How Teenage Engineering Makes Cool Stuff!

[@MarsOtter]

got excited and thought it was friday for a sec

[@johnmorrisproductions]

Me too. 😂

[@SamRiesgo]

Me too :/

[@LeonNeuton]

Same!

[@i_make_beats]

same

[@tekmepikcha6830]

IKR 🤣

[@FreeBeat]

Well this is certainly a collision of two things I enjoy that I was in no way expecting lol.

[@Khordmaster]

Right?!?!

[@imaeli]

Yesss! Ahahahah

[@ruffiankick]

Fr 😂😂😂

[@Josev-TV]

Same

[@patrickm.4469]

Love your channel Free Beat!

[@alex-r-t]

"It's a dual-core CPU, but we don’t actually use the other core yet." Well damn. Here's hoping for some interesting new features with that untapped potential in the future 🤞 Thanks for sharing this conversation!

[@santiagomarcano6354]

They will release another product and drop support. This was their gateway instrument to get into the mainstream. That’s why this video exists

[@alex-r-t]

@santiagomarcano6354 That'll be interesting to see. They definitely have a weird history of what they decide to support over time: the oplab was discontinued and unsupported relatively quickly, but the OG OP-1 got USB audio streaming after 10 years. Since this is the first of the "EP Series", I wouldn't be surprised if they lean into support to make sure the rest of the series is successful, but I could also see them losing interest over time like with the OP-Z

[@JasonBunting]

For those who care, David's comment about the MCUs and eventually, the non-use of dual-core begins at 13:03 (includes context)

[@malterichert2927]

Love that this episode exists! an hour of hearing an actual product engineer geek out about his product is just soo valuable, especially with such an iconic company as TE. So by all means, do publish more of these

[@jaminjones8784]

Concerning the design question at 30:00, anyone interested in their approach to design (at least in terms of the hardware) should check out Dieter Rams, the Industrial design GOAT. Teenage Engineering borrows A LOT from Rams - he's _very_ clearly their biggest influence when it comes to hardware design. Jony Ive - the industrial designer behind most of Apple's most iconic products - also borrows heavily from Dieter Rams, which is likely a big part of why people are always comparing Teenage Engineering to Apple. Most people drawing that comparison assume TE is drawing inspiration from Apple, but the reality is both TE and Apple draw inspiration from Rams. If anything, TE goes way further in emulating Rams.

[@ryan1845]

My GOD. As a Microsoft delivery architect, I learned SOOO mucho! 😂

[@drainyoo1]

Wow. I'm a big TE fan and was expecting just a basic interview. I love that it gets into the details of their design and production problems. I'm building hardware right now and going through some similar challenges, so it was great to learn about their experience.

[@NovakTheEnjoyer]

I"m having so much fun with my KOII! TE are legendary! The OP-1 Field is one of the most interesting products I've ever played with. Will remain a staple in my studio as long as the battery lasts.

[@santiagomarcano6354]

Interesting that you see it as a product first and instrument later. Says a lot about their marketing

[@NovakTheEnjoyer]

@@santiagomarcano6354 wow, you’re right! I guess that because it does so many different things, it doesn’t strike me as an instrument like a guitar, or trumpet, or any other “analog” instrument. It feels more like an iPhone or a gaming console than a violin, or even a dedicated synthesizer. Interesting food for thought 👍🏼

[@MyNameJeff..]

@@santiagomarcano6354Watch some of his videos and see how versatile the op-1 field is. Anything can be a product. My mpc live is a product, made by akai. It’s also an instrument/sampler,midi controller etc. - Like the op-1.

[@Khordmaster]

Ayeeeee love this. First I see MKBHD rocking the CM-15 mic in his video now this awesome interview. Great stuff!! 🙌🏾

[@bolttracks]

ayee

[@LouisLuzuka]

😮

[@nottaller1993]

Great chat - finally got to hear from someone else at TE and learn about how they operate. Here’s hoping they are at work on an OP-Z Field next!

[@MyNameJeff..]

Op-z field would be sick

[@chadxp]

this interview was so interesting! I have a KO2 and I love it! I love it even more now knowing more about how it was made. The whole process sounded like it was a lot of fun, you can really tell a lot of passion went into the EP line. Im very excited to see what comes next!

[@llittlegreyhound]

I know the people at TE get a lot of hate, but that is how it goes with innovation. I love their products and dedication to their craft.

