Review: Teenage Engineering TX-6 // Polarizing extremes in a tiny box // Pros, cons & alternatives

UPDATE: TE just released firmware version 1.1.4 which addresses many of my "cons" (except price...): recording to an SD card (though only stereo for now); the knob value issue when you change what they do; analog sync; presets; more sample rates - check out the full list of updates on their site
Check out the audio interface buyer's guide in my ever-expanding book of electronic music ideas, tips and tricks on Patreon:
► Patreon: / loopop
Check prices here (affiliate links help the channel regardless of what you buy):
► Perfect Circuit: link.perfectcircuit.com/t/v1/...
► Sweetwater:
► Thomann: www.thomann.de/intl/teenage_e...
Other gear in the video:
► J-6 and T-8 by ‪@rolandglobal‬ as well as ZenBeats used for multitrack recording
► RE-202 by ‪@BOSSinfoglobal‬
► ROAT by SOMA Labs
TIMELINE:
0:00 Intro
1:40 Overview
3:25 It’s how small?
4:25 Interface
6:00 Connectivity
8:05 Audio mix
10:00 Knob assigns
11:45 Knob with caution
13:45 Effects
16:45 Cue out
17:25 Using a mic
18:55 Aux out and sends
20:20 Synth modes
21:05 Sequencer
21:45 Tone mode
21:55 Synth options
23:50 Clock sync
24:30 USB audio
25:25 BLE MIDI
26:35 DJ Mode
27:40 Misc settings
28:25 Pros & cons
32:25 Alternatives
33:40 Outro
Other places I hang out:
► Instagram: / loopopmusic
► Tiktok: / loopopmusic
► Facebook: / loopopmusic
► Twitter: / loopopmusic
► Web: loopopmusic.com
My music:
► Bandcamp: loopop.bandcamp.com
► Spotify: bit.ly/LoopopOnSpotify
► Apple Music: bit.ly/LoopopOnAppleMusic
Submit review and video ideas here (sorry I don’t offer 1x1 sessions/setup/purchasing advice):
► Ziv (at) loopopmusic.com
NOTE: Occasionally I’ll try out affiliate marketing and include affiliate links. This means that I may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links to stores like Amazon, Sweetwater, Thomann and others. The content of this clip is entirely my opinion, and was not paid for or dictated in any way by the company creating the gear. Without addressing the particulars of products shown here as they might be under NDA, gear shown on this channel may be either sent by the manufacturer, on loan for review or bought at a discount.

[@loopop]

UPDATE: TE just released firmware version 1.1.4 which addresses many of my "cons" (except price...): recording to an SD card (though only stereo for now); the knob value issue when you change what they do; analog sync; presets; more sample rates - check out the full list of updates on their site

[@TheInternetIsDeadToMe]

Someone else said this, but they really should be known as Midlife Crisis Engineering at this point.

[@sinepilot]

Only teenagers can read the screen 😁

[@ravkosela2332]

ROFL

[@user-mb8rf7qk5q]

Lol couldn’t put my finger on it but that’s exactly what I see when I see their stuff, and the people who actually buy it 😂

[@Kaje05]

Yes! Hahaha 🤣

[@breitbanddesign]

brilliant!!!

[@myketison9770]

Considering how the underground scene is absolutely bustling right now, I'm glad they've FINALLY made a mixer for ants.

[@regplasma7906]

I agree ,you have to be one of 'the borrowers' or be a 4 year old savant , to use that micro boutique stuff,it's got silly.

[@ajaynelson387]

@@regplasma7906 its portable this is a great idea

[@bondi5000]

@@michelvanderwall8710 the point you're missing is that innovation like this costs lots and lots of money. It's also essential for progress to happen. No, it may not be for you or your budget but be thankful there are punters out there prepared to stump up the dollars so that the majority can enjoy the knock offs by the likes of Behringer a few. years down the track. If you expect to live in a world of cheap stuff that somehow magically requires no RnD or just steals it from some place where all the RnD is performed for free then you are the "an joke" in this case, not TE ;-)

[@sawssman965]

@@bondi5000 yea aite

[@Veewaukee]

Teenage Engineering would like to remind people to have a minimum of 5 succulent plants around your set up before purchasing

[@Snaggletoothsound]

😂

[@sinepilot]

I only have two succulents. Is this the right mixer for me? 😂

[@valley_robot]

Genius , ha ha

[@davidpickett3546]

Bahaha that and perhaps a piece of lego

[@michaelcstachiw]

Pour over coffee to keep the rhythms going

[@NGC0Music]

If Loopop won’t convince me of buying one, no one else will…

[@MisterMajister]

Truer words have seldom been said. What a weird product...

[@PeanutButterAM]

And it’s still a no. Cool product to exist though.

[@Asyouwere]

He has convinced me by this video that it os completely useless for my setup, especially because I have large fingers. I have a Zoom F8n lying around that works great, and I’ll probably upgrade that to the F8n Pro.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

same here and my 1010 Music Bluebox does what I need for half cost.

[@MrTanukiD]

After watching the review I'm genuinely impressed by the feature set. Totally impractical though. Needs to be twice the size and half the price.

