The original wheels of steel (Technincs 1200s) are no more

[scrilla4rella]

http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2010/10/28 ... urntables/
I was going to post this in the thread about the Criterion collection sale and the subsequent discusion of physical media but this may deserve its own thread.

Hold onto and take care of your 1200s if you have one. I'm guessing they will shoot up in value in about 10 years, as they are built to last. Look at the prices for functioning classic synths like the Roland 808, Roland 606, and old boom boxes. They all command high prices after all of these years. How could the infamous Technics 1200s turn out any different?

I wonder if in the future, recordings of golden age hip-hop tracks will be accompanied by a glossary explaining the defunct references to things like the Technics 1200s and other 80s and 90s pop-culture.

[xbl0x180]

I don't see the Aiwa CSD ES227 making it to any top lists, but it was the best boombox I ever had. I took that thing everywhere for years. It was during one of those many moves that I broke the top loading spring and I never found another one again

R.I.P. Aiwa CSD ES227

[emphatic]

I had a gig last night and while I think my 1210 is nice, I prefer my Numark TTX-1 as it has built in earth ground and lacks the forced lock at zero pitch making minimal pitching close to zero % impossible. They fixed this in the 12xx MK III series (the pitch thing) but left that damn external earth ground.

[rancor]

Look at the prices for functioning classic synths like the Roland 808, Roland 606, and old boom boxes.

The difference it that everyone and their dog has a 1200/1210, while the 808 was a failure while it was in production. It was only after it went on sale, and was discovered by influential producers that it became popular. The 808 and 606 are standalone units as well.. A 1200 is no use without some fly-ass records to jam to!

[D]

getting a pair of 1200´s was always on me and my friends´wanted lists. It never happened. Too expensive. I do have a Marantz Digital quartz drive turntable (also without a rubberband) which still play marvelous.
I guess the death of Vinyl was that nobody bothered to replace their broken busted needles on their cheap ass hell record players, so their records sounded like shit and even mangled the records. You can still buy needles new and it is highly recommended if you like vinyl. I got a Stanton needle a few years back. Sounds great.
The 1200´s were always expensive and had great quality. I´m sure there are cheaper alternatives with equal quality now for less. Back in the day, the 1200s´did not have any competition. There were only very cheap bad quality alternatives though, But Technics pretty much had the market to themselves. I remember them costing roughly 1200 Dutch Guilders ~ 600 Euros. Still alot of money. Also the second hand price was still very high, because they are indestructable and reliable. Impossible to find 1200´s at half of the original price for instance. RIP 1200´s. I dj on you alot, we had great times. Thanks Technics.
Wow I just googled and seems like 1200 Dutch Guilders has become the Euro price
Cheapest I can find is one in Germany 1199, http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Technics-Platten ... 106wt_1187
wiki with all model variations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_SL-1200
If anyone would get two 1200´s and a mixer for their birthday, they would glow. It is such an amazing piece of kit. You will want to buy vinyl.

[emphatic]

The SL-12XX series aren't HI-FI turntables, but for DJ'ing, mind. You're better off getting a belt drive unless you want to do tight beat mixes or scratching. And I wouldn't say vinyl is dead either, that's rather the case of CD's right now. But sadly, vinyl is the "hipster choice", at least for contemporary music. In Sweden, the bigger rock bands all release their stuff on LP with gate-fold covers etc.

I buy some 12" records for my DJ gigs, but not as often as I used to.

[scrilla4rella]

Look at the prices for functioning classic synths like the Roland 808, Roland 606, and old boom boxes.

The difference it that everyone and their dog has a 1200/1210, while the 808 was a failure while it was in production. It was only after it went on sale, and was discovered by influential producers that it became popular. The 808 and 606 are standalone units as well.. A 1200 is no use without some fly-ass records to jam to!

That's interesting. I guess I never realized Roland synths bombed and then game back Blad Runner style. I just assumed hip-hop producer had been using them since the beginning

[scrilla4rella]

I love vinyl and still buy about one or two LPs a year but the weight and the space they take up is a killer. Back in the early 2000s before Serato I was buying three or four records a week.

[gabe]

Did anyone else notice that the above article is nearly 2 years old?

[O. Van Bruce]

I don't see the Aiwa CSD ES227 making it to any top lists, but it was the best boombox I ever had. I took that thing everywhere for years. It was during one of those many moves that I broke the top loading spring and I never found another one again

R.I.P. Aiwa CSD ES227

lol... nostalgia fuel. I had one of those in my apartment when I was a kid. I left it in Colombia when I moved to Spain. Such good memories you've awaken with that picture.

[GaijinPunch]

Did anyone else notice that the above article is nearly 2 years old?

Yes, I did -- b/c I read it in 3 forms when it came out.
You can usually get MK3 - MK5's for 15,000 yen in stores, and a shade above 10,000 yen on Yahoo Japan.

The SL-12XX series aren't HI-FI turntables, but for DJ'ing, mind.

They are built like tanks though. Seriously, the best piece of equipment I've ever owned. I've seen pairs that are 10+ years old and been used in fucking CLUBS that still work fine. Everyone should take a page from Panasonic's book. The SL-12XX is how you should breed label whores. Not by making your shit cute.