Tips for Choosing DJ Needles and Cartridges

Whatever turntables you possess, you will have to decide what type of DJ Needles (also known as a Stylus or Styli) and cartridges to fit onto them. The needle and cartridge are a pair of components that usually come as a package, but can also be bought separately. The needle fits onto one end of the cartridge. In the image below the needle is the blue component and the cartridge is the black component. The needle and cartridge then fit onto a headshell. The headshell in turn fits at end of the tone arm of your turntables.

You normally get a standard pair of needles and cartridges that come with a new pair of turntables. These may turn out to be the Stanton 500 V3. If you are a beginner, these should be good enough to practice with. Replacement pairs are fairly inexpensive. You can always buy a better pair later on.	Stanton 500.V3 Industry Standard DJ Cartridge

There are two types of needle – the diamond tip of a needle could either be Spherical or Elliptical. Spherical Styli are more suited to Scratching and Battle DJs. Elliptical Styli are more suited to beatmixing and give a better quality of sound.

There is a wide choice of DJ needles and cartridges available in varying qualities. You will most likely get through many needles during your DJ life, so it’s a good idea to have some spares lying around. If you are regularly DJing at clubs and parties then you will need a more quality robust set of DJ needles.

Ortofon, Vestax, Shure, Gemini and Numark all have products on the market. However, Stanton are the most popular. The Stanton Groovemaster and Trackmaster range of needles and cartridges are of a very good quality and come highly recommended.

DJ Needles and Cartridges - Recommendations

Here are some recommendations for a good quality set of DJ Needles and Cartridges.

Ortofon Concorde Pro S Cartridge Black	Stanton Groovemaster II Pro DJ Cartridge Matched Pair	Stanton Trackmaster.V3 Club/Scratch Cartridge	Shure M44-7 Competition DJ Cartridge