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Help identifying Grado cartridge

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djerb

New Member
I'm trying to identify this Grado cartridge I purchased new in the 90s. I know it has a Blue stylus, but am wondering about the cartridge itself. It appears to be gold in color. I checked with Grado and they said it was a Blue. I also checked with Needle Doctor and they thought it was a Grado Gold or Silver with Blue stylus. I can find no identifying numbers on it. Any help with identification of this would be greatly appreciated!
 

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djerb said:
I'm trying to identify this Grado cartridge I purchased new in the 90s. I know it has a Blue stylus, but am wondering about the cartridge itself. It appears to be gold in color. I checked with Grado and they said it was a Blue. I also checked with Needle Doctor and they thought it was a Grado Gold or Silver with Blue stylus. I can find no identifying numbers on it. Any help with identification of this would be greatly appreciated!
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They were correct, it is either a gold or silver body. however, that may or may not be a "blue" stylus. As the color code in the older lines were different. A close-up shot of the diamond, and of the stylus holder especially the top of it can help us identify the stylus.
 
Doesn't the "G" on the front (vs. a "JG") indicate that it is one of the secondary bodies in the model pairs, ie: a Black, Blue, or Silver?
 
beatcomber said:
Doesn't the "G" on the front (vs. a "JG") indicate that it is one of the secondary bodies in the model pairs, ie: a Black, Blue, or Silver?
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The front badge has no rhyme or reason. Depends on the plastic body production run. I've had the black / green bodies both ways. The coil covers are gold only on the upper bodies. The older upper body lines would have had the G/L logo in red on the coil covers also(G 2, M1, M2, X1, X2)
 
Thanks for the responses! Here are a few more photos with the stylus removed. The bottom photo is from a bag of parts that I think came with the cartridge. The small black metal plate with two holes has SFPZB3501 stamped on it (oh, I now see that plate is for my Technics 1200 turntable, must be just be extra parts I had).

This cartridge isn't a P-mount is it? I am assuming it's standard.

Here's further info from Needle Doctor - "both the gold and silver have gold plated bodies so like I said it could be one or the other but essentially the gold and silver have the same cartridge guts so technically you have both lol."
 

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you have a prestige "Blue" stylus .3 X .7 mil bonded eliptical on a 4 piece cantilever. If you want to improve this cartridge, install the grado 8MZ stylus. About twice the money, 10 times the performance.
 
Thanks so much for the info Marc! I recently changed out this Grado for the Nagaoka MP-110 and really like it. I'll keep the 8MZ in mind. Thanks again for everyone's help!
 
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