Digital Stylus Force Gauge: Which One??

I would agree with Sdcampbell. If anything, these gauges discourage the very necessary act of trimming tracking force by ear. The Shure is great. I use the, now discontinued, ADC strain gauge which is a bit more elaborate. There is one very compelling argument for Wally's SFG though. It measures tracking force in the plane of the record. Other gauges can be rigged to do this, and I prop mine up with a deck of cards. But tracking force is only meaningful if measured in the correct plane and that's what makes Wally's so darned good.

I got the $150. digital Wally Scale about six months ago, and it's really great. Will measure (with extra, supplied 0.05 gram weight) to nearest 1/20th gram. It's consisent and very accurate. I found it very useful in setting up my Naim Aro/Ortofon Jubilee. Easy to use - works great with any cart.

I also have an old Shure SFG-2 gauge that Sdcampbell mentioned. It is fairly accurate - probably within 2/10th gram - and entirely adequate for most purposes. But due to the "skirts" on the bottom of the Ortofon, I found it difficult to get an accurate VTF reading with the Shure.

I agree with the above positions. I'm using a Denon DL-103D
which is generally regarded as one of the classic and still
top performing MC cartridges. I bought mine for about $300
from Denon USA. Why spend another $300 for a stylus force
gauge, when a $25 Shure will be every bit as utilitarian.
Spend the money on some good vinyl to put under the stylus........

Many thanks for all your replies. I'm not sure I'd call my Arkiv B a megabuck cartridge considering the prices of Keotsu's and Clearaudios, but it does clear the $ 2K bar by just a hair. I have used the Sure SFG2 for years also, but I want to set my Arkiv at the very top of the recommended range without exceeding it since it is here that it offers the best tracking performance. Although my SFG2 claims I'm already there, I have a sneaky suspicion that I might be off by at least 1/10th of a gram...yet I'm afraid to go beyond. Oh well..at least your replies seem to suggest that the Wally would be the best bet if I decided to go digital....

Better be careful with discussions in the open like this. Herr Ashcroft might think that you're REALLY measuring your 'rocks' with amazing precision, and ban digital stylus gauges as "drug paraphernalia" and raid this website. "I vant za names, und I vant zem NOW!"