ESL S-1000 Arm Base

valco

Active Member
Well, it looks like the tonearm base, which is most likely Bakelite, has heavily cracked. It won’t allow me to tighten the set screw to set the tonearm height. Anyone know where I can find a replacement? Vintage or modern repo is fine. Metal is fine as well. Maybe even preferred so I don’t have to worry about cracking in the future. Not finding anything for my model when searching around. Thanks for the help!
 
Would a base for the Ortofon 212 be compatible? Bases for the came up in searches quite often. And they look extremely similar.
 
I glued mine with industrial strength 3M super glue. Never cracked again (don't over-tighten set-screw). Bakelite sands and polishes well so you can make the crack almost (if not completely) invisible.
 
Plus, the cracks in these bases usually form at the rear at the set screw - out of view.


I glued mine with industrial strength 3M super glue. Never cracked again (don't over-tighten set-screw). Bakelite sands and polishes well so you can make the crack almost (if not completely) invisible.
 
I have an ESL-1000, never even tried it. It's in good shape cosmetically; needs a bit of work, but it's work I can do and won't take much time. It doesn't need rewiring, which would add to the workload, but ancient wire always raises questions. Bearings also seem good, and I like the static+dynamic VTF feature. It has the "star" pin array, limiting it to the one Bakelite headshell I have... or buy new one$$, or make them, and that's a disincentive. I suppose I could change to a standard SME-type coupling for the headshell, if I can match diameters.

What am I missing? Do they shine with certain cartridges, which I probably don't have? It came with a Shure M3D Dynetic, no stylus. They have a following so obviously they have merit. I also had one 20 years ago and sold it to someone in Japan for about $500, so he clearly thought highly of it.

Can anyone do a brief review, or just let me know what I can look forward to if I get it working properly?
 
Hi, thanks for all of your responses. I wanted to post an update, and help anyone in the future who may read this thread. I ordered a new aluminum base on eBay, and I just installed it today. Its a perfect fit and does the job wonderfully.

I did try to repair my original before posting here but it just kept breaking. Yes, right near the set screw. It was a huge spider crack that spread all around the screw hole.

This new one only cost $25. Not as fancy as some of those polished brass ones you can find, but those cost 3x as much or more. Its really nicely made, came with all the mounting screws, and it fits the arm and original screw holes perfectly.

The seller does not have any bases listed currently. I'm assuming that he has to make more first. But here is his link:
https://www.ebay.com/usr/sr9009005?ul_noapp=true

Pic of the base installed on my arm is attached. Thanks again to all who chimed in here.
 

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