I've been getting a number of inquiries about the new 'Woody' tonearm from Pete Riggle Engineering, so I thought I'd post this e-mail with photos (note the cool vintage Garrard 301 and Thorens TD124 turntables - drool) from Pete telling about his new String-Theory Woody Tonearm. I haven't yet seen or heard Pete's new tonearm in person, but here's the scoop on it - it's a beauty Pete!

"Greeting to those interested in the Pete Riggle Engineering and Audio Stringtheory (tm) Woody (tm) tonearms. These tonearms are now officially in production (cottage industry production). Some folks on this distribution have already made a commitment to this product. Others have expressed interest, and some are just plain old friends. To some perhaps only the images will be of interest. So here we go.

I am now playing the Serial No. 1 Woody tonearm. This first production (cottage production) unit happens to be a 229 mm (9 inch) arm for a customer in Hawaii. Like the 12 inch prototype, this arm is very musical. The Serial No. 1 tonearm could have been any length from 9 inches to 16 inches. It just so happens that this particular customer is set up for Linn arm parameters. I will be shipping this S.N. 1 unit tomorrow.

Before any formal product announcement the interest in this tonearm is running quite high. I have established the introductory list price at $1600. Because these tonearms are labor intensive, and I am a one man shop, I can produce only one of these tonearms per week. Therefore I believe the list price will eventually have to rise. Right now, though, because I want to get a few of these arms into the hands of users, I am selling a few of the arms at an introductory price of $800 plus actual shipping and insurance. I am taking orders now, with a deposit of $200 U.S. confirming the purchase. The purchaser is free to return the arm within 90 days, with a full refund of the purchase price.

I will be happy to accept your order should you chose to place it. The waiting period for delivery may be up to two months. I prefer payment by PayPal, to the account [email protected], but can accept a credit card on a U.S. bank, or an international money order. You can call me at 509 582 4548. Because I am often in the shop, but not the office, please leave a message with your telephone number or your email address if the answering machine picks up your call.

To referesh your memory, and better define to you the product, please see the discussion below.

I look forward to being of service to you.

Yours,

Pete"

About the String-Theory ™ Woody ™ Tonearms:

We are now offering a family of wood wand tonearms. For humor, we call the 12 inch version of the arm the 12 Inch Woody ™ and the versions closer to 10 inches the 10 Inch Woody. Humor aside, we can and will build these arms to any reasonable specified length. In a sense, each arm is a custom unit. We build each tonearm to the effective length desired by the customer, and adjust the tonearm effective mass or the range of achievable effective masses to meet the intended cartridge mass and compliance characteristics of the cartridges anticipated by the customer.

At this point we have experimented extensively with a 12 inch Woody prototype. It is very musical. We have just finished the Serial No. 1 tonearm, a 9 inch Woody, which will replace a Linn arm. The 9 inch Woody seems to be essentially the equal of the 12 inch Woody in the reproduction of music.

These tonearms use the proven VTAF (tm) (Vertical Tracking angle on the Fly) system to allow the VTA to be dialed in to the sweetest angle while the record is in play as the user listens to the effect of VTA. The VTAF also isolates the tonearm system from the armboard. Many VTAF users have attested to the remarkable sonic benefits of isolation provided by the VTAF. With the VTAF, a thin adjuster wheel running on fine threads moves the tonearm pedestal up or down to change VTA. The VTAF Teflon Upgrade, which lines the bearing surfaces of the VTAF with Teflon, and improves sonics and smoothness of operation, is standard with the Woody tonearms.

New to this tonearm, and possibly new to the world, is a system which allows the azimuth to be to be dialed in to the sweetest condition while the record is in play, as the user listens to the effect of azimuth. We call this system AZOF (Azimuth on the Fly). AZOF is achieved by a manually adjusted lever on the tonearm platform which moves a vertical snubber pin directly under the tonearm pivot. The vertical snubber pin loosely engages a Teflon lined wood channel secured under the tonearm wand, with the channel axis parallel to the tonearm axis. Once the preferred azimuth has been dialed in, it is desirable in theory, but actually unnecessary in practice, to adjust the lateral balance of the arm to achieve a balance such that the snubber pin is not in continuous contact with the Teflon lined channel.

The arm for each customer is modeled by computer, and subsequently tested, to verify that the arm will balance and provide the intended tracking force with the intended cartridge(s) and will have correct effective mass to achieve the desired resonant frequency. While it is common in the industry to design tonearms for a resonant frequency somewhere around 12 Hz, theory dictates (and we believe on the basis of experience) that more massive arms, with a resonant frequency closer to 8 Hz, sound better. Tracking problems with record warps and footfalls do not usually occur with a tonearm resonant frequency of 8 Hz and above. The design philosophy is to use wood wherever possible, and brass and Delrin ™ where wood is not as practical as desired. This philosophy has resulted a remarkably balanced tonal character which makes real music. The tonearm wand has a square cross section which tapers from the pivot to the headshell. The question might arise "My Rega arm with the VTAF and the CCM sounds wonderful. Can the Woody tonearms actually sound better?" The answer is that while the Rega arms with the VTAF and CCM are truly excellent, the Woody arms are more musical. The Woody design uses a uniquely configured string uni-pivot suspension with snubbing to make tonearm handling the same as with conventional bearings.

