I have to say that I completley agree with everything that the previous reviewers has written about these decks. They are industry standard and there is a reason why you will find them in every club in the world. They are one of the best investments that you will ever make.

I bought my pair a year ago as my first decks after deciding to make the next step in my love of music. The were 2-3 years old then and I have not had one single problem since I bought. The budget I gave myself was £600 max to start out including mixer, headphones and a couple of basslines to start my collection. I had two options, being get some Stantons or Numarks..etc new or get some 1210s.. After seeking advise from my various mates who had decks and reading up about them I opted for the Technics.

I got mine second hand from an internet auction site and I would advise anyone starting out with a budget does this. The reason for this is that unlike other decks 1210s generally wont loose value or quality if you buy them secondhand. I have mates that have had them for 10 years and they work as good as they do they day that they bought them. They are very durable and very well designed. They are so well made it is very rare for them to go wrong.

If you have a load of money and you can afford it buy a beautiful new pair do this, I certainly will do one day, this will be for the same reason a rich Mercedes owner from the City buys a new car from the showroom each year. If you are starting out with a budget though why buy new if you if can save £250 on something that will work just as well? I would advise though that you don't just go out and buy the first ones you see advertised. Find a good buyer, find out why they are selling, try and find someone nearby so you can see them working - most sellers certainly wont mind this, if you have done your homework lack of a years warranty will not matter with this product. Depending on how much of a bargain you find you should be looking to pay £350 - 450 for the pair. I paid £420 for mine.

One reason why it is good that they don't loose thier value compared to other decks is that if for some crazy reason you decide that this djing lark isnt for you, you will be able to recoup most of the large investment that you have just made.

One thing that I will say that you might want to consider when deciding to buy 1210s is the sort of music that you are going be playing. I play drum and bass/ dubstep/ breakbeat. It is in these genres that vinyl is still strongest and personally I think it works best. I always remember a quote I read from Andy C the number one dnb DJ in the world recently:

- Whats your vice?
- I spend a lot of money on dubplates. I'm an old-skool DJ I don't use CDs

If you are thinking about playing Techno/ House/ Trance...etc you might want to consider CD decks. In the age of electronic music we are now in DJs that play these types of music certainly favour these. If you are looking to buy decks you have probably considered eventually playing out and playing the music that you love to other people, so make sure you have a good think about why you are buying decks.

You will certainly realise that you have made the right decision when you first have a go on a different model after owning yours for a while. There a few decks with the same tourque as these badboys have that could rip your fingers off. The motor is so powerful and well made, it could power a fighter jet and is probably made by Germans. You feel sorry for any of your mates that have anything other then them. The layout of them is simple, iconic and has been unsucessfully replicated many a time. I truly think that they are one of the true icons of the 20th century.

If you don't have the budget I had, save up for them.... if you are serious about starting this most rewarding hobby you will eventually buy a pair anyway. I suppose some people might buy decks just to mess around on, so be thinking get some well cheap ones second hand. But I warn you mixing is infectious! Heard the term vinyl junkie? I warn you this is an addiction that does not do wonders for you wallet! This said for me though the rewards way outweigh the price!

Im off to double drop Signal/ Ra cos ive certainly inspired myself to have a mix writing this. I wish all the most of luck, dont worry if beatmatching takes a while to come eventually it will, and remember practise makes perfect.