I had posted this in a different thread, but I figured I'll make a recommendation in a separate thread.

Even when we use a cartridge protractor, it is very difficult to sight your cartridge in respect to printed grids. If a body of cartridge is square, or has straight/parallel sides, it does make it a little easier. But this is a very difficult procedure, even if you have 6th sense like myself here...




Finding long/straight/light rod can be a bit hard. I've used a toothpick, pin-nails in a past. The one I'm using now is a titanium rod. Perhaps a long sawing needle would work better, but no need to get flashy here.

If your cartridge has a flat front surface, then all you gotta do is tape a little piece as seen above. As you can see, it is not exactly DEAD center, but this is as close as I can get it without breaking it. Just try to set it up as close as possible with your eyes only, then tape on a little stick. You'll see how far you were off.

For a cartridge such as Audio Technica OC9 or Denon DL-301, you will need to tape it to a side. If you are not sure if your side walls are parallel, then just use your head and tape a rod to both sides.

One of the thing we all must be aware of is to adjust your VTF.
If you are still reading this, then I'm sure you own a TT. This trick may be your cheapest and most effective tweak for your analog setup.

JRA


PS:
Of course I did not come up with this setup tool myself. I basically stole this idea from the Schon's cartridge alignment tool(I'm sure he stole it from someone else too).
If you want more info, go to a link below:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/schon_e.html

JRA