Teenage Engineering’s recently released EP-133 KO II has been widely praised for its decidedly old-school approach, with both its styling and workflow drawing inspiration from some of the earliest samplers. The second addition to the series looks significantly further back in time, and claims to be the world’s first electronic medieval instrument.
The aptly named EP-1320 Medieval retains the same layout as its sibling but sports a Middle Ages-themed finish complete with Old English script labelling. As you’ve probably guessed by now, the collection of built-in sounds follow the same theme. Hurdy-gurdy, citole, bowed harp and gitterns make up the string section, while reed and brass offerings include the likes of bagpipes, shawn, flutes and trumpets. Frame drums, tambourines, chain rattles, clappers, bells and battle toms offer some percussive backing, and of course, there’s some coconuts horse hooves.
Teenage Engineering haven’t stopped at the instruments, though: the EP-1320 is also loaded up with an array of period-specific foley that includes sword and arrow sound effects, a selection of farm animals, two witches, some rowdy peasants and what they claim to be an actual dragon.
The hardware specifications are similar to that of the EP-133 KO II. There are six stereo or 12 mono voices to work with, the 12 punch-in effects are still present, and the master effects count has been increased from six to seven. Storage has been expanded, too, with 128MB of space made up by 96MB of built-in content and 32MB reserved for user samples. There’s stereo analogue line-level and MIDI I/O connections available, and the unit also features sync I/O. Power can be provided either via USB-C, or four AA batteries.
Of course, being a Teenage Engineering product means that the hardware is also accompanied by a selection of themed accessories. Should you want a Medieval-style quilt bag to carry your EP-1320 around, then you’re in luck. If you fancy a vegetable tanned leather keychain embossed with the instrument’s crest logo, guess what?
Pricing & Availability
The EP-1320 Medieval is available now, priced at $299£299 including VAT.
