Description

In 1970, Technics launched the world’s first direct-drive (hereafter referred to as D.D.) turntable, the SP-10. Two years later, the SL-1200 D.D. record player was released. This machine created unexpected demand outside the traditional audiophile market.

The SL-1200 was gaining popularity among DJs at disco clubs, which were becoming popular in the United States in the early 1970s. They “played” music by manipulating the record playing at their fingertips. After carefully researching this situation, the Technics development team decided to modify the SL-1200 to target the new market of “DJ use in disco clubs. In 1979, the SL-1200MK2 was born, the world’s first product designed for DJ use in addition to conventional Hi-Fi use.

The D.D. system’s quick start-up time of 0.7 seconds to constant speed made “scratching” and other techniques possible, and its robustness, which was unaffected by rough performances that would make an audiophile swoon, led to its enormous popularity among DJs. The pitch controller used in the first generation was no longer necessary for audio equipment due to the adoption of the quartz system, but it was left in place to meet the needs of DJs for BPM/pitch adjustment. The shape of the fader has been improved from a knob type to a large vertical fader type that is easy for DJs to use. The cabinet was made of die-cast aluminum on the top and heavyweight special rubber on the bottom, an unprecedented construction that thoroughly eliminates unwanted vibrations. The SL-1200MK2 was enthusiastically received by DJs and became a staple in discos and clubs around the world.

The basic design adopted for the SL-1200MK2 was carried over almost unchanged to the SL-1200MK6 released in 2008. DJs who play the turntable like a musical instrument hoped that every detail and feel of the SL-1200MK2 would be retained in its entirety. In this way, the SL-1200 series gave birth to and fostered the culture of DJing and hip-hop, but with the shift to digital audio, production of the SL-1200 series ended in 2010.

In 2014, when the Technics brand was revived, the desire to revive the SL-1200 series grew stronger, and in 2016, the SL-1200G/GAE was finally born, developed with new technologies. In 2016, the SL-1200G/GAE was born. In 2019, the SL-1200MK7, which inherited the lineage of the SL-1200MK2 and updated the functions for DJs, finally returned.