SME 3009 restoration

[Tony L]

I hit the Buy It Now button on this a few days ago as I’ve always wanted an early split-weight and the price (£350) was very reasonable given what they can go for.

This will be another lengthy thread but my intention is to end up with a mint mid-60s split-weight regardless where that quest leads. The only disappointing thing with this one is whilst the rear weight/outrider holder is perfect, the main weight has a scratch/mark so I’ll need to source another. They do crop up now and again, in fact there was one a month or two ago. I’m still well ahead as there is a lot of good collectable stuff here. The arm itself is in respectable condition, a few scratches to the arm tube, but after a clean-up will look very decent. I’ll detail the various parts in separate posts.

 

[Tony L]

First up is a very rare and sought after early solid headshell.

It is of a type I’ve not seen before with an internal plate (there is another version without). Thankfully this is in superb condition, flawless, and amounts to a fair bit of the value here, not that I’ll be selling it. I’ve been after one for a while. It weighs 11g as pictured (no leads) with finger-lift on my scales, though I’m not sure how accurate they are on very low weights. I don’t have a normal perforated one to hand as both the ones I have are fitted with cartridges. I think they are 6.5g, but I‘d need to check that. I’ll likely not swap over as I suspect my MP-500 will be happier where it is mass/compliance wise. Very nice to have though.

 

[Tony L]

There is also a very early Shure M44-5 that does appear to work (I plugged the headshell in and just brushed the stylus before removing it just to make sure it was electrically fine). The stylus looks good too, I’ve given it a long run on the AT637 as it was caked with crap and I can’t see any chips or shouldering. I think it is just a conical, but a nice piece of history.

 

[Tony L]

An early serial, for comparison my two non-split-weight Series II arms are in the 7xxxx & 8xxxx ranges.

The paperwork, of which there is quite a bit (just missing the protractor and mounting template), includes a Shure price list from April 1964. I suspect this is the right zone for the arm too. It is a mid-period Series II, split-weight but with movable rear weight/outrigger holder. To my mind the best version of this (Series II) arm as it is the most versatile and easiest to set up.

 

[Craig B]

There is also a very early Shure M44-5 that does appear to work (I plugged the headshell in and just brushed the stylus before removing it just to make sure it was electrically fine). The stylus looks good too, I’ve given it a long run on the AT637 as it was caked with crap and I can’t see any chips or shouldering. I think it is just a conical, but a nice piece of history.

Yes, '-5' on vintage Shure stood for 5mil spherical, however, that was with red stylus knob. Yours has brown, meaning that a previous owner replaced the original tip with N44E, a 0.4 x 0.7mil elliptical. Also worth noting here is that '-5' was quite high compliance for the time (25cu), whereas, 'E' was in the mid teens. By the late '60s there were seven stylus options for M44 (two of which were shared with M55 and V15).

Nice find, BTW.

 

[Tony L]

I was puzzled by that and assumed the red had darkened due to age! That makes sense, though it has to be said it doesn’t look very elliptical through the loupe! I’ll stick it under the microscope when I can be bothered.

 

[Tony L]

Here’s a view of the weights and the triggering scratch. It is far worse/more visible in person, barely shows on the picture and annoyingly looks fresh so I suspect occurred in transit (it was very well packed, but not by anyone who understands tonearms so it hadn’t been disassembled). There are scratches on the arm-tube and arm base too. Most folk wouldn’t care, but obsessing over minuscule details is what I do! I’ll find another weight in time. The other bits I’m not bothered about as I already have them all absolutely mint. Twice!

Here’s a terrible electric light iPhone 13 photo of the arm. It is looking a lot better, but again the iPhone’s slightly hyped character flatters it. Definitely in better condition than most of this era, if it was a record I’d grade it somewhere between VG+ and EX with a very strong EX headshell.

The documentation is surprisingly interesting. I’d not noticed an April 1962 SME price list, so I think that is a pretty safe bet as to date. I also didn’t realise SME sold TD-124s! The other thing of interest is the stuck in red text amendment explaining the new end-cap design. I’m not sure exactly when the Series II was released, but this is certainly an early one.

One thing that is interesting to contrast and compare with my later 3009s (I have two Series IIs and a fixed Improved) is they certainly improved the finish with time. This one is certainly very nice, but not quite that stunning Leica/Olympus camera quality of the late-60s final spec Series II fitted on my 124. They must have slightly changed a finishing process somewhere. The texture and colour is just very slightly different, and it isn’t a cleaning thing.

PS Surprisingly the cueing device of this one is the most damped of any of my SMEs despite being by far the oldest. A very slow drop!

 

[Craig B]

Love the C. Baker & Co. safety match box as 'support' (although I'd not be wanting the underside of my posh tonearm rubbing along the striking surface).

Frankly, I'm somewhat surprised that the cueing device drops at all. Of course this may have been serviced at some point over the circa 60 years(!), possibly more than once.

