Sme 3012 R

I know this old arm is good but I don’t know why David,Rockitman,Tang,Ron,Mike
Use or will use having top tonearm like Sat,EliteAxiom,Black Beauty,Durand

Why 3012 is so special?
I never had and I don’t understand
Only to know for my curiosity
Regards
Gian

 

Funny you say that. I'm struggling with the manual. Mine is a photocopy and the photos are so dark that I have trouble deciphering it. So I went online and found a PDF and it's also dark... lol.

personally I found the manual to be a bit lacking...especially in my case where they were written in Japanese !

 

personally I found the manual to be a bit lacking...especially in my case where they were written in Japanese !

Mine might as well be in Japanese. It seems to be in some form of old english.

I've got mine mounted, but for the life of me cannot figure out how to raise the arm. Can someone enlighten me?

Manual says "Support the lowering and raising control with one hand and release the pillar clamp with the other." This statement is supported by almost black photo.

 

Rockitman. Time to step into your fastest car and spin round to Floyd's place

 

Mine might as well be in Japanese. It seems to be in some form of old english.

I've got mine mounted, but for the life of me cannot figure out how to raise the arm. Can someone enlighten me?

Manual says "Support the lowering and raising control with one hand and release the pillar clamp with the other." This statement is supported by almost black photo.

There is a small metal tube jetting out from the pivot tower. It's metric (I assume) allen key fits in there to loosen and tighten the collar that controls the height of the pivot tower for VTA.

 

There is a small metal tube jetting out from the pivot tower. It's metric (I assume) allen key fits in there to loosen and tighten the collar that controls the height of the pivot tower for VTA.

Thanks. That was what I was missing.

The same size allen key also fits into the clamp that holds the arm lift. I need to lower the arm lift and even with that tiny screw out of the clamp it isn't budging. Do you (or anyone) know whether it needs to rotate or just slide up and down? Might be just stiff due to age, but I obviously don't want to break it.

 

Thanks. That was what I was missing.

The same size allen key also fits into the clamp that holds the arm lift. I need to lower the arm lift and even with that tiny screw out of the clamp it isn't budging. Do you (or anyone) know whether it needs to rotate or just slide up and down? Might be just stiff due to age, but I obviously don't want to break it.

Just slide up or down but if you rotate it a little still ok. The arm is not fragile. You can manual it like when you cook in your kitchen. You are not going to damage it.

I love you Ian. You are one person that make me feel good of myself.

Kindest regards,
Tang

 

You need to rotate it. It has threads.

 

I love you Ian. You are one person that make me feel good of myself.

Kindest regards,
Tang

I make a lot of people feel good about themselves. You should see me try to make coffee in the morning.

Note to any other dummies like me: If you think you have to lower the arm lift, you're probably wrong. Your arm height is too high. The arm lift doesn't lower very much and (unlike my Black Beauty) shouldn't need to be adjusted as you lower and raise the arm. Duh...

 

I make a lot of people feel good about themselves. You should see me try to make coffee in the morning.

Note to any other dummies like me: If you think you have to lower the arm lift, you're probably wrong. Your arm height is too high. The arm lift doesn't lower very much and (unlike my Black Beauty) shouldn't need to be adjusted as you lower and raise the arm. Duh...

Oh. You are talking about the arm lift. Sorry I thought you were talking up down arm tower. Feeling good lasted only five minutes.

Tang

 

Sawasdee Shane,

I encourage you to try the AtlasSL on this SME. You will hear something not typical of what people lik to say about Atlas. It is a PITA but you can swallow it Shane.

Tang

Sawasdee Tang. I will try the Atlas at some stage as i need to follow in your foot steps just need to do baby steps first to understand the SME. I don't have DDK to help like you!!

 

thanks for this. I used to have an Ortofon AS-309S and it sounded similar to what you describe to the other 12 inch arms you have had - bloated, slow and boring.

Honestly, not sure what to expect from the 3012-R given my listening biases, but will keep my ears open and take my time - My TW sits unused most of the time as the Phantom does not get much use and my Thales moves between the Technics and the TW, but mainly with the Technics.