Tonearm handling is made more convenient with the use of a long, light, wood, ergonomically shaped finger lift. A precision lift/lower device is standard. The tonearm rest/lock uses a strong magnet to attract a steel target under the tonearm wand. The tonearm is held down securely against vertical forces, but slides nicely off the magnet when put into play by the user.

The uniquely configured string uni-pivot is stiff in the horizontal plane, resulting in excellent bass response.

Pete Riggle detests the common use of hex keys for tonearm adjustment. Hex keys are so easy to misplace, and once misplaced, it is such a pain to find the right size. All Woody tonearm adjustments are easy to make without reliance on hex keys. VTA is adjusted with the VTAF. Azimuth is adjusted with the AZOF. Tonearm lateral balance is adjusted with knurled brass nuts as balance weights. The Counterweight for the Common Man provides tracking force adjustment with a knurled thumbscrew to lock the counterweight in place. The headshell provides easy alignment using only one knurled nut. Anti-skate tendency is dialed in by rotating a knurled brass knob on the upper platform, said knob supporting the string uni-pivot suspension. The tonearm is shipped with the anti-skate force set correctly. An ultra simple device is included with the tonearm to do a quick check or adjustment of the anti-skate setting at any point in the future. Even the lift/lower device is easily adjusted upward and downward, using a knurled thumb-screw to lock the device in place. The Woody is probably the most easily adjusted tonearm ever developed.

Another first with this tonearm product is a tiny circular bubble level made integral with the headshell adjuster plate. This tiny bubble level provides the user with a quick visual determination of azimuth and VTA. A lateral balancer is provided to get perfect lateral balance at the desired azimuth once azimuth has been dialed in by the AZOF system.

Not that rewiring will ever be required, but the arm is designed for easy wiring and rewiring. The standard wiring configuration provides a 6 foot continuous run of Teflon insulated 32 gage silver plated stranded copper wire between the cartridge and the phono stage. The wire harness is shielded by a small diameter thin walled brass tube along the length of the tonearm, unshielded at the compliance loop (similar to VPI tonearms), and shielded with foil and a drain wire from the compliance loop to the RCA plugs. Two ground wires are provided allowing the wiring harness shield system to be connected to ground at the amplifier chassis, at the turntable chassis, or both. Configurations allowing user selected RCA patch cables are optional.

The 12 inch nominal Woody has a length of 310 mm (12.2 inches) from stylus to pivot, with an overhang of 11.6 mm (.457 inches) for the Stevenson alignment or 13.1 mm (.516 inches) for the Baerwald alignment. At this point the prototype arm is a high mass 12 inch unit designed around the Denon DL103. It has an effective mass of about 30 grams, to which one must add the cartridge mass to get the total mass. Cartridge mounting is standard with screws spaced 0.5 inches on centers. This arm sounds wonderfully musical with the DL103, and may sound even better with some of the more sophisticated cartridge products.

For higher compliance cartridges the arm effective mass can be lowered, still keeping the resonant frequency around 8 Hz, by using aluminum for the headshell, the headshell attachment plate, or both.

The 10 inch nominal arms are provided in lengths to allow easy replacement of older arm designs. Typical arms in the 9 to 10 inch range vary from a length of 229 mm to 250 mm. Woody arms are available to replace arms of any length. We look forward to trying 14 and 16 inch arms for those of us who are adventurous.

Finishes are Lacquered Brass for the metal parts, with an optional Smokey Silver finish. The wood tonearm wand is finished in French polish, rubbed on in many sessions, which is legendary for bringing out the beauty of wood.

We have experimented with an oil damping system in place of the AZOF snubber system, and found no apparent sonic improvement with oil damping. Because the oil damping system (at this stage of development) replaces the AZOF system, provides no apparent sonic improvement, and poses the risk of a spill, we do not recommend it. However it works fine, and if the user wishes to experiment with oil damping, we can provide the oil cup with a self adhesive patch, and a paddle.

Glamour photos are now available. The standard models of the Woody tonearms are in a Lacquered Brass finish (clear protective lacquer over solid brass). An optional Smokey Silver finish (clear protective lacquer over nickel plate over solid brass) is available at a price of $100 U.S.

Before any formal product announcement the interest in this family of tonearms is running quite high. An introductory list price at $1600 has been established. Because these tonearms are labor intensive, and I am a one man shop, I can produce only one of these tonearms per week. Therefore I believe the list price will eventually have to rise. Right now, though, because I want to get a few of these arms into the hands of users, I am selling a few of the arms to selected buyers at an introductory price of $800 plus actual shipping and insurance. I am taking orders now, with a deposit of $200 U.S. confirming the purchase. The purchaser is free to return the arm within 90 days, for a full refund of the purchase price. Actual shipping and insurance will be charged.

I will be happy to accept your order with a $200 down payment. The waiting period for delivery may be up to two months. I prefer payment by PayPal, but can accept a credit card on a U.S. bank, or an international money order.

Please advise if you find yourself with unanswered questions or concerns. I can be contacted by email at [email protected], or by phone at 509 582 4548. I am often in the shop, but away from the office phone. If you call and get the answering machine, please leave a brief message with your telephone number and/or email address.