[@matt-lang]

Just 20-30%% bigger would be perfect just so the knobs are more accessible. The OP-1 and OP-Z are so cool as performance devices and that’s clearly a goal for this with the FX buttons, but with the knobs so tiny it looks tough to accurately use for a performance

[@inthefade]

Yep double the size half the cost and... I'm just going to get the 1010 bluebox.

[@texacomann]

Even half the price is toooooo much at all!

[@NathanielValdivia]

Yeah have you tried to program their modular operators? Well this seems even worse!!

[@leoopokat8235]

Buy now

[@antonioruiz1286]

What a mad lad bringing out the Aliexpress cables to make this thing usable

[@billodonnell4322]

but my ocd was triggered when i spotted the crooked connections.

[@lukeskywalker2656]

🤣 Holy dope

[@silentrocco]

Twice as big would have still been tiny, but actually practical. It feels so weird seeing normal human hands trying to work with this tiny piece, no matter how well it‘s made.

[@sinepilot]

Young eyes help too it looks like

[@voicessamples7396]

My exact thoughts. Even 3 or 4 times the size would not be a problem, since it would still fit in a pocket. This feels sooo over engineered

[@geofff6671]

What is this? A mixer for ants? Make it at least three times as big.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

this along with no recorder makes the product a total fail in my book. Price aside, it was made too small no recorder and high price tag. WTF will buy it and why?

[@Kaleil]

Also, the thing with the OP-1 at least is that, while it is very nicely designed, it is NOT well made. It's functional and it's fine, but they fail at a high rate.

[@pepejul]

Great review as usual! I hope this device will influence other manufacturers to make their own small portable mixer and use the vast amount of comments generated by the TX6 as a checklist for what to include and what to avoid.

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

it seems to me that is precisely the role that teenage engineering has in this industry and that is to influence everyone else, with every new device they've made (except for the POM series which was a disaster) although if they've had partnered with another company who knew the analog world better like dreadbox or bastl instruments the POM series would have been also absolutely great

[@kingpinronin4301]

For that price I'd rather get the SSL Six mixer. It may not have all the features, but hey, it's an SSL, and has the master bus compression, and a more useful form factor. Or even a full-fledged DJ mixer with USB I/O & FX.

[@Space_pulse]

Allen and Heath Mixwizard is friggin great, too. I’m surprised more synth heads don’t use them. Kinda huge, I guess. But such a great mixer.

[@teolandon225]

@@kelseysoloway5468 SiX has less channels than the TX-6

[@untml]

@@Leviathan-mj8gi The SSL six is also made in china 🙂

[@untml]

@@Leviathan-mj8gi sure you did 🙂

[@travroy]

SiX won't interface with a computer either

[@adamd3820]

Here's my cheap alternative: 6/12 ch moukey mini mixer ($60), PO 33 sampler/sequencer/fx unit ($99), GarageBand IOS daw (free).total =$160. No thank you TE

[@NicleT]

I have Moukey mixers in my DAWless kit and they’re fantastic “normal” small footprint devices.

[@zhexum]

With your crazy amount of knowledge and the amount of gear you’ve reviewed would love to see a video of the stuff you keep going back to over time. Like a hall of fame, or recommendations for starting from scratch.

[@aptudo]

I honestly only came here for a feeling of solidarity with other commenters for whom this laughably-priced product 100% misses the mark.

[@jamescruz8678]

For real. I would totally use this because I can quite literally fit this and an OP-Z in my pocket and bust them out while I'm at the park. Makes for a nice compliment to a hyper-portable setup that can fit in a small sling-bag alongside a few other synths. If only it weren't so expensive. :(

[@moonshine7374]

It's called validation

[@Funkbutterfly]

@@jamescruz8678 If you are only bringing an OP-Z though then what do you need a mixer for.

[@jamescruz8678]

@@Funkbutterfly I never said I'm bringing just an OP-Z. Only that I can fit both that and this mixer in my pocket, if I really wanted to. Realistically, I'd also bring around a few Volcas or a Softpop or some other weird tiny synths.

[@enemdisk6628]

Aaah, fine envy.

[@dirtyduchamp]

How is it possible for a "design company" to make so many poor design choices?

[@dirtyduchamp]

reminds me of those calculator watches from the 80s/90s where the buttons were so small you couldnt press them individually with your fingers and had to use the tip of a pencil 🙃

[@ropeburn6684]

By putting form over function.

[@untml]

And yet many buy and love it

[@dirtyduchamp]

@@untml if you say so. what I see is every store has tons of stock while other products are sold out everywhere. maybe some love it, many though? It doesn't seem to be flying off the shelves. But hey if people do love it that is great for them!

[@untml]

​@@dirtyduchamp just sold out at Thomann

[@milkweedreflections]

You'd think for a company so focused on design, the Tx, would be the same width/height as the OP-1, so they could sit side by side seamlessly, but the Tx is way smaller, so it looks kind of awkward. I actually think the Tx is TOO small, in a way that seems impractical, even for a mini mixer.

[@ryanhursh6322]

I keep thinking the same thing. Why all the different sizes?! Especially for this and the new OP-1 field since they are both part of the field series.

[@enemdisk6628]

That's a very solid (and uncommonly for this comment / envy section unbiased) point.

