Effects & mixing

The K.O. II has one send effect at a time, chosen from delay, reverb, distortion, chorus, filter and compressor. Every group, and the live input, can send to it in different amounts. The whole mix then passes through a master compressor.

Delay repeats what you send it, like an echo off a valley wall. Short times thicken a sound; longer ones give rhythmic echoes.

Reverb places the sound in a space. Turn the length up for big washes; use the colour to keep a long reverb from muddying the low end or turning harsh.

Distortion clips the peaks of the waveform, from gentle warmth to a smashed, fuzzy beat. The colour knob filters and resonates the result so you can choose where the grit sits.

Chorus layers moving copies of the sound to make it wider and richer. It thickens chords and pads, and does strange things to drums at high feedback.

The filter effect removes high or low frequencies from whatever is sent to it. One knob covers both directions — left of centre cuts the highs, right of centre cuts the lows — and resonance emphasises the cutoff for sweeps.

As a send effect, the compressor pushes down loud peaks and brings up the overall level of the groups you send it — punchier drums with less dynamic range. Drive and speed together decide how hard it hits.

Anything plugged into the input can go through the K.O. II’s effect, so it works as an effects box for another instrument. Set the level and the send in MAIN mode.

Everything — groups, effect and input — ends up in the master compressor. More drive gives a more obvious squash; speed sets how quickly it reacts.

Sidechain dips the volume of chosen groups whenever a chosen sound plays — the classic pumping bass under a kick. On the K.O. II it is triggered by notes rather than audio, so you can trigger it from a pad that makes no sound and shape exactly how long and how hard it ducks.