[@TheBismrk]

Extra episode. Let's go!

[@evolvic]

I'm so happy this interview exists, love, love, love it. ❤

[@JasonHicks343]

ADAM ON THE BIG TABLE ALERT 🚨 🚨 ‼️

[@benoftroy]

this was an awesome interview. thanks for recording it and sharing!

[@chadxp]

Im a huge fan of Teenage Engineering im so excited!

[@lotli83]

I'm filing a complaint with the BBB because the engineers in this company, unlike it's name, are in fact NOT Teenage

[@SONWU]

Great work on the EP-133, such a fun instrument 🙏

[@Adamlukas]

love your channel! 🫶

[@Tripwelleverday]

The teenage engineering king 👑

[@SONWU]

@@Tripwelleverday 🙏Thank you so much!

[@ILLUDIUM_Q_36]

TE should pay you for your contributions

[@SONWU]

@@ILLUDIUM_Q_36 🙏

[@elementlab41]

I loved this so so much! Thank you, Adam and David. I'm such a massive fan of Teenage Engineering-I adore my OP-1f and EP-133, but this changed my entire view of the company. Just so cool!

[@kforkrish]

I don't know why but this "teenage engineering's ericsson guy" and his design signature reminds me of Sony Ericson range of devices from my "teenage" days and ironically his name also is Ericson.

[@istvanporter8065]

First

[@adriendesentenac]

I think I've been spoiled with the audio quality of regular waveform episodes, but I feel like the audio from David Eriksson isn't great here. It sounds a bit harsh. Obviously you don't control the guest recording equipment in a call like this, but maybe some improvements could be made in post for future interviews like this? Otherwise it's a really good interview.

[@nevaknowmanamesame5089]

It tells something to me when an audio company engineer has such a poor mic quality.

[@smOn-yk7zy]

This is super interesting, thank you! I'm a software engineer/ originally electronics engineer myself. In my company we used to work in a very similar way when we were smaller 10 years ago... "Unfortunately" we grew quite a bit and had to add more "structure".... I miss those creative / chaotic days. Love TE and their products!

Dang! That was so interesting. This video is at the cross-road of so many subjects that fit this channel well. On the same subject, you may be interested in another European company called Eve Audio. I'm using their SC203 monitors. There is nothing better at that size and prize. Just like Teenage Engineering, they propose high end tech to (almost) everyday people. The tech is amazing, but the way it comes to market is even more.

[@Shadowbandit]

I love that David had to turn around in case he didn't leak another ep unit 😂

[@allentastic]

Unexpected. Insightful. Refreshing. More, please 😁

[@udayabhaskar]

16:52 that's a great point in fact! Oh they are smart, and understand the real essence of what the tech is meant to be.

[@GabbiHilson]

We love special episodes.

[@dan_rad]

My K.O. II Arrived today. What a crossover episode!

[@Garythefireman66]

Geeking out on this stuff while working.... priceless 👍🏻

[@etyrnal]

"a sample is a piece of audio"... aaaaactually, a "sample" is one 44,100th of a second of a 'sound'... one SAMPLE of the waveform.

[@ralexttm4368]

david u do good work!

[@javonscott4777]

So basically this is the guy who said yea we aren't gonna put a undo button on the op1 🤦🏽

[@stevefitzherbert]

the EP 133 KO ii is $299 ( perfect price ) but sold at $455 (without including tax ) in India which is really heart breaking whereas arturia products are sold at its original prices.

[@electrosonicnebula]

Yeah right. Re KOII: you got beat makers supposedly working on these things and you forgot (not deliberately omitted) resampling, reverse, and Lo-fi sampling (despite the obvious use case with 64Mb and polyphony maxing in a hurry). You can't chain patterns and can only have one send effect running at a time. Yeah some of the machines are groundbreaking and the design is cool in the parts that it gets right but the whole approach is annoying AF. Unbearable marketing shtick, bizarre product releases trying way too hard to be cool, and ridiculous omissions that shows how unmusical the development and management team actually is. Just stoner nerds basically. No one's gonna dig that microscopic bright yellow eyesore modular that's not even modular. Everyone I know would have paid 400 or 500 for a decently conceived KO II.

