Name: Custom Technics SL-1200 Mk II – Made to Order, Your Colour
Brand: Technics
SKU: 21516
Price: 2195.00 CAD
Availability: InStock

Description

A Technics SL-1200 Mk II built for you: we source the deck, give it a full service, refinish it in the colour you choose, fit a brand-new Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and our own Gold Series interconnects.

The purple one in these photos is a build we finished for one of our customers. Yours will be in your colour.

Close view across the purple Technics SL-1200 Mk II: tonearm and headshell, pitch slider, platter strobe dots and Technics badge

44 colours

or name your own

60–90 days

from order to pickup

Ortofon 2M Red

brand-new, fitted and aligned

Tested twice

the second time by a different tech

Radique’s Take

The SL-1200 Mk II is the turntable that made direct drive famous: quartz-locked speed, a heavy die-cast build and an arm that simply works, decade after decade. We sell a lot of vintage 1200s, and a custom build is the way to have one that’s truly yours: a classic deck, brought back to full working order, in a colour nobody else has.

What we do to every custom build

We find the deck. We source a genuine Technics SL-1200 Mk II for your build.

A full turntable service, to our turntable bench standard:

✔Platter bearing cleaned and lubricated
✔Speed checked and set at 33⅓ and 45 rpm, with the pitch control checked across its ±8% range
✔Direct-drive motor, start/stop and electronic brake tested
✔Tonearm balanced, with tracking force and anti-skate set
✔Cueing lift tested
✔A brand-new Ortofon 2M Red cartridge fitted, aligned and set up
✔Tonearm wiring, signal cables and ground checked
✔Strobe and stylus illuminator lamps checked
✔Post-service play test and sign-off

And, as each deck needs:

✔Tonearm rebuilt (the purple one’s was)
✔Motor or speed-control electronics serviced

Custom purple Technics SL-1200 Mk II restored by Radique, dust cover raised over the strobe-dot platter, S-shaped tonearm and pitch slider

Custom paint in any colour you choose: a multi-coat finish by a tech with an autobody refinishing background.

A brand-new Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, a lively, detailed moving-magnet cartridge and a great match for the Mk II, fitted and aligned on our bench so your build is ready to play.

Rear of the custom purple Technics SL-1200 Mk II with dust cover hinges and its new signal and ground cables

Radique Audio Gold Series Interconnects in place of the old stock phono cables, for a quieter, more detailed signal from the cartridge to your amplifier. Our Turntable Connectivity guide explains why that matters.

Custom purple Technics SL-1200 Mk II straight on with its restored clear dust cover closed

The dust cover restored, buffed and lightly sanded as it needs. Or ask us to fit a brand-new, genuine Technics SL-1200 dust cover instead.

A second bench test by a different tech before it’s yours.

Shown: a custom build we finished in purple for a customer.

Choose your colour

Pick one of these 44 colours when you order, or choose Another colour and describe it. Every colour comes with silver and chrome trim.

Bright metallics

Candy Apple Red
Ruby Red
Tangerine Orange
Sunburst Gold
Lemon Yellow
Lime Green
Emerald Green
Teal
Aqua
Electric Blue
Sapphire Blue
Ultraviolet
Royal Purple
Magenta
Hot Pink
Rose Gold

Deep metallics

Midnight Blue
British Racing Green
Burgundy
Black Cherry
Copper
Bronze
Champagne
Gunmetal Grey
Graphite
Classic Silver

Pearls

Pearl White
Ice Blue Pearl
Mint Pearl
Blush Pink Pearl
Lavender Pearl
Black Pearl

Solid gloss

Gloss Black
Arctic White
Cream
Signal Red
Racing Orange
Sunflower Yellow
Kelly Green
Sky Blue
Navy Blue
Turquoise
Lilac
Chocolate Brown

Colours on a screen are a guide only.

How ordering works

Order and tell us your colour. Custom builds are paid in full when you order, so we can buy your donor deck right away.

We build it. We source the deck, then service it, paint it and fit the cables. Finding the right deck is usually the longest step.

You pick it up, about 60 to 90 days after you order.

Want a different model, or have questions before you order? Use the pink Ask a Question button, or see our Turntable Restoration & Custom Builds page.

Connecting it

The Ortofon 2M Red is a moving-magnet cartridge, so your build works with any amplifier or receiver that has a standard MM PHONO input, or with a separate phono preamp.

