The K.O. II is More Than Just a Groovebox
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- Donald Jordan explores the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II and its old school sampling methods.
All sounds and music in this video were created using the K.O. II.
This video is not sponsored and all featured gear was purchased at full price.
If you enjoyed this review and want to see similar content in the future, please like and subscribe.
Intro: 00:00
Quality: 1:56
Drop Test: 2:38
Concerns: 5:04
Workflow: 7:31
The Killer Feature: 13:02
Conclusion: 17:05 - Hudba
The follow up video to show my 2x sample prep process is now live: czcams.com/video/hJkaVPFlc7c/video.html
When my wife leaves me (god I pray) because I purchased another groove box....I'll blame....no one actually. Did it all on my own because it's something cool from TE and I can afford it. So shit, why not
Do you have a in depth video on the killer feature you were talking about
@@darrickholmes6233 I do! czcams.com/video/Ezpamhe_2NI/video.html
This is hands down the best KO II video Ive seen so far.
wow, an intelligent review. thanks. I absolutely love mine. never have I had an easier time getting people who have never hit an electronic pad on any machine get completely into making beats. watching the smile on one's face the first time they ever made a beat, complete with their own voice as a sample, is priceless. and the quantize function makes it seem like their naturals lol. the ultimate party trick.
Best and most honest review I've seen so far. The 2x speed then pitch down quality example is great.
Such a smooth video, loved every minute of this, smart, polished and very well done.
Love it!!!!!
Sir, the production, presentation and vibes of this are top drawer. Instant sub
Totally agree 💯
Amazing
I 100% agree. I've been having sooo much fun with mine and absolutely love the design, quality and functionality. Everyone that has put their hands to it loves it. Thanks for an honest review in great production quality and the double speed tip!
The drop test section ... made me subscribe. Clever, well executed, informative. Well done!
same
Thanks for the video. Ive been on the fence about the KO2 but this was well done. Phenomenal editing too you got a sub in me im surprised you’re not at a million subs yet. Im here for it when it happens
The knobs are so easy to learn, took me about a day to feel totally back to my old sampler days of the late 90's
So glad to see a new video. Started to get worried, because the last videos are 8 months old. Your reviews have a certain production quality, that sets you truly apart from any other gear review youtuber. Keep up the good work!
Wow, this video was pretty informative in the end. Thanks!
I appreciate this take on the KO II. I was worried about the 64MB sampling limitaton, so I was shying away from sampling on it. Now I think I will try to embrace it more, as it does give a cool gritty effect when its slowed down. You have a new subscriber.
Amazingly produced Video :) Thanks
terrific review, thank you!
this Video Started Perfectly, so glad that i Found it, Quality always Matters thanks for this video cant wait to see more like this
Thank you for your level-headedness ❤
Excellent review. And seriously impressed by your tapping precision!! On time like a robot
I was gonna make a snide comment like "oh you must really get off at an actual concert then" but I checked your channel and your stuff is v cool. Props!
@@shawnmuench thanks :) always enjoy watching talented musicians no matter what instrument or genre. I for one have to rely on quantization but that's fine :D
Thing about using breaks over one shots - you’ve automatically got a premixed panned and balanced drum bus sound. With one shots they need to be blended to sound that way. It’s a good advantage
Yeahhhh but breaks are somebody else time work and effort, like paint by numbers, sure its your picture, but did you make it? Is it a representation of you
you're commenting on a review of a sampler, and thats your take?
@@LoserDub
the cinematic intro has earned a subscription, like, and comment. quality video production, and i appreciate the review! also, rip the mpc.
Great piece, thank you. It made me think again about this one, having been put off on launch by the quality concerns. The killer feature alone is super interesting.
Awesome video! I love my ko2 and this gives me new ideas!
This is a great video, I'm not even that interested in this device but the nice videography and calm commentary makes this excellent. Subscribed cheers!
Feels like I’m back in Music class. Love it. Educational and entertaining.
Fantastic review, and great editing. This channel is gonna go places
I see that you are just under 7k subscribers. I appreciate that you only review what you buy with your money. Your writing and video creativity is killer! Your video quality is wonderful.
Keep with this. You are one of the best reviewers I have seen.
I just purchased the KOII to test ideas for myself. I don’t know the Launchpad. I’ll check out your other video related to its use in polyphonic sampling.
Great honest and cool sounded video !
I really enjoyed this review it helped me understand the K.O. II beings though I just got it 😊
This was so helpful - Thanks!
Dude. The drop test. So good.
