The death of Technics 1200s?

[admin_exported]

There seems to be a lot of rumour about the end of production of these iconic record players, is there any truth or is just scare mongering?

 

[DavidNorway]

A music forum im a member of has been talking about this for some months and latest is that they will continue to make the famous decks.

 

[Anonymous]

The rumours have been going for years, (since I bought mine 15 years ago!)

Spoke to various people today and it seems to be true, nothing official from Techincs / Panasonic / Matsushita though.

Not really surprised, there can't be a huge demand and they are indestructible, (I know, I dropped mine down 3 flights of stairs and they still work!)

 

[Amyl Right Mate]

Heard this rumour a few times.

Last I heard, there had been some confusion with Technics antipodean distributor over Technics plan to rationalise the 1200/10 range to the basic MkII model and the flagship MK5G (I think) - cutting out a few inbetween models. Somehow this got reported as "technics stops production of SL1200 range of turntables..."

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they do start to cut back soon. Lots of hip-hop and club DJs seem to have moved to digital. If they're not using CDJ's, many DJs apparently using turntables are actually using them with "control tone" records as an interface with systems such as Serato or Final Scratch (see DJ Premier in that Barbara Streisland vid for example). It only seems a matter if time before a better/more reliable/portable hardware interface will be developed if thery're not already out there.

 

[IJ]

Was at the mainTechnics shop here in Singapore a couple of weeks ago, price had gone up and he told me that they had limited availability as production will stop.

 

[AL13N]

It's been confirmed

On a day when a legendary turntable begins its journey towards the end, and another company announces a USB cable that costs more, I think the Hi-Fi industry as a whole needs to seriously rethink its goals.

 

[Andrew Everard]

AL13N:On a day when a legendary turntable begins its journey towards the end, and another company announces a USB cable that costs more, I think the Hi-Fi industry as a whole needs to seriously rethink its goals.

Ever thought of being an analyst for Fox News?

 

[Anonymous]

In all fairness it's about time they stopped production of these ancient relics!

There was a time that these were pretty much the ONLY decent DJ turntable that was readily available but as a vinyl enthusiast/DJ myself, I went for the far superior Stanton STR8-150's. Better build quality, many more features such as adjustable start/stop speed, instant reverse, digital out the list goes on. The Technics SL1200 has simply remained dormant whilst other manufacturers have not only caught up but surpassed them. And for a couple of hundred quid cheaper I might add!!!

I guess the only thing they had in their favour was that they had stood the test of time, but now others are starting to prove their worth to...I can't escape that it's a shame to see the back of them though.

 

[Anonymous]

What a shame to see these go. I know some people are saying that there are better alternatives that are a lot cheaper but I used to use these professionally to run live mixes in clubs that were around four minutes long - and these were the only, yes, the only turntables that were accurate enough to be able to do this. I am not standing in the way of progress and understand now how people use MACs to mix things electronically but there is a certain element of skill and artistry in being able to use Technics turntables how they used to be used. Some people could run four of these to the delight of a crowd and they never, never failed to lose their accuracy. Quite an achievement.

I won't go on about how the skill of mixing is being lost to beat matching software as things move on. But I will never forget seeing a DJ doing a handspin on top of his SL1200 after he had finished his set much to the screams of the crowd.

It's a shame to see these go - but unfortunately it was inevitable...

 

[Frank Harvey]

These decks do everything a DJ needs, so I don't think it's other equivalent decks that have killed them off - I think it's the myriad of cheap copies that have sprung up over the past 5 years.

 

[scene]

It's a sad day indeed when a classic is laid to rest. Shame to see them go, especially as vinyl seems to be going through a resurgence. I assume WHFS&V will be having an obituary to mark it's passing

 

[John Duncan]

Well since it was my colleague Austin who started the thread, and since he's running a bit late today, I feel he may have had a bit of a wake last night...

 

[Anonymous]

Something like a wake...

The news story that Andy put up yesterday mentions the press release, the very same press release has a been around for a few years, all a bit odd. The colleague who dropped his down the stairs was me, they still work perfectly, I suppose a benefit of being made of cast iron!

It is a shame that they sent being made anymore but they are so well made that they last for ever mine are at least 20 years old, my guess is that the second hand market that was always strong will now just get stronger.

 

[audioaffair]

This is indeed a shame - I understood they were still manufacturing them in small quantities and/or did have a stockpile that was gradually selling but the focus has shifted and many DJ stores phased out decks for CDJs a few years ago with an increasing number of laptop/controller solutions now..