Тонармы — Thomas Schick Thomas Schick 12”

The Schick 12 is a 12 inch tonearm from Thomas Schick, a German designer who created his arms to suit classic heavy, low-compliance cartridges such as the Ortofon SPU and Denon DL-103. His aim was to offer an alternative to vintage arms such as the Ortofon RMG and SME 3012, which are often worn, using modern bearings. The arm is sold with a Schick graphite headshell.

Key specs that matter

The Schick 12 is a statically balanced J-shaped gimbal tonearm. Effective length is 317.5 mm and mounting distance 305 mm. The headshell is interchangeable. The bearings are high-precision ball bearings with tolerances of 0 microns positive and 7 microns negative, designed for continuous use at 100,000 rpm. The arm tube contains nine internal parts to control resonance. It is intended for cartridges tracking at 2 g or more, and anti-skating is available on request. Schick does not publish an effective mass figure.

Engineering and use context

Classic MC cartridges such as the SPU have low compliance, meaning a stiff suspension, and they need an arm of high effective mass so that the resonance between arm mass and cartridge compliance falls in the ideal range around 8 to 12 Hz. A long arm adds effective mass and reduces tracking error across the record, since the stylus follows a flatter arc. The J shape offsets the headshell so the cartridge sits at the correct angle to the groove. Gimbal bearings provide motion in both planes through ball bearings, and Schick's close tolerances remove play without adding friction, which is where worn vintage arms usually fail. Statically balanced arms rely on the counterweight alone for balance, and tracking force is set by moving the counterweight. With heavy cartridges tracking above 2 g, skating force is proportionally smaller, which is why Schick treats anti-skating as optional. The internal damping parts suppress resonance in the tube. The interchangeable headshell allows different cartridges to be mounted and swapped.

Pairing

The Schick 12 suits Ortofon SPU, Denon DL-103 and other low-compliance cartridges on turntables that accept a 12 inch arm board.

Alternatives

Thomas Schick also makes the Schick 9, a shorter tonearm with a nominal length of 9.6 inches.