[@hadrien5697]

Im not a heavy TE supporter but Them confirming they're not even using the 2nd Core of the CPU + having said on Elektronauts that they want to put resampling in makes me hopeful for the future of this device. Ofc expectations have to be tame considering the UI/UX is fairly fixed as to make sure the workflow stays fast and easy but I can absolutely see them including reverse/loop on samples and resampling. Idk how doable lo-fi would be but chain patterns and perf fx recorded into the sequencer seems to be a given aswell considering the og pocket operator does have the later. As for running morte than one send effect at a time, I don't think its an issue of power but more of UI, there's no way to tell with the fixed screen and icons we got if a group has several send effects... so that would be confusing... and resampling pretty much remove the needs for that anyways. I am hoping next few months will see at least one major update for the ko II, honestly backup + resampling + chain pattern/perf fx recorded would already make it pretty much perfect.

[@jean-fabricevernet8947]

@@hadrien5697 Hi, I fully appreciate that the interface is nice and streamlined and not asking for it to change, I love that concept compared to boring MPCs and Maschine. The missing standard features for a sampler that make it hard to use for songwriting are the problem. Great to know about resampling plans, that's the big one. Once resampling is in we'll have one more way of working around that space limitation. Having to sample everything on the computer on other sampler then double the speed before sampling onto the KO2 just to save space instead of having a couple of low-fi modes onboard and/or more space (since we're in the 2020s) is super annoying. In my case great long-awaited concept (i.e. standalone stripped down polyphonic sampler with awesome sound, groups, excellent time stretching), great value, just missing key features. Bizarre low price. I'm sure they would have made a killing if it was 450 and had more space, more polyphony, resampling, reverse, the possibility of chaining two send effects in the first place. The possibilities are great with the KO II paradigm, we'll have to see what they do with it. I'm assuming a "KO III" would solve all the annoyances and if it had an OP-1 style keyboard while maintaining the pads I'd be in heaven (MPC keys killer). But knowing TE they're probably working on a revolutionary paper clip to be sold at 200 euros a pop.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

‘Boring’ MPC is a professional tool for making music professionally bruh.

[@alexxander6584]

I know nothing about synth. Just heard about Teenage Engineering being the partner (I think the builder/manufacturer) of Rabbit R1. If I am not wrong, Jesse Lyu founder of Rabbit is in the board of Teenage Engineering. I am excited that Teenage Engineering might be the builder of Rabbit R1 hardware.

[@DiamondMaster115]

No way they actually did it...

[@pmbear]

Just for this, I am following your channel! ❤️ 🎹 🎧

[@carlporter2239]

An interview with Robert Henke PLEASE < 3

[@TheKokanut]

Just ordered mine 👍 ask if you can do a similar interview with the other partner who is the industrial design lead

[@samaBR333]

i have a lot of TE's products. They always have cool approaches to interfacing and UI.

[@danytops4582]

*"Teenage engeneering didn't make cool stuff cool stuff makes teenage engeneering"*

[@FilmBarrie]

Teenage engineering has all the products I want but don't technically need lmao, stoked to get my Rabbit R1 as their first designed product I get to actually use daily haha

[@jfreshh330]

Everyone loves teenage engineering

[@DominicMGeehan]

Except for people who enjoy build quality and longevity of hardware. I say this as a fan and owner of many TE products.

[@minhuang8848]

@@DominicMGeehan yeah seriously never mind sensible pricing, freaking lmao

[@MyNameJeff..]

Bot

[@PlantMusicLife]

We need to start including the customer service experience as part of the design process. I received a broken TE instrument and I’ve been trying to get in touch with their customer service for months. A bad customer experience trumps good design any day and because of mine, I probably won’t buy another product from them again.

[@msc_2253]

I sent my broken out of the box KO II back through an RMA and they will no longer respond to my emails. It's been a month since they received it. I wanted it to work and I've been very patient with the process, but I would appreciate some response.

[@PixZTech]

I dam checked the calendar Didn’t expect a bonus episode Anyway weird Wednesday huh

[@ruffiankick]

Sheeeesh! Production started in August of '22!? And it was finished in late 2023?! 🤯 Crazy !

[@preachermansays]

Thank you Adam for getting the scoop on the project backup and restore function that is “days away!” That was definitely my number 1 request!