@Tango , Agree - it will be interesting to see how it sounds to my ears

The guy I bought the 3012-R also had a SME V on his Garrard 401, so he had interesting comments regarding the sound differences between each tonearm.

I had the same Ortofon AS-309S a long time ago. It was one of the worst on my 12". I had two different DaVinci's, that Ortofon(Jelco) a SME 312S and a EMT 997 which I only used with my Ortofon SPU 90A. The only one I would probably be able to describe would be the EMT 997. I haven't had the others in too long a time to offer any opinion. The EMT was too bottom heavy sounding for me.

 

There is a small metal tube jetting out from the pivot tower. It's metric (I assume) allen key fits in there to loosen and tighten the collar that controls the height of the pivot tower for VTA.

The 3012R has imperial threads. All you need is a 1/16th allen key for all adjustments.

 

Couple of Sites that may be of interest re the fabled 3012--seems the rare as Hen's teeth Series 1 is the one to look out for:b

https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/76736-buying-sme-3012-series-i-what-to-look-for/

http://www.analogue-classics.com/html/sme_3009___3012.html

BruceD

 

I asked today to Chris Feickert for his Adjust + azimuth adjustment. He said it could not work for the 3012 because there is not enough room for turning the head with the little screw that is under the arm near the headshell.
Please can you confirm that and what is your experience with azimuth on the 3012-R ?

 

I asked today to Chris Feickert for his Adjust + azimuth adjustment. He said it could not work for the 3012 because there is not enough room for turning the head with the little screw that is under the arm near the headshell.
Please can you confirm that and what is your experience with azimuth on the 3012-R ?

You have to wonder why they put that azimuth screw on the bottom of the arm tube. It's a PITA to fit a screw driver underneath.

 

Finally added the second SME 3012R, running the Ortofon Cadenza Mono.View attachment 43404

Hi pcosta

Did you remove the rubber grommets from the bedplate and hard mount? If you have, wondering what the difference is between grommet and no grommet, especially when we have practically the same table.

cheers

 

You have to wonder why they put that azimuth screw on the bottom of the arm tube. It's a PITA to fit a screw driver underneath.

haha. Agree - the guy I bought it off said to leave it slightly loose so you can adjust without the need to tighten. I have not tightened mine.

Also, the bias/ant skating was a pita in getting the inside base nut screwed back onto the inner bolt.

I also found I could not get a crew driver small enough to screw the ground cable into the SME base - eventually got there.



Anyway, I am up and running. I am sure its not perfect setup but it sounds pretty good with Neil Young - Harvest Moon with the Ortofon Classic E SPU. In another world to my old Ortofon AS-309S


Any hints from the experienced users for first time set up is greatly appreciated.

 

Question for owners of this arm: are you using the original single ended cable (plus separate ground) between the arm and phono stage? I tried the cable I received (which I assume is the original SME cable but can't be sure) with my other arm to get a feel for sonics and I wasn't impressed.

Just wondering if part of the 'magic' of this arm is how it mates with the SME cable - or whether everyone replaces it with something better.

Thx.

 

I asked today to Chris Feickert for his Adjust + azimuth adjustment. He said it could not work for the 3012 because there is not enough room for turning the head with the little screw that is under the arm near the headshell.
Please can you confirm that and what is your experience with azimuth on the 3012-R ?

He is probably referring to the fixed offset angle. The margin for azimuth of the 3012-R is enormous!

One nice thing of the 3012-R is that you can forget about most of the fancy accessories!

 

Question for owners of this arm: are you using the original single ended cable (plus separate ground) between the arm and phono stage? I tried the cable I received (which I assume is the original SME cable but can't be sure) with my other arm to get a feel for sonics and I wasn't impressed.

Just wondering if part of the 'magic' of this arm is how it mates with the SME cable - or whether everyone replaces it with something better.

Thx.

I have tried both the original and the Van den Hul D-501 Silver Hybrid Tonearm cable which is effectively a newer version of the original and preferred the newer version.