my first 1200 – pocketknife

what was your first turntable / setup?

A 4-channel Radio Shack Realistic mixer and two belt-driven turntables that I don’t even remember the brand of.  It was high school and I was poor, but I had the “thirst” to try DJing.

at what point did you get your first technics turntable(s)?

While I was going to art school in Kansas City an old friend from high school moved to St. Louis with his father to live.  His dad managed a pawn shop called Pawn Masters on Delmar Blvd. which I worked at during my school breaks.  It was Spring Break ’94 and I was finishing up at the shop about ready to head back to KC when I got asked to bring out a coffin that was forfeited that day.  I remember dragging that coffin out and opening it up on the sales floor.  The clouds parted, the sun beamed down and the angels sang to me when I realized the set-up was two 1200 MK2s and a Numark club mixer.  I tested it out for the shop doing some really bad scratching (I didn’t know how to mix at that point). 

I knew I had to have the set-up, so I finally mustered up the courage to ask if I could take it instead of getting paid.  My friend’s dad was totally cool about it and let me take it off their hands.  My pay for the amount of work I did was supposed to be $125!!

did you get the 1200(s) from a store? how did you get the money to pay for the 1200(s)?

See above. (It turns out the coffin and its contents had come from a defunct 70s discotheque whose owner had hit hard times.)

how did you feel when you got your first technics turntable(s)?

I felt like I could actually start DJing for real.  I remember inviting Theo (Parrish) up to my dorm room to show him and he immediately offered me money for the set-up.  I told him “no thanks” and asked if he would teach me how to DJ.  He of course took me under his wing and my formal DJing education began

what is your favorite feature or aspect of the technics turntable?

The construction and reliability is incredible.  These things are built to last!  I’ve taken these things with me wherever I’ve lived (Europe, etc.) and they always perform.  I still have the same pair.  I’ve replaced the RCA cables a few times, but that’s it.  I try and keep them as clean as I can.  I even do some “Q-tip detailing” every few months.

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