[@GTChris]

If you are doing a gig with me and you bring any new Teenage Engineering gear, then I assume you are paying for all the drinks.

[@inthefade]

Or I assume you got a second mortgage to pay for it and you have no money for anything else.

[@enemdisk6628]

If you are doing a gig with me I dictate financial decisions for that night by my assumption how much money you have.

[@rickyspanish8379]

the world needs more portable mixers - but the world of portable mixers for sure doesn't need teenage engeneering.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

agree and put a portable battery powered mixer with recorder for a winning music tool. TX-6 was a good start but failed to achieve these things.

[@texacomann]

The price is a shame

[@truetech4158]

@@texacomann I'd be in for a 100 bux. It has less abilities than a 50 dollar android cheapo phone, and it looks like it would scuff instantly or shortly thereafter, unless they sell a cellphone type of case for it for under 400.

[@seedmole]

DIY is the answer

[@OrbitalSaucer]

@@texacomann I guess rich people are the intended market. If I was super wealthy, I'd grab one just to keep in my purse or whatever and it would help even with djing or impromptu crap when at friends houses.

[@thomnewton9024]

As somebody who just had a bluebox delivered today, I think I made the right choice. And if I didn't, I can dry my tears with all of the tissues I could buy with the £700 I saved.

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

man, don't doubt your decision just enjoy your new device, they are both great 😊

[@thomnewton9024]

@@xorshidjomjomeh80 I was just joking. I'm not doubting anything. I'm just really excited to explore the bluebox and use it to get some tracks down!

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

@@thomnewton9024 oh ok , got it ... have fun brother ✌😊

[@ebraltazar3498]

Thanks for the review, Loopop! Would love to have one. This product release is also the best thing ever happened to my beloved 1010music Bluebox.

[@daemonicflame]

It’s small size is unfortunately offset by the need to also bring a scanning electron microscope and robotic hands in order to move the knobs cleanly.

[@PorchBass]

This comment section is golden.

[@TranscendingVibrations]

lol

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

Dear Loopop, great review/tutorial as always...I just love what TE has done here, although I can not afford it 😅, and I am also absolutely sure that your review is going to help them make it better in the coming firmware updates

[@billodonnell4322]

TE is laughing all the way to the bank.

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

@@billodonnell4322they have already updated the firmware on their way to the bank, you can now directly record on any flash card!

[@billodonnell4322]

@@xorshidjomjomeh80 whoopie.

[@xorshidjomjomeh80]

@@billodonnell4322 thank god that under the free market you have a choice, nothing is mandatory, and you don't have to like or do anything that the stupid gullible people (like me!) like or do so yeah whoopie!

[@stefevr]

1200????? I can buy an entire setup for that price :( But as always thanks for your in depth video!!

[@kriskjr884]

I think that is ab-so-lu-te-ly INSANE

[@ToyKeeper]

Instead of an OP-1f and TX-6 and TE's fancy speaker... You could get a MPC Live 2 and have a portable solution which is more powerful, more compact, and a small fraction of the cost. ($3850 + cables vs $1300)

[@colinbrash]

I’m sure multitrack recording will be built into the TX-6 Field, available soon for $2999!

[@billodonnell4322]

TE is laughing all the way to the bank.

[@JacobPadlock]

My favorite thing I've seen about this is the people who have taken pictures showing that you literally cannot plug certain 1/8" cables into it because the ports are too close together. DESIGN!

[@harveytherobot]

To be fair, 1010 Bluebox is the same. The price of miniaturization I guess.

[@jonaseggen2230]

When using design as a curse word it is probably spelled DeZeGn!!!

[@PorchBass]

@@Leviathan-mj8gi but the TE leads do give a wider soundstage, better timing and an open midrange.

[@PorchBass]

@@Leviathan-mj8gi no, i was in on your joke! I used to sell hifi and the old snake oil spills out. I don't buy apple because of this design choice bs - give me a headphone jack or lose my money.

[@PorchBass]

@@Leviathan-mj8gi fender do that with some of their guitar leads, but you have to remember to keep the original package! Guarantees DO offer value IMHO

[@nicholasbinder5593]

can you imagine how they made the decision to not include an on-board recorder, but give you completely useless synth engines instead? (and you can’t change my mind about that one) I think it’s a weird product. Not in a good way.

[@kgbenware]

Agreed. Could stand to be a bit feature poorer. Why add a synth and drum machine? I would think anyone plunking down over 1k for a micro mixer has a synth and a drum machine in their setup. Hence the reason for 6/12 channels. ???

[@robmanueb.]

A synth in a mixer is just weird, but I was intrigued until I found out no midi keyboard connectivity is possible. Its more of a tone generator than something you can actually play. Who wants to play the worlds lamest, functionless, digital synth?

[@untml]

apparently they were smart enough to know a firmware update that includs a recorder will boost sales a month after release 🙂

[@untml]

@@stephanrewind Not really, its not bad impression and it's not a fix. this is firstly a mixer, and maybe secondly an audio interface. don't be fool by our commenters noise :) it's very small and most don't care, they will buy it just by the way it looks. Advertising a new picture or a new video and give a reason to enlarge exposure over and over again is much more powerful than people rant on the comment section about one extra feature. This is how social media and dedicated website works. Its actually a very swedish thing to do, elektron use to hide +drive (more storage) inside their analog machines and than after some month release an update that enlarge the quantity of the presets by a factor of 100x or more, its making it news worthy for reviewer to make a new video, website to publish the update and lot's of posts on social media, the more times a machine will get to the headline (no matter why) the more exposure it will get, the more unit will be sold.

