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Teenage Engineering ’s new $ 300 groovebox has no byplay being this cute . That ’s the whole point .
TheEP-133 K.O.II(we’ll just call it Knock Out II ) is a combination drum political machine , synthesizer and sampler . It ’s a supersized upgrade to Teenage Engineer ’s dry pint - sizedPO-33 K.O. , which offers many of the same feature for a fraction of the price .
The vibe of the Knock Out II is by all odds more1980s drum computerthan modernRoland groovebox . Its buttons , knobs and sole fader appear almost oversized on the thin machine . I ’m not sure exactly how to work it , but that leaves me no less tempted to pitchfork over the money .
Whether you consider Teenage Engineering ’s audio geartrain overdesigned , overpriced or just right , I ’m simply beaming theVC - back startupmakes things that enkindle an excited response . It ’s brisk to see a computer hardware company get weird with it ; most seem overly preoccupied with chasing Apple down its minimalist lapin hole .
Getting weird with it isTeenage Engineering ’s whole affair . The Swedish firm creates wireless speakers , grooveboxes and hypebeasty accessories for listeners and musicians alike . Their gadgets often have Lego - like tactile buttons and node , with a pattern speech that confuse distinct aesthetics — reckon : cassette futurismmeetsbrutalismmeetsKB Toys .
Teenage Engineering built a following via its super low-priced ( and in my experience , frustratingly thin ) Pocket Operatorsequencers , but in late years the ship’s company ’s devoted more tending to higher - end gear wheel . That ’s left some of its fans priced out of the fun . The price tag on the Knock Out II temptingly occupies a middle priming . It ’s not a stocking taxidermist , but it also isn’ttwo grand .
dominate a metal drum machine and sequencer takes time , and Teenage Engineering ’s intersection are often so lineament - packed and trenchant that they come with a acquisition curved shape . Still , the design of Knock Out II have it seem approachable . It appear to plead — perhaps deceptively , if you are n’t willing to put in the hours — that “ you could wholly learn this!”For now , I ’ll try my good to defy the gearhead siren song .
