shane
04-02-2017, 00:49
It's a familiar problem. There you are, owner of one of the best pickup arms around and you probably only paid a bargain basement couple of hundred quid for it, but the counterweight appears to be held together By a lump of semi-congealed snot. It doesn't appear to affect the sound too much, but it makes accurate setup a nightmare, and it looks frankly revolting.
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3423.JPG
So what to do? Ok, there are plenty of nice people out there who will make you a very nice replacement, but it'll probably cost you getting on for half of what you paid for the whole thing. What's needed is a simple way to replace the bogey with something a bit more wholesome. I've been looking for something suitable for the three years since I got my 774, and now I think I've found it. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but for a little over eight quid, it had to be worth a punt.
This is where you get it:
https://sugru.com/buy/?gclid=CMaIk5CC9dECFRaeGwodLVUDyQ ,
and this is what you you get:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3527.JPG
Inside the pack pack you get these:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3529.JPG
and inside each of those is one of these, which is a bit like a lump of blutack, but not as sticky. And not blue in my case 'cos I preferred black, although there are several different colours available. White would be interesting...
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3531.JPG
By lucky chance, one sachet contains exactly the right amount to do the job in hand. The other two will keep for up to a year if unopened, or longer if you keep them in the fridge. What is it, you ask? A rather clever putty that sticks to almost anything, and sets to become a lump of silicone rubber, rather like the spatula you use to get the last of the cake mixture out of the mixing bowl. It takes about 24 hours to go off, depending on temperature, and it's workable for about half an hour after you open the sachet. This job was easily completed in about ten minutes.
Start off by pulling the centre stem of the counterwight out of the Sorbothane, which won't be difficult, then push the Sorbothane out of the ring with a finger. Clean off any residues with IPA or white spirit, making sure you clean that off as well with a clean cloth. This is what you'll be left with:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3525.JPG
By lucky chance, the packing note that comes with the Sugru has a large area of waxy paper where a sticky label has been removed. Open one sachet and start by wrapping the Sugru around the stem of the counterweight, with the edge of the wodge level with the end of the stem away from the knurled finger grip. Then roll the whole thing on the wax paper on a flat surface until you have a cylinder of Sugru wrapped evenly around the stem, very slightly smaller in diameter than the bore of the counterweight ring. You shoul end up with this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3533.JPG
Now insert the Sugru-wrapped stem into the counterweight ring, and stand the whole thing on its end on the wax paper with the knurled grip pointing upwards. Push down on the spindle so that it's touching the paper so it looks like this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3534.JPG
Now use something like the tip of a teaspoon handle to press the Sugru down into the assembly so it completely fills the space between the ring and the stem. You'll find that some of it will squeeze through the slits in the stem. Remove this with a cotton bud. Use a Stanley knife blade to trim off the excess and leave a smooth finish to the exposed Sugru.
Leave it standing on the wax wax paper in a warm place to set for 24 hours, then trim off any excess, and clean any residues with a paper towel. Re-install on the arm, and you should have something like this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3541.JPG
Job done. Now all you have to do is think of something to do with the other two sachets. Isolation feet? Cable tidy? Surprise me...
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3423.JPG
So what to do? Ok, there are plenty of nice people out there who will make you a very nice replacement, but it'll probably cost you getting on for half of what you paid for the whole thing. What's needed is a simple way to replace the bogey with something a bit more wholesome. I've been looking for something suitable for the three years since I got my 774, and now I think I've found it. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but for a little over eight quid, it had to be worth a punt.
This is where you get it:
https://sugru.com/buy/?gclid=CMaIk5CC9dECFRaeGwodLVUDyQ ,
and this is what you you get:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3527.JPG
Inside the pack pack you get these:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3529.JPG
and inside each of those is one of these, which is a bit like a lump of blutack, but not as sticky. And not blue in my case 'cos I preferred black, although there are several different colours available. White would be interesting...
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3531.JPG
By lucky chance, one sachet contains exactly the right amount to do the job in hand. The other two will keep for up to a year if unopened, or longer if you keep them in the fridge. What is it, you ask? A rather clever putty that sticks to almost anything, and sets to become a lump of silicone rubber, rather like the spatula you use to get the last of the cake mixture out of the mixing bowl. It takes about 24 hours to go off, depending on temperature, and it's workable for about half an hour after you open the sachet. This job was easily completed in about ten minutes.
Start off by pulling the centre stem of the counterwight out of the Sorbothane, which won't be difficult, then push the Sorbothane out of the ring with a finger. Clean off any residues with IPA or white spirit, making sure you clean that off as well with a clean cloth. This is what you'll be left with:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3525.JPG
By lucky chance, the packing note that comes with the Sugru has a large area of waxy paper where a sticky label has been removed. Open one sachet and start by wrapping the Sugru around the stem of the counterweight, with the edge of the wodge level with the end of the stem away from the knurled finger grip. Then roll the whole thing on the wax paper on a flat surface until you have a cylinder of Sugru wrapped evenly around the stem, very slightly smaller in diameter than the bore of the counterweight ring. You shoul end up with this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3533.JPG
Now insert the Sugru-wrapped stem into the counterweight ring, and stand the whole thing on its end on the wax paper with the knurled grip pointing upwards. Push down on the spindle so that it's touching the paper so it looks like this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3534.JPG
Now use something like the tip of a teaspoon handle to press the Sugru down into the assembly so it completely fills the space between the ring and the stem. You'll find that some of it will squeeze through the slits in the stem. Remove this with a cotton bud. Use a Stanley knife blade to trim off the excess and leave a smooth finish to the exposed Sugru.
Leave it standing on the wax wax paper in a warm place to set for 24 hours, then trim off any excess, and clean any residues with a paper towel. Re-install on the arm, and you should have something like this:
http://www.thepippin.plus.com/774/IMG_3541.JPG
Job done. Now all you have to do is think of something to do with the other two sachets. Isolation feet? Cable tidy? Surprise me...