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Best Needles

What are the best needles for mixing trance with?

I want something that

• Sounds Good
  
• Doesn't wear out my records too bad
  
• is Affordable IF it doesn't compromise the first 2.
  

well, for home use, i'm really satisfied with my stanton 680's...

i use stanton 500Al's. Ive been using them for almost a year. Ive used them since august 2001. good quality and reliable

I used to use the Stanton 500al2's, but I found the Shure m35s' a million times better. They're the greenish yellowish ones. I actually prefer their sound reproduction to the ortofon needles that cost 2-3 times as much.

i think i have the stanton basic 500s.. ?
the thing is if you get those ortofon shaped ones, which are more like a pen tip ??? as opposed to the basic stantons, which look like a little box with a needle coming out..

they're soo much easier to fuck up. my first night in a club i dropped the ortofons on the spinning platter, and it was ABSOLUTELY fvcked. i freaked out cuz i used to drop my stantons all the time on the platter at home, and the construction design is such that the needle doesnt actually hit the platter.. so it'll be fine (and im really clumsy)

so basically ya, if you're clumsy like me and drop your needle on the side of the platter a lot.. stick with the box-shaped carts

quote:

Originally posted by patticus i think i have the stanton basic 500s.. ? the thing is if you get those ortofon shaped ones, which are more like a pen tip ??? as opposed to the basic stantons, which look like a little box with a needle coming out.. they're soo much easier to fuck up. my first night in a club i dropped the ortofons on the spinning platter, and it was ABSOLUTELY fvcked. i freaked out cuz i used to drop my stantons all the time on the platter at home, and the construction design is such that the needle doesnt actually hit the platter.. so it'll be fine (and im really clumsy) so basically ya, if you're clumsy like me and drop your needle on the side of the platter a lot.. stick with the box-shaped carts

i have dropped my orts 100x times ..never have they broke on me i think there reliable ....hmm anyhow i read a magazine they had about carts ...they were flaming orts cuz they cause trouble to turntables fucks them up which is true .... they stated some needle that had amazing quality sound but the output was very low ... so i guess go shop around see what is best for you

pardon me if i'm asking a newbie question but how do the ortofons jack up your turntables? i'm real curious seeing as how i just bought a pair. please advise.

lost

quote:

Originally posted by Lost pardon me if i'm asking a newbie question but how do the ortofons jack up your turntables? i'm real curious seeing as how i just bought a pair. please advise. lost

its not a newbiew question most people dont know about this ... but the concorde ortifon needles have a different aloe base on the connectors then the connectors of the tone arm of technics turntables ...so alot of time u get massive corrosion on those connectors that fuck up your sound signal this can also be perminant if it get bad enough ..... ever needle has corrosion but the ortofons have a really high corrosion rate on the connectors cuz of the different aloe base...so some people they thing there table is fucked cuz of the levels of the sound or the channels not working its all cuz of those needles.... but not all ortofons will fuck ur tables up some do some work fine .... mine how ever are fucked ...i have to clean them every time i spin and theres pretty much nothing i can do about it .

Corrosion !?
Do you live in a tropical jungle ? You'd need crazy ammounts of humidity just to start causing corrosion on your carts.

The problem with the Concordes is that the contact pins (the four little pins that go into the tonearm) are slightly off towards the center so they don't touch the contacts inside the tonearm dead-on. This usually causes some dirt and gunk buildup but that can be fixed with a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and cleaning your contacts.

If you want to avoid the problems with Concorde mounted carts but still want Ortofons (which I would recommend over anything else), get the OM headshell mount version. Same performance, cheaper, and trouble-free (since you're using original Technics headshell). You can grab the cheapest OM Pro Black and put a yellow Nightclub tip on them making them look and perform like regular Nightclubs.

EDIT:

Here's the link to some cheap-ass Ortofons
http://www.djmart.com/orproomblac.html

I use Ortofon Concorde pro since november and I still don't have any problem with them. They sound really great and now it's very wierd when I use non concorde-like needles. And I also drop the needle on the platter (when I'm high ;-p ) and they're still ok.

ok my bad they werent ortofons i was using
but shaped like them, you know what i mean

For all you clumsy people who seem to be raping your needles ... here's a little hint.

You know that little cueing lever ... the one that raises and lowers the tonearm ... right besides the anti-skate knob ...

Well, you can adjust it to hold the tonearm so that when you drop the needle it catches it before it hits the platter rim.

Put a record on. Lift the cue lever to the topmost position so it raises the tonearm well off the record. move the needle so it is just a few millimeters away from the edge of the record. Now slowly lower the cueing lever until the needle is about the same height as the record. Lower the cueing lever a little bit more so that the base where the needle goes into the tonearm is at the same level as the record itself. Now even if you drop the needle or it happens to skip outwards, it won't hit the platter ...

Wicked, hey ?

Thanks skywarp for this advice, I'll try it at home!

I've been using the Stanton 520's (DJ Craze models) because they came with my Stanton STR8-80's and I think they are on their way out. How long do you guys usually get out of your needles? I used these basically last summer from June till mid-August probably for only 8 hours a week (granted I dropped them on the platter and shit like that too) and then maybe for another 40 hours since then when I've been home on break from school [but next year they will be taking the trip with me :-)]. I definatley don't want a concorde needle... I think they look stupid. I saw a few of you representing the Stanton 500's but I thought those were like bottom of the line crap. I'm not looking to spend a fortune. What do you guy's recommend? Wear on my records is a big concern given I have to deal with straight tonearms... although hopefully I get a dope job this summer and can trade in my shit for some refurbished SL1200 MK2's and a decent battle mixer. Heh.

I'm using the Stanton 500AL2's, but something has been happening to it lately, with irregular sound output (left channel louder than right no matter how much I brush and clean it) and inconsistentcy in performance.

I've dropped it a few times though, mainly straight onto the record when my butter fingers give way when I'm trying to cue it up.

Any suggestion as to how I can get the channel volumes right back again?

I love my tonar banana's

quote:

Originally posted by skywarp If you want to avoid the problems with Concorde mounted carts but still want Ortofons (which I would recommend over anything else), get the OM headshell mount version. Same performance, cheaper, and trouble-free (since you're using original Technics headshell). You can grab the cheapest OM Pro Black and put a yellow Nightclub tip on them making them look and perform like regular Nightclubs. EDIT: Here's the link to some cheap-ass Ortofons http://www.djmart.com/orproomblac.html

thanks skywarp!

i personally prefer the concorde style ones. i also tend to drop the needle on the platter too, duh.. thanks for the tip.

which needle does the least damage to your records?

how difficult would it be to change the actual stylus on a headshell?

quote:

Originally posted by patticus they're soo much easier to fuck up. my first night in a club i dropped the ortofons on the spinning platter, and it was ABSOLUTELY fvcked. i freaked out cuz i used to drop my stantons all the time on the platter at home, and the construction design is such that the needle doesnt actually hit the platter.. so it'll be fine (and im really clumsy)

I used to drop my needles a lot when i first started out, now once in a blue moon i drop it.

ya ive been at it a year and i still do it

mostly off backspins.. but also cuz im clumsy.

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