What cartridge and stylus to get for traktor vinyl

[Kateglow]

I just got a direct drive turntable and I don't know what kind of cartridge or stylus to get for traktor time code vinyl.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

I'm a longtime user of Ortofon Concorde Pro-S', and I just switched to Shure M44-7 carts in Ortofon SH-4 headshells. Having timecode issues sucks, I switched to the Shures because they put out the loudest/best timecode signal and they're affordable enough it's not too much to get an extra just in case. Also, other DJ's I play with mostly use conventional needles and headshells instead of concordes, so it's best to conform to that just so I don't need to mess around with the tonearm height and counterweight setting in the middle of a set.

Generally I have barely enough time to hook up one channel into the mixer and get a track beatmatched and brought in when I go on, so messing with the turntables is totally out of the question. If everyone at a potential gig venue uses concordes it's best to have concordes. If that's not a potential issue, I'd say go with Shure M44-7's on Technics or Ortofon headshells because they're either the same or slightly better than any concorde style cart while being slightly cheaper than the cheapest concorde and like half the price of the nice ones. The main advantage that concordes do have though is that they look awesome, and it's easier to see where the needle is falling in the groove, which is only a consideration if you're playing real vinyl, and in the real world that advantage is negated by the fact that any set of decks you encounter in the wild will usually have at least one target light burnt out anyway.

[djjsnu]

I just got a direct drive turntable and I don't know what kind of cartridge or stylus to get for traktor time code vinyl.

Anyone have any suggestions?

ortofon concorde s-120, but i think almost any ortofon concorde is great. it eliminates any mis-wiring creating annoying humming noise

[mrdorianjames]

I use m35x. It was a good split between low record burn and groove holding. They are decently cheap.

[botstein]

Shure M447s or anything Ortofon should work great, as long as you set up the tonearm correctly. Ortofon Concordes seem to have the least that can go wrong (no screws to think about).

[tothecloudd]

m447's are a decent all around needle in my opinion

[mrdorianjames]

M447 are a good bet for DVS because burning the grooves out on a control vinyl isn't too costly. They're easier to replace than your actual vinyl. If you have actual records then it's more of a concern.

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

properly set up m447 aren't *that* bad in terms of DJ carts for tearing up vinyl, and if need be you can always swap the needles out for m44g which fit in the same cart but need less tracking force

[botstein]

properly set up m447 aren't *that* bad in terms of DJ carts for tearing up vinyl, and if need be you can always swap the needles out for m44g which fit in the same cart but need less tracking force

I wouldn't scratch or beatjuggle with the m44g. It skips like crazy.