Quote:
Originally Posted by barretter
I find it a bit odd to describe the Nagra IV-S thus. It's strictly functional and scarcely a piece of mass production. Very few reel-to-reel machines are relevant to contemporary consumers.
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Not a denigration of the Nagra IV (and its ilk); more a poignant reflection on the fact that the precision of something like the Sony Walkman was so cheaply and widely available that the Nagra, hugely respected for its dependability in its field, was little more than a tech confection to be spoken about in hushed terms. The Nagra very much fits in with the simple, unassuming functionality that's the gist of the thread but the enormous success of consumerism and mass-production leaves it a bit high and dry amidst the short-lived, showey glitz. I once borrowed an expensively-optioned Nagra T reel-to-reel machine for a fortnight for archiving; when I returned it to the store-room groaning with the weight of similar machines awaiting disposal, I was told, hang on to it if you want, we're sick of the sight of these, no-one wants them. Such was the success of DAT at the time. I declined, thinking that it was very nice but just another thing to clog the place up. Knowing the attitude and initiative of the outfit concerned, it wouldn't surprise to hear that they went to the smelter.
I fear that the un-ageing styling of the afore-mentioned Braun radios, clocks and so on is their very undoing to most manufacturers- those metaphorical Sony Walkmans and their brethren get periodically restyled with the mantra "be out of fashion, be out of the world". If duff electrolytics didn't sign their death warrant, marketing and peer pressure would. Had Western capitalism and manufacturing been less successful and they cost ten times as much to buy, it would be a different story!
East Germany was very different- I expect that the combination of day-to-day economic reality, Marxism and lingering cultural Lutheranism would have meant that waste and profligacy would have been distinctly frowned on, and simple, classic, timeless products had a place. Oh, for a little more "durable goods" philosophy here...
Keep up the good work
