Feickert analogue protractor....Owners impressions

Excuse me if this is redundant. What about those of us that have an older SME arm that uses the Stevenson geometry? Is it possible to use an arc protractor for these? Aren't most, if not all based on Baerwald? I ask because I just installed a Grado Reference Master on my SME Series III arm. Set the VTA and VTF on a 150 gram LP. Checked and double checked the alignment with a new SME alignment protractor (cardboard, single point). Checked and rechecked VTA/VTF. I notice some sibilence at the beginning of the record. Towards the end, it sounds great. From what I've read, this would make sense due to the Stevenson setup. Is there any way, without changing arms, to more closely "mimic" the Baerwald?

And I agree with Smoffatt, this is a great thread.

Thom,
The Series III is a totally different critter than the 309. The specs for the Series III are:

pivot - stylus: 229.0
bedplate center - spindle: 215.4
offset: not specified

Narrod,
Can you give me Ken's contact info?

I contacted Ken Willis on my arm and he told me if it was an SME with the sliding base and no slots in the headshell, he recommended NOT using his protractor. He told me to use the SME supplied cardboard guide. His reasoning was because the SME's don't have anyway of adjusting offset, and that the pivot to spindle distance on these arms is not a fixed dimension.........

On another note.... I came across a black arm wand that is the updated version. This one is supposed to be designed to use the Baerwald geometry. Maybe I can use my old Geodisc..... we'll see..

On a side note off topic. Pete Riggle has a VTAF for the 3009/3012 arms.....

Here's the email I got from Ken..... for all the other SME owners out there.

"I'm assuming the SME III uses the typical SME adjustable base mount. Does it also have slots in the headshell? If it does, I need to know what mounting distance you want to use. If it does not, I would not recommend using this type of protractor. I'd stick with whatever SME provides for it. The reason is that if the headshell does not have slots, the effective length (mounting distance plus overhang) cannot be adjusted for different cartridges. The effective length of the arm changes with every different cartridge that is used in it because there is no standard for the location of the stylus in relation to the location of the mounting screws. The accuracy of the alignment using this protractor is completely dependent on the mounting distance. Every mounting distance has a unique overhang and effective length associated with it. If the headshell has no slots, the cartridge cannot be moved in the headshell to compensate for the longer or shorter cantilever length. If the cartridge is in a fixed position, but the cantilever length changes, this changes the position of the stylus which changes the effective length. Since every effective length has a unique mounting distance associated with it, changing the effective length requires a different mounting distance. It would be easy enough to move the base of the SME arm to a different mounting distance, but then a different offset angle is required. If the cartridge is fixed in the headshell, the offset angle is also fixed."