"You know what you had? You had a blackout": Scorpions' Rudolf Schenker on the inspiration behind Pro-Ject's new turntable

It's always a joy to see a new artist turntable from Pro-Ject: whether it's the Elvis 68 comeback special, AC/DC or, er, Peanuts, it's a chance for the brand to have a bit of fun. And its first for 2026 is a tribute to German hard rockers Scorpions.

The Pro-Ject Scorpions Turntable features the artwork from the band's 1982 album Blackout, which was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest metal albums of all time. And while the art is a few decades old, it still looks perfectly modern thanks to its provocative self-portrait by artist Gottfried Helnwein.

Pro-Ject Scorpions turntable: history, price and availability

According to Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker, the song that gave the album its title – and the inspiration for this turntable – has an interesting back story: "[It] came out of a situation when I was partying with the Judas Priest guys, Glenn and KK, and with Def Leppard.

"It was a hard party – no question – and I had a blackout, which I didn’t even know existed," he explain to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

"I told (drummer) Herman the story. He said, 'You know what you had? You had a blackout.' Then he added, 'Oh, by the way, that’s a great title for an album.'"

Underneath the artwork, the Scorpions turntable is based on the Pro-Ject T2, with a belt-driven design, a CNC-machined plinth and a heavy glass platter that's fully transparent so you can see the artwork underneath it.

There's a straight nine-inch aluminium tonearm with low-friction bearings and a spring-based anti-skating mechanism. It comes with a pre-adjusted Pick it 25A moving magnet cartridge.

The Pro-Ject Scorpions Turntable is available in limited numbers in the UK for £629 and in the EU for €649. Pricing and availability for other countries will be announced soon.