Props. If one focuses on the negatives or somehow you are shilling, they are missing out on the workflow nugget you dropped and the killer feature. You kinda spoke to me on the jam v production side of the house. Not that I need this yet if I decided too, fun would be had.
Isn't that what this is all about? For most of us.
very good video! I am really impressed!
You’re inspiring me to go back in time when they weren’t sold out and buy one ❤
theres plenty available
When was that 😅
Oh really? Awesome! I didn’t know they were back in stock
I’ve been saying for decades a there’s been no successor to the SK-1’s throne. Thank you. I’m not a beats guy, more of a sound design fiddler, and I’ve been looking for a sampler to love for ages. I was going to pass this one, but your presentation and resulting music may have turned me. Thanks for your terrific work.
im also a sound design fiddler...what gear do you like?
Great review and insights
This is rad. Great presentation
I love mine, I’m from the old days of early MPCs / S900 with an Alesis MMT-8 etc and the KO gives me the same sort of vibes. Not had any problems with it at all quality-wise.
I really enjoyed this review and I agree on your point of view. Love my KO II 🥊
Oh! Dude! I have been playing all day with how to make this sampler into a ambient device! Thanks to the video something clicked! I sampled some choirs from egypt, with into key mode and turned Attack and release up! and damn! a whole new world was opened! Bless you!
this review really made me consider keeping my po ii instead of selling it for something else. thanku so much for this
I am an instant fan, thank you!
Damn love yur videos bro so clean
10/10 presentation, I’m sold.
Such great video !!!! ❤
Awesome vid ! Mines in the post !
A really interesting take on it
that drop test was absolutely epic … laughed very hard 😂😂😂😂😂
Great video 🎉 thanks for sharing
Well made video. Subscribed ❤
great video! thanks
I don't even own one but I am enjoying your tutorial presentation. I'll stick with my PO33 and 133's. Cost relatively the same but I didn't pay full retail. Last yr B&H sold the PO133 for $59 - I bought 2. 4x3=12tracks/polyphony and with the right samples it's a sweet little noise making rig.
I'm honestly not sold on the EP133 yet but you certainly are giving me something to think about now because I'm all about looping sequences too.
Keep 'em jam'n
Much appreciated!
Really nice video and really useful trick with samples double speed! I may try it on my PO-33 :)
Best review imo.
Sadly mine came with a non functioning fader from the start but I agree with your assessments. I loved it for the day that I had it and will probably buy it again, perhaps the kinks are worked out.
This will be add nice to my live Ret! Can’t wait - it really sounds like my 3k… amazing
cant believe this channel isnt at least 100k!
OMG that drop test gave me chills!! 😅
She was an old gal that was ready to be put to pasture, so she sacrificed herself in the name of comedy. 😀
Best KO-II video ever 🥰thanks
Great take. I returned mine due to the faulty fader, but it’s still a very immediate and fun device.
Bummer... Sorry to hear you lost the TE lottery!
I keep coming back to this video for help and inspiration, really nice work, subbed.
Any recommendations on where to get some nice loop packs? Or do you make your own loop samples?
All of the breaks in this vid are from rhythm-lab.com, three packs: Vintage Hip Hop Breaks Vol.1, Vintage Hip Hop Breaks Vol.2, and Trippy Beats.
@@Bloom_Music Thank you! I come from the silly land of overpriced modular synths and have no idea when it comes to sample packs.
great review, thanks I was wondering were do you get your breaks and drum loops, love them
All of the breaks in this vid are from rhythm-lab.com, three packs: Vintage Hip Hop Breaks Vol.1, Vintage Hip Hop Breaks Vol.2, and Trippy Beats.
@@Bloom_Music thanks and keep up with great work
the break workflow is so cool, really want to mess with those now! great video
excellent video!
I love the look of this thing.
For anyone looking to do this on the cheap koala sampler you need to pitch down and bounce a couple of times before you get it real low but it will get there add a MIDI keyboard and your away
Not as fun
This video is so on point!!! Thank You for uploading and sharing your knowledge and experiments👑
I agree the immediacy of results are gained quickly and is a fun unit. I use it in a complex studio environment with many analog synths. I got it at first as a nostalgic impulse from the old days of sampling but it turned out to be a great addition to my toolsets.
To really dial in on the trim points, I found using the trim knob while holding shift helps you accurately trim your samples.
Again.... Bravo!
Fantastic cinematography and production! May I ask what is your camera/lens of choice?
