R.I.P. Technics 1200

The iconic symbol and industry standard of hip hop and DJ’ing is now being laid to rest. Panasonic officially announced they are stopping production on the analogue turntable line-up under Technics, the popular 1200 and 1210.

Resident Advisor reported on this and provided a press release from Panasonic stating:

After more than 35 years as a leading manufacturer of analogue turntables, Panasonic has regretfully taken the decision to leave this market. However, Panasonic will continue to sell headphones under the Technics brand.

We are sure that retailers and consumers will understand that our product range has to reflect the accelerating transformation of the entire audio market from analogue to digital.

In addition, the number of component suppliers serving the analogue market has dwindled in recent years and we brought forward the decision to leave the market rather than risk being unable to fulfill future orders because of a lack of parts.

It is sad to see this day come, especially for purist analog audiophiles. DJ’ing has evolved exponentially in the past 0 years with the introduction of digital solutions such as CD/DVD tables to the popular control record interfaces like Serato Scratch and now MIDI controller interfaces.

Using vinyl is an aspect of DJ’ing that brings a lot more to the culture than just a medium to play, mix and scratch with. It is an art form with unique aspects that only analogue vinyl could bring.

As much as I do participate in the digital world and advocate for evolution of technology, I’m glad I still have a nice collection of 1200’s and vinyl and have been able to be immersed in a side of DJ’ing that may soon be history for new generations of DJ’s.

Read NPR’s post for more info