After 20 years and over 50,000 turntable repairs, Technics service guru Justin “Terminal Optic” Lovelace is preparing to retire. The renowned owner of DJ Pro Audio, Inc. and last known Authorized
Service Technician for Technics will be calling it quits, just as Panasonic has announced the closing of its fabled DJ equipment line two months ago.
“It was fun, and all of these years, I survived mainly on word of mouth recommendations,” said Lovelace. “50,000 some odd turntables later, let’s just say I’ve had my share of Technics to last a couple of lifetimes! And throughout the years I’ve also trained some great technicians, so if you’re ever in the market for a turntable repair, I’m sure you’ll come across one of my guys in the field.”
In the prime of his career, Lovelace – who has worked with a host of DJs like Afrika Bambaataa, Erick Morillo and Carl Cox – explained that he was fixing up to 50-plus turntables a week from across the globe. The storied technician and DJ said that although he’ll be soon ending his career as a service technician, he will surely work with the legendary turntable brand in his future endeavors.
“I just can’t seem to get away from [Technics],” he explained. “Mainly because in my current business we still rent Technics DJ turntables and other gear for all sorts of social, private and corporate events. Plus, we still sponsor many DJ Battles based in New York, like the DMC Battles, AirPlay Battles, and Roc Raida’s DJ Gong Show. Lastly, I’m working on a project, DJ Pro Lab, to bring my knowledge of repairs to the general public – giving the people the power to repair their own equipment. So yes, I’m still working with them…I have many things brewing which will add much more value to the DJ world. So stay tuned, even though Technics is out, I’m not.”
