Chapter 7
Fader & punch-in FX
Twelve fader assignments, automation, punch-in FX and loop.
The fader
The fader is a performance control for the current group. Out of the box it sets the group’s level, but each group can point it at any of the twelve assignments printed above the pads — filters, pitch, envelope, pan and more — and every move can be recorded.
Key combinations
- Hold FADER + PAD
- Assigns the fader to the function printed above that pad, for the current group.
- Hold FADER
- Shows the current assignments; those with recorded automation blink.
- Hold SHIFT + move FADER
- Moves the value more finely.
- Hold A–D + move FADER
- Sets that group’s project volume, separate from the LEVEL assignment.
Two kinds of group volume
- LEVEL (fader assignment)
- The volume of the group’s current pattern. Can be recorded as automation, so it can change within a song.
- Group project volume
- Hold the group key and move the fader. Applies to every pattern and scene in the project and cannot be automated — use it to balance the mix.
The twelve fader assignments
Each pad has a small label above it — that is the fader assignment it selects. Hold FADER and press a pad to choose one for the current group. Each group remembers its own assignment and the fader positions for all twelve.
LEVEL
The volume of the group’s current pattern. The default assignment, and it can be automated.
Hold FADER + pad 7
From the community
- The TIME fader works on top of the BAR stretch in sound edit: stretch a loop to 4 bars, set TIME to
0.50and it spans exactly 8 bars (0.25gives 16). via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
3. FADER & GROUPS // KO II teenage engineering // beginner tutorial
SON WU
Part 3: demonstrates every fader assignment by ear, plus how groups and recorded fader moves work.
Recording fader moves
Hold RECORD while you move the fader and the moves become part of the pattern. Every assignment keeps its own automation, so a group can have a filter sweep, a pitch drop and a pan move running together.
Key combinations
- Hold RECORD + move FADER
- Records the fader movement into the pattern.While playing
- Hold RECORD + move FADER
- Records the fader position onto the current step; it holds until the next change.Step sequencing
- SHIFT + FADER
- Resets the virtual fader positions for all assignments in the group (
RES); press again to undo (SET).Sequencer stopped - Hold ERASE + FADER for two seconds
- Erases the group’s fader automation in this pattern for all assignments (
FDR, thenDEL).Sequencer stopped - Hold ERASE + FADER
- Deletes fader moves for all assignments, leaving each where it was when you pressed.While playing
- Hold ERASE + FADER + PAD
- Erases automation for just that pad’s assignment.
From the community
- SHIFT + FADER (
RES) drops all the group’s fader settings but remembers them; press it again (SET) to bring them back — a ready-made drop-and-return move. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
Punch-in FX
Punch-in FX 2.0 is the K.O. II’s party trick. Hold FX and each pad triggers a performance effect on the running beat — repeats, pitch and tape tricks and more. Let go and the beat snaps back. They are pressure sensitive and can be combined.
Key combinations
- Hold FX + PAD
- Plays that pad’s punch-in effect for as long as you hold it.While playing
What to know
- Press harder for more effect — they respond to pressure.
- Hold more than one pad to stack effects.
- Your recorded pattern is untouched — let go and it carries on as before.
The effect on each pad (community-sourced)
| Pad | Effect | More pressure |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Mute slicer | Faster chopping |
| 8 | Octave down | Bends back towards the original pitch |
| 9 | Bit reduction | Lower bit depth |
| 4 | Low-pass filter | Lower cutoff |
| 5 | High-pass filter | Higher cutoff |
| 6 | Send to the master effect | More send |
| 1 | Beat repeat | Shorter repeats |
| 2 | Tape stop | Slower |
| 3 | Low-pass tremolo | Faster |
| . | Pitch modulation | More randomness |
| 0 | Pad random | — |
| ENTER | Stutter | — |
From the community
- Hold FX, press and keep holding a punch-in pad, then let go of FX: the effect stays on while your other hand plays the pads normally. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
- The tape-stop punch-in slows the outgoing MIDI clock too, so synced gear slows down with it. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
- The pressure sensing sits in the lower half of each pad, so press near the bottom edge when you want punch-in pressure (and velocity) to respond. via True Cuckoo on YouTube (23:00)
Baking in PUNCH-IN FX using resampling on KO2
ManCalledMif
Short demo of printing punch-in FX into a new sample via OS 2.0 resampling, with notes on the time limit.
Loop mode
Loop mode, borrowed from TE’s OB–4 magic radio, repeats a short section of what is playing. Slide the loop around the pattern in time with the beat and shrink or stretch it for build-ups and glitchy breaks.
SLIDELoop position
Slides the loop back and forth through the pattern, locked to the tempo.
Knob X
Key combinations
- SHIFT + TEMPO
- Starts a loop.
- Hold SHIFT + TEMPO
- Sets the loop length by how long you hold: the loop starts when you press and ends when you let go.
- TEMPO
- Leaves the loop immediately.LOOP mode
- MAIN
- Leaves the loop at the end of the bar.LOOP mode