This Is the Vintage DJ Equipment You Saw In the Finale of “Stranger Things 4”

Jul 7, 2022 • 4 years ago • 2 min read • 108 views
This Is the Vintage DJ Equipment You Saw In the Finale of “Stranger Things 4”

Turn the volume to Eleven.

Spoiler alert: Do not read if you have not watched "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback" of Stranger Things 4, now streaming on Netflix.

While we process the pandemonium of the heart-pounding Stranger Things 4 finale, let's revisit that chilling "Snow Ball" scene and its badass vintage turntables.

When this season's villain—a dark wizard named Vecna who feeds on the trauma of kids—closes in on his telepathic kill of Max, Eleven infiltrates her memories in an attempt to save her. Wandering the depths of her psyche, Eleven finds a young Max skateboarding in a park. Searching for signs of Vecna, Eleven instead spots something from an entirely different memory of Max's.

In the "memory within a memory," she enters a nearby bridge and encounters a classic mixer, which was flanked by two vintage turntables. But the happy memory from which the DJ equipment appears (from Season 2's "Snow Ball" school dance) mutates in a continuous sequence as Max sees balloons popping and gruesomely spraying blood. Vinyl of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's "Dream a Little Dream of Me" eerily spins in one of the more blood-curdling moments of the episode.

Netflix

Eagle-eyed DJs and audiophiles probably paused the program—and angered their significant others—to identify the record players, but their text is inscrutable.

Just like Eddie Munson's beloved Hellfire Club, we did some investigating to find out the specs of those killer vintage turntables. And after our research assignment—let's call it DJs and Dragons—we discovered the model: the Technics SL-1200MK2.

Released in the summer of 1979, these classic turntables were the most common for DJing and scratching at the time, due in part to Technics' influential move to change the rotary pitch control to a slider style.

Prevalently regarded as one of the most durable record players ever manufactured, the SL-1200MK2 came in matte black and silver. But it's the latter that soundtracked Eleven's nail-biting journey through Max's memories.

Technics

The Technics SL-1200 series was discontinued in 2010, so the SL-1200MK2 is as rare as hens' teeth. You can try your luck on eBay.

Original Article

Kelly

Kelly

Lead Critic

Staff writer and music curator at Beatsway. Covering live concerts, rock anthems, chart-topping pop trends, and underground beat drops worldwide.