3012
3012 (Series II). Tonearm, SME, 1962
A 12-inch precision pick-up arm with knife-edge bearings and a hydraulic lowering control, from SME's Series II range launched in 1962.
A-19, isometric, same camera for both
- Drawing
- A-19
- Introduced
- 1962
- Produced
- Not published
- Made in
- United Kingdom
- Designed by
- Alastair Robertson-Aikman
- Launch price
- Not confirmed
- Size
- Not published
- Weight
- Not published
Alastair Robertson-Aikman founded the Scale Model Equipment Company in 1946 and built a pick-up arm for his own system in 1959, which led to the first SME arm in September 1959. SME opened a factory in Steyning, Sussex, in 1961 and became SME Limited. Its heritage page dates the Series II 9 inch and 12 inch arms to 1962, sold as the 3009 and 3012. The 3012 measures 12 inches from pivot to cartridge mounting centres, and its headshell mount, based on an Ortofon design, became an industry standard.
Specification
| Item | As published |
|---|---|
| Length | 12 in, pivot to cartridge mounting centres (Model 3012) |
| Tracking force | Rider weight, 1/2 gram per graduation, 5 grams full scale; 2 1/2 grams full scale with the front of the rider removed |
| Bearings | Knife-edge bearings on the horizontal pivot; pillar bearings |
| Lowering | Hydraulic arm control with lever |
| Bias | Bias adjuster with nylon thread and weight |
| Cable | Five-wire lead with separate screens per channel, screening can plug |
Its successor
SME Series M2-12R
SME sells its direct descendant today. Pricing is through dealers.
The house
- Founded
- 1946
- Founder
- Alastair Robertson-Aikman
- Origin
- Steyning, West Sussex, United Kingdom (factory there from 1961)
- Today
- Part of the Cadence Audio group of companies since 2016, and owner of the Garrard brand since 2018.
Sources
- https://sme.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/SERIES_II_PRECISION_PICK-UP_ARMS_INSTRUCTION_BOOK.pdf
- https://sme.co.uk/heritage/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SME_Limited
- https://sme.co.uk/product/series-m2-12r-2/
Notes for the record: Year 1962 follows SME's heritage page entry for the Series II 9 inch and 12 inch arms. SME began arm production in September 1959 with its first (Series I) arm, and a search summary of the Vinyl Engine listing says a 3012 also existed as a Series I; that page returned 403, so the earliest 12 inch date is unverified. No weight, overall dimensions or original price appear in the instruction book or other pages opened, so those fields are null. The 12 inch figure is the instruction book's statement for the 3012. The knife-edge bearing detail comes from the book's Figure 4 caption and Wikipedia. Wikipedia names Ajay Shirke as owner while SME's heritage page says SME joined the Cadence Audio group of companies in 2016.