Technics
Technics is a brand name of the Japan based Matsushita company. Under this brand name the company produced (and continues to produce) a variety of hi-fi products, such as amplifiers, audio receivers, tape decks, CD players and speakers for sale in various countries. It was originally conceived for a line of high-end audio equipment to go against the likes of Nakamichi, but most of its home products have been rebranded as Panasonic starting in 2002 (except in Japan, where the brand is still popular.) DJ equipment and electronic pianos are the only Technics products currently being sold in the USA and Europe.The name Technics came to widespread fame with the production of turntables: in 1969 they introduced the first direct-drive model for the professional market (the SP-10) and in 1971 for the consumer market (the SL-1100). This one was used by the influential DJ Kool Herc for the first sound system he set up after emigrating from Jamaica to New York.
This latter model was the predecessor to the SL-1200 which, as the upgraded SL-1200 Mk2, became a widely used turntable by DJs. The SL-1200 Mk2 was a robust machine and incorporated a pitch control (or vari-speed), and kept the speed constant and the speed variability low, thus making it a popular tool with hip-hop DJs.
The 1200's continue to evolve with the M3D's, followed by the MK5's in 2003.
See also: