-edible zone-
The Tonearm
I was focused on getting this turntable set up
quickly and simply (in hindsight this was short sighted), but the
availability of quality tone arms made this slightly easier than the
deck. I felt quite confident that an SME 3009 S1 would be a good choice
but fate changed this. I could not ignore the success stories I had read
of people using 12" arms with the Garrard and when an opportunity arose
quite unexpectedly on an SME 3012 I just had to make my move.
It
transpired that the 3012 I had found was a type 'A' which is thought to
be a rare prototype version circa 1959. I am not sure how it differs
from the MK1, if at all, but I was satisfied that this version SME had
an elegant simplicity about it and was of a period which I could happily
match with my 301. I was pleased to say the least; however the
opportunity came at a price. The age of this tone arm had taken its toll
and it wasn’t without its problems. The main rear end weight was so
heavy the rear end of the arm was pitching down; the old SME RCA
connector looked functional but a little worse for wear, the arm lever
had lost its plastic end ball and I felt after nearly fifty years it
could do with a rewire. Apart from this, the arm was in remarkably good
condition for its age, far from a write off but definitely requiring
some work. It transpired that the spigot in the rear arm tube behind the
elastic coupling needed replacing as it was not supporting the weight
and the elastic couplings were simply failing as a result. Due to the
specialist nature of this job I spoke to Robert Graetke at Analog Tube
Audio about a possible solution. Robert has a lot of experience with SME
tone arms and offered the friendliest and most expert service I could
have hoped for, as well as a solution which gave me great confidence.
So, off the tone arm went for a full re-wire using pure silver hair
wire, an RCA conversion, a new rear end tube and spigot along with a
very nicely designed arm lever finger tip. My tone arm returned looking
very nice, in full working order and exactly as Robert had specified.
Great service!!
before
after
