This Technics turntable powered hip-hop's early sound
Popular Mechanics South Africa|May/June 2020
THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING
JIM ALLEN
This Technics turntable powered hip-hop's early sound

HIP-HOP and everything it has influenced – from electronic dance music to modern pop and R & B – wouldn’t be the same without one extraordinary tool: the Technics SL-1200 turntable and its powerful direct-drive motor.

Introduced in 1972 but perfected with the 1979 MK2 version, the 1200’s unique design made turntable techniques possible. Pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash, breakbeat inventor Kool Herc, and scratching trailblazer Grand Wizard Theodore made it the go-to deck for DJ culture, first in their ’70s South Bronx street jams, and then in the downtown Manhattan clubs, where hip-hop gained widespread attention.

This story is from the May/June 2020 edition of Popular Mechanics South Africa.

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This story is from the May/June 2020 edition of Popular Mechanics South Africa.

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