After some retailer leaks and rampant speculation this week, Teenage Engineering has set ye olde record straight (sorry) and officially launched the EP-1320, a medieval take on the EP-133 K.O. II.

READ MORE: Teenage Engineering co-founder on ‘Fadergate’: “We guessed there would be transport damage, but not at this rate”

The revamped sampler, which retains the EP-133’s original price of $299, comes with a new design and packaging, plus a new set of effects, a new arpeggiator, and a collection of “craftily captured multisampled instruments,” says TE.

In great jest, the brand continues online: “Introducing the world’s first medieval electronic instrument! hurdy gurdys, lutes, Gregorian chants, thundering drums and punishing percussive foley fx. the EP–1320 is the first of its kind: featuring a large library of phrases, play-ready instruments and one-shot samples from an era where darkness reigned supreme, the instrumentalis electronicum is the ultimate medieval beat machine…

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“The line input and the internal microphone allow you to sample your own sounds in just seconds. whether you’re into making sultry serenades or bubonic beats.”

Teenage Engineering fans online have been theorising all week about this instrument, with some pointing out that this product could be linked to Sweden’s ‘Medieval Week,’ or ‘Medeltidsveckan’. It’s a festival that celebrates…well, you know…Medieval stuff. Interestingly, the logo for Medeltidsveckan also bears a striking resemblance to the typeface found on the EP-1320.

It’s not just the EP-1320 that’s jousting its way into the TE store (no, really, I’m so sorry). You can now cop a medieval-themed TE T-shirt, a medieval-themed vinyl, and a quilted bag to carry the EP-1320 in. The brand has also gone pretty hard on the theme on its website, too.

We’ve seen Teenage Engineering give its beloved products a fresh finish before. In 2020, the Swedish brand gave two of its Pocket Operators a retro Capcom theme, drawing from Street Fighter and Megaman for the PO-33 and PO-28, respectively. These also came with bespoke sounds, a new finish, and tongue-in-cheek marketing.

The EP-133 K.O. II was pretty much an instant hit among producers and musicians, not just thanks to its retro, calculator-style design but also its low price and intriguing feature set. Some issues quickly arose about build quality, however, when a significant number of customers found that the fader would be unresponsive straight out of the box. In our interview with TE’s David Eriksson, we learned that the team had changed the packaging and were “throwing [the EP-133 around] like a frisbee at work, at the walls, like over and over. And now it doesn’t break.”

Great news. Let’s hope the EP-1320 is protected like a knight in shining armour (we will totally understand if you never come back here again).

Check out the full details of the EP-1320 at Teenage Engineering’s website. 

The post Teenage Engineering’s EP–1320 brings a new medieval theme and fresh sounds to the EP-133 K.O. II appeared first on MusicTech.