what was your first turntable / setup?
Box package from Upstairs Records, ordered out of the back of The Source. 299.99 for a pair of Gemini belt drives and a Lineartech mixer with the big transformer buttons on both sides of the crossfader. It was a shit set up as I learned after my first month of owning them and one of the turns would randomly start speeding up super fast and out of control like the thing was possessed. I learned how to mix on those tho, despite the crap factor.
did you get the 1200(s) from a store? how did you get the money to pay for the 1200(s)?
After I sold my first set-up, I had to wait on a waiting list at this place called the Sound Well in Berkeley just to get one used cuz I couldn’t afford a new one. After I got my first one, I copped a used Gemini Scratchmaster (no longer working but on display in the studio) from an old DJ buddy that had retired. I got a CD player for my birthday shortly after that so for a whole year it was a Tech, a Scratchmaster and a buncha CD singles. Soundwell finally called and I got my second one soon after.
how did you feel when you got your first technics turntable(s)?
It was like finally owning your first real car — not a beater, not a loaner, but a quality piece of machinery that you knew you would have for a long time. It felt like a real accomplishment to finally own something so revered — i’ve had the same pair of decks for almost 17 years now with only slight repairs and upkeep from time to time.
what is your favorite feature or aspect of the technics turntable?
It’s durability and simplicity. The fact that all those amazing things can be done with ultimately a very simple machine is still awe inspiring. The OG Tech 12 is the Cadillac of DJ gear and always will be.
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