What cartridges can be used with the various schick tonearms?
You can use a very wide range range of cartridges.
The compliance value should be below 20 µm/mN ( 22 for the nine inch arm) with a large tolerance, still keeping the resonant frequency in the desired range.
The weight of the cartridge should be 5-6 Gramm or more.
That exludes only very lightweight MM systems with very soft cantilever suspension.
Audio Technica systems with a higher given value ( indicating a soft suspension) also work. Their compliance is calculated with a different frequency and other circumstances.
On the heavy side the limit is about 40 Gramms with a compliance of 5, if something like this exist.
Orotfon SPU cartridges are typically around 30 Gramms with a compliance of 8, all models are suitable.
Mono cartridges with no vertical compliance at all, can also be used.
Also, Decca Systems are compatible.
What is the mounting distance for schick tonearms?
The mounting distance is:
schick 12 – 304,75mm or 12 inch
schick 10.5 – 270mm
schick 9 – 229 mm
Which record player models can be used?
In general all record players that allow the mounting distances mentioned above.
Many record player manufacturers are offering tonearm bases for schick tonearms.
Mounting on subchassis players is also possible, if the the space is provided by the deck.
What is the effective mass of the schick 12 and schick 9 tonearms?
The eff. mass of a tonearm without a fixed headshell and cartridge is a bit tricky to calculate.
Better to go with the compliance of the cartridge.
The tonearm is suitable for any cartridge from about 6 Gramm and a compliance value of below 20 µm/mN (22 for the 9 inch version).
That includes most cartridges on the market, excluded are only lightweight and very soft MM systems.
With these you get a favourable tonearm resonance in the area of 8-11Hz.
Then again the values does not say anything, you can use cartridges from van den Hul or Audio Technica with a given compliance value of 34.
These should be way too soft, but work perfectly well.
A resonance frequency can be determined if playing a record in the very arm, if measured like this a value can be calculated that is true for that very combination alone.
Below is the formula for calculating eff. mass.
With my arm it is not a fixed number, since you can put on different headshells and different cartridges that change this value.
Meff = (MxD²)/R²
Meff=effective Mass
M=Mass of headshell+cartridge+tonearm tube (11Gr.)
D= distance tonearm bearing to center of gravity of headshell assembly
The centre of gravity is about in the middle of the generator assembly, a slightly different value here does not change the result substantially.
You can use 31,25cm
R=r distance needle to tonearm turning point= eff length. 31,75 for 12 inch 24,58 for the nine inch.
Graphite headshell is 15,7 Gramm
However, if you play through several combinations the result does not vary dramatically.
Also, results vary from reality, since the dynamic compliance is not covered in that simple equation.
As a much easier approach and rule of thumb you can simply substract 1 Gramm form the mass of headshell + cartridge + tonearm tube ( 11Gr.)
This number is precise enough for calculating the resonance frequency.
You can use a very wide range range of cartridges.
The compliance value should be below 22 µm/mN
The weight should be 5-6 Gramm or more.
That excludes only very lightweight MM systems with very soft cantilever suspension.
On the heavy side the limit is about 40 Gramm with a compliance of 5.
Orotfon SPU are typically around 30 Gramm with a compliance of 8.
Vintage Mono system with no vertical compliance at all can also be used.
(50 Gramms, compliance 4 is also possible, but I am not aware of anything that heavy…)