Best Stylus For Blue Notes

So as a newcomer to Jazz I have started aquiering earlier pressings on labels such as Blue Note and Prestige.
I do know that the Microgroove standard is whats still used today for most every record made but have heard that some prefer different styli for these early pressings.

I realize that this might be because of different reasons and goals, avoiding surface noise being different to record preservation for example and as such I want your thoughts and experiences.

As I understand it some prefer 1 or .7 mil Conicals or Ellipticals for reduced surface noise and say its more true to the sound.

Some argue finer profiles such as Microline, Shibata or Paratrace are worth it for less wear even with increased surface noise.

Thanks for your input!

 

Mono or stereo?

What is the turntable or tonearm being used?

Some swear by using a .7mil or 1mil conical for vintage mono pressings, and .7mil conicals for 50s-60s stereo pressings, presumably because they were the standard stereo tip types from that era.

I’ve messed around with all this, and concluded that I really couldn’t be bothered, and that I’m fine using whatever my preferred cartridge is (currently a Grado 8MR with 8MZ stylus).

 

I think many have different needles, and they will use one that they like. It really depends on the record and what sound you like. Personally I`m not a fan of conicals, it will add too much to the sound IMO. I have found, to me a good compromise is a Shibata.

 

Good question, but if you want you can cover both Mono and Stereo if you think they have different answers, this is just an information thread, Im not looking for any answer for just my case specifically. But conicals are still the standard today. Was the cutting heads different back then?

Currently I am using a Paratrace profiled MP200 cart on a Rega RP1. Its set up pretty perfectly from what I can tell, both Azimuth and SRA wise.
I do feel like the surface noise is quite loud on some parts of some records though.

 

What styli have you tried?
Do you mean the Shibata was the one fine profile with least surface noise?

 

I have tried all normal different needle cuts. I have found I like the sound of a Shibata, the surface noise is low, the pincheffect is low, tracking is good.

 

I do value preservation over clean play personally. So good to know others like a fine stylus option for these old records.
Although getting one in good condition is quite hard so wont have too many anyway.
Do your preferences or experiences change at all when it comes to Mono or Stereo like the poster above suggested?

 

No it doesn´t really. One could say that on those days the common needle was conical. But to me it only means that; the cutter was of course like todays cutter, therefor the tracing will always be subpair with a conical.

But you like mostly the sound you are used to.

 

I never got this argument really, conical and Eliptical are still BY FAR the dominant profiles on the market. But we never fuss about these questions when it comes to modern pressings.
And as mentioned its still the same Microgroove standard.
I can understand it if the cutter head indeed was different somehow back then, but I havnt heard information regarding that yet.

 

Different cuts will in most cases have different characters. Some like a conical for its character, some like an ML, etc. But objectively I would say some cuts ARE better than others.

 

When you say cuts you mean stylus profiles?
Cuts are usually associated with vinyl pressing cuts.

 

Just received word from Ken Micallef of Stereophile that he also prefers Shibata styli for his collection of Blue Note originals. Although I may not agree with many things he says its good insight from a big collector.

 

I currently run 5 different carts: 3 with elliptical styli, 1 hyper-elliptical, and 1 conical. They do all sound differently, but I'm not sure what percentage of that difference I would attribute to the stylus profile. The most expensive of the five is conical - on the Zu Denon DL-103, a $549 cart. But overall, I think I like the elliptical Denon DL-110 best, and it cost me $190. For acoustic Jazz, the focus of this thread, I mostly use the Zu w/conical and Denon DL-301/II with elliptical. They both sound fine to my ears, and most of the difference I hear I would attribute to the two different systems and speakers that those carts are playing in.

 

Well needle cuts are not.

 

The stylus on my cartridge is a nude FG 70 whatever that is. Blue Note records sound awesome in every way possible.

 

It´s rather much similar to a Shibata.

 

My understanding is that styli are ground and sharpened to their shape, not cut. Maybe Im wrong though.

 

Shibatas excel at CD4 Quad LP Playback, what they were designed for. None of these Blue Note LP discs in that era, have anything beyond 20 Khz high frequency response in the grooves, why reproduce cutting turntable rumble and out of band garbage? Which gets in the way of the music you want to hear.

 

Fritz Geyger stylus, it’s a good one, my KAB Ortofon Concorde pro s40 uses it and it’s a great tracker.