Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II 128MB

General

We have to go back quite a few years: Teenage Engineering released the Pocket Operator line-up. Actually quite bizarre little devices, a kind of calculator in the form of a bare circuit board. But musical blood is thicker than water: we have already sold many of them. Typical of that line-up was the subtle humour hidden in it. This Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II is the successor to the original Pocket Operator K.O. But it is actually much more than a successor. For a start, it no longer looks like the Pocket Operator, more like a marriage between an old Akai MPC and the calculator you used to do your administration with in the 80s (which had a roll of paper in it). In that respect, it is yet another eccentric Teenage Engineering product. At the same time, it has become a considerably larger and more mature product; in appearance and capabilities, it fits well into the Teenage row that includes high-end products such as the TP-7 and the CM-15.

Features of the EP-133 K.O. 2

Let's start at the beginning: what exactly is it? Simple: a stand-alone portable synthesiser/sampler with sequencer. Looked at that way, it is a groovebox, one that will appeal to beats/loops-based producers! A very nice detail is that it has a built-in speaker. That fits in well with the company's philosophy that values mobile use. Polyphony is six or 12 (depending on stereo or mono), and that may not seem like much. But remember that you're not creating a Wagner symphony with this. Instead, this is a device meant for a certain stylistic minimalism. Moreover, there are effects available, which allow you to make things sound quite big. In this updated version, 128 MB of memory is available, so for sample-based minimalism, that's quite decent.

Further features

You can sample with it, and in addition to a regular line input, it also has a built-in microphone. To further underline the quality, this unit has 24-bit AD/DA conversion with internal 32-bit signal processing. The twelve trigger pads are touch-sensitive and have a contemporary feel. The screen is full of colourful icons and the sequencer is very accurate. The EP-133 is there for a specific target audience, and for that audience there are several popular choices. Chances are that the EP-133 will occupy a very specific place with a very wide target group. You can't tell by looking at it, but under the hood, a huge amount is possible. This phenomenon seems to be Teenage Engineering's trademark by now. This retro-style calculator could just be a surprise hit!