The best phono cartridge alignment tool

I have plenty of alignment tools, going all the way back to the original Dennesen, which was excellent. Of them all, my favorite is the original Wallytractor. These were made specific to each arm, unlike their current universal model. What's great about the Wallytractor and others such as the Mint is the mirrored gauge. That allows you to align the cantilever itself and once you've done that, it's difficult to accept any other approach to alignment.

But - that little cardboard gauge that SME ships with its arms such as the SME V? Genius! It can get alignment very, very close. But like all unmirrored gauges, it makes assumptions about your cartridge.

Here’s a tip for finding the pivot on a Rega and some other arms when using the Feickert. With the arm on the lift I place a 3/8” square of sticky note with a dot in the center over the pivot. With the Feickert pointer over the dot, I’ll swing the arm towards the spindle. If the dot moves from under the pointer, I missed.

The Feickert will do the job, but to nail the installation, you need the SmarTractor. The SmarTractor is a lot more accurate than the Feickert - I have owned both and my statement is based on results and the fact that the SmarTractor is Vernier calibrated. However, you have to decide whether it's worth spending the extra cash to justify or not (~ x2) and how often you will change cartridges/tonearms/table. The SmarTractor will be the last protractor you will need.