Resonance Frequency, Am I pushing The Limit

[Meloski]

I am about ready to pull the trigger on a LO MC cartridge. AT33EV or AT33Sa

My tonearm effective mass is 12g, matching a 6.9g cart with a compliance of 10
will give a resonance frequency of 11.56Hz

If I add a four gram weight the resonance frequency drops down to 10.50Hz. My dilemma is that I don't think there is enough room outward for the counterweight to balance the tonearm prior to setting the VTF. I'm afraid that if I add a heavier counterweight that it will throw the whole thing off. How is he counterweight factored into the tonearms effective mass?

Technics SL1200MKII

Your thoughts please.

Cheers,

[Macca]

I use a Nagaoka in a sumiko headshell and the weight of the headshell means I have to use the additional counterweight. It is probabaly not ideal to be adding mass at one end and I suppose subtracting it at the other and I should get a lighter headshell *but* it sounds fine. Are you using the stock Technics headshell?

[Barry]

I am about ready to pull the trigger on a LO MC cartridge. AT33EV or AT33Sa

My tonearm effective mass is 12g, matching a 6.9g cart with a compliance of 10
will give a resonance frequency of 11.56Hz

If I add a four gram weight the resonance frequency drops down to 10.50Hz. My dilemma is that I don't think there is enough room outward for the counterweight to balance the tonearm prior to setting the VTF. I'm afraid that if I add a heavier counterweight that it will throw the whole thing off. How is he counterweight factored into the tonearms effective mass?

Technics SL1200MKII

Your thoughts please.

Cheers,

What tracking weight are you expecting to use? (What does the cartridge manufacturer recommend?) If it is around 2g and you have a set of stylus scales, why not adjust the arm counterweight so that the required tracking weight is achieved directly, rather than screwing the counterweight out to balance the cartridge and then screwing it back in a little to provide the recommended tracking weight.

I often do it that way if I find I'm running out of counterbalance range.