( 
)
A few ground rules: For purposes of this guide, the term SL1200
and SL1210 will be used interchangeably, unless otherwise noted.
OK, you're reading this because somewhere, somebody told you or you figured out that the Technics SL1200/1210 MK2-MK5 DJ turntables are the best in the world. Good news: that's true! Even better news: one made in 1983 is just as rock solid as one made in 2003, depending on the life it's had. Knowing this, you can start cruising eBay for a righteous pair of decks that should last you well into old age.
There are quite a few variants of the 1200, but they're all quite similar and many times parts are interchangeable. But the first, thing to know is that the SL1200 Mk1 (plain sl1200) is NOT the deck you need. It's relatively rare and would be ill-suited to the rigors of the road, and not much good for modern DJ use, even in a studio environment. Mk2 through Mk5 are the ones you want. The Mk2 is the most common, and you'll be able to get parts and service anywhere from London to Caracas to Islamabad and anywhere in between. The M3D was introduced in the late 90's, the slight redesign being a recessed power switch to guard against accidental shutoff and the removal of the detent (click) at pitch zero. For true quartz pitch lock, a button to the side of the control slider is provided. These design elements carry through to the modern Mk5 series. The Mk3 is black with gold plated connectors, and the Mk4 (which you are extremely unlikely to find) has a 78rpm speed in addition to 33 and 45. Both were only released in Asia. The current cream of the crop is the SL1210Mk5G, which has a piano-black finish, blue LED lights, and an additonal button that switches the pitch control from +/-8 to +/-16 rpm. This model also has the next generation tonearm base with two additional adjustments to enhance stability in battle/scratch situations. The last letter or two letters in the serial number will tell you where the deck was supposed to be originally sold. M is USA, MC is Canada, XA/XG is Asia, Oceania, and US military market, etc.
But this is less important than the main question: How beat up is it? Start by getting as much info as you can on the operation. It can have dings and scratches all over it, but you want to make sure that the platter spins smoothly, that the magnetic braking works (when you hit the stop button, it reverses the motor's field induction to stop the platter), and that the rpm is consistent. This is where the red light on the side and the silver dots around the platter come in handy. At +/-0, the biggest row of silver dots should appear to be standing still. The other rows of dots are for different rpms, and should match what the setting is on the pitch slider.. They might not match perfectly, but they shouldn't waver, and when you sweep the pitch control from low to high, the dots should transition smoothly, no spikes or jitters. If that happens, it could be a dirty pitch slider, or a bad one, or something deeply and severely wrong. If the dots float up and down vertically as the deck spins, that's probably a bent spindle or warped platter. Also, find out if any modifications have been done to the magnetic braking. If you open the unit up, you'll find adjustments for how hard the deck brakes. If this was done by someone knowledgable, that's probably OK, but if you're new and you learn on them that way, it might spoil you for any other pair.
The tonearm should be perfectly s-shaped, no kinks and no rust or corrosion. You shouldn't be able to wiggle the tonearm in its gimbal, but it should move freely in its directions of travel. If you can see the bottom of the unit, look for aftermarket wiring. Most decks that get transported without cases or plugged/unplugged frequently are going to have bad audio wires after a while. This isn't a big deal if they've been replaced correctly. If not, they often wind up with a 60-cycle hum and a weak channel. If possible, get an audio file of the deck stopped, with the needle on a record. Most sellers are unlikely to give you this, but rewiring the audio on one of these isn't that hard and shouldn't cost much at a local mom-and-pop electronics repair shop (yes they do still exist).
One of the biggest gotchas with the MK2/M3D is the pop-up light next to the platter. It's a miniature incandescent light bulb, and if it works by the time you get your hands on the deck, you're fortunate indeed. If it's not dead by the time you get it, it soon will be, and replacing it is a chore. However, you can get aftermarket LED popups, and there are shops in most major to mid-size cities that will install the kits for you. The Mk5 series has an LED popup already, which is excellent.
All that aside, the best indicator of how good a shape the unit is in is whether or not it has been in a case all its life, how and how often it's been gigged, and the environment in which it's been used. Ex-dive-bar decks can have all kinds of stories, most of them told in spilled drinks, cigarette ash, and nicotine film. But the high-end wedding DJ who's trading the decks for a laptop and a hard drive may have had his stored in a coffin or road cases since they were new. If you can see the deck in person, great, if not, see if the seller will post a video on YouTube or similar showing the qualities mentioned in this guide. If there aren't even any photographs or the seller won't give you detailed information, don't bid more than what you can get one for locally.
The links provided below will tell you a lot more about the intricacies of the various models, but you will need to know what year your deck was made to obtain certain parts, most notably the dust-lid hinges and dust cover. The hinges changed in 1983 and again around 1999. Dual-voltage is great, but not terribly necessary. Just get the right one for where you live.
