text=There it is. The wheels of steel. The #1 prime application by which all music is mixed. Plug two of them into a mixer and you got yourself a very expensive hobby. This sumbitch has yet to be largely improved upon since its inception in 1972. Yeah--that's 30 years of being the undisputed, dead solid, ever dependable standard. Eons in an age where technological advancements are just fleeting excuses inbetween more technological advancements. So why is it still preferred after all these years? Because its built like a fucking tank, that's why. I've seen Tech 12s dropped down whole flights of stairs, fallen off balconies, off moving cars, get hosed on, puked on, bottles broken over, set on fire, even buried under 3 feet of sand--and still work flawlessly. The Technics SL-1200 turntable is more reliable and loyal than the family dog. Likened to the AK-47, it was built to last. It never jams, never breaks down, rarely needs maintenance, and its design is so stupidly simple (3 buttons, a knob and a slider) everyone in the industry knows how to use one. It has an average lifespan of 10 DJ careers. You could drop it in a river of molten lava and it would still work. When other tables might sputter or crumble to pieces if you even touch them, the Technics platter can be pushed, back-spinned, stopped, slowed, and manually manipulated to your hearts content, and it will always bounce right back to its regular speed. This durability allows people to practically play it like an instrument, as its solely responsible for the rise of hip hop and DMC battles, and the Disc Jockey as a self-contained musician in his own right. --