The Technics 1200 Is Back, Baby

Yes, it’s a cold, hard world, where beloved traditions fall by the wayside in the blink of an eye. But every once in a while, something happens that restores your faith in this ramshackle reality of ours. To wit, the return of the Technics 1200. You don’t have to be a DJ to dig the 1200; anyone who has enjoyed a long-term love affair with vinyl knows that it’s among the top turntables of all time. But for DJs it has always been a precise, reliable tool of the trade, something you can always count on to give you what you need when you need it. And there are precious few things you can say that about.

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The 1200 has been making friends around the globe since its debut back in 1972, but a few years back it said sayonara, leaving legions of DJs and vinyl fanatics dejected. But take heart! Panasonic has announced that they’ll be bringing back the trusty 1200 in 2016. The Grand Class Technics SL-1200G will be available toward the end of this year, but if you want to pay a bit more to get a jump on things, its limited-edition cousin, the 1200GAE (of which there will be only — you guessed it — 1200) should be here by the summer. Check out the specs below:

All New Design for Redefining the Direct Drive Turntable:
Twin-Rotor Surface-Facing Direct Drive Motor
Direct Drive Motor Controller
High Sensitive Tonearm
Brass-Top Turntable Platter
Insulator

Technics Definitive Design:
Inherited SL-1200 Series
Heavy Aluminium Top Plate

Turntable Speeds:
33 1/3 rpm, 45 rpm, 78 rpm

Variable Range Pitch:
±8%, ±16%

Dimensions & Weight:
W: 453 mm (17-27/32 inch) H: 170 mm (6-11/16 inch) D: 372 mm (14-21/32 inch)
Approx. 18 kg (39.7 lbs ) *Tentative *Height including dust cover

Terminal:
Phono Output x 1 / SIGNAL GND x 1