Man this video is the gift that keeps giving. Excellent tip on the sample loading.
Thanks! I am using a Panasonic GH5 recording out to a Ninja Flame 7. For lenses, I use a Panasonic 30mm f/2.8 for the close shots and an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 adapted with a speed booster for the overhead shots.
Inspring video! Great one thanks!! Sorry but a dumb question how do you do to get the loops at double speed before sending them into the device? I need trying that! Thanks I am now subscribed to this channel! ✌🏾
I've had this question several times, so I think I will make a follow up video to show this process and how to get the best results. Stay tuned!
Thanks a lot!! @@Bloom_Music
Something like audacity works well
@@sonicultura Follow up video is live: czcams.com/video/hJkaVPFlc7c/video.html
Thanks so much for the follow up on this theme! I will look into it now! I missed the notification but saw it now! THANKS!! 🙏🏾@@Bloom_Music
hahaha, I just LOVE your intro
How did you turn the note from the Moog into that nice pad at 14:07? Did you sample it as-is then pitched down only, any other sound editing in the KOII on top of it? Great video btw, it makes a lot of sense now on how this devices should be used!
I’m not 100% sure, but I think that one used the K.O. II’s chorus, and then I was hitting the compressor pretty hard too. But yes, definitely some extra processing on the device to get that sound. (I can’t remember exactly because I did a lot of different takes with different samples and settings, so it’s hard to remember exactly what I did on this one specifically).
amazing video. it inspired me a lot. Subscribed immediately. peace bro!!!
proudly contributing the 777th like for such a well made video 🙌
"Sometimes it gets a little bit too cutesy." This is TE's entire brand proposition.
@Bloom_Music 1. Does it have portamento or glide between two note? As in the sample of the moog can you play a pad/note and then it slowly glide to the next note when you press and hold both notes/pads? My Emu mp-7 has this and my sp404mk2 doesn’t t and it sucks because I can sample sounds but not glide between note so I can’t make westcoast wire sounds or bass glides. 😢 that’s what I’m looking for is a sampler with glide/portamento that you can change the glide speed to make wires/bass glides that’s not an mpc(I hate their work flow). Why is this so hard when an Emu mp-7 from 20 years ago had it. 🤦♂️
It has legato, but no glide. The way it works is it continues playback at the same position in the sample when you trigger the next note, but the pitch changes instantly.
just got this thing and i’m loving it😀😀😀😀😀
What did you use to pitch the samples before you loaded them into the EP 133 @ 8:52 ?
The follow up video to show my 2x sample prep process is now live: czcams.com/video/hJkaVPFlc7c/video.html
Great tip about the shift +- to trim samples. Love the EP133.
The designers’ priorities were spot on
It's unfortunate that there isn't better documentation on this thing. Shift trimming samples is a huge deal, and I found it on accident!
Thanks for the vid! Helping me better understand my KO II. I have a question... more like a request actually. Is there such a thing as a sped-up breaks sample pack for devices like this? If you have a link, would love it.I want to give your workflow a try.
Sorry, not to my knowledge! You can do it fairly easily by speeding them up in a DAW, though!
Don't forget it's also a polyphonic MIDI sequencer with 16 simultaneous MIDI tracks
Good point!
I barely see anyone mention how insane this is. That alone is probably worth the price
@@goodnightosaka Exactly!
excellent video
subbed too
Thanks!
This was a great video, thank you! Just curious if you can explain how you pitched up the samples before you loaded them into the EP 133 ? Thanks again!
I loaded them all into my DAW of choice, doubled the tempo, and then exported them back out. There are probably dedicated tools or more elegant ways to do it, but it worked for me!
Thank you!@@Bloom_Music
@@skyisfalling100 Follow up video is live: czcams.com/video/hJkaVPFlc7c/video.html
Dope sampler fam 🙌
OK big question then......how did you get the fader knob on????? So many have broken because people have just pushed it on that breaks the flimsy fade mechanism inside...so how did you do it??? Or are TE now per-installing it like most new MPC's
I just pushed it on. If your unit wasn't one of the one's affected by the bad packaging, putting on the fader cap won't hurt it.
Mine is only half way on compared to yours. I’m afraid to push it further is seems very difficult
When you sampled the analog synth and played it back as a pad, would it behave the same way as doing this in ableton with simpler or sampler? If you need to use sampler what would you look for in the settings?
