Chapter 4
Sounds & sound edit
Put samples on pads, then trim, shape, stretch and route them.
Putting sounds on pads
SOUND mode decides what each pad plays. Pick a group and a pad, then browse the library with − and + or type a slot number. The same mode sets the pad’s volume and pitch on the two knobs.
- Press SOUND.
- Press a group key, A–D, then the pad you want to fill.
- Press − or + to step through the library. The display shows the sample slot number.
- Or hold SOUND and type a slot number on the pads to load that sample directly.
- Turn X for the pad’s amplitude and Y for its pitch.
Key combinations
- − / +
- Loads the previous or next sample onto the selected pad.SOUND mode
- Hold SOUND + type a number
- Loads the sample in that slot onto the selected pad.
- Hold a PAD
- Shows the sample’s name, scrolling if it is long.SOUND mode
AMPAmplitude
The pad’s volume.
Knob X
From the community
- Hold SOUND and press 0 to empty the selected pad at once — no need to scroll or type
000. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks - On an empty pad, − and + carry on from the last sample number you loaded — quick for filling pads with consecutive chops. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
Sound edit
Sound edit shapes how a pad plays its sample. The changes belong to the pad in the current project and leave the sample file in the library alone, so the same sample can sound different on another pad or in another project.
- Press the pad you want to edit.
- Press SHIFT + SOUND to open sound edit.
- Use − and + to move between the six pages, and the knobs to change values.
- Hold SHIFT + SOUND for two seconds to save your edits to the sound.
Key combinations
- SHIFT + SOUND
- Opens sound edit for the selected pad.
- − / +
- Moves to the previous or next edit page.Sound edit
- Hold SHIFT + SOUND for two seconds
- Saves the edits made to the current sound.Sound edit
From the community
2. SOUND & EDITING // KO II teenage engineering // beginner tutorial
SON WU
Part 2: selecting sounds and editing them in Sound Edit, including time-stretch.
Play mode and pan
The first sound edit page sets how a pad responds when you hit it again before it has finished, and where it sits between the left and right speakers.
MODEPlay mode
Oneshot (monophonic, plays the whole sample), key (polyphonic) or legato (monophonic, carries on from the same point when the note changes).
Knob X
Play modes
- Oneshot
- Monophonic. The whole sample plays every time, one instance at a time. The natural choice for drums.
- Key
- Polyphonic. Several copies of the sample can ring at once — what you want for chords and melodic playing in KEYS mode.
- Legato
- Monophonic, but a new note while one is held carries on from the same point in the sample rather than restarting. Good for long pads and basslines.
Trim and crop
Trim lets you skip the silence or the bit you didn’t want at the start of a sample and cut it off where you like. Like the other pages it affects the pad, not the file — until you choose to crop.
STARTStart point
Where playback begins. Snaps to zero crossings on mono sounds; hold SHIFT to zoom to a one-second window.
Knob X
Key combinations
- Hold SHIFT + turn X or Y
- Fine-tunes the trim point, zoomed to a one-second window.Trim page
- Hold a PAD
- Shows the playback position in seconds.Trim page
- Hold SHIFT + SOUND
- Crops the sample file to the trim points.Trim page
From the community
KOII just got ANOTHER UPDATE!
SON WU
Concise chaptered tour of OS 2.5: USB audio, sample rates, crop, equal chop, reverse, nudge, pad copy and scale mode.
K.O.II firmware update FINALLY adds reverse and crop sampling
Cage Unlimited
Focuses on OS 2.5’s reverse, crop and new time-stretch, plus the key/scale shortcut and arpeggiator.
Attack and release
The envelope page shapes the volume of the sound over time. A slow attack swells a sample in for soft pads; a short release cuts a snare off the moment you lift your finger.
ATTACKAttack
Fades the sound in, or lets it start exactly as recorded.
Knob X
Time stretch and reverse
The time page (tim on the display) keeps loops in time when you change the tempo. Tell the K.O. II either the loop’s original BPM or how many bars long it should be, and it stretches the sample to fit. The same knob also holds the reverse setting.
tim.MODEStretch mode
BPM stretches to the project tempo, BAR fits the sample to a number of bars, rev plays it backwards.
Knob X
Modes on X
- BPM
- Stretches the sample to the project tempo. Set the sample’s own tempo on Y for it to work.
- BAR
- Fits the sample to a number of bars at the project tempo — set the bar count on Y.
- Reverse (
rev) - Plays the sample backwards (OS 2.5).
Reverse a sample
- Put the sample on a pad and press the pad.
- Press SHIFT + SOUND, then + until the display shows
tim. - Turn X until it shows
rev. Play the pad — it now plays backwards.
From the community
- BAR stretch follows the project’s own tempo, not incoming clock. When you sync to other gear, type the matching tempo with TEMPO held, or use BPM mode. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
mr. update brings new updates for K.O. II, riddim & medieval!
teenage engineering
TE’s short announcement of OS 2.5 for K.O. II: USB audio, reverse playback, sample-rate choice, equal-length chop and new scales.
EP-133 K.O. II hip hop Sampling Master Class
Ave Mcree
Hip-hop sampling masterclass: manual and auto chop, beat-matching a break and time-stretching.
K.O.II firmware update FINALLY adds reverse and crop sampling
Cage Unlimited
Focuses on OS 2.5’s reverse, crop and new time-stretch, plus the key/scale shortcut and arpeggiator.
Helpful EP-133 K.O. II Tips & Tricks: extending samples, transposing notes, resetting knobs & more
windowbed (James)
Handy tips: resetting knobs, time-stretching via Sound Edit vs the TIME fader, playing triads and transposing a part.
EP-133 K.O. II Tips 5: Time Stretching (stretch to 3, 8, or 16 bars; troubleshoot chopping & more)
windowbed (James)
Everything about time-stretching to exact bar lengths, and the problems it causes with chops and external clock.
MIDI channel and root note per pad
Every pad can send and receive on its own MIDI channel. Point different pads at different synths and the K.O. II becomes a small MIDI sequencer for your whole setup. The root note tells it which MIDI note matches the sample’s pitch.
CHANNELMIDI channel
The channel this pad sends and receives on.
Knob X
- Since OS 2.0 the channel you set here is also the pad’s MIDI input channel, and pads use the system MIDI channel by default.
- With system setting 127 (MIDI channel off), pads only send and receive MIDI when they have a channel set on this page.
- Changing the channel no longer leaves notes stuck (OS 2.5).
Mute groups
A mute group stops sounds that shouldn’t overlap from ringing together. The classic use is hi-hats: put the open and closed hat in one group and the closed hat chokes the open one, just like a real kit.
- Press SHIFT + SOUND and use −/+ to reach the mute group page.
- With no pad selected, all the pads flash.
- Press the pads you want in the group. Pads in the mute group light up.
Copying sounds between pads and groups
In SOUND mode the copy and paste combos work on sounds instead of patterns. It is the quickest way to make a second version of a pad — say, the same snare pitched down — or to move a whole kit to another group.
Key combinations
- SHIFT + C
- Copies the selected pad’s sound.SOUND mode
- SHIFT + D
- Pastes the copied sound onto the selected pad.SOUND mode
- SHIFT + C, twice
- Copies all twelve sounds in the group.SOUND mode
- Select a group, then SHIFT + D
- Pastes all the copied sounds into that group.SOUND mode, after copying a group
Deleting samples
Samples stay in the library until you delete them — removing one from a pad doesn’t free any memory. Deleting is done from SOUND mode, on the selected pad.
Key combinations
- Hold ERASE + SOUND
- Permanently deletes the selected sample from the device (hold until
SNDblinks).