Sampler Showdown: Koala vs. Teenage Engineering K.O. II

[@mobypixel]

I love the flow and ease of use of Koala. Your new setup is looking on point!

[@Khordmaster]

Aye appreciate you man!

[@andropolonsky]

This is true!…so intuitive!…

[@Ancaja123]

You can use a usb-c hub with the iPad, as well as class compliant audio interfaces

[@Khordmaster]

Factual… that does indeed work super well. If the new iPads have two usb c ports which I think they should that would be a more suitable set up. I like as little extras as possible when it comes to mobile productions

[@Ancaja123]

@@Khordmaster I think they see it as being more modular. You can expand to many more inputs that way

[@johnviera3884]

Screen recording is the biggest reason I use koala. I can flip a sample anywhere. Anywhere. When creativity hits. Not postponing it until I get home

[@Khordmaster]

I feel you!

[@Khordmaster]

Have you used both? Which do you find more creatively inspiring? Also, how many cough/throat clears did you catch in this video? lol

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I do like the KOii Compressor and Distortion a lot. If they add resample and allow the audio to pass through the usb-c then I would be happy with it.

[@Khordmaster]

Audio over USB c (both ways) would be significant for me!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster Amen

[@pascaljean2333]

If you have 3.5 jack you can line in w mike on trrs, out with usb-to-3.5. i was kind of wrong, LINE voltage is different from stereo, some devices wont work. idk about the TE stuff

[@Khordmaster]

Got ya!

[@MattmanAZ09]

Funny thing about the H-town song is it is a sampled beat itself by a Zapp and Roger song 😆

[@ChristopheTornieri]

The KO has polyphony. You can actually play chords. That’s one of the difference with let’s say the novation circuit rhythm.

[@Khordmaster]

Good to know! Okay what am I missing? I’m guessing in sound edit mode there’s a way to change this?

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster select pad hit Keys button

[@ChristopheTornieri]

@@Khordmaster I don’t know for sure but you are saying that in key mode, you cannot record a chord?

[@michaelkonomos]

Koala user here. I was so hyped for the KO, but after fader gate I can’t throw down that kind of money for poor build quality no matter how fun it looks. Same amount of money buys a new iPad, so hard pass for now. TE didn’t handle the aftermath of that well to my satisfaction either. Just kind of a shrug and “well we learned some things” while people shelled out hard earned money and they kept shipping units. Honestly I’m not a TE fan. I feel like, as a professional designer, that form follows function. Basic functions and stability are at the base of the pyramid. You get cute at the top of that guy, but you make sure that the thing you are building is quality. Durability and sustainability are good design. I think Dieter Rams might have some words with them about that.

[@Khordmaster]

appreciate the insights man! I agree that the aftermath was not satisfactory. how have you been using koala lately?

[@michaelkonomos]

@@Khordmaster I use it as a part of a larger hybrid setup with Ableton and Hardware synths. I keep wanting to buy a drum machine, but then I talk myself out of it with Koala. It really does a lot.

[@SONWU]

Thanks for the shout-out 🙏 Great video! I'm just asking another look at Koala. It's pretty impressive.

[@Khordmaster]

🙌🏾 indeed it is!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I think they both can work well together.

[@Khordmaster]

Interesting thought!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster koala got the resample and sequencer down and KOii is fun and has the physical features (pause) that Koala lacks.

[@dustyaudio]

4:24 this is a great point, taking on so many workflows & learning only the basics of lots of devices isn’t going to be great for most people!

[@Khordmaster]

SO TRUE ... my next video builds on this thought more :)

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

Great video with some good points!

[@Khordmaster]

thanks for chiming in with your thoughts man

[@elementlab41]

So excited you’re doing content on the KO! No one I trust more on TE gear. I love the KO despite its limitations. The sequencer is one of the most intuitive I’ve used in a long time. Now they just need to put it in the OP 1.

[@Khordmaster]

aye man I really appreciate ya. this comment means a LOT... will be getting back to the KO2 soon :)

[@cappaofficial]

Lighting connection kit bro lol

[@Khordmaster]

lol hate that thing

[@ozmosize]

It is polyphonic.

[@TheChameleon2008]

Great video and the thing you dont like about koala isnt really koala's fault but more to how these phones work because i can sample just fine with koala on my laptop :)

[@Khordmaster]

Thanks man! Well damn I forgot koala was for mac! But I wonder if that would be a better solution without touch screen versus simpler in Ableton which I’ve been very impressed with lately!

[@BIG1TOWER]

I like koala but I like the ko 2 better because I like the hands on approach .

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I agree the hands on thing is really nice. However Koala with a simple midi controller is actually a lot of fun too.

