VPI JMW 9" and Rega P6 Tonearm Mounting Holes


I am planning on buying a new 9" tonearm that I am hoping will fit both my VPI Scoutmaster and my Rega P6.  The Scoutmaster currently has the JMW 10.5" tonearm on the VTA adjustable base so it is impossible to tell exactly how the plinth is drilled but my assumption is it has the same hole diameter and screw hole placement as an Aries Scoutmaster that uses the JMW 9 tonearm and I believe (?) that is the identical screw placement and hole size as a Rega P6.  Can anybody confirm that is actually the case?  I really don't want to have to unmount the tonearms on both tables just to take a simple measurement. 

pinwa

Showing 3 responses by pinwa

@viridian I'm not sure if you didn't really read my post or if it wasn't clear what I was asking but your answer isn't accurate for the turntables or my question.  The VPI Scoutmaster originally came with a JMW 9" arm and it does have a hole drilled at what appears to be a 222mm pivot to spindle distance.  The only way it accommodates the JMW 10.5" arm was with the VPI VTA adjustable base that positions the pivot to spindle at 258mm and uses an entirely different set of holes on top of the plinth.  Since the original holes are covered up by the VPI VTA adjustable base I can't confirm that they are the same as the Rega P6 without completely removing the base which I really don't want to have to do right now thus the question.

My question really had to do with whether the 3 mounting holes that presumably exist around the hole in the Scoutmaster plinth are drilled at the same distances as the Rega P6 standard 3 hole mounting system.

Also, there is no problem using a Baerwald alignment on a 222mm spindle to pivot distance assuming the headshell has enough room to move the cartridge back.

@mijostyn Why do you doubt VPI uses the 222 mm standard?  My old VPI Aries Scout measures at 222mm pivot to spindle using a Feickert protractor.  I would have assumed they would have kept it the same for the newer Scoutmaster.  And it is really the spacing of the screw holes around the hole that is bored through the plinth that I am curious about and whether they are the same as the Rega standard.