my first 1200
SNACKMASTER

what was your first turntable / setup?
It was in '95 and I had the Linear Tech belt drives with quarters taped to the headshells and a jank Gem Sound mixer with 5 second sampler.

at what point did you get your first technics turntable(s)?
I worked at a ghetto arcade/pizza place at the time (like a bootleg Chuck E. Cheese) and I told a co-worker of mine I recently got turntables. He told me his Dad was a radio DJ in the 70's and that he might have an extra turntable in his garage. We went to check it out and it turned out to be a SL-1200MK2... I seriously couldn't believe it! He ended up leaving it at my place since I had the mixer and another turntable on a condition that he could come over whenever and practice scratching on it. So for about a year or so I had a bastard setup of 1 Technics and 1 Linear Tech, but it was good enough for endless beginner scratch sessions till my cuticles were all raw from trying to "crab".

did you get the 1200(s) from a store? how did you get the money to pay for the 1200(s)?
I finally bought my own 1200 at K&K Music in San Jose after saving all summer from the Pizza Arcade and getting some money from djing some yuppie kids' bday party (my first paid dj gig). I still remember the 45 minute drive home from the store and just staring at it with anticipation in the passenger seat as if it were a hot date. I was equally mesmerized like this about a year later when I drove home with a Vestax PMC-05 Pro.

how did you feel when you got your first technics turntable(s)?
Bad ass. Like "Now I'm playing with power!"

what is your favorite feature or aspect of the technics turntable?
I like the fact I feel I can "trust" the pitch control, and of course the reliability and sturdiness. I've transported my pair in the most unprofessional, ghetto ways imaginable (no case under the arm, wrapped in a sleeping bag in a card board box and shipped on a plane, etc.) and they still work great - 10 years + and not a trip to the maintenance guy.