Stylus

Stylus The jewel or metallic element or needle in a cartridge that tracks the record groove; it is attached by a stylus shank to the magnet in the cartridge. The term needle was applied to this element through the 78 era, when steel needles were the norm. There were sapphire needles and diamond needles, as well as fibers and alloys; they were spherical or conical. The microgroove LP record (1948) required a lightweight tracking device, leading to the various kinds of cartridge and their stylus…