Great video. Definitely got a malfunctioning fader there. I love my ep133. One of the most inspiring bits of gear I’ve bought in a long time. Like a looper on steroids.

Great overview Cheers 👏👏👏🤘

I had mine on order but got a bad feeling about it after the issues people were reporting and got a Roland SP404 instead. I'm very happy with it.

@Samichlaus01

6 ай бұрын

Same here! Got the SP for the same price, so lucky and so happy :P Infortunately i needed to returned it because of weird power issue 😅 Can't wait to get it back!

@BrunoLuisGarcia

5 ай бұрын

A very wise choice! 🙏👍

@funkyenzym1865

4 ай бұрын

Dude Iiked your comment!! I did the same thing lol🤣🤣🤣

@BrunoLuisGarcia

4 ай бұрын

@@funkyenzym1865 TE products are no way near to any Roland product. Always over priced for the quality and for what they do. Even the small POs are totally over priced. See how much cost korg monotrons an analog circuit or even the volcas.

All this KO II drama is the joke of 2023. I hope you get a good replacement, or your money back.

kOOL KIDS TOY.

2:37 You can download all the factory samples to your computer and remove what you don’t use from the KO II to free up space. You can always transfer the downloaded samples from your computer and back to the KO. Love mine btw.

@user-xq3lb7nb3f

6 ай бұрын

absolutely its very easy to drag and drop and backup all sounds ..

@MedicSound

6 ай бұрын

I feel you but it's also about to be 2024 in like 3 days, there's no actually good reason that this device was shipped with only 64 megabytes of flash.

@user-xq3lb7nb3f

6 ай бұрын

thats another fact yes.. its good for very small and short samples.. that is not the biggest problem to me.. hopefully they will come back with a better update @@MedicSound

@DetroitMicroSound

6 ай бұрын

Yes there is- planned obsolescence. @@MedicSound

@majorchutzpah7265

6 ай бұрын

Its cheap​@@MedicSound

Thanks for a straight and levelheaded review of this thing, glad you didn't just hype it like every other KZread music "influencer"

@eurorail

3 ай бұрын

Don’t agree. I think the unit is great for what it is. This is basically a hater review. Much less honest and just dwelling on negativity.

My first one had a fader issue as well. It sucks. But now I have a device which is fully functional. I couldn’t find any bug till now. Thank god. The more I play with it and get use to it the more I love it. The latest firmware which fixed the filter rang issue with the fader was very welcome. And there is a another KZread channel which organized all the sampels. So you can do a factory reset and get them samples back. I mean it’s a fun device and despite being a modular junkie, I really love mine. It works very very well with the Roland compact series specially s1.

@mihaidxn

2 ай бұрын

How is it fully functional now? Did you get a replacement unit or it was fixed via mod ding or firmware update?

@TheNimasan

2 ай бұрын

@@mihaidxn yes i did. After 3 devices. Haha. I love it. It’s really a great piece of gear. Easy to use. The only thing I don’t like is I can’t use the effects per sound. I whish I could. Maybe they releas an update in that case. I asked them.

Good review and I think im going to go with circuit rythym instead they are fairly similar in capabilities, but the circuit is cheaper at thomann at least and seems to be way better built and proven.

@JustDatBoi

Ай бұрын

Yea, I’d definitely go with the circuit rhythm.

I wanted to love mine. I really did. Returning it and getting the Roland tho 🤣

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Same. I tried. I ended up returning mine and requesting a refund.

I returned mine because the speaker stopped working on day 1.

What would you like Teenage Engineering to improve and add to the KO II in future firmware updates?

@JustDatBoi

Ай бұрын

I’d like a non-calculator sampler personally.