[@soundwithsilence]

Could you let me know the time stamp please? The factory reset wiping all sounds from the machine is just baffling. Really need to restore the original samples. Thanks

[@preachermansays]

@@soundwithsilence it’s at around 46 mins. But here is a link to someone who exported all the factory content. This was posted by Decima1 in a video where he talked about his fader problems. I used the link so I had all my factory sounds backed up, so it is legit. drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lqHracO15q4tDPq2FWmVHpW-x6wMKaYH

[@blynch563]

Next EP series device, turntable/scratch that fits the ecosystem...🔥

[@johnsuggs7828]

YES

[@peterbondmusic]

TE is a brilliant company. And yes more content like this.

[@Seba-oc1ze]

YO!!!! I’m such a big TE fan. Haven’t been able to get off of my ko2 in 2 months

[@nikitabaryshnikov1739]

Their designs are amazing. Thank you guys for a great interview

[@djcuvcuv]

awesome interview. david is the man.

[@plumcharlie]

Love TE! Sweet crossover music tech pod. More of these please!

[@dertyp6767]

Loved the part about manuals. It acually worked for me. I absolutely studied and loved the OP-1 Field manual before buying the product.

[@Jezee213]

I KNEW IT!!! I was wondering if that mic was the TE one and finally confirmed!!! Only thing that is weird is in the video it looks like the side facing the camera doesn't have the mic grill like it should have on both sides, but maybe there's another version or I'm just blind but no doubt it is the CM-15. Andrew, you're awesome, your keyboard vid was great! Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about. 😆😜

[@per-olamjomark7452]

One of the other founders of Teenage Engineering, Jesper Kouthoofd, has opened a small restaurant slash listening bar in the old town area of Stockholm. Can really recommend it if anyone is in the neighborhood. Of course, the sound is quite good at this venue.

[@Knypsterino]

Sounds cool. What’s the name of the bar?

[@atul.aditya]

Imagine if they were actual teenagers.

[@Cryptum404]

Teenage engineering is super weird

[@garret765]

Had a feeling there would be something between the two when MKB used the TE mic in the quitting video. Just need a video with Universal Audio now.

[@dertyp6767]

For a second I thought my brain blended two main topics from my youtube feed into one thumbnail. But it‘s real. So cool!

[@burningcell]

Yeeees!!! Such a cool surprise!!! Thank you so much for putting this out!!! Absolutely loved it!! Had to pull out my KO II while I watched it 🎉🎉🎉 looking forward to the future 🎉🎉🎉

[@plumokin5535]

I love the engineering perspective! I wasn't expecting it but I'm so happy about it.

[@Tripwelleverday]

I really hope te can update it to have an fx per abcd group since they only have a fx per machine it’s really holding me back in my work makes me almost wanna buy another one

[@MarkAntares]

Had they included back up /restore or sd card in the first place I wouldn’t have had to send mine back. I was making some jams when the memory locked up. From what I observed it doesn’t actually allow 99 scenes per pattern, only about 20-30, once all 9 patterns are full.

[@moshmoshpitpit]

Low key, this is that good good. This is why I come back every damn video.

[@dcleblond]

I appreciate you, Andrew.

[@SamRiesgo]

This is a spectacular interview!!

[@nacholangarika]

I am in love with this company. Their pocket operators are genius products. Even at 99 € you should buy all , and a backup. I own 21 pocket operators. OP-1 and OP-Z are products we should give god thanks to have it available. I own two OP-Z. Their products provide unique user experience. Now, knowing they produced the KO II in Spain, makes me love them even more.

[@johnsuggs7828]

21? Worse case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome I've ever heard lol Their stuff is cool. I own two Pocket Operators. Surprisingly durable the pocket operators are. But outside of their latest grove box, which I will have within the month, they charge too much.

[@ItsWesSmithYo]

Great episode of stuff engineers and PMs get out the 🍿 for, thanks friends. 🤙🏽😎🖤🐓

[@SlamNFunc]

More content like this please. I must admit to being a fan of TE gear so I appreciate this video a lot.

[@TechOutAdam]

I'm surprised homie didn't at least use his own microphone for this interview lol

[@Happy_Abe]

Shoutout to Andrew reading the comments! We appreciate you

[@Manganellia1]

Who?

[@severayede5800]

​@@Manganellia1 to Andrew.... y'know.... You know Andrew?

