Twelve_Hundreds

Sheet 01 · Tonearm geometry

Twelve_
Hundreds

Every model ever built, what changed between them, and what it costs today. A hi-fi deck that disco and hip-hop hijacked, killed by its own durability in 2010, resurrected in 2016.

units sold~3.5M
years and counting54
models documented19
the pitch fader that built DJing±8%
Open the index →Comparison table
−8−40+4+8
22°215 MM, DERIVED15 MM OVERHANG230 MMØ332 PLATTERØ300 RECORDPIVOTSPINDLESTYLUS LOCUS
Fig. 01Tonearm alignment geometry. Every dimension is taken from Panasonic's operating instructions; the 215 mm pivot-to-spindle distance is derived from them (230 − 15). The arm is drawn as its effective-length line, not its tube profile. SL-1200MK2/1210MK2 operating instructions.
Subject
SL-1200MK2 tonearm
Effective length
230 mm
Overhang
15 mm
Offset angle
22°
Source
Technics operating instructions
(1) +6%(2) +3.3%(3) Normal · 33⅓ / 45(4) −3.3%
Fig. 02The platter rim carries four rows of strobe dots, not one. Whichever row stands still tells you the pitch. The lamp is an LED locked to the quartz frequency, so unlike a fluorescent strobe it reads true under any lighting. Operating instructions, Fig. 25.

02Production timeline

Every variant on a common axis. The MK2's bar is the story of the whole line: one design, unchanged, for thirty-one years.

197219801990200020102020
  1. MK1
  2. MK2
  3. MK3
  4. LTD
  5. MK4
  6. MK3D
  7. M3D
  8. MK5
  9. M5G
  10. GLD
  11. MK6
  12. GAE
  13. G
  14. GR
  15. MK7
  16. 1210GAE
  17. MK7R
  18. M7L
  19. GR2

Classic line    Revival    2010 , production ends

03Index of models

  1. 01MK1The original. A hi-fi deck that disco and radio DJs hijacked, the accident that started everything.
  2. 02MK2The legend. Quartz lock, the pitch slider, 31 years of production; the deck that built hip-hop and house.
  3. 03MK3Japan-only refinement: the first official all-black 1200, damped with Technics' non-resonance compound.
  4. 04LTDPiano-black and gold-plated: 5,000 units celebrating two million 1200s sold.
  5. 05MK4The audiophile detour: 78 rpm, detachable cables, upgraded tonearm; and almost never seen outside Japan.
  6. 06MK3DThe 'D' is for de-detented: the click at 0% pitch removed, a reset button added.
  7. 07M3DThe MK3D for the rest of the world, with a recessed power switch DJs couldn't kill mid-set.
  8. 08MK5The scratch-era workhorse: doubled anti-skate, white LED target light, last of the analog pitch.
  9. 09M5GThe 30th-anniversary hot rod: first digital pitch, ±16% range, blue LEDs. The turntablist favorite.
  10. 10GLDThree million sold, in black gloss and gold; 3,000 units on an M5G heart.
  11. 11MK6The final classic: quiet refinements, plus a 1,200-unit 35th-anniversary edition with a gold record.
  12. 12GAEThe resurrection: 1,200 numbered units for the brand's 50th, gone in about 30 minutes.
  13. 13GThe flagship: coreless twin-rotor motor, four-layer cabinet, 18 kg of no-compromise engineering.
  14. 14GRGrand Class for the rest of us: the G's ideas, 7 kg lighter and half the price.
  15. 15MK7The DJ deck returns: coreless motor, 78 rpm, reverse play; the first new DJ 1200 in nine years.
  16. 161210GAE55 years of Technics in black: 1,210 numbered units, with a strobe you can switch off.
  17. 17MK7RThe b-boy special: MK7 in Red Bull BC One colors, gold tonearm, red headshell.
  18. 18M7L50 years of the 1200: 12,000 units, seven colors, gold tonearms.
  19. 19GR2The current Grand Class: ΔΣ-Drive motor control and flagship-derived silent power at $2,199.