Locate that phono cartridge

Are you looking for a phono cartridge to restore that great old-time record player from the 40's 50's or 60's? Well it's getting easier. But before we get started, let's first make sure you really do need to replace that pickup, as it's sometimes called. First off if you have a big clunky 'pot-metal' canister, mono type from the 40's then it likely has a salt crystal element, so for sure it's a gonner. We do have a rebuild service where we can upgrade it to a ceramic element type and a few are still available as N.O.S.

If yours is a bit newer, say from the 1950's to 1970's then you likely have a ceramic element type, which is far more robust and usually only needs replacing if the rubber fork in which the (usually) flip over style needle cantilever (or stem) rests, is rotted away. If this is your situation, then we have hundreds of rotating hi resolution color photos to help you find your phono cartridge from our stock of thousands.

If you are looking to replace your Shure cartridge, stop! Cartridges almost never fail. Replacement needles are almost always available. A super low volume output symptom is not a cartridge failure. Turntables must always be hooked into a phono input on the back of your receiver or amplifier, unless you know for certain your turntable has a built-in pre-amp.

So really all you should need is a new needle. Almost all Shure cartridges will have the model number stamped on the body somewhere. Use a small mirror and a light under the cartridge if needed. Do not force the tonearm up to see under the cartridge. Once you find the Shure cartridge model number, just punch it into our search window in the upper left hand corner of our website. This will lead you straight to a needle. Shure needles will have a brass shaft that slides into an offset square (or diamond) hole at the front bottom of the body.