Hopefully this helps you wade through the options and set yourself up with a solid pair of decks. The world can always use more DJ's.
cheers,
-fxpilot
More detailed info:
http://music.hyperreal.org/dj/sl1200.html
http://www.turntabletech.com/used.htm
OK, you're reading this because somewhere, somebody told you or you figured out that the Technics SL1200/1210 MK2-MK5 DJ turntables are the best in the world. Good news: that's true! Even better news: one made in 1983 is just as rock solid as one made in 2003, depending on the life it's had. Knowing this, you can start cruising eBay for a righteous pair of decks that should last you well into old age.
There are quite a few variants of the 1200, but they're all quite similar and many times parts are interchangeable. But the first, thing to know is that the SL1200 Mk1 (plain sl1200) is NOT the deck you need. It's relatively rare and would be ill-suited to the rigors of the road, and not much good for modern DJ use, even in a studio environment. Mk2 through Mk5 are the ones you want. The Mk2 is the most common, and you'll be able to get parts and service anywhere from London to Caracas to Islamabad and anywhere in between. The M3D was introduced in the late 90's, the slight redesign being a recessed power switch to guard against accidental shutoff and the removal of the detent (click) at pitch zero. For true quartz pitch lock, a button to the side of the control slider is provided. These design elements carry through to the modern Mk5 series. The Mk3 is black with gold plated connectors, and the Mk4 (which you are extremely unlikely to find) has a 78rpm speed in addition to 33 and 45. Both were only released in Asia. The current cream of the crop is the SL1210Mk5G, which has a piano-black finish, blue LED lights, and an additonal button that switches the pitch control from +/-8 to +/-16 rpm. This model also has the next generation tonearm base with two additional adjustments to enhance stability in battle/scratch situations. The last letter or two letters in the serial number will tell you where the deck was supposed to be originally sold. M is USA, MC is Canada, XA/XG is Asia, Oceania, and US military market, etc.
But this is less important than the main question: How beat up is it? Start by getting as much info as you can on the operation. It can have dings and scratches all over it, but you want to make sure that the platter spins smoothly, that the magnetic braking works (when you hit the stop button, it reverses the motor's field induction to stop the platter), and that the rpm is consistent. This is where the red light on the side and the silver dots around the platter come in handy. At +/-0, the biggest row of silver dots should appear to be standing still. The other rows of dots are for different rpms, and should match what the setting is on the pitch slider.. They might not match perfectly, but they shouldn't waver, and when you sweep the pitch control from low to high, the dots should transition smoothly, no spikes or jitters. If that happens, it could be a dirty pitch slider, or a bad one, or something deeply and severely wrong. If the dots float up and down vertically as the deck spins, that's probably a bent spindle or warped platter. Also, find out if any modifications have been done to the magnetic braking. If you open the unit up, you'll find adjustments for how hard the deck brakes. If this was done by someone knowledgable, that's probably OK, but if you're new and you learn on them that way, it might spoil you for any other pair.
The tonearm should be perfectly s-shaped, no kinks and no rust or corrosion. You shouldn't be able to wiggle the tonearm in its gimbal, but it should move freely in its directions of travel. If you can see the bottom of the unit, look for aftermarket wiring. Most decks that get transported without cases or plugged/unplugged frequently are going to have bad audio wires after a while. This isn't a big deal if they've been replaced correctly. If not, they often wind up with a 60-cycle hum and a weak channel. If possible, get an audio file of the deck stopped, with the needle on a record. Most sellers are unlikely to give you this, but rewiring the audio on one of these isn't that hard and shouldn't cost much at a local mom-and-pop electronics repair shop (yes they do still exist).
One of the biggest gotchas with the MK2/M3D is the pop-up light next to the platter. It's a miniature incandescent light bulb, and if it works by the time you get your hands on the deck, you're fortunate indeed. If it's not dead by the time you get it, it soon will be, and replacing it is a chore. However, you can get aftermarket LED popups, and there are shops in most major to mid-size cities that will install the kits for you. The Mk5 series has an LED popup already, which is excellent.
All that aside, the best indicator of how good a shape the unit is in is whether or not it has been in a case all its life, how and how often it's been gigged, and the environment in which it's been used. Ex-dive-bar decks can have all kinds of stories, most of them told in spilled drinks, cigarette ash, and nicotine film. But the high-end wedding DJ who's trading the decks for a laptop and a hard drive may have had his stored in a coffin or road cases since they were new. If you can see the deck in person, great, if not, see if the seller will post a video on YouTube or similar showing the qualities mentioned in this guide. If there aren't even any photographs or the seller won't give you detailed information, don't bid more than what you can get one for locally.
The links provided below will tell you a lot more about the intricacies of the various models, but you will need to know what year your deck was made to obtain certain parts, most notably the dust-lid hinges and dust cover. The hinges changed in 1983 and again around 1999. Dual-voltage is great, but not terribly necessary. Just get the right one for where you live.
Hopefully this helps you wade through the options and set yourself up with a solid pair of decks. The world can always use more DJ's.
cheers,
-fxpilot
More detailed info:
http://music.hyperreal.org/dj/sl1200.html
http://www.turntabletech.com/used.htm
Guide created: 08/08/06 (updated 02/10/09)
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