So, i got my decks yesterday, they are SWEET!

technics 1200M3Ds baby! $650 canadian each.

anyway, they came with technics headshells, but no cartridges..

i need needles now, and i'm not sure which ones i want.

i had my heart set on ortofon concorde's but they are $179, for ONE.

sheought..

so, i want some cheaper ones i guess. i want them to sound good, and not wear out my records too bad.

they won't be used for scratching or anything so as long as they hold a groove decently, that's OK.

also, i don't want ones that will be damaged if i drop them on the pitch dots by accident.

what do you suggest?

I was thinking the Stanton 500ALs?

About a year ago I bought Stanton 505's with the intention of upgrading later when I had more cash. The are still running fine, my records are fine, yes under heavy scratching they can fly off but hey they have impressed me for durability.

from personal experience I recommend the Stanton Diskmasters. I dropped a needle once on the pitch dots and it was fine.

I use Stanton's 680HP
I dropped them more than once on the strobe dots and believe me, it changed nothing

Adding to that, their sound quality is rather good, and they track quite well.