Technics SL-1200 MK2 Turntable with Stanton Cartridge Used by Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash’s Technics SL-1200 turntables were nicknamed the “Wheels of Steel.”  The highly durable Technics SL-1200s were first sold in 1976 and immediately became popular among mobile DJs.  While turntables and other DJ equipment like mics and large speakers were very expensive, it wasn’t until the 1977 New York blackout that local aspiring DJs and MCs looted stores to acquire the latest technology to start their own mixing groups and perfect the mixing craft. These turntables had several features that facilitated the techniques that DJs used in hip-hop music. Unlike earlier models, the pitch control of the SL-1200 was easily accessible because it was located on top of the turntable.  Pitch control enabled DJs to adjust the speed of a record to match the beats per minute of consecutive songs.  DJs could then seamlessly create segues from one song into another by maintaining a constant beat.

SL-1200s also operated with a direct drive system.  Technics had been manufacturing turntables with direct drive systems since 1969, but unlike those other models, which were driven by a belt and gears, the turntables of these record players were an integral part of the motor.  The rotations of the record platter were controlled by quartz oscillations, which meant that records would spin at an equal speed over time rather than being subject to fluctuations caused by belt wear in other models.  The motor of the turntable was powerful enough that the DJ could hold the record while the platter continued to spin underneath and then release the disc at the desired moment so that it would instantaneously reach 33 1/3 rpm. DJs could also scratch a record by moving it back and forth on top of a cardboard slip mat while the platter continued spinning below. These DJ techniques were not possible with the belt-and-gear systems. 

Grandmaster Flash attached a nickel to the Stanton cartridge, which holds the needle.  This nickel gave the additional weight needed to prevent the stylus from skipping while he “scratched” and “cut” (played specific excerpts) of the record. Flash demonstrated his genius as a DJ when he recorded “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.” Using three SL-1200 turntables as his primary instruments and excerpts of several records, he recorded the song live in the studio in one take.

Grandmaster Flash is one of the founding fathers of hip-hop and known as the originator of scratching and mixing. Born in Bridgetown, Barbados and growing up the Bronx, New York, Grandmaster Flash has been experimenting with vinyl since he was a child and grew a serious passion for music and engineering. His knowledge of audio equipment and experimentation led him to revolutionize the way DJs played records where he started using his turntable as an instrument. Grandmaster Flash perfected manipulating vinyl records where he would put his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in a backward, forward or counterclockwise motion. Through this process, Grandmaster Flash perfected beat looping, and discovered many of the most iconic beats still commonly sampled today. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (2007) and the Grammy Hall Of Fame (2012), Grandmaster Flash is acknowledged for pioneering a relationship between DJ and rappers and his innovative techniques of the turntable and mixing equipment.