>For a truly portable (as opposed to 'transportable') recorder, I
>concur with others that the Ampex 601 might be adequate.
>
>A machine to absolutely avoid would be the Ampex PR-10. (A later
>version whose model number I cannot recall was manufactured with
>'solid-state' electronics.) My experience is that even with a great
>deal of care lavished upon it, one could not be made to pull tape
>past the heads in a stable fashion.
>
>In my opinion, a Nagra IV represents THE golden age in analog
>recording. Through the 1980s, NPR engineers often used them (and
>even more frequently their mic preamps) when making studio
>recordings.
>
>-Jan Andrews

Remember how you could link the electronics of a pair to give you
four mic driving two transports? I remember that Minnesota Public
Radio used to do that and record the announcer for concert series on
location.

Bob Cham