[@emilyschmanks]

what's weird to me is the choice to make the on/off switch stick out of the side of the device. if you're using it next to other devices, it won't line up properly. weird design choice if you're so set on making everything as compact as possible

[@TummySausage]

My opz knows this feeling, with the power pot on the side and the aux cable on the other, nothing can sit directly next to the op-z

[@harveytherobot]

Such a weird design choice. Same with the OP-Z and new OP-1. It’s just begging to get snapped off.

[@Dekkie61]

First thing that caught my attention too. Many of the comments here are more about strategy; bad strategy, good execution of this bad strategy. But this thing really is a design error, which is kind of weird, as the entire raison d'etre of this unit is designy-ness

[@DanChippendaleMusic]

Just a recessed slider would have done the trick. No accidental power offs or breakages. It's a silly design language thing left over from the OP-Z I think.

[@NicleT]

I first thought it was a microSD card, I’m twice disappointed now.

[@LoveMeBack]

Can’t imagine what the TX-32 is going to cost.

[@Accatyyc]

Thanks for a great video as always! Regarding having to do tempo sync manually - there's a tap tempo function on the FX1 button. Not easily discovered since I don't think it's documented in the manual. It's a bit sad to see how much hate this thing gets - it's not like there haven't always been overpriced audio equipment. I personally love it, great for all my use cases.

[@loopop]

Thanks! Yes, that's in the manual, and I show in the video that if you press FX2 you can "reset" the clock when it's running. Indeed it's sad to see hate in general, but if you remove the tone from some the more extreme comments I think there's a message that should be listened to

[@alexgrunde6682]

Price aside, I feel myself getting carpal tunnel just watching you twisted those tiny knobs. Thing needs to be twice the size and half the cost.

[@into.cassette]

your reviews are *really* thorough 🔥🔥🔥

[@BuildDestroyRepeat230]

At half the price, the 1010Music Bluebox seems like the much better value. But, hey, if absolutely have to have battery power, be able carry your mixer in your pocket, and have the cash, then go for it. Haha.

[@hasan7786]

After seeing this, the bluebox was such a turn on for a small mixer but its not an audio interface. I think thats the difference there, 12 in on OSX. The last mixer I had with 12 in was a big ass Mackie Onyx Firewire. Bluebox does have that internal recorder which is nice but if you're all computer DAW, you want all those channels streaming into your computer separately. The cost does suck. I want a Tesla, cost sucks. I want a fresh pair of Nike's, cost sucks. I want a Mac studio, cost sucks. Kinda how it is when its premium.

[@anteeko]

the bluebox is great, sound great with a monster EQ, independent 12 channels, 3 fx send and recording capabilities. I think even if the TX6 was half the price I would still prefer the bluebox... unless small is mandatory (although the blusbox is very small too)

[@BuildDestroyRepeat230]

For sure! Pair it with a Blackbox and it's a mighty duo. 1010 has come up with an awesome portable form factor. I hope they keep developing boxes on the same platform.

[@LostStylus]

I wish Bluebox was also an audio interface

[@jonaseggen2230]

@@hasan7786 Except premium also means premium build and customer service. TE is not that.

[@ozziesmom9186]

Thank you very much for this. Alway appreciate your reviews.

[@Erdnase23]

For the outro song I was expecting to see a hand holding tweezers.

[@AgonalRhythm]

If you are looking for something like this simply on a similar size scale and without the effects, check out the Maker Hart LOOP Mixer. It's what I used to mixer my pocket operators back when I had them in a portable setup. All for $60-80, plus an adaptor for a brick to power it.

[@bengalinsky4300]

Exactly this.

[@iancain6647]

Loopop. I would like to comment on your music. It's very nice and part of what draws us to your expertise. Thank you for these little gems

[@PuRe_AdDicT]

While I'm trying to deal with the learning curve of combining small form factor synths without DAW in a musical way, the last thing I want to have an even steeper learning curve, is the mixer I'm using. It's a NO from me dawg.

[@gffg387]

No for me as well dawg

[@triggerwarning5762]

Yeah. I ended up getting a couple of Beringer MicroMixers

[@daneguitarist1]

hahahaha "it's a NO from me dawg." hahahaha randy jackson quote thats awesome me too! its also a no from me dawg

[@daneguitarist1]

@@triggerwarning5762 and probably a car, a meal, and paid rent with the left over cash you would have spent on this tiny overpriced mixer

[@LiamJames516]

FINALLY A REVIEW OF THIS THING!

[@Lowtronik]

"what is this? a mixer for ants?"

[@dans.8198]

My Barbie doll found two big cons: 1) It’s too big. 2) Teenage Engineering won’t accept Monopoly money.

[@ArthurStone]

Cool review (as always). Thanks : D

[@sodiumlights]

J-6 vs.TX-6? yep, you convinced me...gonna buy the Roland.

