A new cat is in town, folks...
From deeeep Downunder - actually windy, beautiful New Zealand - James Grant (and his one-man-company Analog Instruments) is brewing a very intriguing organic 12 inches tonearm.
After "Apparition" 12 inches arm, he now further improved and refined the previous design, always an unipivot design, now named "Siggwan" (an ancient Gothic-era verb for singing, song).
This apparently exotic name is - I believe - not a casuality: using a 12" Cocobolo arm-wand and brass, it reminds more a musical instrument than a mechanical piece of gear.
Like a luthier in his workshop, James, carefully machine the arm parts and then assemble into a beauty, carefully, slowly... a so human, artisanal kind of job vs. the machine made stuff.
Strange enough, it happened several times in the last five years: I almost exclusively buy audio stuff I personally know who made it!
My fault, maybe... yet, I consider this bespoke making and the relationship an added value to good sound and musical path.
I fell in love, folks... and I ordered one, shame on me;-)... before scheduled delivery-time will increase exponentially;-))) - BTW, the Siggwan arm is being shown at the Capitol Audiofest in a few days and displayed by Ijaz Khan so, as James points it out "it's quite exciting times at the moment";-).
I wish to James the VERY best with his nice, NICE creations.
A sonic appreciation will follow, when time (and schedule;-)) will come.