Sheet 06 · Record of development
History
A hi-fi deck that became the most important instrument in dance music, died of its own durability, and came back from the dead.
- 1969–7101
Direct drive is born
Matsushita engineer Shuichi Obata invents the direct-drive turntable (the broadcast SP-10 in 1969, the consumer SL-1100 in 1971) eliminating belts and their drift.[1] Wikipedia[2] Sound & Vision
- 197202
The SL-1200 launches
Released October 1972 as "The Middle Class Player System," with the armless SL-120 alongside. A hi-fi product; the DJ era found it, not the other way around.[1] Wikipedia[2] Vinyl Engine
- mid-1970s03
New York adopts the wheels of steel
Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and Grand Wizzard Theodore build hip-hop's foundations on high-torque Technics decks. Flash's nickname sticks, canonized on wax by Sugar Hill in 1981.[1] Happy Mag[2] Classic Driver
- 197904
The MK2 changes everything
Quartz lock, the slider pitch fader and symmetric electronic braking make precise beatmatching possible. The MK2 then runs essentially unchanged for 31 years.[1] Wikipedia[2] Stereophile
- 1989–200805
Two decades of refinement
MK3 through MK6: black finishes, de-detented pitch, doubled anti-skate, digital ±16% pitch on the M5G, and editions marking two million (LTD) and three million (GLD) units sold.[1] Wikipedia[2] Crossfader
- 201006
Panasonic pulls the plug
On 1 November 2010 Panasonic ends Technics analog turntables, citing collapsing demand; and worn-out tooling. The notice runs on the DMC World DJ Championships site.[1] Pocket-lint[2] Japan Today
- 201607
The resurrection
At CES on 5 January 2016, Technics unveils the re-engineered SL-1200G and the 1,200-unit GAE; which sells out in Japan in about 30 minutes.[1] StereoNET[2] What Hi-Fi
- 2019–present08
The DJ line returns
CES 2019 brings the MK7, the first new DJ 1200 in nine years, followed by the seven-color M7L for the series' 50th (2022) and the ΔΣ-Drive GR2 (2023).[1] The Vinyl Factory[2] Forbes