Teen Engineering is no stranger to strange gadgets that defy description. This is the company and, uh, . We all knew that. We also knew that the company is likely to release its sequel . We couldn’t have guessed in a million years that it would be one .
That’s right. The follow-up to KO II is an example built entirely around medieval-inspired sounds. Everything from Gregorian chants and lutes to Monty Python-esque drumming is here. The sampler is also pre-loaded with tons of themed foley effects, like sword strikes, arrows, farm animals and, according to the company, a “real dragon”. EP-1320 The Middle Ages have everything, if by “everything” we mean examples of screaming peasants.
Aesthetically, it’s basically KO II with a different skin. The design features red calligraphy, castle towers and, of course, lots of Latin. In fact, it is not even referred to as a sampler at all. The company calls it “the world’s first medieval electronic instrument” and has a large label on the front that reads “instrumentalis electronicum”.
There are new effects, for those worried that it will be cradled by last year’s model. These include something called a “torture chamber reverb” and another called a “bardic ensemble.” The arpeggiator has been redesigned and there are hundreds of new multi-sample instruments. Teenage Engineering also says I’m not kidding. the drum smells like cocoa.
Of course, this is just an example, so users can plug in anything they want via the built-in microphone or USB-C connection. It’s also essentially a KO II, so it has the same punch-in FX tool, nine memory slots, a dynamic speaker, and a battery compartment that holds four AAAs. But out of the box it has everything you could need for a D&D themed rave.
It is $300 like the original. Orders . Diehards can also get a themed t-shirt, vinyl record, and quilted carrying case.
EP-133 KO II was a big hit, but it was , including a number of units shipped with broken faders. TE says it’s all down to poor packaging. Let’s hope the company has resolved all this.
