David of Vinyl Nirvana has a very special Thorens ready for a lucky vinyl lover--this "long base" TD-125! Designed for 12-inch tonearms (which are becoming more and more popular these days), this one comes with an SME M2-12R already mounted. As you can see, this beautiful turntable comes with a rare African mahogany plinth that David has installed himself.
As David himself says: "In the back of my mind I knew that there was a Thorens TD-125 turntable that accommodated a 12 inch tonearm, however, it wasn’t until a faithful customer named Scott D started talking about the “Long Base” model that I realized it was something that Thorens actually produced themselves, direct from the factory. At first, I spent a few weeks trying to search out a TD-125 Long Base that Scott could purchase. There were various owners who had pictures of their prized possession on various forums and websites. One long base model even came up for sale on eBay, but it turned out to be just a chassis, with no plinth.
"In my research, I began to realize that there was very little difference between the stock TD – 125 in the Long Base model: 1) larger plinth; 2) larger armboard; 3) larger aluminum switch/fascia plate. The first two differences were very minor, a matter of woodworking. However, the larger switch/fascia plate was going to take some planning to implement. First there was the actual manufacturer of the plate, and then there was the reproduction of the silk-screening. After three months, working with a variety of companies getting estimates and discussing various plans for implementation, the switch/facia plates were done and looked fantastic.
"While that process carried onward, I had extended plinths made and a series of extended armboards. The plinths were three-quarter inch mahogany, African mahogany, and black walnut. The armboards were three-eighths birch plywood painted satin black. As a final touch, because I have always hated the battleship gray/green color of the 125’s top plate, I had the tops sandblasted and then powder coated in what’s called 'Grey Sparkle.'"
David plans on restoring more of these, but on a very limited basis. This one is just $3395 shipped, which is a great price considering that cosmetically it is nearly perfect. David, who grades very, very tough, ranks it as a 9.5 on a scale of 10. He plans on building just one more this year, so contact him now if you're interested.
You can find out more about the Thorens TD-125 Long Base here.
Marc,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice write-up. I will add one more thing, the black walnut version went to Ben Folds! Ben already has one of my restored Thorens 125s in his studio, this Long Base model is for his home!
Dave