Loved mine for about 4 hours and then the speaker packed in. Then notes started appearing from nowhere in sequences. It's on the way back to Germany, sadly. It did have something about it but, let's face it, if this was was launched by any other company in the poor way that this has been then that would probably be the last product they launched.

the oprocessing issue is a big one for me aha thanks. this seemed neat but yeah the fader thing and that especially. i'll just use my pc to make music

Looks like a fun toy to have in your locker at work

Multiple issues with mine as well but I elected to get a replacement. I like it for what is does and TE is now promising that resampling will be added with some other new features. Big public black eye for TE on this though as they continue to provide very little communication to the music community on the issue and what they are doing to resolve it.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Yeah I had reached out for a statement and they blew me off with an email that had nothing to do with my questions or concerns.

@arcticfoxstudios2018

6 ай бұрын

@@Tiger.Arcade People would give them some slack if they just came out and addressed it, but since they aren't, you've got a bunch of us creators giving them bad press.

One thing this release did was get me to better appreciate my SP-404 mk2. Granted, I'm more into synthesizers than sampling, but I've recently started messing around with it as an effect processor and pairing mono synths into a stereo signal through it.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Love that. I started using it with my modular synths and synths alike and it is a great master clock and just simple drum machine. Fun little thing, just some frustrations.

@BrunoLuisGarcia

5 ай бұрын

Yes, SP all the way!!! They shouldn't even be compared. The SP is on another level and category with a much, much higher quality and performance capabilities. TE put it on that price tag but it should be much cheaper, for what it really is. Every TE product it's over priced for the it's built quality, specs and capabilities. I name them The Hipster Toy Manufacture. Real instruments don't come from that company for sure!

@theleastsignificantbit4794

5 ай бұрын

My 404 Mark 2 had noise issues. I tried everything to troubleshoot it. B&H replaced it, but the replacement had a similar issue. Maybe I’ll give it another shot.

@BrunoLuisGarcia

5 ай бұрын

@@theleastsignificantbit4794 It can happen! Faulty units, but in this case I would check where are you plugging it. The are other instruments or machines in the same power outlet? Are the cables you are using ok?

the opz was such a good device pledged by build quality they just don't seem to know how to be affordable with good build quality except the OG PO's

@DetroitMicroSound

6 ай бұрын

I would bet at least a thousand+ PO's have arrived at houses with broken screens. Especially those bought through Amazon, because Amazon packs them in poly bags, with no padding at all. I had the PO-35, and PO-33 both arrive with broken screens, because of the minimum packaging designs, that provide no protection to vital components of the machines. EVERY other company puts their gear in boxes, with foam shock absorption for a good reason.

@SonicVibe

6 ай бұрын

i ordered them from sweetwater,perfect circuit and guitar center and amazon have the whole set all where good i got lucky i guess cause the one from amazon i think was no packing @@DetroitMicroSound

@PorchBass

6 ай бұрын

I broke two POs in my pocket and gave up. I'd bet none will last long term

@ukarage

6 ай бұрын

My PO had issues with the batteries holders and screens.

@SonicVibe

6 ай бұрын

i just slightly bend the battery holder or tabs if needed @@ukarage

Tiger Mi amigo! A little friendly advice comment, Get yourself an iPad with koala sampler, Flip sampler and Beatmaker3 😊. salud 🍻!

@JustDatBoi

Ай бұрын

Koala is kind of limited though when it comes to sampling.

I noticed mine crackling out of one of my monitors when I was using the chorus, things like this make you wonder what the beta testers were doing, or if t.e just wasn't listening to them. for now mines in the drawer, see if they do any compelling firmware updates or it's probably not going to be a keeper

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Chorus mainly for me too. I recently sent mine back.

