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Shure SFG2 stylus force gauge

radi8288

radi8288

New Member
I picked up a Shure SFG2 stylus force gauge the other day and was kind of horrified to see acording to the scale, I have been quite conservative with my VTF setting.

Anyone have this gauge and do you find it accurate? Is it safe to say most tonearm weights will be slighly askew in compared to the markings on the weight?
 
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radi8288 said:
I picked up a Shure SFG2 stylus force gauge the other day and was kind of horrified to see acording to the scale, I have been quite conservative with my VTF setting.

Anyone have this gauge and do you find it accurate? Is it safe to say most tonearm weights will be slighly askew in compared to the markings on the weight?
Click to expand...

i have one and used it for a couple years, before upgrading to a digital scale.

and yes, my scale on my TT was considerably off from what the scale read.

i found the sfg-2 to be fairly accurate, but it would often get a different reading from time to time, even when i would set it up, take the weight, put the tonearm back in the holder and then take a 2nd reading, so i ended up going digital. so i would do is repeat the measurement a few times, and when i would get the same scale weight a couple times in a row, i knew it was correct.

it's a great scale for the price, has no batteries and is fairly durable.
 
its pretty reliable once you are measuring beyond the 1gm mark...and probably accurate enough for most budget to mid priced cartridges with a fairly wide tracking range.

more expensive cartridges with a narrower tracking range are probably best set using a good digital guage.
 
I have the Shure gauge and have found it to differ from the turntable tone arm weight settings on many occasions. From my perspective, it is more accurate than relying on the tone arm settings but probably less so than the digital gauge.
 
I concur with what others have written, the Shure Gauge is good, is better than using the Scale on the Tonearm.

Accuracy is probably within .1g-.2g.

A couple of tips, are do insure the sliding weight on the scale doesn't move when taking readings, as it doesn't take much to move it accidently.

And what I used to do, was very gently blow on it, and then let the scale settle out by itself.

The ear should be the final criterion for proper VTF, but a good scale will let one get into the ballpark quickly.

Digitals can cost an arm, and leg, buying through audio establishments, but there are many very good afforable digital scales available from such places as Old Will Knot Scales. I bought one from there, and was only $5 more than the Shure, yet offers resolution to .01g Mark
 
i echo recommendations for using a digital gauge. i found one at audio advisor for $99 and it is tremendously accurate (to one one-thousandth of a gram!!). will definitely be selling my shure gauge.
 
markd51 said:
I concur with what others have written, the Shure Gauge is good, is better than using the Scale on the Tonearm.

Accuracy is probably within .1g-.2g.

A couple of tips, are do insure the sliding weight on the scale doesn't move when taking readings, as it doesn't take much to move it accidently.

And what I used to do, was very gently blow on it, and then let the scale settle out by itself.

The ear should be the final criterion for proper VTF, but a good scale will let one get into the ballpark quickly.

Digitals can cost an arm, and leg, buying through audio establishments, but there are many very good afforable digital scales available from such places as Old Will Knot Scales. I bought one from there, and was only $5 more than the Shure, yet offers resolution to .01g Mark
Click to expand...

What particular model did you find find suitable for use with the small distance between arm and platter?
 
I use a digital scale and found my Technics tables were pretty close. But my Dual was way off. Showing 2.0 on the gauge, read 2.5 on the digital scale. I got a cheapo scale that measures to 0.1 but I is cheap :D
 
Cantabury Guy said:
What particular model did you find find suitable for use with the small distance between arm and platter?
Click to expand...

Truth be told Cantabury Guy, in my instance, I didn't find one that had a weighing platform at the proper, correct height. (which should be about the thickness of a regular LP)

The Proscale LC-50 Scale that I bought from Old Will Knot, has a weighing platform of .6", which is too high to be correct for Stylus VTF use.

Luckily, what I was able to do, was set this scale alongside the Platter, and support it with a couple of Decks of Cards (my VPI Platter is thick!)

This same Scale that I have, appears to be an exact clone of the Clearaudio Weight Watcher Scale, at $225-$249 elsewhere, but the difference is, Clearaudio adds an additional weighing ledge.

One can certainly make a weighing ledge from Brass, or another non-magnetic material, that can be attached to a scale's weighing platform, and can probably easily get this material from a decent Hobby Shop. (for a heck of a lot less than the difference in price of these two scales. I myself haven't gotten around to this, but plan to in the future.

One thing I feel is the most important with these scales, besides fine resolution, (in which I feel .01g resolution is good enough for any Cartridge manufactured) is accurate repeatability of readings. If a dime, or a Nickle (or another form of similar coin money) gives repeatable readings, this then tells you in a simple manner, that the scale is pretty well made.

No doubt, 100% of these digitals come from China, but they are surprisingly very very good.

My Proscale LC-50 Scale from Old Will Knott Scales, which cost me $32 shipped is dead accurate, with consistant repeatable readings. Doubtful, that even the $600-$800 Winds Digital Scale is much better than this. I am amazed at its accuracy! Mark
 
Thanks for the help. I think I could just remove the platter off my Dual 1229 and shim up the scale to the correct height and get a good reading.Think that will be sufficient?
 
Cantabury Guy said:
Thanks for the help. I think I could just remove the platter off my Dual 1229 and shim up the scale to the correct height and get a good reading.Think that will be sufficient?
Click to expand...

Yes, I imagine something like that could be done, but how would you know that you have achieved identical Platter plus LP height? Only way I can think of, is with a Dial Caliper, first measuring Platter Height from the Plinth, and then duplicating it, with the scale, and a Platform underneath it. Of course not impossible, if you have such a tool to aid you with precise measurements.

Some Tables have the accessibility, to place the Tonearm straight off the Arm Rest onto a Scale, without interference, that a small digital can be placed in between the Platter. Others may not?

Most of these Chinese digitals are not that large, my Proscale LC-50 Scale was "fairly large", but not so much that it was a big problem to set alongside my VPI Platter.

Most Direct Drive Tables have very low Platter Height, unlike these Belt Drive Jobs with thier humongous platters. Mark
 
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