Technics SL-1200 Mk II Specifications

Made in Japan
Type	Direct-drive manual turntable, quartz-locked
Motor	Brushless DC, direct drive
Speeds	33⅓ and 45 rpm
Pitch control	±8%
Starting torque	1.5 kg·cm
Build-up time	0.7 s from standstill to 33⅓ rpm
Wow and flutter	0.01% WRMS
Rumble	−78 dB (IEC 98A weighted)
Platter	Die-cast aluminum, 332 mm
Tonearm	Universal static-balance S-shaped, gimbal suspension, 230 mm effective length
Arm height adjustment	0–6 mm
Cartridge weight range	6–10 g (9.5–13 g with the auxiliary weight)
Cartridge	Ortofon 2M Red moving-magnet (new)
Features	Strobe, stylus illuminator, electronic brake, isolating feet
Finish	Custom paint, in the colour you choose
Power	120 V, 60 Hz
Dimensions	453 x 162 x 360 mm (17.8 x 6.4 x 14.2 in)
Weight	Approx. 11 kg (24.3 lb)

🚚 Curbside Delivery: this item ships differently

We don’t ship vintage turntables by courier, because the risk of damage in transit is too high. Instead, collect your build from us in Kanata, or we can bring it to you with our own Curbside Delivery. Ask before you order, with your postal code, and we’ll confirm the delivery price and coverage.

✅ Buy with confidence: every custom build is backed by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back.

See everything we have in stock from Technics.

📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.

$1,540.00

Additional information

Weight	24.3 lbs
Dimensions	14.2 × 17.8 × 6.4 in
Drive Type	Direct Drive
Operation	Manual

About brand

Technics at Radique

We service Technics, too. Bring us your own Technics turntables, receivers, amplifiers, cassette decks and CD players for repair, servicing or restoration (not reel-to-reel decks), with a 90-day warranty on the work. See our Audio Service page

Technics is the premium audio name Matsushita (now Panasonic) created in Osaka in 1965, and its direct-drive turntables, above all the SL-1200, made it famous. We carry Technics turntables, stereo receivers, amplifiers, CD players, cassette decks and equalizers. We've had more than 160 Technics listings so far, covering more than 115 different models. Every used Technics here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Turntables don't travel well by courier, so ours are pickup in Kanata or Curbside Delivery only. Don't see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we'll email you when one arrives.

Our best-selling Technics models so far are two turntables, the SL-3200 and the SL-220.

The Technics story, 1965 to today

Matsushita Electric of Osaka created Technics in 1965 as its premium audio brand. The first product to carry the name was the Technics 1 bookshelf speaker.

Direct drive. The SP-10 of 1969 or 1970 (sources differ), built around a motor invented by Shuichi Obata, is what Technics calls the world's first direct-drive turntable. The SL-1200 followed in 1972 as a home hi-fi turntable, and the SL-1200MK2 of 1979 was redesigned with DJs in mind. About 3.5 million SL-1200s were made.

CD and the 1980s. The SL-P10 of 1982 was Technics' first CD player.

Pause and return. Panasonic ended SL-1200 production in 2010 and brought Technics back in 2014. A new SL-1200G arrived in 2016 and the SL-1200MK7 DJ model in 2019, and turntable production moved from Japan to Malaysia in 2021.

Which Technics is which?

SL-1200 and SL-1210: the MK2 of 1979 added quartz-locked speed control and a slider pitch control. The 1210 is the black version, often with dual-voltage switching.

SL-B, SL-D and SL-Q turntables: in the early-1980s range, Q models were fully automatic and quartz-locked, D models were not, and the SL-B models were belt-drive budget decks.

SL-3200, SL-220 and other home turntables: the Technics decks we sell most often.

SA receivers and SU amplifiers: such as the SA-1000 of 1978 to 1979. The SA-202 is one of the Technics receivers we've sold most.

RS tape decks, SL-P CD players and SB speakers: from the RS-1500U open-reel deck of 1976 to the SB-7000 linear-phase speakers of 1975.

Buying used Technics: what to check

Speed and pitch. On an SL-1200 or SL-1210, use the strobe to confirm the dots hold steady, and sweep the pitch fader at 33 and 45 rpm.

Tonearm. It should move smoothly with no play in the bearings, the headshell should clamp firmly, and the anti-skate, arm lock and cue lift should all work.

Connections. Loose leads cause crackling. Check the ground wire and both channels.

Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.