TT, 12" Tonearm. Who tried and ended up preferring 12" arm?

Not familiar with that Pioneer arm but you would get yet another huge Victor plinth and a lower model tt-61 table to boot.
Guess that depends on what f you need any of that or just resell minus the arm thereby getting the pioneer arm for cheap.
I can't imagine it is as good as a 7045 though.

well, compatibility with high output mono cartridge is the draw, IF it's a decent arm. I don't need VTA on the fly for the short momo arm..

that base's wood is not sun bleached like the one I bought which I will re-finish. Perhaps I paint one Red!

Elliot, I guess you have decided to be anal about the rubber bushing and CW droop, but in any case, the UA77 is not in the same league with the UA7045 or 7082.  I'm sure it "works", however.  It's actually a piece of cake to replace the rubber grommet on 7045/7082, if droop or sag bother you.  You need a tiny metric socket wrench to remove two tiny set screws and a good hardware store or mail order from McMaster-Carr.

lewm, you have to be kidding. Please tell me you are kidding. Do you have ghosts in your closet? Even a cheap modern turntable transfers very little energy to the surrounding environment. A good turntable with a good record hold down system that dampens the record with a stiff multi bearing arm set up correctly will transfer virtually nothing. You can place an ear right next to both my tables and you will hear absolutely nothing. To say that this energy bounces off a mechanically isolated dust cover and somehow interferes with the signal is next to ludicrous. How can you possibly compare this to loudspeakers in the same room blaring at 90 dB?  I know you do not like dust covers but you will have to find another reason. You might just say you don't like them instinctively and be done with it. Your loss. Even if somehow a proper dust cover caused some mystical degradation in sound protecting the record is paramount. Not to mention your tonearm. Dust is certainly not a good thing for them either.  The myth about the dust cover being bad was perpetrated by manufacturers that either did not want to supply them or had designs that made integrating a dust cover difficult. Other manufacturers that had to compete on a cost basis were forced into not supplying them further advancing the myth. Marketing and mythology are first cousins.

Elliot, smart man. Measure twice cut once. My contractor had that stenciled on his truck.
The Pioneer arm is in the same ball park as the JVC arm which I like better but I have to admit my preference is instinctive. Most tonearms with removable head shells have higher effective masses. That relatively heavy mechanism is right at the end of the tonearm and adds directly to the effective mass. If you want to use a high compliance cartridge 20u/mN or higher you have to use an arm with a fixed head shell or a novel system like the Kuzma 4 point 9. Look at the Pro-Ject Evo 12. That is a relatively light 12 inch arm. The SME V 12 is another but that one is very pricey. A used Kuzma Stogi Ref 313 might fit in nicely. 

Mike