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Tonearms
Hand-crafts Japanese tonearms in a small family workshop outside Tokyo, assembled and finished one at a time by craftsmen.
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about sorane
Sorane is a Japanese tonearm specialist, hand-crafted at a small family-run workshop just outside Tokyo and built entirely by hand and assembled by craftsmen. The maker traces back to Katsuaki Ishiyama, who has spent decades designing and developing tonearms and other analog equipment; the brand carries forward design lineage that previously appeared under the Abis name until 2017, after which the work continued as Sorane. The line spans three distinct designs. The TA series is the traditional S-shaped armtube, offered as the 9-inch TA-1 and the 12-inch TA-1L. Above it sit the more exotic SA-1.2 and the ZA-12, a 12-inch arm engineered for rigidity and precision tracking, reducing tracking error and skating force through its longer effective length and lower overhang. These are mechanical-precision pieces aimed at serious analog front ends. Sorane is a niche analog brand well known to turntable-focused dealers but not a household name. It is distributed globally by Youtek (youtek.jp), and US distribution moved to Sierra Sound in California, named in June 2025, after previously running through Mockingbird. Press validation is strong for the category: Stereophile has reviewed multiple arms, including the TA-1 and the ZA-12, and The Absolute Sound has covered the brand through its distributor reporting. The competitive set is other specialist tonearm makers serving the high-end analog buyer. Production is in Japan, at the workshop outside Tokyo where each arm is made and assembled by hand.