 

[Tony L]

Frankly, I'm somewhat surprised that the cueing device drops at all. Of course this may have been serviced at some point over the circa 60 years(!), perhaps more than once.

They usually drop like a stone as the damping fluid has gone. The one on my 124 is pretty good, though could do with fluid replenishment, the other two just drop the cart unless one gently lowers the lever. I want to learn how to dismantle the dashpot without leaving any trace. The cover seems stuck on pretty good on the ones I’ve tried to remove. I suspect heat is the way in.

PS Using the price-list above and the Bank Of England Inflation Calculator the £100 a TD-124, 3012 and SPU-G/T comes to £1,711.86 today, which is an absolute bargain! In reality you’d be looking at about £12-15k for the current direct drive TD-124, a 12” SME and an SPU! It really shows how the high-end market has shifted now things no longer sell in tens of thousands to a mass-market.

 

[canonman]

Interesting. That is, almost certainly, the actual one I was bidding on at a local auction last week as I wanted a split weight too. It was fitted in a small cabinet with the 301 he is selling. He paid £ too much
All of that documentation was there and it was fitted with that Shure cartridge in the plain headshell. It was online but I was in the showroom and the guy buying it gave me a filthy look when I left!

Edit: It is that one as I recognise the valve amp that he is selling too. It was fitted in the base of the unit and he confirms that it was in a 301 unit.

 

[Craig B]

They usually drop like a stone as the damping fluid has gone. The one on my 124 is pretty good, though could do with fluid replenishment, the other two just drop the cart unless one gently lowers the lever. I want to learn how to dismantle the dashpot without leaving any trace. The cover seems stuck on pretty good on the ones I’ve tried to remove. I suspect heat is the way in.

PS Using the price-list above and the Bank Of England Inflation Calculator the £100 a TD-124, 3012 and SPU-G/T comes to £1,711.86 today, which is an absolute bargain! In reality you’d be looking at about £12-15k for the current direct drive TD-124, a 12” SME and an SPU! It really shows how the high-end market has shifted now things no longer sell in tens of thousands to a mass-market.

This may be the most informative thread on servicing the early "factory service only" cueing mech. In particular, this fellow removed the vent screw and vacuumed any air out post flushing with IPA and filling with 300000cst. silicon oil.

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sme-3009-series-2-cueing-dashpot-cleaning.916950/​

 

[Tony L]

A few slightly better daylight pics, though I’m really struggling to get good results out of the iPhone 13 in this scenario. I have a feeling they added something in iOS 16.2 that I don’t like, I’m certainly struggling to get things in focus without blown highlights. My guess is its AI overrides my manual focus point and heads for the book titles behind.

I hope they capture the slightly flatter greyer finish compared to the far more common later types.

I also dug out my other two Shure carts, a M55E that I think has a M44 DJ tip (white, orange text), and a M95ED which is actually very good. That one came with the cheap auction SL-120/fixed 3009 Improved and it is a decent sounding cart. It is a real shame Shure have left the audiophile cartridge market, I’m sure they’d find a market for a V15 today.

 

[Tony L]

Next thing to contemplate is the remarkably manky and butchered arm lead. The amp end is terminated in the remains of a two prong plug I’ve never seen before! The arm end is beautifully done, the cables I have all have the triangular plastic cover/strain relief which I guess came later, so I’ve never seen how SME terminated things before with the ground bar thing. I actually have more SME arm cables than arms (I fitted a SME RCA base to my in use 3009), so I don’t need this at all, but I am tempted to try and restore it as I do have a couple of old SME RCA plugs in my ‘bits’ box. I’ll decide once I’ve worked on the plastic sheathing a bit and established if Autoglym Rubber & Vinyl Care works its usual magic on old plastics here. If it is saveable I may as well as it all has value to collectors. I’m assuming the cut lead at the arm end was a short one to ground the arm to the turntable (a 124 has a dedicated chassis bolt next to the armboard for this). I’ll beep everything out anyway, but my guess is the bizarre two-pin at the amp end plug is L/R and the loose RCA ground. As I say I’ve never seen this anywhere before.

 

[Woodface]

Always find these threads fascinating even though it’s not my kind of thing at all.

What is the plan for the arm Tony, is going on a different turntable or just a thing to have?

 

[Tony L]

What is the plan for the arm Tony, is going on a different turntable or just a thing to have?

Undetermined. My initial intent was to borrow the split-weight and maybe headshell for the 3009 on my 124, but thinking about it I’ll likely just keep it in the collection. It is a pretty rare arm and the price was good given what came with it. Everyone has likely seen the mint late-60s one on my TD-124, that one really is flawless, not even a hint of a mark where the armtube meets the arm rest. I fitted it with a SME RCA base and use a SME vdH 501 armlead with it.

