The Pitch Dial Was Meant for Something Else

Technics SL-1200 always meant so much more to me than a record player.

Jam Master Jay, Terminator X, DJ Jazzy Jeff. Those were the three I listened to over and over. All of them on 1200s.

It was so far out of reach. Too expensive. And I felt very far away from ever being a DJ myself.

One good friend had two of them. We went over to practice. I had my issues touching them. They felt too precious to me.

None of this was planned. Technics built the SL-1200 in 1972 as a hi-fi turntable. The pitch dial was there to correct rotation speed, not to match beats. DJs used it anyway. Technics engineers went to clubs in Chicago and watched what people did with the thing. The MK2 from 1979 was built around what they saw. Every model since has been a careful update of the same machine.

Now Technics has announced a 55th anniversary edition. Based on the MK7. Gold anodised tonearm, gold platter rim, gold knobs, an engraved serial number on every unit. 12,000 units worldwide in seven colours, shipping from September.

Today it would feel strange to start DJing. Maybe I still will. But probably with a cheap electronic setup. So the 1200 stays an object of desire for now.