[@agentmith]

Having a battery guarantees a limited shelf life, and the size seems appealing at first, especially for pocket operator folks, but the price keeps it targeted at the wrong demographic. I can’t understand who they were making this for, and why add to the overall cost by including a limited synthesizer?

[@sacredgeometry]

Do you? Who are they?

[@craigmoran893]

@@sacredgeometry "Do you"? "Who are they"? Teenage Engineering?

[@sacredgeometry]

@@craigmoran893 Teenage Engineering are their own target demographic? Thats an interesting answer, I am not sure that is a particularly sustainable business model.

[@richardharris9708]

The OP-Z at least has a fully replaceable battery, just open it up and put a new one in. Same with the Deluge. So I wouldn't say a battery "guarantees" a limited shelf life for most devices. Not sure if the TX-6 battery is replaceable.

[@sacredgeometry]

@@richardharris9708 They got it into the device. It is replaceable even if its a pain to do it.

[@_fig.8]

stunning array in a gorgeous case

[@Blubb3rbub]

Thank you for mentioning the price early on in the video. I think that should be a default for any gear/product review, so we can avoid watching videos about gear we can't afford anyway and not trigger our GAS.

[@edouardmusic]

Great remarks, as always.

[@iancallender2432]

If they had just made a full sized version of this (like something model cycles sized) and used that space to flesh out its features/fix some of its quirks a little more, for the same price, I'm sure it would be absolutely dominating the market. There are plenty of people who would be able to do some incredible things with it, Loopop being one of them. If they absolutely had to release a tiny one then they could have done this as a cheaper little brother to a bigger one.

[@lanedj801]

I like the form factor and idea that it pairs perfectly with an iPhone setup. I wish it had nearly no effects or synth function and purely focused on mix bus features and cost half the price

[@stephandelaat]

Good points…but 600 dollars would still be wayyy too much. 200 would be the absolute max I’d pay for a simplistic mixer.

[@gz625]

Ok it's expensive no doubt BUT what's with this thing size?? It looks absolutely unusable. Even with small fingers you WILL touch other faders while trying to adjust one :) LOL Look at how this encoders wobble for 1.2k$ (+fees it will be around 1500) Overall I really like the idea of it and it's really don't have competitors now BUT PRICE / SIZE / WOBBLINES / NOT RECORDING For this price it SHOULD be able to record audio to internal memory. Teenage Engineering you shold change something :)

[@krytenfivetwothreep2485]

It's ok, I'm sure they'll release some kind of Lego-like knob extender for $50 a piece at some point

[@ShakyPr0ducti0n]

They can’t hear you… they are totally deaf when it comes to anyones opinion other than their own.

[@paulevans5822]

Great review. I like the "non-pros" and "non-cons" idea a lot.

[@MisterMajister]

The TX-6 seems filled with non-pros tbh. A bluetooth midi controller with too small pots and some faders? Why?

[@pongtrometer]

Great overview as per usual, I hope TE, send you an OP1-F .

[@edjefferson9175]

You need this to mix your six OP-1 field instruments. These days you can buy a 48 input Yamaha PM 4000 console for $100. Those were close to six figures new. But you need minimum of 4 strong friends to help you lift it.

[@telumatramenti7250]

For alternatives in the sense of mini-mixers - Mookey Stereo/Mono Mixer 4 stereo in, one stereo out 5 level controls, micro USB powered. The caveat is that these kinds of mixers do not come with a separate monitoring port for headphones, and this makes it good only for the purposes of busking and jamming with friends outside. Having said that, - I've used a Mookey for years in conjunction with my Mackie and Behringer studio mixers. I basically used it as a separate FX sends for 4 of my stereo-capable synths, and as such it performed marvelously, and didn't even suffer from feedback loop issues or excessive noise if powered by the device's or computer's USB ports. Very tight, heavy set, sturdy pots too. For something that cost less than $40 CAD I was duly impressed.

[@christianstenvall6023]

Love the loop on the J6 you use to demo the effects......

[@christianstenvall6023]

Is that a chord you have put together or one of the built in ones?

[@loopop]

The progression is mine but the chords are selected from those available in the machine

[@christianstenvall6023]

@@loopop really enjoy your videos mate. Keep em coming! cheers from down under.

[@handy7669]

Incredible device for artists and engineers. The AD/DA alone makes it worth the price. It sounds better than my Apollo. I use it as an aggregate device with my Apollo twin.

[@MichaelMassimino]

This reminds me of those videos where people cook tiny burgers using tiny utensils. Cute but useless

[@Imetalman2000]

How it it useless? This thing save so much desk space.

[@glynnpowell7864]

I think it’s funny how many people assume size is relevant in music.

[@lumer2b]

I love the idea, a small mixer that can mix 6 stereo synths. Why is it so hard to find small mixers with more than 2 connections?

[@rorz999]

There was definitely a gap in the market, it's just a shame that Teenage Engineering filled it. There's always the 1010Music BlueBox, but the lack of physical controls put me off

[@marcnelson8986]

Makes the slides and pots on the Roland boutique JP-08 look massive and extremely useable!