Generally, yes, you can do the same thing in Simpler. The big difference will be the sound and the way that Simpler pitches your sample. (At least the last time I used it), Simpler doesn’t have any “old school” pitching modes; it just uses the same stretching algos that it uses for clips, which usually try to maintain the quality and character of the original samples. So, while Simpler can achieve the same type of sampling, the results will sound very different and won’t have that classic lo-fi vibe.
Have you ever tried samplers in Reason in 16/44 with 16bit samples?
For me some midi controllers don't work properly with the KOII. And it can't be a setting within it because the only independent variable is the midi controller. I tried controlling it with a Roland a49 and UDO Super 6, but the polyphony didn't work properly on them. But it worked fine with a hydrasynth explorer. Very strange, but aggravating I hope the midi gets optimized in future software patches. Anybody else have this issue?
I enjoyed your video immensly. I was hoping you could go into more detail about "the killer feature." Is that a Novation Launchpad Pro? Will that work with the Launchpad-X? What exactly are the connections/settings? I know you must be very busy and I thank you in advance for your time.
The killer feature is that it works very well and sounds awesome as a polyphonic chromatic sample player. The Launchpad Pro is just my MIDI keyboard of choice. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to hook the Launchpad-X directly to the K.O. II because the X doesn’t have a MIDI out port like the Pro does. My connections were Launchpad Pro MIDI Out to the K.O. II’s MIDI In. For you to do this, you would have to hook your X to a computer with a MIDI interface, or use a dedicated MIDI host device.
@@Bloom_Music Thank you. I do have a midi keyboard and I can use that. But what about the sounds? How can I recreate that sound? I appreciate your time.
Those sounds were created by sampling synthesizers and then pitching them down on the K.O. II. I’ll be releasing another video in the coming weeks to show that process.
great clip, could you do another with the same prep and test with the Elektron Model Samples and compare it to the K.O.II .., and btw which model launchpad did you use?..... regards.
The Launchpad is the Mk3. I would definitely recommend it, I love it. As far as a Model Samples video, not looking good, as I liked the K.O. II so much better that I sold the Samples! 😬
Sorry for the dumb question. What is purpose to match bpm if you can use time stretching? If i know a break beat is a 4 bar count i can just time stretch to 4 bars.
Not a dumb question! It's really just personal preference, but it's a couple things for me: First, I almost always start with the beat and build around that, so it's simple to just set the BPM (it's not like I'm trying to fit a break into an existing arrangement with mismatched tempo). Second, I just don't like the way time stretch affects the audio. If you're just changing it a few BPM, it's probably fine, but major shifts affect the transients and introduce artifacts. I'd rather just play the loop at the correct BPM than mess with that!
Amazing
Hi! Can chords be inserted on any step of the step sequencer via external keyboard? Thanks!
Yes, you can do this by either recording live during playback, or, when the sequencer is stopped, you can insert chords into any step by holding the record button on the K.O. II and then playing the chord from your external keyboard.
how did you generate pads at 13.05? Can the ko2 loop the sample?
Negative, the K.O. II cannot loop the samples. See my video “Making Mono Synths Polyphonic with the K.O. lI” to see how to make these types of sounds.
I'm seriously tempted on the KO II. Last kit I used extensively for "jamming" was the yamaha rm1x, I'm fairly resistant to other drumboxes with different workflow mechanics, most don't feel intuitive to me, this though is very close to the mark
Are you interested in the Torso Electronics S-4 Sculpting Sampler? I'm looking forward to seeing more about that one. Not comparable to the KO2 here, but i'm curious would your take on it is. I really like hearing your perspective.
Honestly, sorry, I'm not really that interested in the S-4. I'm not a huge fan of granular sampling in general, but for when I do crave that type of sound, I think the Tempera does more interesting, innovative, and creative things for less money.
@@Bloom_Music The Tempera does seem really nifty, yeah.
6:17: I thought I remember seeing something about being able to use the shift key and the pots to get a finer resolution and dialing things in
Yes, you can do this, but I much prefer the -/+ buttons since they are always relative!
Subscribed for the quality of the video more than the ko 2, anyone knows if you can use the beatstep pros sequencer with this?
You should be able to. The K.O. II responds to MIDI. It’s note per pad in drum mode and chromatic in Keys mode. But as far as I’ve been able to tell, you can’t do both simultaneously. It seems like TE intend for you to use the internal sequencer. But I haven’t done any external sequencing, just playing around with it with my Launchpad, so someone can correct me if I’m wrong.
Whats the midi sample pad you used hooked up to it?
It’s a Launchpad Pro MK3, but it’s just a MIDI controller, no samples.