What is your cartridge and tracking force used

I agree it is somewhat tiresome to mess with the VTF/azimuth on these arms. That's why when it's sounding good I tend not to mess with it too. Trying to change VTF by one or two hundredths of a gram would almost be insanely tedious. Luckily I find I'm quite satisfied to be in a narrow range. When setting this, Mike at VPI says it's essential to have the arm level while the cartridge is on the scale to get an accurate reading. If it's not, when you return to a record you will be under tracking. I really find that a descent digital scale makes this go much easier. The recommendation to keep the counterweight just loose enough to move is a good one. In my case, I've had more success with the rod/by ear method of azimuth adjustment than doing it electronically. I have a marked wooden dowel that I can quickly place at various points around the rod that helps greatly in leveling it.

Can you not use the fine adjustment screw at the rear of the arm to adjust VTF without upsetting azimuth?

Or if your arm lacks a fine VTF screw, just slide an O-ring or two back and forth on the end stub. Simple, cheap, quick, effective.

Madfloyd...that depends. If the internal weight is full forward, you can make the VTF lighter, or full back you can make it heavier. Someplace in between it is fully adjustable. In any case however, the azimuth will not be affected. Mine is fully forward, so to make the VTF heavier, I would need to move the main counterweight, and then check that the azimuth is again level. I check azimuth by using the rod. I have 2 Cardas blocks with washers glued to the blocks at the proper height, so that when the cartridge is resting on the record..just a hair above it...both ends of the rod will be just a hair above the modified Cardas blocks which are placed on either side of the cartridge and on a record just under the ends of the rod which is positioned on the headshell. (What a sentence that was)

I actually forgot about the fine tracking force adjustment and will experiment with that. In the past, I've found it doesn't change the VTF much but for these tiny adjustments it should be just the thing once you're in a good range. This morning I've been working on something new to double check the azimuth with the rod technique. I've simply modified the notecard recommended by Stringreen for leveling the arm initially. I cut an oval out of the folded card big enough to set it over the arm just behind the headshell. I noticed it wasn't sitting quite flat so I attached paper clips to the top edges on each side and slid them in and out until the card sits flat. Now from the front I have a level line to compare the rod with. I still double check this with my marked wooden dowel and wooden blocks similar to Stringreen's Cardas blocks but I'm finding the notecard adds a nice additional frame of reference for comparison. If this sounds like a Jerry-rigged affair, it's because it is I guess but so far I've found it very handy and effective.