The Twofer: Vintage NAGRA Recorder and Mazda RX-7
Spinning harder than a DJ.
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
Blood, Sweat and Tears rode the charts in 1969 with a psychedelic ode to eternity, Spinning Wheel. The song advised listeners to forget every worry, as all pales against perpetuity, and to let the revolving awesomeness of the spinning wheel “shine within your mind/And show you the colors that are real.” Lysergic acid is one hell of a drug.
For a more sober—though no less mesmerizing—experience, trip out on this appropriately vintage NAGRA reel-to-reel recorder. Though it plays refrigerator-size IBM to today’s iPhone-esque digital recorders, the NAGRA retains two major selling points. First, the spinning dials that change color when the reels are ready to record—whirly, helpful and surreal. Second, the quality: These Swiss-built NAGRA recorders produce rich, faultless sound.
You might use your new-old NAGRA to record audio of another legendary spinner, the Mazda RX-7. The FD generation, which arrived in the early Nineties, was powered by a twin-turbocharged version of Mazda’s turbine-smooth Wankel engine, which forwent pistons in favor of a rotating lobe. The motion is hypnotizing. And this ‘93 model is in great condition and sports an upgraded stereo, so you can let the spinning wheel fly in high-fidelity.
