VPI 10 Inch Fatboy Tonearm - Gimbal

The Fatboy 10-Inch Gimbal — The Same Armwand, on a Fixed Bearing

A 10-inch 3D-printed tonearm running in a full gimbal bearing. The armwand is the same one VPI puts on its unipivot Fatboy — printed epoxy resin and Delrin with steel, copper and aluminum, wired with Nordost Reference Wire — carried in a bearing that holds it in both axes.

A gimbal constrains the arm to move in two planes and nothing else. It cannot rotate about its own axis, which means it cannot rock, which means azimuth is set once by the bearing rather than found by balance every time you touch it.

Design and Engineering

What the Bearing Changes

A unipivot trades bearing friction for a degree of freedom you then have to control. A gimbal takes the opposite view: accept the friction of a precision bearing in exchange for an arm that stays exactly where it is put.

For anyone who swaps cartridges rarely, or who would rather not level a turntable to a spirit bubble before every session, that is the more practical of the two. Neither is the correct answer in general; they are different arguments about the same problem.

The Armwand

VPI describes the construction as “3D Technology Consisting of but not limited to Epoxy resin and Delrin materials, copper, aluminum and steel.” Printing the wand lets VPI build a stiff shape that does not ring, which an extruded tube of one material struggles to do.

Counterweight, VTA and azimuth side weights are all adjustable, and the arm ends in a Lemo connector rather than a fixed lead. The cable to your phono stage is therefore a separate run, chosen and replaceable independently of the arm.

Geometry and Fit

The Numbers

Pivot to spindle is 258 mm and effective length 273.4 mm, giving 15.4 mm of overhang at an offset angle of 19.98°. VPI quotes average RMS distortion of 0.31%. Effective mass is 10.7 g, identical to the unipivot version — the bearing is the only specification that separates the two arms.

The number that governs fitting is 258 mm from spindle to pivot. VPI builds the Fatboy around its own turntables, so on another make you are looking at an armboard drilled to that distance and cut for VPI's base.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Positive Feedback called it "a simply stunning accomplishment and could easily be many audiophiles' final tonearm." Its verdict: "There's absolutely no question that one would need to spend significantly more money to get better performance."

Who Is the Fatboy Gimbal Best For?

• You own a VPI turntable — the armboard geometry is what the Fatboy was designed around
• You want an arm that stays put — a gimbal cannot rock, so azimuth holds between sessions
• Your turntable is not perfectly level — a gimbal is far less bothered by that than a unipivot
• You want the Nordost wiring — Reference Wire internally, terminated in a Lemo connector
• You want azimuth adjustable by balance — that is a unipivot property, and the unipivot Fatboy is the same arm built that way

How Do You Install It?

Fit the base so the bearing sits 258 mm from the spindle and connect the Lemo. Mount the cartridge, set overhang with VPI's jig, balance the arm and set tracking force. Then set VTA at the tower and trim azimuth with the side weights if your cartridge needs it.

Pairs Well With

What most VPI owners fit alongside a new arm.

• Phono cartridges — the arm sets the range of cartridge that will work
• Cartridge alignment tools — for setting the cartridge up once the arm is mounted
• Tonearm lifters — so the arm leaves the run-out groove on its own
• Tonearm cables — the run from arm to phono stage

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it fit my turntable?

It wants 258 mm from spindle to pivot and a base cut for VPI's mounting. VPI turntables are built for it; other decks need an armboard made for the job.

How does it differ from the unipivot version?

Only in the bearing. The armwand, the geometry, the wire and the effective mass are the same. This one runs in a full gimbal; the other balances on a single point.

Which should I choose?

A gimbal suits someone who sets an arm up once and leaves it, or whose turntable is not perfectly level. A unipivot suits someone who wants azimuth adjustable by balance and does not mind the setup that comes with it.

Is azimuth adjustable at all?

It is — VPI fits azimuth side weights to this arm as well. The difference is that the bearing holds the setting rather than the balance of the arm maintaining it.

Does it need a special cable?

The arm terminates in a Lemo connector, so the cable from arm to phono stage is a separate run and you choose it.

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