Tonearm effective mass

@jw944ts , that is exactly how you tune the arm, by adjusting the mass at the cartridge end. Soundsmith has a very nice set of graded cartridge screws. If the resonance frequency is too high you add mass until you get it down to between 8 and 12 Hz. If too high you have to subtract mass. It is easy to add mass to a light tonearm but very difficult to subtract mass from a heavy one. You need a test record with resonance tracks to do this. Trying to calculate the required effective mass is almost meaningless as specs can be off enough to invalidate the math. It is always best to test the arm and find out exactly what it is doing.

The calculation charts are very useful at getting a ballpark figure before you purchase a cartridge. A test record is great ( I have one ) but you would be using it after you made the purchase. If you have to remove mass then you will be SOOL!!

Dear @jw944ts  : "  ie heavier screws, in attaching the cartridge to the headshell...would this not, as well, increase the effective mass/moment of inertia?  "

The plain answer is yes but you do not be anal to this issue .

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

+1, Raul.

In the calculation for effective mass, all mass counts, including the weight of the cartridge itself, the weight of the headshell, and the weight of any hardware.  Thus using heavier than normal screws will increase the calculated effective mass, M.  Because the screws are essentially in the same physical location as the cartridge, and because that net mass is at the very end of the tonearm, adding heavier screws has a more or less linear effect on the effective mass, M.  In other words, if the new screws weigh 2g more than the old ones, add 2g to effective mass. Since resonant frequency is in the denominator of the equation used to calculate it, any increase in M will lower Fr.