Have you noticed the manual online is missing chapter 13? …not sure if that’s a superstition thing, or if they just decided to hide it or something

Moving to a 4x3 layout is such a strange decision for multiple reasons (Chopping up into 12 slices /no x0x sequencer) but apparently the group buttons do have the pressure sensors, so in theory there's nothing stopping them from being used as pads to make it a 4x4 layout. There would of course have to be decisions made with regards to UI/ button combos to select groups etc. That said, I don't see it being very likely. I do think in the next update we will see project backup via the app, and song mode /pattern chaining. My wishlist for future updates would be: fx send on individual pads (Should be easy enough) Multiple FX (Potentially not feasible if we're already running into CPU limits) Filters per pad (Also potentially limited by the CPU) Sampling without holding button Resampling

This review pretty much confirms the immediate suspicions I had when I first saw this thing so thanks for doing this Also I see Logic in the background so now I know I can really really extra trust your opinion LOGIC BROTHER

I thought I’d order one but maybe not….it baffles me that given the decades of good sequencer/sampling design that TE make up yet another arcane interface that seems to completely ignore good UX/UI design principles…they do brilliantly to get the form factor down to a portable size and then hobble the workflow with limitations… sure, this gives them this distinct “Nordic” brand, but c’mon, sequencing and sampling design is now 40+ years old….use your brilliance to create a brilliantly simple to use UX/UI please! 🙏

@SAIWFY

6 ай бұрын

I feel like arturia has been nailing their products with their ui/ux design. Hbu?

we need more group like on the Mac .. undo aswell .. there is no UNDo in case u mistake on some shots.. tons of update has to be done but its a good start im sure this think will beat the Mac in a near futur has a 30 years MPC user

my first piece of gear was a volca sample 2 and I couldn't stand the memory limitations. Downsampling and memory management, making tough choices on what to delete takes as much time as actually making the music. 8MB on the volca and 64 on the KO is just a waste of potential. In the personal computer age where memory is abundant I just find this unacceptable. I quickly fell out of love with the lofi or vintage sampler aesthetic that all these machines fall under. You are paying to be punished and it's just better to actually buy something vintage to get the full limitation experience. I love how the 404mk2 did not go this route and was built modern memory standards but can mimic the analog experience.

I love my ko2

6:00 and 9:37 Yup, that's it. Thank you for your honest review and showing to the public how much snake oil TE pumps out nowadays. I have PO-32, PO-33 and both of them suffer from fiddly knobs... but still for that price tag I'd buy them again. They are simply fun to take in a pocket for a walk etc But I don't see any practical use for this equipment - for this price tag I would expect it to be BULLETPROOF. That fader is really sad. But the crackling is just pitiful.

@hazeentertainmenthiphop

6 ай бұрын

This is not a true!

@barutsuomiei

6 ай бұрын

@@hazeentertainmenthiphop What is not true about this man receiving a faulty product?

I was blessed enough to get a fully functional unit from Guitar Center. I would say it's a lot better than a C-. I would give the device a B+ or A-. It really it a lot of fun to use and it's quirky and interesting to make music on. You can do a lot with it. Stuff like the FX on individual pads can probably be fixed in a firmware update, which I hope TE do that, but other than that, it ticks a lot of the boxes you'd want checked in a groovebox/sampler. The sampling is dumb easy and the sequencing is very cool as well. I'm enjoying mine and I Hope eventually everyone with a dud gets a working unit so they can see how awesome it really is!

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

That’s great to hear and overall I think it’s really fun. My rating is based on my unit and experience I’ve had with it. I’m willing to change my rating once I get my new unit.

@wesp404

6 ай бұрын

Same, me too. I think I’d give a solid A if they get resampling and pattern chaining added. Extra credit if they have some better sample management. TE has always been terrible with onboard sample management. Always a mess.

You can precisely use the fader. Its in the manual.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Mine wouldn’t work “precisely” is the problem.

It’s a beefed up pocket operator that’s it . Sweet I’m into it MPC live 2 is still the best I sold my SP404

The fader is obviously defective. But it demonstrates quite well that if the K.O.II behaves strangely or unexpectedly, you can never be sure whether it is a software or hardware error. However, I think the design is great, but in detail you can see that it was produced very cheaply.

