First I have this one:
(don;t judge me too harshly, the photo is taken under a hidef LED lamp so every dust particle shows up)
I purchased the needle and cart from GC and then mounted it to an existing Technics headshell. The cart is mounted at the front of the needle and existing weight/plate sits between the cart and the headshell.
Then I have:
This is the 477-H which comes pre-mounted on the headshell. The cart is mounted towards the back and no weight/plate thing.
When I try and balance the tonearm with the first cart, no issues. When I try with the pre-mounted version, I have to set the counterweight so far forward to get the tonearm to float that it is not possible to zero out the dial and set it to 3.5g.
It has to be the cart. I mount mine about 2m from the back of the head shell and use the weight. No issues. And, look at hte way the stylus doesn’t fit the cart. Are you using N44-7 stylus with the 477-H? If so, i would grab the M44-7 for the second cart.
I bought both of mine pre-mounted and they look like this. I have the weight set to 2.5 and still have a little room to add a little more weight if I wanted to. I am using them on 1210’s.
@OP, neither the spacer nor the weight are necessary…the adjustable weight on the tonearm has more than enough range for any DJ cartridge. Other than that, I’m pretty sure there are mounting guides you can buy somewhere, but there are others that you can print out and place where a record goes…and they tend to be free.
The 1st heashell with the front mounted cart balanaces no problem at 3g.
The 2nd one (pre-mounted, no spacer, no weight) I cannot get even remotely enough weight to get it to sit on the gauge.
To answer some of the other questions.
I mounted the cart at the front on the head hshell as its supposed to help with scratching. I didn’t get the tip from a 13 year old a skateboard either, it’s in the cart’s manual!
Yes The first one is the M44-7 stylus. I didn’t but it pre-mounted on the headhshell but it came with the cart.
So all in all, #1 that looks jacked but is doing everything beautifully. #2 that looks perfect is no-go.
Lol…I’ve done the opposite. I texted a friend three times something to the effect of “Shure. I’ll be there in 5” before he made fun of me for spending too much time at work (was interning in a studio at the time).
The angle change on the needle is actually something Shure documents in its installation instructions.
As for the additional weight, I am pretty sure it’s just the Mk5s that have it. A lot of people end up adding extra weights to the headshell to compensate until they figure out that they need to unscrew it.