Here’s the rest. A boxed final-spec Series II from 1971 just like the one on my TD-124 and a fixed-shell Improved. These both just kind of turned up along the way, neither cost much, the pre-Improved was swapped out on a TD-124 I bought and sold for an Improved I’d landed fairly cheaply. The fixed-shell Improved was effectively free as it was on the SL-120 I bought at the local auction for £35. I spent more than that (£45 IIRC) buying it a box and manual. The brown box, which contains a very, very long mid-70s arm lead, appears to have been signed by A R-A himself! I’d like to find a really nice clean boxed 3012 at the right price, always fancied trying one though it would mean a new armboard etc and I’m not sure it is better for the MP-500. Just one of those things I’d likely do if the right opportunity presents itself, but I’d not go out of my way.

PS I’m pretty sure the split-weight arm lead will come up quite nicely and it is electrically fine. I’ll definitely attempt restoration. My two spare SME plugs are visible in the pic above, I’ll use them on it.

 

[Woodface]

Undetermined. My initial intent was to borrow the split-weight and maybe headshell for the 3009 on my 124, but thinking about it I’ll likely just keep it in the collection. It is a pretty rare arm and the price was good given what came with it. Everyone has likely seen the mint late-60s one on my TD-124, that one really is flawless, not even a hint of a mark where the armtube meets the arm rest. I fitted it with a SME RCA base and use a SME vdH 501 armlead with it.

Here’s the rest. A boxed final-spec Series II from 1971 just like the one on my TD-124 and a fixed-shell Improved. These both just kind of turned up along the way, neither cost much, the pre-Improved was swapped out on a TD-124 I bought and sold for an Improved I’d landed fairly cheaply. The fixed-shell Improved was effectively free as it was on the SL-120 I bought at the local auction for £35. I spent more than that (£45 IIRC) buying it a box and manual. The brown box, which contains a very, very long mid-70s arm lead, appears to have been signed by A R-A himself! I’d like to find a really nice clean boxed 3012 at the right price, always fancied trying one though it would mean a new armboard etc and I’m not sure it is better for the MP-500. Just one of those things I’d likely do if the right opportunity presents itself, but I’d not go out of my way.

PS I’m pretty sure the split-weight arm lead will come up quite nicely and it is electrically fine. I’ll definitely attempt restoration. My two spare SME plugs are visible in the pic above, I’ll use them on it.

I think 12” arms look wrong unless you have a very large plinth.

 

[Tony L]

I think 12” arms look wrong unless you have a very large plinth.

They look quirky for sure! My plinth is actually compact enough to hang a 3012 over the side. An example on a blog here. I don’t mind the look at all, though I view the plinth of a TD-124 more as a ‘stand’ than a ‘plinth’ in a conventional sense. I think 124s look kind of wrong in huge modern plinths.

 

[Craig B]

Next thing to contemplate is the remarkably manky and butchered arm lead. The amp end is terminated in the remains of a two prong plug I’ve never seen before! The arm end is beautifully done, the cables I have all have the triangular plastic cover/strain relief which I guess came later, so I’ve never seen how SME terminated things before with the ground bar thing. I actually have more SME arm cables than arms (I fitted a SME RCA base to my in use 3009), so I don’t need this at all, but I am tempted to try and restore it as I do have a couple of old SME RCA plugs in my ‘bits’ box. I’ll decide once I’ve worked on the plastic sheathing a bit and established if Autoglym Rubber & Vinyl Care works its usual magic on old plastics here. If it is saveable I may as well as it all has value to collectors. I’m assuming the cut lead at the arm end was a short one to ground the arm to the turntable (a 124 has a dedicated chassis bolt next to the armboard for this). I’ll beep everything out anyway, but my guess is the bizarre two-pin at the amp end plug is L/R and the loose RCA ground. As I say I’ve never seen this anywhere before.

Looks like an early 2-pin mic connector. I suspect it had been wired for mono. Zooming in on your first photo above appears to indicate only two headshell leads present. Was the cartridge strapped for mono?

 

[Craig B]

A few slightly better daylight pics, though I’m really struggling to get good results out of the iPhone 13 in this scenario. I have a feeling they added something in iOS 16.2 that I don’t like, I’m certainly struggling to get things in focus without blown highlights. My guess is its AI overrides my manual focus point and heads for the book titles behind.

I hope they capture the slightly flatter greyer finish compared to the far more common later types.

I also dug out my other two Shure carts, a M55E that I think has a M44 DJ tip (white, orange text), and a M95ED which is actually very good. That one came with the cheap auction SL-120/fixed 3009 Improved and it is a decent sounding cart. It is a real shame Shure have left the audiophile cartridge market, I’m sure they’d find a market for a V15 today.

My first MM phono cartridge was M95ED; this spoilt me for anything less really. With it's 0.2mil minor radii the HF resolution was well into the fine line class, only the sound wasn't quite as 'relaxed' (for want of a better word) as what I got with subsequent Shibata and various fine line types.

 

[gavreid]

What's the thinking behind the split weight?