Hi there! New to the forum and have a question about my tonearm paddle.....

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mikezuk

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 6
I have had my well tempered classic since buying it new in the late 80s!  Recently had the arm rewired, and now I am noticing that the paddle in the cup is crooked when I adjust azimuth.  Its entirely possible its always been like that, but I never noticed it until now (since I kind of rediscovered my own table after fixing it up...) But I am wondering if maybe the guy who rewired it messed with the fishing line and set screws.  I have played with Both ends, but it it is always crooked when I dial in the azimuth.  Does it matter? Is there a fix? Thanks! 

(I would search the forum for an answer, but apparently that's not allowed until I have 3 posts under my belt!)

Whitespider

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 30
Hi,

There are different versions of the original Well Tempered Arm floating out in the world so this is not a definitive answer.  I own a very early prototype version of the arm and the cartridge mounting nose was simply press fit onto the stainless steel tube.  I was able to rotate the nose piece with the help of a small adjustable wrench.

But many of the arms have a small screw under the arm where the nose piece enters the arm tube.  Loosening the screw will allow the nose piece to rotate in the arm tube.  I’ve seen this on some Well Tempered Arms, and this is how the nose piece is attached on the arm of my Well Tempered Record Player.

I think the paddle should be as flat and parallel as possible.  A small tilt is not bad, but a large tilt means the arm is not really rotating in a vertical line to the platter.  If your arm allows for the nose piece to be rotated, you should adjust the azimuth knob so the paddle is flat and the the post vertical.  Then adjust the nose piece so the cartridge is perpendicular to the record/platter.  You will now be in the ball park and can more critically adjust the azimuth with a rotating record.  The overall appearance should be the paddle is centered in the cup and the post vertical.  A minor tilt is okay.  But a large noticeable tilt means the cartridge is probably being over damped.

If the strings were loosened or adjusted when the rewiring was done, that’s a different story and the string will need to be adjusted for equal side hanging of the paddle relative to the nose piece.

mikezuk

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 6
This is so awesome!  Thank you!  I saw that screw there, but I didn't want to mess with it.  It makes sense that the rewiring guy may have messed with that screw as part of the rewiring because its so close to where the wires exit the arm.

You are a prince.  Tell me where to send the champagne!