Parallel? How do you set the VTA?

I agree with Stringreen. The eyeball method can be quite misleading and unreliable, even if the tonearm is not tapered like the Classic wand. What prompted this post was the discovery that as I kept changing the VTA, the index card seemed to show hardly any change. I found it rather confusing, and wondered whether there was a more reliable method to ensure the tonearm is parallel as a base from which to make adjustments. I suppose a tiny bubble level could be a way to go, but affixing anything to the tonearm will then affect the VTA so it needs to be taken into consideration.

I eyeball it and sometimes I will use a ruler but that is only a start, listening is how I ultimately decide. My suggestion do not get hung up on methodology and trust your ears.

Thanks Stringreen. I forgot to mention the deck of playing cards does not work very well on a tapered arm. On a non-tapered arm it gets you very close and you can adjust by ear after that. I think parallel is a good place to start.

Well I actually do own a small bubble level that is designed for photography. However, I don't use it much anymore, as it helped me realize that my eyeballing is good enough for VTA. That must be one plus from all of the mechanical work I've done over the last few decades. I still use a digital scale, but my blinded touch usually puts me within 0.2-0.3 grams of the target VTF. Once I was as close as 0.04 grams just by touch. Certainly not good enough to rely on to set VTF, but it does impress the ladies. LOL!

I use a tiny level that comes with Van den Hull cartridges. I then added a few more lines with a magic marker so I can have finer measurements. I place the level on the headshell to check VTA and azimuth. Does the trick.