Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II Sampler

[anselmi]

64mb is SU700 land.

also Digitakt land

Digitakt comes with 64mb only?

64 mb RAM
1 Gb storage but it can´t stream audio direct from this one, so the effective operative memory is juts 64 mb. Since it read mono samples only it´s quite a lot of time if you use one-shot samples and some loops.
I discovered that my sets rarely pass the 20 mb mark.

[nocontact]

there is no info in the manual on actual sampling times in mono or stereo. since memory is the same as digitakt, should we expect 33 seconds of mono?

also pretty strange there is no bit crushing on broad. maybe not as full featured as sp404 mk2 but way more interesting. are tg known for evolving and adding alot of features to their devices with new updates like?

[t-sun]

there is no info in the manual on actual sampling times in mono or stereo. since memory is the same as digitakt, should we expect 33 seconds of mono?

also pretty strange there is no bit crushing on broad. maybe not as full featured as sp404 mk2 but way more interesting. are tg known for evolving and adding alot of features to their devices with new updates like?

Perfect Circuit reports 20 seconds split among the 999 slots.

ETA: Combine that with the manual statement: 64MB or 999 slots until you run out of memory. So it's not 999x20sec.

[nocontact]

999x20 sec would make it useless for almost everything else but percussion... where did you find this in the manual? I can not find it.

[PC Principal]

64mb is SU700 land.

also Digitakt land

Digitakt comes with 64mb only?

64 mb RAM
1 Gb storage but it can´t stream audio direct from this one, so the effective operative memory is juts 64 mb. Since it read mono samples only it´s quite a lot of time if you use one-shot samples and some loops.
I discovered that my sets rarely pass the 20 mb mark.

Didn't know that thanks. I think it's sufficient for a lot of things.

[MoonPoly]

I was interested until I saw 12 total mono voices with no re-sampling, so layering samples is out. Also the time-stretch seems about as rudimentary as the 90s groove samplers that I found useless years ago. If the fader could be used for real time sample playback alteration it would be an immediate buy, similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7igvG8CRUo

With the various limitations in the manual and the fact that it seems like a ton of people are treating this as an impulse buy, I'm expecting a lot of people complaining online in a few weeks and a bunch of 'like new' units on Reverb pretty quick.

almost everything you state is wrong .. its got stereo sampling but 12 voices in totall .. you can sample L R ST or C = combines L&R into mono .. you can layer the oldschool way via a playback. the timestreach flavor is in the eye of the beholder .. personally I find it vibey .. The fader can be used for sample alteration and be recorded...

the only thing you got right was the lack of resampling ... which on a unit like this is a heavy weight feature ..


Now if samples only trigger by gate I would stress that as the 2nd biggest downfall .. as sustain of pad/ sound is 1/3rd of what makes a groove .. the other two being velocity and time ..

TOP MISSING FEATURES
**RE-SAMPLING
**PLAYBACK MODE = GATE /SUSTAIN / LOOP

If these where implanted you will see a future wave of full albums done completely on PO MK2s

[notmiserlouagain]

No int./ext. modulation of parameters though (filter, delay, sample envelope, etc.)?
Or am I missing something?

[BlackieDawless]

there is no info in the manual on actual sampling times in mono or stereo. since memory is the same as digitakt, should we expect 33 seconds of mono?

also pretty strange there is no bit crushing on broad. maybe not as full featured as sp404 mk2 but way more interesting. are tg known for evolving and adding alot of features to their devices with new updates like?

There is definitely bitcrushing on board, at least on the punch in effects? Cuckoo’s video demonstrates and it sounds pretty darn good!

[Dragonaut]

No resampling. That takes it out of the realm of an all in one device and places it firmly in the sketch pad territory. Still, 300 bucks. I like it but resampling would make it a true K.O.

[starthief]

Just bought one, bhphotovideo still has them in stock for the moment.

For my purposes, I can always capture it in the DAW and sort of "bounce" to resample.

[Dragonaut]

I had to grab it. It’s too much fun to pass up at this price point.

[nocontact]

i'd like to see bitcrusher as an programmable parameter, not something you punch in.

I'm sure resampling will be implemented soon, not everything can be there on lunch and it is already very compelling. really hope someone can confirm how long imported samples can be. digitakt is also 64mb, restricted to 33s of mono sampling, but is able to play back something like 11 minutes of imported audio... i'm buying it anyway for other purposes but backing tracks would be over the top.

[t-sun]

I was interested until I saw 12 total mono voices with no re-sampling, so layering samples is out. Also the time-stretch seems about as rudimentary as the 90s groove samplers that I found useless years ago. If the fader could be used for real time sample playback alteration it would be an immediate buy, similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7igvG8CRUo

With the various limitations in the manual and the fact that it seems like a ton of people are treating this as an impulse buy, I'm expecting a lot of people complaining online in a few weeks and a bunch of 'like new' units on Reverb pretty quick.

almost everything you state is wrong .. its got stereo sampling but 12 voices in totall .. you can sample L R ST or C = combines L&R into mono .. you can layer the oldschool way via a playback. the timestreach flavor is in the eye of the beholder .. personally I find it vibey .. The fader can be used for sample alteration and be recorded...

the only thing you got right was the lack of resampling ... which on a unit like this is a heavy weight feature ..


Now if samples only trigger by gate I would stress that as the 2nd biggest downfall .. as sustain of pad/ sound is 1/3rd of what makes a groove .. the other two being velocity and time ..

