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DJ turntables...has anyone matched the "Wheels of Steel"?

GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what?Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
I've been DJ'ing for quite a while, but had to get rid of my setup a few years back to pay for some medical expenses. I'm looking to get back in to the hobby, but much to my horror, Technic's SL-1200's are no longer in production. New units, sealed in the box, are going for over a thousand bucks. You used to be able to get a pair of high end digital M3D's for that price. My last pair was a set of Mk5G's, and I paid barely over 1000 for the pair. In the end, this may be a very very niche question that no one here has an answer too, but hell, I see stranger things asked in H/A!

Essentially the question is this: Has anyone (Vestax, Numark, ANYONE), come out with a magneto direct drive turntable that people consider to be close to on par with the SL-1200. Last time I tried a Vestax offering, it was spongy as hell and didn't have near the torque of a 1200.

If I have to, I'll pay the premium for a pair of 1200's...but if someone has finally come out with a direct drive deck that can at least compare with the titan of DJ gear, and it costs significantly less, it's an option I would consider.

Also, before anyone says anything: No, I will not buy a set of CD decks. DJ'ing is a hobby for me, and part of the fun of that hobby is spinning vinyl. I plan to get Serato Scratch Live so I can spin digital tracks, but I want the actual vinyl feel and real turn tables. I also own nearly five hundred pieces of vinyl, some of which is older and hard to find, that I would like to continue to play in it's native format without converting to digital.

Sagroth wrote: »
Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling

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    JokermanJokerman Everything EverywhereRegistered User regular
    edited December 2012
    @Podly : You're are only hope.

    Jokerman on
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    mrt144mrt144 King of the Numbernames Registered User regular
    edited December 2012
    Vestax makes some solid ones but i dont know how they are now given my years away from the wheels of steel

    mrt144 on
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    GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    So I'm reading about the Vestax PDX-3000 MIX edition, which were supposedly made specifically for Technics die hards, with the S-shaped tone arm and selectable torque setting at 1.5 kg/m (the same as the 1200).

    I may have to pop down to a Guitar Center and at least play around with a set, get a feel for them. The price is much more in line with what I want to pay, versus what a new set of 1200's would cost me.

    I'd really rather spend that extra cash on a Allen & Heath Xone:92, which has always been my dream mixer.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
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    EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited December 2012
    I'd pop into 360 Vinyl downtown (DJ record store) and ask the guys there for recommendations.

    Esh on
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    PodlyPodly you unzipped me! it's all coming back! i don't like it!Registered User regular
    There were so many SL-1200s sold. You should be able to find them for a decent value, even though they were recently discontinued.

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    EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Podly wrote: »
    There were so many SL-1200s sold. You should be able to find them for a decent value, even though they were recently discontinued.

    Yeah, but people know how rare they are and still sell them for more than they cost new. A quick perusal of the Portland and Seattle Craigslists verifies that.

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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Maybe try somewhere with less hipsters?

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    mrt144mrt144 King of the Numbernames Registered User regular
    Maybe try somewhere with less hipsters?

    If you live in Portland that's fucking impossible.

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    EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Maybe try somewhere with less hipsters?

    Hipsters don't actually buy 1200s. Those are the domain of the professionals. They iPod or laptop DJ.

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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Nah see, 1200s are perfect for listening to their collection of obscure J-pop and German industrial techno records from the '80s. Because when they eventually do decide to start DJing for their design student friends fashion shows, they'll already have the turntables right there ready to go.

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    EshEsh Tending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles. Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    Nah see, 1200s are perfect for listening to their collection of obscure J-pop and German industrial techno records from the '80s. Because when they eventually do decide to start DJing for their design student friends fashion shows, they'll already have the turntables right there ready to go.

    You've never actually met a "hipster" have you?

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    GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    1200's are expensive guys, and it's not because of "hipsters". It's because they are now rare, coveted, pieces of kit. An entire cottage industry has popped up around making parts for the things.

    I'm gonna go down to 360 Vinyl in Portland one of these weekends and talk to them. I'll own another pair of 1200's someday, I just can't justify the cost right now.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
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    Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Esh wrote: »
    Nah see, 1200s are perfect for listening to their collection of obscure J-pop and German industrial techno records from the '80s. Because when they eventually do decide to start DJing for their design student friends fashion shows, they'll already have the turntables right there ready to go.

    You've never actually met a "hipster" have you?

    ;-)

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    DjeetDjeet Registered User regular
    I've had for 6/7 years a pair of Stanton 150 with straight arms and I like them. But I'm not a pro and will never be, so they haven't seen gigging usage.

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    bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    there are some OEM decks that operate under similar parameters as the sl1200. (reloop has a few models out)

    but they are not all that much cheaper, so i don't know if that will help you in any way.

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    GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    I tried a set of PDX-3000 MIX editions, with the S-tone arm (I'm a mixer not a scratcher), and with the adjustable torque at 1.5kg/m, it felt a lot like a 1200. I was quite impressed.

    I think this will be my target setup now, hopefully have it all by June:
    2x Vestax PDX-3000 MIX edition
    1x A&H Xone:92
    1x Serato Scratch Live

    One of these days, I will find a pair of mint condition SL-12000 MK5G's that I will buy and then never get rid of again, but for now the Vestax's will get me mixing again, which is the important part.

    Sort of a related sub-question: Anyone know of a good process for converting old vinyl to digital? I have probably 500 pieces of older drum and bass vinyl I want to convert digital, but the cheap-o Sharpstone digital turntable my ex-wife got me a few years back is so horribly out of pitch lock that all my music sounds 3x times to fast (which is kind of odd for drum and bass).

    Worst case, I'll just run mixer output to my computer, record them, edit the extra bits off, maybe do a little clean up to remove some of the analog pop, then down convert them to 256k MP3's, or maybe Apple Lossless. The goal is to be able to play my old, sometimes very rare, tracks without putting more wear on the actual vinyl....plus when I go play a house party for a friend, I don't have to lug 80lbs of vinyl with me.

    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
    Steam: Brainling, XBL / PSN: GnomeTank, NintendoID: Brainling, FF14: Zillius Rosh SFV: Brainling
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