Technics SL-1200

Technics SL-1200
Invented by Matsushita
Launch year 1972
Company Technics
Availability 1972-2010, Late 2016
Website Technics SL1200
Notes
Production ceased in late 2010 but is resuming in 2016[1][2]

Technics SL-1200 is a series of turntables originally manufactured from October 1972 until 2010 by various manufacturers including Matsushita, under the brand name of Technics. S means "Stereo", L means "Player". Originally released as a high fidelity consumer record player, it quickly became adopted among radio and club disc jockeys, thanks to the direct drive, high torque motor design, making it initially suitable for pushbutton cueing and starting of tracks on radio.

When the use of slip-mats for cueing and beat-mixing (and scratching) became popular in hip hop music, the quartz-controlled high torque motor system enabled records to be mixed with consistency and accuracy. A primary design goal was for hi-fidelity, but having good build quality, control over wow and flutter, and minimized resonance made the equipment particularly suitable for use in nightclubs and other public-address applications. Since its release in 1978, SL-1200MK2 and its successors were the most common turntable for DJing and Scratching (also known as Turntablism). Producers, DJs and MCs refer to the Technics turntable as the "Tec 12's", "Wheels of Steel", "Ones & Twos" and the "Tysiąc dwieście". Technics 1200s are commonly used in recording studios and for non-electronic live music performance. More than 3 million units were sold. It is widely regarded as one of the most durable and reliable turntables ever produced. Many 1970s units are still in heavy use. In the autumn of 2010, Panasonic announced that the series was to be discontinued.[3][4] However, at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Panasonic announced that they would return in two models named "Grand Class": one a limited run of 1200 globally, and the other a consumer product.

At the London Science Museum, a Technics SL-1210[5] is on display[6] as one of the pieces of technology that have "shaped the world we live in".[7]

Features

SL-1200 features include:

Specifications

Technics 1210 MK2 shown playing a vinyl record.

Models

Original model
MK2 models

The SL-1200 Mark 2 was introduced in 1979 as an update to the SL-1200. It represented a culmination of Technics Turntable Innovations. It was dubbed as "The Middle Class Quartz Direct Drive". It was not released as a professional model, but became popular with pioneering hip-hop DJs. It soon found its way into discos as well as radio stations for airplay because of its vibration dampening ability and resistance to feedback. Model numbers indicated colour; the 1200 (silver) and 1210 (matte black). This was the same in the US and Japan initially, however later the 1200 was available in both silver and matte black finishes.

The1200mk2 got a revised tonearm with a locking spin collar that allows for tone arm height adjustment (VTH)

MK3 models
MK4 models

Only available in Japan / Southeast Asia Markets Price for around $650.00. It has a matte black finish like the MK2, This model is aimed at the hi-end audiophile market rather than DJs. It is the last model made with the detent ("click") in the neutral position (+/- 0%) of the pitch adjustment slider. In addition to the existing 33 RPM and 45 RPM buttons, the MK4 adds a 78 RPM button. It is designed to be used with regular removable RCA cables (along with a removable ground/earth cable) rather than having hard wired RCA cables like all other 1200/1210 models.

MK5 models
MK6 models
Special models

These were limited edition versions, with 24 karat gold plated metal parts including tonearm and buttons.

Many "non-official" special models of the SL-1200 and SL-1210 appeared over the years, mainly given away as prizes for turntablism, most notably the DMC World Championship, who awarded the winner a pair of 24K gold plated Technics turntables. Due to the customisation trend that has grown in the DJ community, many local events or competitions gave away custom coloured or finished units.

Rebirth

Design strengths

The SL-1200 series was developed as a special project by Technics parent company Matsushita in an attempt to solve problems related to turntable design. The task included minimizing acoustic feedback, unwanted resonances, wow and flutter and speed errors.

This was achieved by designing a heavy plinth (base) made of a non-resonant composite sandwiched between a cast alloy top plate and a solid rubber base. In addition, the adjustable rubber-damped feet insulated against acoustic feedback, which can be a serious problem when operating a turntable in close proximity to loudspeakers (a common situation for DJs).

The drive system designed by Matsushita is direct-drive rather than the more commonly found belt-drive type. This design was developed to reduce wow and flutter and produces a very quiet turntable which, for a direct-drive turntable, has minimal motor and bearing noise, (although the bearing rumble does tend to become characteristic in well-used turntables). This was partially achieved through the fact that the SL1210/1200 was the first (and only) turntable to actually make the platter a part of the motor mechanism as opposed to attaching it via screws or magnets as is the case with most direct-drive turntables. On the underside of the platter a large magnet is placed over the spindle, surrounding the coils and forming the motor drive, thus eliminating loss through power transfer. The SL-1200 utilizes a Frequency Generator Servo Control Quartz Lock system that is claimed to produce the most accurate and consistent speed possible. The system is immune to static and dynamic stylus drag which otherwise cause unwanted speed variances that change the pitch and tempo of the music.[11]

Termination

On 1 November 2010, Panasonic made the following statement on the DMC World DJ Championships home page.[1]

Panasonic reactive statement - Production of analogue turntables has ceased
Panasonic has confirmed that it ceased the production of its Technics-branded analogue turntables this autumn.
After more than 35 years as a leading manufacturer of analogue turntables, Panasonic has regretfully taken the decision to leave this market. However, Panasonic will continue to sell headphones under the Technics brand.
We are sure that retailers and consumers will understand that our product range has to reflect the accelerating transformation of the entire audio market from analogue to digital.
In addition, the number of component suppliers serving the analogue market has dwindled in recent years and we brought forward the decision to leave the market rather than risk being unable to fulfil future orders because of a lack of parts.
Panasonic employees who have been working on the analogue turntable range have been redeployed elsewhere within Panasonic - many of them continuing to work in Panasonic´s Audio Video Business Unit.

Re-Launch Petition

Due to the increasing popularity of vinyl by DJs, a petition is currently underway (and a petition page on Facebook.[12]) for the re-launch of the Technics SL1200/SL1210 series turntables.[13] As of September 2015 the petition had 27,000 supporters, while 35,000 is the target Panasonic requested. On January 05, 2016 Technics agreed to relaunch both the SL-1200G and the SL-1200GAE [14]

Resuming Production

At the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Panasonic announced it would be resuming production with a new line of turntables,[15] beginning with the Limited Edition SL-1200GAE [16]

References

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