TOP MISSING FEATURES
**RE-SAMPLING
**PLAYBACK MODE = GATE /SUSTAIN / LOOP

If these where implanted you will see a future wave of full albums done completely on PO MK2s

It has six stereo voices or twelve mono. So twelve actual voices. Layering via playback reduces total voices, which is one of the most important uses of resampling on a sampler with limited voices. Layer 3 stereo pad notes for a chord and you've lost half your voices. Whether you consider it a 'heavy weight feature' or not is up to you, but it was a common feature on even the earliest samplers. The fader cannot be used for sample playback speed alteration, unless there's something I've missed in the manual.

[t-sun]

999x20 sec would make it useless for almost everything else but percussion... where did you find this in the manual? I can not find it.

Quoted specs on Perfect Circuit, as I said: https://www.perfectcircuit.com/teenage- ... ko-ii.html

64MB sample memory: 20 seconds, 999 sample slots

Manual page 8.1:

K.O.II can store up to 999 samples, or 64 MB, whichever comes first.

20 seconds max per sample would be perfectly useful for phrase sampling, If Perfect Circuit is accurate then it just means the max individual sample is 20 sec but you can have up to 999 tiny one-hit percussion samples or wavesample loops, etc. If you fill it with 20 second samples you'll run out of space long before you fill all the 999 slots.

[anselmi]

there is no info in the manual on actual sampling times in mono or stereo. since memory is the same as digitakt, should we expect 33 seconds of mono?

mostly like 6 minutes in mono, 3 minutes in stereo total sample time

[PC Principal]

Too lazy to look it up: Adjustable bitrate and frequency or fixed? To what value(s)?

[starthief]

Mentioned in one of the videos, it's "40-something kHz" at 16 bits, but not 48, so probably 44.1. That would be about 12 minutes and 40 seconds of mono samples if my math is right.

[fruitsnake]

Just ordered from B&H, couldn't resist. The sequencer looks like my dream come true; the way you can punch in the quantization in real time reminds me of my old MC-50 but on steroids. And the hard plastic buttons with velocity and pressure, it's too perfect.

I'm reasonably excited about the sampler aspect of it, but I'm mostly interested in using it to sequence my eurorack via Shuttle Control. Should be here Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.

[PC Principal]

Mentioned in one of the videos, it's "40-something kHz" at 16 bits, but not 48, so probably 44.1. That would be about 12 minutes and 40 seconds of mono samples if my math is right.

I don't care to much about the max length more so I'd like to go for lower figures because of a certain sound, that's why I'm keeping old samplers around my house...which I wouldn't mind to ditch if the funk is to be found in a more conveniant box.

[bjoerngiesler]

Quick pocket calculator math gives ~365s for stereo samples or double that for mono, without compression. Can anyone confirm?

[1n]

Specialised specs 'deal breakers' aside...

It sounds very good.

I use Koala a lot for sketching, and will get a lot of use out of this.

[flts]

The fader cannot be used for sample playback speed alteration, unless there's something I've missed in the manual.

https://teenage.engineering/guides/ep-1 ... #4.5-fader

"the fader on K.O.II is a great way to quickly adjust various parameters in a given group.
(...)
to select the function of the fader, hold down (FADER) and choose from the options above the pads."

The options above pads are: LEVEL, PITCH, TIME, LPF, HPF, FX, ATK, REL, PAN, TUNE, VEL, MOD. I'd say PITCH sounds very much like sample playback speed.

Whether you consider it a 'heavy weight feature' or not is up to you, but it was a common feature on even the earliest samplers.

While I agree that's probably going to be one of the top feature requests for many (including mine), I was wondering - did eg. SP1200, MPC60 or MPC3000 have internal resampling?

I'd probably compare K.O. II to those things first - it looks and feels like a "sampling drum machine" more than anything else. My first thought was that this feels like a braindead (in a good way) pocket SP1200 without the 12bit + filters mojo, and would be super fun for sample-based hip hop stuff with sort of a limited palette and fast UI. (Ordered one as well, so I suppose in a week or two I get to try out whether that's true or not)

[MoonPoly]

to select the function of the fader, hold down (FADER) and choose from the options above the pads."

The options above pads are: LEVEL, PITCH, TIME, LPF, HPF, FX, ATK, REL, PAN, TUNE, VEL, MOD. I'd say PITCH sounds very much like sample playback speed.

yhea normally we assest pitch with speed as always but as this thing plays samples in real time timestreach mode It literally has TIME variation..

[nostalghia]

Noticed this on the Perfect Circuit site:

Interview: Designing the teenage engineering EP-133 K.O. II
TE Founder / Designer David Eriksson on Their Newest Sampler

https://www.perfectcircuit.com/signal/t ... -133-ko-ii

"PC: Does the K.O. II boast any differences in sampling sounds compared to the PO-33, whether in recording length, audio quality, or function?

DE: Yes, the K.O. II can sample in both mono and stereo, 20 seconds up to 999 sample slots, recorded at a high quality of 46kHz."

Btw, I'm curious-has anyone preordered from PC ?
Wondering if they allowed use of the 10% Black Friday discount code on the pre-order?
(not the thread to discuss any past negative experience w/PC preorders in this thread- please stay on topic)

[flts]

Heh, obvious sampler influence confirmed (and seen in the picture): "I think the nice thing about samplers are that they become "you," rather than a synth that has a certain sound. you choose what to sample and how to chop it. Also we're all big fans of the work that Roger Linn did with the LM-1 & 2, MPC60 and 3000. Many samplers since became too complex to use, so to me, the reason for creating a new hardware sampler today is more around making a handy instrument with zero boot time, low latency throughout, and a tool you'll learn to master, that encourages you to perform."