EP-133 K.O II 2.5: Teenage Engineering adds USB audio in and out, sample reverse, arpeggiator, and more to its compact sampler with the new firmware.
With the MPC Sample, Akai has put a major competitor in front of Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 K.O. II. It’s even somewhat reminiscent of the Swedish sampler. However, that’s no reason for the Swedish company to stop updating the device.
Today, Teenage Engineering has released an impressive 2.5 update for the EP-133 K.O. II samples with major new features.
teenage engineering EP-133 K.O. II firmware 2.5
The new firmware 2.5 is a free update for existing Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II users. It’s not a point-zero release, but it has the mightiness of a major update.
A highlight of the new firmware 2.5 is the addition of USB audio. You can now use the USB audio with any class-compliant USB audio host to connect your K.O II straight in and send audio in and out of your phone or computer.
It supports stereo audio in, both as a sample source and as an audio source, as well as USB audio out to record sound directly into your DAW or any other class-compliant device.
The new USB audio feature is a pretty big thing. You can easily connect the KO to a phone or tablet, such as an iPad, and sample sounds from your favorite apps. This gives you endless new sounds with little effort.
Then, the new firmware introduces a sample reverse function, adding new life to your existing sample library. Reverse your sample, and you can create a new sound from the same source. It’s also a creative way to make patterns more interesting.
Another new feature is the ability to manipulate the sample rate. You can add character and use less storage by lowering the recording sample rate.
There are three options: LO (26,250Hz) for a very Lo-Fi sound, MID (32 kHz), which adds extra character, and HI, the standard quality (46,875 Hz).
More New Things To Explore
Teenage Engineering’s compact sampler is no storage champion. Even in its second version, the device’s storage capacity is almost criminally small. By comparison, its closest competitor, the Akai MPC Sample, has 8GB of onboard storage.
This also limits the sample length. Update 2.5 of the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II brings a little more flexibility to the whole thing. Once updated, you can record mono samples up to 40 seconds long.
For this, you have to switch the sample type to mono, and the sample time will adjust to up to 40 seconds. This also allows you to record longer sounds, such as atmospheres and textures.
Update 2.5 also brings a new chopping functionality. You can now precisely slice your samples with equal-length auto-chop. Now all your samples will slice evenly into even divisions, ideal for chopping a vocal or a breakbeat.
A long-requested feature from the community has now been implemented. The new update adds an arpeggiator to the EP-133 K.O. II, letting you arpeggiate samples in either the one-shot or legato modes. Plus, they have improved the keys mode.
There are also improvements to the sequencer, such as per-pad pattern copy/paste, per-track fader automation erase, and per-pad time-shift timing correction.
Further, update 2.25 also introduces an improved time-stretching algorithm used on the EP-1320. Heavily stretched samples sound cleaner, preventing beats from doubling or skipping.
First Impression
Update 2.5 is an impressive update for the EP-133 K.O. II. The USB audio functionality, in particular, is a great feature, offering new ways to import sample material. Alternatively, you can use it to conveniently record your tracks on your phone, tablet, or computer.
The option to record 40-second samples is also a welcome function. It doesn’t increase storage space, but it allows for more flexibility. TE has significantly upgraded the sampler once again, and this isn’t the first time. That’s very positive, and thanks for this.
Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II firmware 2.5 is available now as a free download for existing users.
More information here: teenage engineering
Available from my partners
damn, time to repurchase, have been waiting for USB-audio since release day!
Letting users sacrifice stereo width and samplerate for longer record time is really clever. Great update!
did you Miss the *sarcasm* Tag? 😜
with Adhd i have some Problems to find sarcasm 😃
“Clever” is the word you really used or is it a typo?
This is precisely why I did not get one. Why did it take a guy to drop the MPC sample for teenage engineering to release features this Big? So this kind of proves that the original asking price was a rip off because they could’ve provided all this functionality then, but it took a guy to motivate them to make a competitive product. This kind of means that without these features, the unit should’ve probably been $150 cheaper. All of these features came standard on the MPC sample teenage engineering is a cool company, but they get a little bit too handy when it comes to profit and feature exchange.
No sarcasm, just a nice way of getting more (lo-fi) mileage out of existing hardware. Sorry for the confusion!