Rane's Twelve closes the gap between digital players and turntables

Although digital can offer the world to a DJ, from syncing and looping to squeezing your record box into your pocket, we just can’t shake the 12” turntable. Now, Rane has weighed into the digital versus vinyl debate with this interesting hybrid. Blink and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an actual turntable. All the signs are there: a vinyl 12” on top, rotary power control next to the stop/start button, pitch control, 45 and 33½ RPM buttons, a rugged steel body that looks like it can handle years of abuse. The only thing missing?

A needle and tone arm. The Twelve is designed to give you the feel of a traditional record deck like the classic Technics 1210s, but with the accuracy of digital. It won’t skip. It won’t have bass problems. And it will allow you the versatility of digital DJing, from controlling four channels of music at once to cue points, super pitch and a touch-strip for needle searching through a track without a tonearm. Aimed primarily at scratch DJs, expect it to have a heavy presence at DMC competitions. There’s just one glaring ommision: why no USB port?

£699, www.rane.com