Inside a Technics SL-1200 turntable

What makes the iconic turntable tick?

The Technics SL-1200 has been the industry standard DJ turntable for decades – a no-frills direct-drive deck that does what it needs to do, and does it well. Many boast of having had theirs since the ’70s or ’80s, often without so much as a cursory check up.

When a Technics does start to cough and splutter though, NYC turntable repair station DJ Fix are the technicians to call. Following our short film inside their workshop, we’ve asked DJ Fix founder Jon Hildenstein to talk us through a few turntable basics, for a series of short films set to be released on VF over the next few months.

In this first instalment, he started by popping the hood of the iconic SL-1200 to have a poke around.

From the ingenious quartz pitch control, to the isolated direct-drive motor, Hildenstein talks us through just why the Technics is just as impressive below the platter, as above it.