[@Khordmaster]

I feel you! so far the "shift" functionality seems a bit much for me... too much simultaneous presses. maybe I'll get used to it!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster yeah stay away from the SP404 Mkii if you don’t like extra button combos. It’s only for the Street Fighter gamers. 😂

[@brmbkl]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6fLXqCtl7Glerc get an older device - koala runs perfect on older iphones that have both usb and audio jacks as far as standalone, the ko doesnt sample without extra gear either, does it

[@e-conrecords4665]

Nice to see people embracing their own musical creativity within these devices instead of simply flipping other peoples art. I think the KOII’s architecture & feature set caters more to the later. Add to that, I don’t think in 2024 it’s too much to ask to be able to play samples polyphonically. 🤷‍♂️ I do like it though.

[@Khordmaster]

much love... word up!

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

Koala sequencer is better. The sample editing in Koala is better. The Fx are definitely better in Koala. However the KOii is easier to get samples in directly. I think the KOii is fun and simple to use but Koala imo is better overall. KOii has no resample and is limited on Fx.

[@Khordmaster]

these are all incredibly on point thoughts... excited to use the KO 2 more and get a better feel

[@TheIsolatedGamerz]

Koala is amazing, big ups to Derek !

[@Khordmaster]

Heck yeah! And Marek*

[@TheIsolatedGamerz]

@@Khordmaster sh** that is his name. My bad,.

[@thomasrussell2812]

It’s is polyphonic

[@Khordmaster]

Yep

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

I hate the way the KOii plays the sample first. Just let me chop.

[@Khordmaster]

lol meaning when you press the chop button it starts playing the sample right away? I also noticed that you have to hold the pad to get the chop and not just press it which is not intuitive to me

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster yeah that’s a bit much. It’s kind of a waste of time.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@Khordmaster yeah that holding a pad to record and holding a pad to chop is a mess imo. Make the workflow smoother and I’m definitely interested.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

Remember too it’s not really fair to compare these two. Koala has to be used in conjunction with Apple or Android devices which makes it a slave to those eco systems. Apple is more restrictive. KOii is hardware and only subjected to whatever TE allows.

[@meenasalamamusic]

Not really a slave to those ecosystems, Koala is its own app with a developer constantly making it better and better. Mobile music making is not as limiting as hardware. Even with new hardware with more advanced chips and the ability to update firmware, there’s only so much companies like TE are willing to add without making the next iterative pointless, they operate like a business. In terms of comparison Koala is crazy intuitive, and is only a few bucks. In a way it’s not fair to compare to the KO II as the workflow is pretty limited and for the most part unchanging. Koala started as a basic virtual SP404, over the years a piano roll was added, time stretching, sample chopping, and the most recent major update added a 4 bus + master bus with several new FX, need I say more..?? Unfortunately an app on your phone doesn’t photograph well for IG, hardware samplers have that advantage, and so the same discussion continues, hardware vs. DAW/app

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@meenasalamamusic slave means they are under what Apple allows. I’m on the beta team and I talk to the dev. There are certain things Apple does and doesn’t allow. TE chooses what they will allow or not allow on their devices.

[@meenasalamamusic]

@@bjamminsincebirth3494 I guess what I meant was the limitations Apple puts on their devices doesn’t break creativity for developers if Koala is an example. TE may have more freedom to add features or improve workflow but they more interested in the bottom line than what consumers want. Marek has shown the opposite and has made the experience of using his app gratifying and creatively inspiring. I feel boxed in when using TE gear, though I enjoy some of their devices it’s hard to justify the price tag when you have apps that do everything TE gear can and more that cost just a few dollars on a device I already have. Not saying one is better than the other just saying it’s apples to oranges, iOS music making is just a different world compared to hardware.

[@bjamminsincebirth3494]

@@meenasalamamusic I agree with that. Koala is wayyyyy more freedom. iOS is wayyyy more freeing than TE for sure.

[@SoundWaveSurfin]

Bought it and returned it the next day. Not impressed for 300$ at all!!!

[@Khordmaster]

ahhh got ya! I haven't spent that much time with it admittedly, because I've been wrapped up with ableton 12... but what didn't you like about it??

[@tommyk88888]

Screen recording is losing quite some audio quality too

[@Khordmaster]

ahhh good point, didnt realize!

[@tommyk88888]

@@Khordmaster not to say hiphop is all about hifi tho lol. I remember cats used to speed up records to manage sample time. And now we use lofi effects. But I think its good to be mindful of it. I think highs might sound harsh more easily. Also if you try to alter sounds you might run into limitations by quality decrease. But i havent extensively tested it tbh.