A highlight of the Pocket Operator range gets beefed up in size and specs but, Si Truss asks, is it worth the beefed-up price?
CONTACT WHO: Teenage Engineering WEB: http://teenage.engineering KEY FEATURES Built-in mic and speaker; 6 stereo voices and 12 mono; 64 MB memory, or 999 sample slots; 6 built-in master effects and 12 punch-in effects; Pressure sensitive keys and multifunctional fader I/O: 1x stereo in/ out, sync in/out, MIDI in/out and USB-C DIMENSIONS: 240 mm x 176 mm x 16 mm WEIGHT: 0.62kg
In recent years, Teenage Engineering has focused on producing high-end gear with an emphasis on slick modernist design. With that focus on ‘aspirational’ products, it’s easy to forget that the Swedish brand also makes some of the most fun and wallet-friendly instruments on the market, in the form of the sub-£100 Pocket Operators.
The company’s latest, the catchily named EP-133 K.O. II, is an evolution of one of the highlights of that PO range. Like other Pocket
Operators, the PO-133 K.O! sampler was a rather crude-looking digital instrument slightly larger than a credit card. What set it apart from some of the other devices in the range was its ability to quickly sample from its built-in mic or audio input, making the original K.O a fun and convenient – if rather fiddly – tool for on-the-go sampling.
The EP-130 K.O. II is essentially an upscaled version of that device. Where the original PO was a little smaller than a phone, the K.O. II is roughly the size of a current gen iPad. That increase in size immediately solves a lot of the fiddliness that hindered the original Pocket Operators from crossing the gap to being seen as serious production tools rather than fun noise-making devices. The K.O. II hardware is more than just a bigger version of its predecessor though. This time around, the ‘open’ and bare-bones design of the original has been replaced by a more contained plastic chassis complete with extra controls and a more involved – if somewhat esoteric – display.
Along with the increased size comes better connectivity. At the top of the device are six mini-jack ports, the first two of which provide the main audio output and an audio input for sampling into the unit. Next to this are two analogue sync ports, and MIDI in and out ports (though a 3.5mm to MIDI adapter is required to use these, which, alas, isn’t included). Finally, the K.O. II also sports a USB-C port for USB MIDI and power as well as firmware updates and sample
