With the Concorde system, Ortofon launched a series of pickups that went on to revolutionise the DJ scene, especially with their sound and user-friendly features. It’s been almost 50 years since the Danish company first caught the eye of DJs. The history of the company now stretches back a full 100 years.
So what fuelled the rise of Ortofon pickups? To find out, we need to take a look at history first – and discos. At the time, the disco wave of the late seventies had just subsided and new genres such as techno, house and hip-hop were conquering dance halls on both sides of the Atlantic. Ortofon arrived on the scene just at the right time with their Concorde pickups. The first Concorde systems were not designed for professional DJ use, however, but rather for the classic home hi-fi listener.
Innovative Design
The first Concorde system was introduced in 1979, the same year as the Technics SL-1200MK2 turntable. The new model looked completely different to the pickups that Ortofon and its competitors had been offering until then. Danish industrial designer Jan Trägårdh originally designed the Concorde and won a design award for its bold look. The obvious namesake for the new Ortofon model was the supersonic passenger airliner of the same name. For those unfamiliar with the analogy, the airliner and the pickup system are linked by the distinctively curved tip of their noses. Trägårdh’s innate drive for this rather idiosyncratic development, however, was his quest for a system with an integrated pickup and headshell that could be easily mounted on a tonearm without the need for cumbersome screws and fiddly wiring.
Iconic pickup system
Soon after the MM pickup system was launched, it became clear that the Concorde was exceptionally robust, sounded good, had a convincingly high output and, above all, stayed in the groove. Qualities that were and still are sought after, especially in the club scene. As new genres of music emerged, DJs were also developing new techniques like scratching and back-cueing. The Concorde proved ideal here, not least because of its durability and directional stability.
Thanks to its special »plug and play« design, the SME bayonet connection on the tonearm also allowed systems and styli to be changed extremely quickly and easily. With the Concorde series, Ortofon also offered different models with different sound characteristics, giving DJs the opportunity to choose according to their preferences and musical style.
So it was only a matter of time before the Concorde made its way to the DJs in the discos and nightclubs, where it’s been a fixture since the 1980s. In the meantime, the pickup system has almost achieved cult status, and Ortofon openly admits that it was responsible for the company’s survival in the 1990s. It is, after all, the biggest selling model in the history of the company.
Over the years, Ortofon has continued to develop the Concorde series, introducing new models for different applications at regular intervals. The Concorde models DJ, Nightclub or Pro are best remembered as enduring favourites, while special artist series like the Ortofon Concorde Q.Bert, which was developed in collaboration with the American turntablist DJ Qbert, are also very popular with scratch and turntablism DJs.
2018 model update
The DJ scene has evolved enormously since then, especially in the last ten years, and this has not escaped the attention of the Danish company. In close collaboration with leading DJs, the company has developed new pickups from the ground up, adapting them to the needs and applications of modern DJs. Whether beginner, all-rounder, turntablist, timecode DJ or sound purist: Concorde models are available for every vinyl DJ to suit their individual tastes. Enhanced features on all five systems include: a replaceable, reinforced finger lift, a wider pickup body for more stability when playing, and tactile feedback when inserting replacement styli.
Symbol for the club culture
This is how Ortofon has managed to remain relevant and innovative as a cartridge manufacturer for over four decades. The cultural and technical innovation embodied in the Concorde pickup system had a major impact on DJing in the 1980s, laying the foundations for modern DJing practices. With its unique design and ease of use, it revolutionised the DJ profession by offering seamless mounting, precise tracking, rugged construction and versatile sound characteristics. The Concorde series became a symbol for DJs and club culture at the time, and its ongoing evolution continues to have a significant influence on the world of DJing today.
