The world's first direct-drive digital turntable, the Technics SL-DZ1200 gives you the feeling of spinning vinyl on a classic Technics turntable while working with digital formats like CD, MP3, and AAC. Just like the Technics direct-drive turntables you've used and loved before, the 10-inch platter simulates the feeling and sound of scratching and spinning albums, but gives you the freedom and versatility of working with digital files on both CD or SD memory cards. A Vinyl Sim feature can take digital audio and give it the distinctly analog sound that comes from a turntable so what you're playing even sounds like an album.
Load up a CD or SD card with MP3 or AAC files, and start looping, mixing, and scratching. There are four cue pads that let you set, save, and cue from the point you specify. It can also memorize up to 50 sets of 10 cue points stored on an SD card, and within these sets you can set cue pads, loops, effects, and auto functions that are then automatically called up each time you load the SD card. The SL-DZ1200 also features four sample pads for editing and playing back samples. Editing functions include setting in/out points, looping, and mixing, and in playback you can even "play" the pads like an instrument to create new music.
A large display located on the center of the deck shows you BPM (beats per minute), elapsed time, remaining time, along with other track and play data. The viewing angle is adjustable so you can read it easily under any conditions. Pitch control is effective through +/-8% to +/-50%, and the pitch lock lets you change the track tempo without affecting the pitch. The SL-DZ1200 features forward and reverse play, and you can switch between them without missing a beat (literally). Or if you want a longer delay, you can turn the switch off to control just how quickly you want the switch to happen. A free wheel function lets you spin the platter freely, just like you can on analog turntables. Digital outputs are included so you can record your music to digital media, and line out and headphone jack are also included.
What's in the Box
Digital turntable, user's manual, and warranty information.
The Technics SL-DZ1200, the world?s first Direct-Drive Digital Turntable, looks?and more importantly feels?like spinning wax on a classic 1200. The distinctive slip surface on the 10" platter lets you spin, scratch, break, and otherwise work a track in a number of formats, including CD, MP3 and AAC. Along with its realistic vinyl feel and classic direct drive, the SL-DZ1200 also lets you store, playback, scratch and loop sampled media from a removable SD memory card. About the size of a postage stamp, these cards store all your favorite samples, songs?even whole albums. And although they won't ever be able to replace vinyl, they're a lot easier to carry around than a crate of records.The Technics Direct-Drive system, which incorporates the platter as an actual component of the motor, was introduced with the SP-10 in 1969 as a way to eliminate the drag, inevitable breakage and slow start-up speeds associated with belt-driven players. With the reliable rotation, instant response and long life you have come to expect from Technics analog models, the SL-DZ1200 boasts the same quartz crystal controlled Direct-Drive that has been the choice of professional DJs for over thirty years. It's easy to adjust to the SL-DZ1200. With adjustable break and start-up speeds, a 10" platter, vinyl simulation effects and slip surface combined with its familiar look & feel, the SL-DZ1200 sounds and responds just like your analog decks.The SL-DZ1200 lets you find a cue point, sa...
1 Oh.......My.......God
Okay, before I start my review of this product, let's be clear on a few things: You're about to read a review written by someone that considers himself one VERY stubborn skeptic. I consider myself a hip hop purist. I've been a DJ since 1994 and I hold vinyl in the highest of regards. I don't think anything will EVER be able to fully replace it. When I first heard about CD turntables being released to the public, I thought it was nothing short of blasphemous. I literally refused to lay my hands on one simply because I thought they were for lazy DJs and people with so little skill that they needed computerized turntables to take all the guess work out for them. That was until one day when I stopped by one of my favorite spots to cop some vinyl and another turntable. One of the salesman who I'd come to know on a first name basis and trusted a great deal introduced me to the marvel that is the Technics SL-DZ1200. I was still skeptical while he was showing me its capabilities. I had no intention of buying it at all......until I laid hands on it. Seriously, there is NOTHING that you can do with vinyl that you can't do with the SL-DZ1200s. What the previous reviewer said is true, you have to have a hands on encounter before you can make a fair assessment of this piece. I stood there scratching and mixing CDs for about an hour. After all was said and done, I left the store as an owner of one....and I'm not even a Technique kind of guy, I prefer Stanton turntables. The platter itself feels like vinyl and you can literally scratch the CDs like they were vinyl. You'll love it, no question. The previous review is very accurate. If you have a huge vinyl collection like I do (over 3000), then I can understand your hesitation. But I also have a growing CD collection (over 1500) and I would love to incorporate some of that material into my rotation. The switch for me was totally logical and I think that many other DJs will end up doing the same if they give this baby a spin.
If I had to find a beef, naturally, it would be the hefty price tag. CD turntables, depending on what brand and what features they have, can run you $700 - $3000 easy. And you have to wonder if the ability to play MP3s and CDR/RWs could lead to bigger issues. You'd never have to buy anything other than blank CDs and internet access. While I think that doing so is better suited for the morally bankrupt, the realist in me acknowledges that bootlegging isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
This turntable still gets my highest reccomendation and I urge any DJ looking into this to go ahead and get one. Pitch control, record manipulation, scratching....it's all there. Once you start scratching, you'll totally forget that it's not vinyl that you're scratching with.
2 Too good to be true.
At first glance, i was a bit skeptical of all the hype surrounding this DJ's wet dream; but after a hands on encounter, my doubts quickly faded. To the touch, you can't tell the difference between it and real vinyl. I'm talkin about no holds barred scratchin' and track manipulation. You can even freewheel. And when I say you can scratch, I mean you can SCRATCH! On top of having all the versitility of the analogue 1200s, it adds some tremendous features such as on board effects, reverse switch, sample banks, live cueing, SD card and MP3 compatability, and a hell of alot more that I probably haven't discovered yet. Although I consider myself somewhat of a vinyl purist, this bad boy will allow me to drop some choice cuts from the hundreds of CD's that I have accumulated over the years into my sets; and I'll be able to do it with style. That is, once I get enough loot to buy one....
