Teenage Engineering’s two-channel K.O.-sidekick is an answer to the question “what if a battle mixer, but for mobile gear, with live FX?” And that could make it an ideal companion to more than just the Teenage Engineering kit you see in the photos. €189/$179. First impressions:
Really, a lot of us have been longing for more mixers that handle live performance. And that’s the idea here: simple layout, DJ or mix-style EQ, built-in effects, and quick controls for performance gestures.
Bonedo has a sensible hands-on of the EP-136, not that any of us is keeping track of model numbers from TE at this point:
There’s no crossfader, which is a bit surprising given the concept. At least it looks like you can throw those vertical faders quickly. The mod stick and filter give you plenty of other options, though; see below.
And that combination of simple mixing with minijacks and some built-in effects, in a small form factor, looks like a potential winner for live sets with mobile music-making gear. I suspect there could be a market for anyone gadgets like the KORG NTS-1 and NTS-3, Roland’s Boutique and AIRA Compact, an Ableton Move, or even the KO’s rival, the MPC Sample, just to name a few. True, having two of the same device keeps with the DJ two-deck model. But once you run a sync cable between devices, cutting between grooves can work just as well with other gadgets.
Teenage Engineering, of course, is pushing combinations of their own gear, including bundles in their online store. They also have new, IKEA-like plastic “EP Pegs” which let you snap together the gear for a seamless look. It’s definitely aesthetic, though they’re so low-profile that it looks a bit like you flattened your equipment. It’s probably even more useful when you combine multiple mixers; you effectively just get more channel strips. And that may explain the absence of the crossfader — snap two of the K.O.-sidekicks together, and you have two independent effects buses and four channels.
Personally, I also would have traded at least one EQ band just to get a crossfader. But now that they’re there, the mixer gives you 3 EQ styles, with DJ, parametric, or “studio” curves.
And you get multiple built-in effects: a filter (combined highpass/lowpass with resonance), tremolo, delay, tape, and loop, all with auto-detect BPM sync. Those have attractive visual UIs, too.
The effect implementation here is pretty brilliant: the combination of a touch-sensitive pad and a two-directional rocker joystick with a center detent gives you lots of possibilities for quick effect triggering and shaping. You can even record and playback automation. The tape lets you “scratch” by working with the playhead — tape effects date back to Teenage Engineering’s original OP-1 — and the tremolo can really work as a tempo-synced effect.
But, this being a Teenage Engineering product, they gave us one silly curveball: Siren?! (Or really, just a random oscillator labeled as a siren?) What was the moment when you said: “What people definitely want is a siren and not a chorus or a reverb?”
Anyway, if you can overlook the siren, you have a pretty powerful option here. You can even route effects to individual channels or the master send, and route them in series or parallel.
But I still want to try one of these. Yeah, the crossfader will be a no-go for some, the mixer part is just two minijack ins, and maybe the effects aren’t perfect. But this still looks way more performance-friendly than anything else I’ve seen, both in its compact form factor and live effects features. Someone out there gets the need: stuff you can toss in a backpack and jam with.
Contrast, for instance, KORG’s NTS-4 mixer, previewed at Superbooth (see Synth Anatomy’s write-up). In terms of connectivity, it’s superior: four inputs, separate send/return, and even USB audio support. There’s also a cue balance control (the KO-Sidekick just has a cue switch for each channel). And that should work perfectly for set-and-forget configuration in a small space. But the NTS-4 has fidgety controls — most notably the tiny effects pot. I love it for connectivity, but then I’d want the NTS-3 for effects. (Actually, I’m going to request Korg let me try just that combo!)
The focus on performance-friendly controls makes the K.O.-sidekick unique — and for way more than just Teenage Engineering fanfolks. More like this from everybody, please!
I’ll keep you posted if I can get to test some of this; stay tuned.
https://teenage.engineering/products/ep-136
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