[@hvhvgitaar]

An excellent review, as always. You identify the pros and cons very well. The lack of any possibility to save the state is a bizarre omission . The synth and sequencer are useless features in my view. Not sure what they were thinking… This looks like an interesting design exercise and would be good fun for a trade fair to show off what the company’s engineers can achieve, but it doesn’t have what it takes to be a marketable product. I expect it to be dropped pretty soon. Not many people will be buying it until the price drops below 500… At least we got an entertaining review out of it, so we’re grateful 😉.

[@sodiumlights]

I can't see them dropping this for a while, they haven't dropped any of their instruments before. The Polaroid camera/the robotic arm thingy/the CAD printer thingy, maybe, but not their music gear. Especially because it's part of a series of gear, and as we all know, folk love their collections, regardless of if they will be useful or not. If anything, this in two years time will be even more expensive than what it is right now, and it will remain on some folk's radars as more people do their cute videos. Justifications will be made, practicalities will be forgotten. Until a year down the track and you realise it's become best friends with your PO-400, happily collecting dust together. I could save for one, but I've no use for it. I've been opening the window to let the dust out on a lot of stuff ive desired, bought and used sod all times.

[@metabeard3788]

"...and seemingly regardless of cost"

[@electrosaurus]

Another great review. Still nothing that demonstrates a viable use-case for something this tiny that doesn’t make the user look like either a fool or epically vain.

[@MichaalHell]

Thanks for This review Loopop. Refreshing to see a video of it that is actually objective!

[@weareborg]

Thanks for another great video Loopop! This is a beautifully engineered product that imo is too (unnecessarily) small and simply too expensive, despite its high desirability factor (Kudos to TE on the industrial design). Other potential alternatives worth mentioning in a mobile or "field" space (obviously without all features!) are the Roland GO:MIXER PRO-X (stereo out only) or the Behringer Flow 8 which I believe can be a multi track audio interface also. Both of these have stereo input options and mic/48v phantom also.

[@JonathanVanMatrePersonal]

Not to mention the Bastl Dude, the TC Helicon Blender, the Volca Mix, the Zoom R8, etc etc etc. The landscape of much-cheaper alternatives is pretty large, and unless someone specifically needs this particular combination of ultra-tiny and feature-packed, there are plenty of other options that either a) have tons of features and are just as portable if you just leave a few of your Clif Bars behind, or b) are just as tiny and didn't shoe-horn in features you will never use. Loopop, love your thoroughness in reviews, but this time I think the Alternatives section did viewers a disservice by making it seem like the portable mixer space has far fewer options than it actually does.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Sound Devices Mixpre series also

[@weareborg]

@@JonathanVanMatrePersonal I guess to compare apples to apples, only mixers that can multitrack audio over USB or with a dedicated audio interface should be considered? There are millions of small analogue mixers on the market.

[@GaitaPonto]

@@JonathanVanMatrePersonal I agree with you about loopop not presenting real alternatives to this overpriced gadget.

[@djcrouton2680]

I find this to be a really odd device. It has a lot of features that seem sort of half baked or just too tedious for me to actually want to use. Outside of the mixer itself and some built in effects, the rest comes across as extra stuff that makes it more expensive and doesn’t really need to be there. A small portable mixer has a market and I guess you could tandem it with a phone or iPad to record remotely if you wanted but if you want to make it this portable, not being able to record directly onto it necessitates another piece of equipment to be used so you sort of lose the benefit of it being so tiny compared with a slightly larger mixer that can record to a SD card. I would have rather seen this a bit closer to the size of a Volca to space things out a bit, not have cable size be an issue, provide room for a few more buttons so not everything is a menu dive, and have space for a SD card to record direct. And scrap the drum and synth features, since they seem not super functional, tedious, and not really necessary on a mixer anyway. This device seems like on of those things that sounds like a good idea in concept but that I’d never actually use in practice. Or that a company makes to show that they can do it without really thinking if they should.

[@selfscience]

I NEED THAT THING NOW.

[@olivergroves2007]

This beat is pure fire!!

[@stephenarmstrong9494]

good thorough overview, looks handy but @11:46 thanx for mentioning, potential dealbreak

[@lundsweden]

The passive (no power supply/battery needed) MC-5 mixer, available for less than $50 online, has 4 stereo inputs, has low noise and is built well.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Excellent overview of the TX-6! For me the two main issues are the way too small size and high price tag. Lack of a recorder is a third problem. I already have mixers and audio interfaces and tons of synths so this is not really a need for me. I do love my OP-1 that is their best product offering so far.

[@MrMooseMusic]

Thanks a lot for this great presentation of the device. When recording 12/6 out (multitrack) via usb to the computer are the individual insert effects recorded or not? I understand that the send (fx1) effects are not recorded because the signal flow is setup like that (FX1 before master out) but the inserts should be recorded in theory (I hope). Thanks again for all your efforts not only with this video but the countless others you’ve made.

