Stylus gauge recommendations ?

The Riverstone is all you need (great design, good build quality, simple to use), and it's cheap: $32.79 on Amazon.

The Riverstone measures VTF very close to the level of a record. Important for many tonearms.

I use the Ortofon scale and really like it. I had the Riverstone but it gave me some trouble, I honestly forget what / how, but I chunked it a long time ago 😅

I have a bunch, none of the 900 dollar ones, I still have a Technics SH-50P1 strain gauge from 1973 that works, but analog dial, not 3 decimals deep. I have a few of the cheaper digital ones, I like the DS3 Ortofon. It has no dimple as I recall.

Believe it or not, some of the digital gauges benefit from warm up. It’s in the instructions of one. And I’d put a fresh battery in if you are trying to do a serious adjustment.

My experience- you’ll get different measurements with different locations on the platter, but within 10ths or 100ths is also academic to me and it is one part of a combination of factors in set up.

It ain’t rocket science, $16.