bimasta
Addicted Member
The Bimasta BS1 DIY Tonearm
For those that missed my previous post in another thread, i'm making a dedicated post of my dad Bimasta's self-built tonearm he built in South Africa in the 1980's. I'm calling it the BS1 (Bima Stagg 1), pretty sure that's what he would have called it
If this is the wrong forum I appreciate your forbearance, still getting the hang of AK.
Some things I recall: The original single shaft was tapered carbon fiber upsourced from a golf club. He later decided if you isolated the cables in their own channels, there might be an audio benefit and the tri-tube design was born. The rugged black anti-skid texture is quite innovative I think, as it's much easier to hold than other tonearm designs which tend to be slick and metallic. The brass weight is literally a weight from an old school measuring scale, which I think he enjoyed for the humor and the aesthetics. I'm sure there was more to it than that but that's what i recall. It was in use for some time and sounded pretty great to me. I'm sure there are many things about the design that can be debated and he probably would have been first to do so, and that's what he loved more than almost anything! - the vigorous exchange of ideas, specially around audio and the quest for ultimate sound. I wish I could remember the deck it was mounted on. One day I will have a turntable built for it.
Thank you again for the kind words in previous posts, even though it was almost 2 years ago since he passed Bima is greatly missed. Life has kind of intervened in the meantime and I got engaged last month! My dad and fiancé actually met about 15 years ago which is a bit of a blessing. It's bitter sweet he's not here for this next chapter, but he would be happy knowing there was at least a shot at some grandkids lol. The next big step is relocating to Africa to join my fiancé. As such i'm selling much of his collection on Bartertown, so please check it out there!
For anyone who knew or didn't know Bima from the forums and missed my previous posts, he was a fascinating human being, writer and filmmaker with a brilliant, perpetually curious mind. Growing up in show business in Hollywood, formerly Kipp Stagg, he was an early muse of Andy Warhol, he raised his family in a commune in the UK in the '70's where he became 'Bima' then sailed from Rio De Janiero (his AK avatar pic is from that trip) to Cape Town, South Africa, a place he lived and loved for many years making powerful films about that country. You can learn more about him and his film work at www.bimastagg.com
I just wanted to put this here as he was an avid contributor to AK which is filled with his commentary and many of you knew him through his contributions to the site, so this feels like a fitting tribute.
For those that missed my previous post in another thread, i'm making a dedicated post of my dad Bimasta's self-built tonearm he built in South Africa in the 1980's. I'm calling it the BS1 (Bima Stagg 1), pretty sure that's what he would have called it
If this is the wrong forum I appreciate your forbearance, still getting the hang of AK.Some things I recall: The original single shaft was tapered carbon fiber upsourced from a golf club. He later decided if you isolated the cables in their own channels, there might be an audio benefit and the tri-tube design was born. The rugged black anti-skid texture is quite innovative I think, as it's much easier to hold than other tonearm designs which tend to be slick and metallic. The brass weight is literally a weight from an old school measuring scale, which I think he enjoyed for the humor and the aesthetics. I'm sure there was more to it than that but that's what i recall. It was in use for some time and sounded pretty great to me. I'm sure there are many things about the design that can be debated and he probably would have been first to do so, and that's what he loved more than almost anything! - the vigorous exchange of ideas, specially around audio and the quest for ultimate sound. I wish I could remember the deck it was mounted on. One day I will have a turntable built for it.
Thank you again for the kind words in previous posts, even though it was almost 2 years ago since he passed Bima is greatly missed. Life has kind of intervened in the meantime and I got engaged last month! My dad and fiancé actually met about 15 years ago which is a bit of a blessing. It's bitter sweet he's not here for this next chapter, but he would be happy knowing there was at least a shot at some grandkids lol. The next big step is relocating to Africa to join my fiancé. As such i'm selling much of his collection on Bartertown, so please check it out there!
For anyone who knew or didn't know Bima from the forums and missed my previous posts, he was a fascinating human being, writer and filmmaker with a brilliant, perpetually curious mind. Growing up in show business in Hollywood, formerly Kipp Stagg, he was an early muse of Andy Warhol, he raised his family in a commune in the UK in the '70's where he became 'Bima' then sailed from Rio De Janiero (his AK avatar pic is from that trip) to Cape Town, South Africa, a place he lived and loved for many years making powerful films about that country. You can learn more about him and his film work at www.bimastagg.com
I just wanted to put this here as he was an avid contributor to AK which is filled with his commentary and many of you knew him through his contributions to the site, so this feels like a fitting tribute.
