Teenage Engineering announces medieval-themed version of the EP-133 K.O. II sampler
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UPDATE: Earlier today, we reported on a leak that suggested Teenage Engineering was about to release a new product, a goofy medieval-themed spin on the EP-133 K.O. II sampler. Well, the brand has now officially announced the EP-1320, and it's being described by Teenage Engineering as "the ultimate, and only, medieval beat machine".
The EP-1320 has been decked out in gold, with button labelling translated to Latin and printed in a decidedly Dark Ages font. In addition to its new design and graphics, the sampler has been kitted out with redesigned effects, including Dungeon Echo, Bardic Ensemble, Medieval Punch-in Pocus, Dimension Expander and Torture Chamber Reverb, and a new arpeggiator.
The EP-1320 arrives with an extensive bank of medieval-themed sounds that covers farm animals, witches, "rowdy peasants" and "an actual dragon" (yes, you read that right) and multi-sampled medieval instruments such as the hurdy gurdy, gittern, citole and bowed harp. Teenage Engineering says the sampler comes with "cocoa-scented" pads, though we've yet to submit them to the smell test.
At its core, the EP-1320 is the same machine as the EP-133 K.O. II, aside from a doubled memory of 128MB - though much of that will be taken up with the new sound bank. The EP-133 K.O. II is a successor to the PO-33 KO! sampler that features 46kHz/16-bit sampling, six stereo or 12 mono voices and a built-in mic and speaker, alongside a variety of punch-in effects. You can find out more about the EP-133 in our review.
Like the EP-133, the EP-1320 is priced at $299, and if you really want to go all in on the medieval vibes, you can buy a medieval quilt bag to carry it in.
Original story
A brand known for its innovative and unorthodox designs, Teenage Engineering has released some unconventional products over the years - this MIDI-equipped choir of wooden dolls springs to mind - so we've grown to expect a little bit of tomfoolery from the TE camp.
That said, we'll admit we didn't have Teenage Engineering releasing a medieval-themed version of the EP-133 K.O. II sampler on our 2024 music tech bingo card. Surprisingly, though, it seems that could very well be the case, according to a leak that surfaced on Reddit earlier this week.
A Guitar Center customer in Austin spotted the mysterious product, which had mistakenly been displayed on the shop floor. "I tried buying it and almost got away with it but the associate said they mistakenly had them out and won't be released until August 7," the post reads. "It's an EP-1320 Medieval. The text on the back of the box is in Latin. Very peculiar."
Adorned with medieval-themed graphics and Latin text, the box is labelled EP-1320, prompting speculation that it could be an entirely new model in the line of beefed-up Pocket Operators that TE inaugurated with the EP-133 K.O. II. By the looks of another image of the opened box shared on Reddit, though, it seems that the EP-1320 is in fact a new colourway for the EP-133, which reskins the original in gold and adds labelling in Latin.
Aside from what we can garner from the leaked images, details are scarce, but it seems reasonable to assume that the EP-1320 - if it's real, that is - will ship with a new, and presumably medieval-inspired, sound bank that takes your beats all the way back to the year 1320. What this could consist of is anyone's guess, but you won't have to wait too long to find out: the alleged release date is only hours away.