....... it's so easy to put the Og samples back. I just don't think this works as a product for you're style of creation. But the hip hop community def gets it. It's amazing. This just feels a bit misunderstood of an explanation.

Sent mine back in the first 2 weeks. This thing is awful

64MB? What is this 1997?

@ChetHanks-eh1md

6 ай бұрын

"LiMItAtIOns bReEd CrEaTIvItY"

@theleastsignificantbit4794

5 ай бұрын

Or limitations speak to poor design.

It's too bad that you got a bunk slider on your unit. I'm not one for built-in FX, namely because there is always have an issue or limitations, so I just use my guitar pedals. The other issues sound more like bugs that could be fixed in time. Other issues sound like sampler complaints in general. They never live up to what people imagine they will be. I'd point out that this unit can actually sample and does not require the sample to be downloaded from an external source, which makes it super useful for those of us that dislike having to add extra steps just to get a basic sample. I'm old school, though, so this could all just a me thing. Good review!

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Good point I failed to mention. It is a stand alone sampler and can have samples added via computer as well. You can even splice up the samples. Appreciate the support and feedback!

We need more reviews like this one. TE is nailing its own coffin with bad design, half baked software, and much more. They botch their products every single time. I’m on the verge of reselling all my TE gear. The op1 Field (that is way too overpriced and not that sturdy), the OB-4 (half baked loops and no audio out, come on…), etc. For now, TE sucks. Bad quality. Bad CS. No communication. They now officially have a bad reputation. And it’s only gonna get worse if things keep going that way. Utterly bad. So yeah. More reviews like yours is a much much needed content rn!

No Reverse Effect as well.

4:10 No, they don’t “try to play it off as C is for chords”. In the manual they suggest “Melodies” on group 3.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

They do. Reference the physical manual that comes with the product. On step 3 and 4. A-Drums B-Bass C-Chords D-Loops

@Knypsterino

6 ай бұрын

@@Tiger.ArcadeIn the full manual it’s “Melodies” so I just don’t think they “try” anything.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

@@Knypsterino okay, so can meet at a crossroads. In the physical manual (I can send a pic) it’s C for Chords. Digital manual does say melodies. So regardless, it does say C for Chords. 🤷‍♂️

@Knypsterino

6 ай бұрын

@@Tiger.ArcadeFair enough (I got the psycical guide so no need for a picture😊). I just don’t think TE is trying something 🤜🏼🤛🏼

Koala app does everything and more.

Pink cord link???

@Tiger.Arcade

5 ай бұрын

Check the description for the link ✌️

@Aven_Ultra

5 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Too much crap being GAS’d over these days. It’s all consumerist porn. Give me Ableton, an iced coffee, and a day off to put it all to use.

Good sampler but just for collection of hardware. It’s 2024 already and koala sampler + mpd18 combo is better than any shit on the market

I would have gladly paid $500 for this if it was solid build quality, better pads, much more memory, and no stupid built in speaker. Beautiful aesthetics though but I’m gonna pass on it. Maybe a mark ii in a year or two?

@Tiger Arcade - a lot of people seem so worried, hurt, confused, upset, disappointed, etc at what this EP133 KO2 isn't ... and I think that is a huge mistake. Sad really. It's a great tool to make music, easily, affordably that is just so satisfying. For instance, I took mine to a coffee shop, headphones and sipped on hot coco, people watched and made beats and I had an incredibly fun time. I got lost in time in fact. I was there 2 hours and it felt like 20 minutes.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

I think it’s fun as well. Just wish mine functioned fully to its potential. I didn’t really have much to compare it to like I saw many others. Just the PO 33. It’s definitely an upgrade and I look forward to playing with it more once exchanged.

It's a kool toy that's it.. nooo it's nothing compared to the spmkll and hell to the naw against any MPC live ever made

Idk man. I think it's awesome. So much hate towards it and I've had nothing but fun learning it.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

That’s all that matters honestly. If you’re enjoying it, that’s the most important thing. ✌️

@ChetHanks-eh1md

6 ай бұрын

ummmm well yeah a large percentage of them are defective so of course there is going to be hate. You can't sell brand new broken equipment to people.