[@RandyAMiro]

Using those stereo inputs as outputs would be siiick! For processing with external gear

[@yellowcrescent]

I would love to see a teardown of this thing to see how they have cramped everything inside. I think if it had built-in recording capabilities with an SD card, the price would be easier to justify, especially if it could write 12 track WAV/FLAC recordings. It seems like they chose good hardware for a full-digital mixer (all of the ADCs and DACs are 32-bit and at least 192kHz+ -- although not sure how they have them configured. possibly running internally at 32-bit/48kHz, which may by why that's the only sample rate they support over USB audio). No hardware MIDI input does suck, though. Seems clear it was intended for use with an iPhone (an iPad would dwarf it) -- do people actually make music on iPhones.. intentionally? lol

[@lemonrain2741]

Yeah your phone or tablet is where you would multi track record to, like into GarageBand. For midi, you would just need to connect your phone to your midi device, and then you can control it from TX-6 via Bluetooth. I like this minimal approach. While this mixer is very expensive, I think if it had a multi-track recorder built in the price would be even higher. And most people who will buy one will likely have a capable smartphone, tablet or computer, so it would almost be redundant. As for people making music on their iPhones, I think if you are into portable synths and music making, your phone or tablet likely will be a part of that setup in someway, because there are so many powerful apps as well as Bluetooth midi connectivity etc. I think I would prefer something a lot cheaper than TX-6. Perhaps just the inputs for multi track recording and the portability, as you can do the mixing and effects etc from GarageBand or some other app.

[@yesitsrave]

Great video as usual, though this mixer is not my field of interest, but maybe after sometime I will come back to it. What type of Roland mixer on the phone do you use? I haven’t seen any in the App Store at least. Thanks in advance for answering!

[@loopop]

Thanks! It's the Zen Beats app

[@JohnSAitken]

I just got my hands on this. First impressions are like mentioned, the knobs are on the tight side. What staggered me was the stereo image, I hooked up my Asrell & Kern Kann. Was it worth all that cash? Will have to wait until I’ve got the hang of this wee box.

[@L0K3E]

I'm even more happy with my purchase after this video. Loopop, you da king of gear reviews!

[@brumd]

Thanks for the review! At half the price I certainly would consider this one. I currently have the Blue Box, which I like a lot, except one thing: it uses quite a bit of current and you need quite a big 5V power bank to keep it running for a few hours in the field. Can you say anything how the TX-6' power consumption compares to the Blue Box (I get the idea it's much less)

[@thebestdavidpeters]

My TX-6 has been through two 3-hour plus flights on a single charge so far. Still going.

[@brumd]

@@thebestdavidpeters That's good to hear. That means it *can* be done. Now, let's hope for a similar device in the €400-€600 range in the not so far future.

[@kgbenware]

I think TE should send everyone who has commented on this review a free TX-6. Great review. They should drop the Synth engines and drum machine and add an on board recorder in future updates. Not enough memory for the feature? Add microSd compatibility via the USB! Boom!

[@christianstenvall6023]

Would love to see a video on making this loop. Sound is mesmerising....

[@horstlake6853]

The first useful video of this mixer and as always a pleasure to watch. Thank you very much for finally bringing some details around this unit. I am interested in the small market of mini mixers. I have a regular “big” setup with a standard Mackie mixer, synths and DAW but on top I have a small mainly ambient based travel,couch,jam session rig build around several guitar effect pedals,a day one OP-1 and some other items. A mini mixer would finally bring me the versatility to build a send return chain for several channels while keeping the small form factor and using battery power as my pedals do. A per channel compressor and some distortion is also a handy addition as, if quality is decent, another 2 pedals could stay home. One question I would like to ask. Did you experience any issues with heat, noise or compromises in terms of sound quality? For the price point, nowadays the main topic of conversation, I have to opinions. It’s expensive no doubt, and you get a lot of other gear for that. On the other hand there is a lot needed to come up with such a piece of gear and if we move a bit away from the ready made device side to the EuroRack world, someone could argue that you get a lot for your money. Thanks again for your amazing work 🙏🏻

[@loopop]

Thanks! I didn't experience any noise except once in a setup which doesn't make much sense: where I connected TX-6 to my computer and to another audio interface connected to the same computer. This was solved by routing the audio from TX-6 directly to the computer over USB as opposed to through the second interface, or by not powering the TX-6 by the computer.

[@horstlake6853]

@@loopop thank you very much

[@sixdonuts]

I would recommend a portable audio interface + iOS device + MIDI control surface like the Korg nanokontrol2. Better audio, way more flexible (especially effects wise) and more performance oriented. Cheaper as well...

[@trevorjenkins1976]

I would never entertain something that size. Not good if you have fat fingers or your eyesight is not up to scratch. And the price. As for the knobs being small a workaround would be to 3d print a single larger knob to fit over one at a time for easy adjustment. Excellent review thank you for your time and dedication.

[@Xenious]

I think this thing has a pretty cool design. If I wanted to be unrealistic then motorized faders would have made it perfect (ha!). My only complaints were that it didn't have a high Z input, I couldn't get transport controls to drive my DAW (not sure if it is possible) and that the FX (send) can't be combined (i.e. reverb and delay together). I'm excited about future updates that might add new features.

[@lwpweb]

nice the connection to the external effect unit: But you could take the cue output (instead of the aux) with a selected track or a selecetion of tracks to send to the Boss effect unit?

[@moss2309]

If anyone is considering buying it, I recommend to have a look into the 1010music bluebox mixer first. About half the price, lots of features as well, larger font size on the screen, bigger buttons and potties 😉. I'm very happy with mine.

[@DirkRadloff]

Great review, if it had a multitrack-recorder and two XLR mic-inputs with phantom-power (released with a breakout-cable and of course the inputs should be high quality at this price-point) it had been much more interesting.

