes kids don't know these days like with cassette tapes and VHS you can record at lower qualities and get longer recordings exactly and and um it's just it it's automatic level control it does have a little gauge but it will automatically set the levels for you there's a variety of microphones that you could plug in on this uh this is just a little lavalier uh mic that you could get for it and um headphone jack right here it has a headphone jack over here and then you could also have various different uh accessories that plugged in as well as well and the whole thing will operate with the cover on and has little windows so you can see how much tape you have left and read the the meter so uh basically uh I'll fire it up here oh it works oh yeah you can actually record on this unit we can record on this unit it's recording right now uh unfor it doesn't have a built-in loudspeaker so you'd have to use headphones or Adam has one of these and he's lucky to have the playback unit which is this beautiful device that has a loudspeaker on it um and and you could record and you can monitor while you're recording cuz it has the playback head on it and then when you're done you could flip it over and record on the other half track on on my particular model um now it gets really fun when whenever you want to then uh rewind with this you would unthread it so it's a manual actually I can I can I can demonstrate without having to unthread it but it basically there's a a rewind position and then I love this this pops open and Tool a little there it goes and then you basically hand crank this hand crank rewind yeah hand crank rewind till it's Tau oh boy and then he just pulled it down and it pops back in this is in great condition too it's it's a really really really I was really lucky to fin one this my go it's the kind of thing that you would see in like a 70s 60s spy film an up close shot of its spinning and then a bunch of dudes in suits smoking cigars listening to the T you still see these show up in in movies all the time like one of my favorites is it's an oddball but lemony snickets okay he's got this really weird car and his dashboard audio deck is is one of these mounted into the the dashboard uh but you'll see them all the time um they're a great little recorder they do show up on eBay but they're kind of they they go quick and they're expensive my recommendation one thing you want to look out for is the the pinch roller here is rubber and they dry rot okay so that's if you're looking at pictures of them be is something you can repair their spare parts for you can get spare Parts but the I think the pinch roller is like $125 still yeah from ngra vintage spy recorder yeah vintage spy recorder all sorts of awesome things thank you so much Sean absolutely and this is like not even the coolest thing you've brought for for your inventor ship here you guys won't believe what he's been working with Adam on check that out in the future more shown tells on test.com I'm Norm thanks again Sean thank you we'll see you guys next time bye for\n"