Kavi - Stefano, did you know that Kudelski was a close friend of the Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier, father of Claude Cellier, founder of Merging Technologies? Marcel recorded the very first Zamfir LP, the Pan-pipe Romanian virtuoso, with him accompanying on the organ, on a Narga two track deck, which he had Kudelski make for him. Thanks to him, the two track Nagras became a reality, as Nagra, until then, made only mono recorders, for the film and surveillance industries/sectors.
Soon the two track Nagras were put to excellent use by the likes of John Shuttleworh of Meridian, the record label in the UK. Marcel, again on a two track Nagra, recorded "Le Mystery des Voix Bulgares" an extra ordinary recording, which had a profound impact of many artists in the West, including David Crosby. For years, Marcel had a radio program titled "Black sea to the Baltic"... The very first Water Lily release, of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan was recorded on a Nagra T Audio.
For years, mono Nagras were made under license in India, for the Bollywood market! Some of the recordings of Indian classical music, released under the auspices of UNESCO and produced by my hero, French scholar Alain Danielou, were also recorded on mono Nagras! It were those UNESCO LPs that inpiered me to start Water Lily Acoustics.
The Grateful Dead were also big fans of the Nagra two track recorders. The Bear was their guiding light and it was he who picked the Nagra recorders... A recording he made on a Nagra, of Jerry Garcia and Vassar Clements, titled "Old and in the Way" is well worth seeking out.
The Nagra two track recorders employed, what Nagra called "Pre Distortion", some sort of distortion cancelling topology, affecting mostly the mid band. In the T Audio, Nagra expanded the effects of the "pre distortion" circuitry to be full bandwidth. Perhaps Tim can comment on the pros and cons of "pre distortion".
Me - Kavi, I bought my first Water Lily's disc, the one you suggested, in Milan at an audio fair... was soooo impressed by its eerie sound that I began investigating about serious recording, purchased a Nagra IV-S and a QGB, a Neumann U67 pair and recorded, recorded, recorded... I never gave up... and going on...
Thanks Kavi, my long-time mentor and inspiration: your knowledge and dedication to music is a statement.
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