[@ChristopherOrth]

This sets a clear roadmap for other hardware developers. Drop the gimicky shit, add onboard recording to wav files, and drop the price by half or more, and you have a market changing money printer.

[@Sonmz]

Well said 👍

[@spiegelkind2387]

The 1010 blue box comes to mind.

[@jmahoneywaav]

@@spiegelkind2387 big thing missing there is it cannot be an audio interface..this thing would be nice to use with ableton live..The size is too small to reap any of the benefits of all the hands on knobs though. Half the price and twice the size without the synth and I am buying.

[@spiegelkind2387]

@@jmahoneywaav True. I've been looking at Zoom's ZL-8 lately. Live track mixer with built in recorder and 12 in/4 out interface that runs on 4 AA batts. Plus it's got actual faders, which are a must.

[@djokenzi]

For a moment I thought that you said that the price is 120$, and I was really excited to buy at least one of those. But the extra zero ruined it for me :) Nevertheless, it's a cool device with a lot of features in such a tiny box. It would be perfect for my small bedroom studio.

[@jerrydean9239]

I really hope TE has given him an OP-1 field as well so that we can see exactly how much better (or even, how different) the new one is from the old one.

[@raphaelcolantonio8514]

hi, is there a way to save and restore snaphots of mixes? For example if I want to quickly change to one type of nix to another like I can on the 1010 bluebox by changing sets

[@joeg.santos8964]

Do you know if the USB audio would be able to split the OPZ tracks into each of the TX-6 tracks?

[@dinogoldie9716]

What's the point of the miniaturization and portability if it mostly requires connection via a computer? Surely there must be USB 6 channel mixers/audio interfaces with physical connectivity already out there for a third of that price? I don't get it. I wont get it.

[@60400]

Can you have multiple effects enabled at the same time? Or do you have go have to choose between reverb/delay/chorus/etc?

[@thomaspipermusic]

I think this is great if you gig a lot battery power is great too I wish it was cheaper but I love the size as a Audi interface and it's small . I'm thinking bout it

[@Erdnase23]

Well, this review shall put my faith in Loopop objectivity to the test. Let’s see...

[@loopop]

Let me know how it goes

[@lwpweb]

excellent demo: one question about the compressor: is it possible to assign the compresser to the master FXIorII or generally speaking is it possible to compress the master channel audio?

[@loopop]

No I don’t think so.

[@user-ge2hv3uy7s]

IMHO, this is the end of Teenage Engineering. Unreasonably expensive gear with quasi-luxury and quasi-elite status that you can buy..

[@morganwebster6636]

Such a neat device. If I could afford it I would totally purchase one. Cool demo sir.

[@GianfrancoCecconi]

I purchased it on day 1 and returned it 2 days after receiving it. The need to use special small cables felt absurd to me: from a “field” mixer I expect to be flexible and versatile with whatever gear happens to be around. Then I realized it can only do 48kHz and couldn’t plug other kind of hosts like my Akai MPC. Then I realized that it doesn’t have balanced outs, that I needed if I wanted to replace my everyday audio interface. Looking for a good price for the Tascam Model 12 now, at half TX-6’s price, and with recording, and class compliant.

[@jeitoots]

Is the Tascam Model 12 pocketable?

[@ZiegWarheit]

That thing is a prime Bad Gear candidate

[@DaleNorth]

When I first saw this I was like 'too bad this isn't a great tiny little midi controller' and turns out it is!

[@jeitoots]

Super little ambient / drone pocket synth!

[@dlsansoni3298]

That is really what you took away from this?

[@jeitoots]

@@dlsansoni3298 I didn’t take anything away from this. I made a statement about using it 🙂

[@nashatkins8883]

This is a seriously dope idea, I've been looking for a battery powered mixer for a while. But at this point I've been using an interface with an iPad pro which is still $300 at least cheaper and has way more flexibility and functionality. The size as others have said is just way too small to be functional for performance, and I wish it had two audio inputs instead of one. So if someone made a $600 (although preferably more like $300) battery mixer with a better audio I/O setup, I'd be so down.

[@GreenHoleSun]

There are many mini mixers in the market which can be powered via USB. You just have to connect a power bank and you have your portable mini mixer for a fraction of the price... But you are right: an iPad connected with a good mini keyboard or whatever equipment you want is the best solution: so much more possibilities for far less. And you can export your songs as midi files to a DAW once you have finished.

[@thedeepblueskys]

I bought a Behringer XENYX 1002B and a Tascam DP-006 for around $100 each. Both batterie powered. I love the Behringer 1002B. Best mixer I ever owned in terms of battery powered. The Tascam 006 is ok. I wanna see a combination of the two that multitracks.

[@nashatkins8883]

@@thedeepblueskys yeah I have the xenyx it's been pretty good, but it has gotten very noisy after some years now using it

[@thedeepblueskys]

@@nashatkins8883Right on, then your on top of the battery powered mixer game. I know what ya mean about how they get noisy. Did ya ever try taking it apart and blowing out the dust and all the little crevices of it with can air spray? I also apply a small amount of geese on the pot stems. Seems to help in my case. That and replacing audio cables.