TE just doesn't even try in terms of their manuals (despite the many button combination workflow that you mention), with my PO-35 I'm amazed (not in a good way) to recently learn of hidden menus which aren't even mentioned in their manual or website. I think your overall conclusion is sensible and well-reasoned, you seem unbiased and appropriately mention the things that are fun about it. I did get extremely frustrated with your mediocre explanation of the effects - you spend like 2 mins talking about how you feel about their choice to put suggested labels for the four banks but then only mention that there's "Master FX" applied to, it sounds like, across the 4-sample banks?!? I find TE's naming them "master" effects very confusing. Moreover their website says that there's also punch-in FX, why didn't you mention those? On the pocket operators it was only punch-in effects, and those were a lot of fun and somewhat distinct to TE. I'm right there with you about aggravation if the effects can't be applied only to selected parts or as send FX, but you don't tell us about the punch-in FX, how many can be used simultaneously, if they can be on individual parts etc. Still though I appreciate your video, thanks.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

Hey there! 👋 check out time stamp 7:53 under the chapter “punch in fx and velocity sensitivity” that part demos punch in fx. Hope that helps. Thanks for your support. ✌️

Looks like a hipster machine to me

@coreyedison2872

6 ай бұрын

Sold at Urban Outfitters for sure

@va941

6 ай бұрын

Well, just look at the people who are using it...THIS dude, cuckoo, taetro...etc...hipster machine? YOU THINK?😂😂😂

@coreyedison2872

6 ай бұрын

@@va941 😭😭😭

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

💀💀💀

@whatsthemonsterbelow

6 ай бұрын

This guy is out of his MIND. I got the synth last night. I'm a professional composer and producer. It's an amazing synth. I've used most pieces of tech and this one is ground breaking.

SMH

"64 MB memory, or 999 sample slots" (from the T.E. website.) read that again slowly

@ChetHanks-eh1md

6 ай бұрын

Gotta love the backwards thinking here. 128 should have been the bare minimum. Just like Apple capping their un upgradable storage 😂

Overall ... It's a toy. With only 64MB (!) It's completely ridiculous made by even more ridiculous marketing. Hell yeah ... 4 groups read: 4 tracks, that's it. For 100 euros more you can buy a Roland SP404 MKII having 16GB of storage (!) and tons of effects (per pad), more projects, more banks, better build quality, better routing/bus options, full size jacks etc etc. I used to own the OP-Z and had nothing but (hardware) trouble with it. Glad I sold it. Done. No more TE.

just hack it and play doom on it already...

Oh my! With all that hype it is epic fail.

Overpriced hot garbage sold by a hipster company. I will say the design is very nice tho. Makes for great decor.

@igotbit9454

3 ай бұрын

Also I’m your 7000th subscriber 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Everyone is calling this a sampler but not using it as such in reviews ? Seems like you were reviewing a sequencer.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

It’s only full of samples that are being used in the entire video.

@kevinsim1402

6 ай бұрын

Does it sample ?

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

@@kevinsim1402 yes

Completely overpriced as every other product from them. 350,- for a cheap plastic pocket calculator design is a shame.

Needs work???? Nah you make wack beats. See what folks who make hiphop think.

@Tiger.Arcade

6 ай бұрын

I dgaf what others think. That’s the point of this video. What I think from my OWN experience. Mine has hardware issues. That’s a fact. What kind of music I make is missing the whole point of the video.

This is a hater review disguised as an honest review. Boo.

@Tiger.Arcade

3 ай бұрын

Is every honest review you’ve experienced a love review? I didn’t just hate on this instrument. Watch again.

@PeterKoperdan

Ай бұрын

This is a post-purchase rationalization disguised as hater comment.

I never want to buy it and now I don't want it even more.