Ask any pro DJ, and he or she will tell you the undisputed king of all turntables is the Technics “1200”
(Figure 4.1). In 1969, Technics (a division of Panasonic, which is a division of Japanese electronics
conglomerate Matsushita) produced the world’s first direct drive turntable, the SP-10. Ten years and
several engineering refinements later, Technics made history with the first SL-1200, and then the SL-1200
MK2, the industry legend. To this day, more than three million Technics 1200s have been sold, and are
still the smartest and best made turntables in the entire world. There have been a few minor changes
here and there over the past few years, but the 1200 still looks virtually identical to the way it looked
when it was first produced. It was made so well that there are several 10-, 15-, and even 20-year-old 1200s
still in service!
My personal 1200 MK2s are over 15 years old and they work perfectly even after thousands of club and
mobile gigs. I’ve personally used several 1200s that have run 5-7 nights a week for over 10 years with not
even one major problem. Those tables saw cigarettes, fog, dust, smoke, water, spills, chills, and other
abuse that would have rendered virtually any other non-alien mechanical component dead and buried.
Heck, even the Maytag repairman envies the 1200! Sure, some parts wear out with heavy use, but
Technics sells a wide range of user replaceable parts. They’re incredibly durable, and very easy to use.
The Technics 1200 (shown in Figure 4.1) is nothing less than the perfect electronic component. Even
though I gave away most of my vinyl, I’ll probably never sell my set.