[@vibhudoesntexist]

Always when I finish the regular episode early... there's a bonus episode 🥳

[@AndysWallace]

This was great! More Adam and more product people too please. Really enjoyed seeing behind the curtain

[@Eric_In_SF]

Look, I gotta say, watching you guys talk about Teenage Engineering and being blown away by their design process is a bit frustrating. The truth is, this isn’t some mind-blowing new thing. This is just how products have always been developed, especially for smaller companies that aren’t massive like Apple or Samsung. Most companies don’t have the luxury of vertical integration where they can design and manufacture every component exactly to spec. They source parts, tweak as they go, and iterate-this is normal, not unique. Even Apple, with all their resources, still has to tinker and run simulations. That’s how product development works. It cracks me up because it’s like you’re seeing this for the first time and assuming it’s some special process when it’s really just basic product design. What bothers me more, though, is that millions of people are watching this, and they’re being left with half the story. You guys do some research, talk to one person, and run with it as if it’s the whole truth, but that’s not real journalism. Real media does background research, cites sources, and gives a fuller picture. You’re doing a disservice to your viewers by presenting this as some unique process without checking if it’s actually common practice, which it is. Just because it’s new to you doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done this way for decades.

[@TypicalGenericUsername]

The chemistry between you guys always makes me smile. Also, interesting interview!

[@123chiles]

Dream company to work for.

[@lanedj801]

I love their designs but man have they gotten pricy. I got the original po-33 for like just over $60. The op-1 used to be $1k I wished they went back to affordable performance.

[@cloudagg4833]

Ok so maybe my expectations are too high and unrealistic, but I was really hoping that with technologically advanced hosts, and a technologically advanced guest (who's recently released a kick-ass condenser mic), the guest's audio might be artifact-free. I know achieving this takes some extra work on both sides, but that work has substantially diminished in recent years and it's so achievable now. It also really benefits absorbing the guest's content without being taken out of the moment by the technology. I appreciate that regular Zoom quality audio is fine for a research call that won't be broadcast, but it sounds like you anticipated this would become a show. Of all guests I'm sure this one would have been happy to spend a little longer to achieve great audio.

[@aditya-the918blog]

Yes more stuff like this please! Can we dig deep in the software side of things, like mainstream stuff, some old some new… MS-DOS or software like Adobe for example

[@PaulMcElroyWasHere]

There were probably less revisions because it's an electronic device. There are loads of costs associated with iterating hardware depending on which stage you're at. For example, if they managed to just send it in for EM certification once they're doing good.

[@jess75_]

I know next to nothing about audio production but this was such an interesting and engaging chat that I found myself really enjoying the talk and I learned a thing or two in the process. Mad respect to David for being really open and willing to receive feedback and work on improving the products. Great job on the interview Adam!

[@yrneh7168]

Someone needs to sample the intro and remix it with a koii haha

[@navarrov]

is it cool? Checked the website.. a bunch of incredibly overpriced hardware that only serves her limited purposes.

[@charlikasselback4565]

Thanks for sharing this

[@TravisAvey84]

I'm sure a fanboy will attack, but TE is overpriced.

[@Tripwelleverday]

I love my Ko can’t wait for the turntable and the arcade and the tonic their all gonna connect together with mf legos it’s really the future and it so epic this is my first te product and I can’t put it down

[@waylaid]

This interview made me want to go out and buy a KO II ! And why isn’t Adam in the thumbnail???!!!

[@kingof9x]

"more like days" that comment didn't age well. Its been a month and this update has not arrived. It will be great when it does.

[@1dkappe]

Documentation and quality control are their weak spots. There are some hints why its a problem.

[@g2h0]

The EP-133 is such a fun product and I cant wait to see what they cook up next

[@NOHOLOCO]

I’m waiting for the Teenage Engineering Chewing Tobacco! 👍

[@skyscraperfan]

Will the future be that ChatGPT will summarize thousands of comments?

[@blackmanrunfree]

As an audio and tech nerd this is stellar!!!

[@blackmanrunfree]

Hi Andrew

[@tic2datocshorts]

Very insightful interview, especially for me, coming from a Product Manager perspective in the music manufacturer space. This was great! More of these please!

[@hardtobearit]

They make the coolest stuff and then price them out of 90% of the markets hands that could use them.

[@EdLrandom]

I don't care how power efficient pocket operator is if I can't put it in my pocket, the thing doesn't have an off switch and every time I get it out of the house I have to find a way not to turn it on in my pocket

[@diegobm23]

Hey, you guys should review more products from TE. Would be great.