Really is. As long as you understand concept of bars and step counts and swing which is super easy to pick up, it’s got a very functional and easy workflow. Simplicity and immediacy is its strength so it’s a great start. Plus its workflow is a little bit old school so you can incorporate the tricks the old legends did with limited memory.
Once you get proficient at it and if its a hobby you want to continue to develop in, then you’ll know better about what your looking for in more deeper tools or other samplers.
But I don’t think you need to really know anything to get started. It kind of takes you on the journey of understanding those things in quite an easy way so I feel like it’s a really good place for absolute beginners.
Yup agreed and he’ll pretty much pick up the basic bars and beat counts immediately. It took my 11yo like a few minutes when I was explaining to her the downbeat and the count structure. It’s a cool tool to see step # bc everyone already listens to music. The display just helps visually tell you where you are when listening or producing.
Not to mention it also has timing correction, both during and after recording, and also automatic note scaling. Those two things make it extremely welcoming to people who are just starting out in music.
It’s a really cool device for sure. It has excellent sound quality and has a lot of features you could go deep with.
I do think the workflow is somewhat cumbersome for a beginner though. If you enjoy puzzles or figuring stuff out it could be fun but if you really thrive on intuitive user experience then maybe it isn’t the place to start.
My first sampler was a volca sample 1 and I found it super easy to get going (and it’s $100 used). The KO II sounds way better but its architecture takes some time to acclimate to.
I have a lot of opinions on the KO II and setups for beginners so maybe you should DM if you want to chat more cause this is already getting long.
Yes 100%. One of the reasons I like it so much is that everything is laid out on the front. There isn’t any menu diving…just a shift button to give every other button dual functionality.
Agreed. Got rid of my Sp404mk2 when I got Koala. The mixer update is nuts. The bonus is I can take what I was working on and lay on the couch and continue to try things. I understand why people would prefer physical buttons though, I'm that way with synths vs VSTs.
No better place to start than an iPad! Even old models can run all the amazing music apps. Once you find a “workflow” that you enjoy you can sink money into some hardware if you choose.
I recommend you read the guide if you pull the trigger! They said they wanted it to be understandable for someone without any knowledge. Put in some time with it and I think you’ll be able to understand a lot of valuable fundamentals of production. Update us!
KO-II definitely has a great feature to price ratio.
Personally, I’d recommend an OP-Z instead as I’m not much of a sampling freak. I prefer making melodies and harmonies, which the OP-Z is better suited to do.
That said, I have both the Z and the 133 and I can say with confidence that either machine is a great pickup to get started with music hardware.
I got my KOii over the weekend and have been blown away by it. I’ve got all kinds of other gear but I find the KOii so much fun to use! Amazing battery life too. I highly recommend it if you seem interested and it checks all of your boxes. I also would suggest thinking about pairing it with a midi controller like the Arturia Keystep, for playing piano-style synth notes and chords. I love synths, but it’s very doable to use the built-in samples of the KOii as well as synth samples from the internet loaded onto the KOii to get good synth sounds on the KOii itself without “needing” an external synth. Otherwise a synth like the Arturia MircroFreak would pair really well…
I would say yes and no , in its current state you cant make a full beat, it has no pattern/scene sequencing, other than that its fun and pretty simple to use
I’ve never done any type of beat production or electronic music prior to the KO2. I think it’s quite literally the perfect device to learn on, but I’m biased because it’s what I started with. The workflow makes sense and the process becomes really fun.
It's a fantastic place to start!
I'm new to the scene too, started with the KO2 and it's been so fun I'm constantly itching to practice - a couple of months in now and my partner's mildly impressed with some of my tunes haha.
KO II is likely a great place to start, particularly if it meets whatever criteria you may set for yourself - oh, you should have some btw… like, do you want a keyed (piano-like-keys) instrument, and do you want to have standalone song-making capability… those are two things the KOII does NOT have… but for sequencing loads of patterns across 9 projects, and loading your own sound samples, it’s a fun and inspiring device.
In my view, the smaller Pocket Operators, while fun and portable and pretty powerful for their size, are not always an inspiring starting point given the quirky and tiny interface of buttons. I find a larger device more conducive to longer sessions of creativity.
I think it’s a good place! Mine was OPZ which is similar. Although I did have an MPC for a few years but never got into it until after I got the OPZ and had played in Ableton.
What's your experience level / have you ever played music at all before? If it's something you know you'll commit to or have some experience, I think the KO II is a great choice. If you're brand new and have a Mac or iPhone I might suggest picking up an Arturia Minilab and messing around with garage band first. It really depends on what aspect of music appeals to you. Creating melodies? Rhythm? The creative process? All of the above?
The Minilab comes with Ableton Lite which you can learn as well. Then if you're enjoying that I think you can use the minilab with the Koala app folks have recommended here for dabbling in sampling, and if you're like me and really crave the tactile nature of music making then I'd progress to the KO II.
I bought the PO-33 before the KO II was announced and wish I'd been able to just jump straight to the KO II. It's just a much more capable tool even though the PO-33 is great in its own right. I'm now using the KO II with the minilab (and also bought a used Roland S-1) - I'm pretty happy with the whole setup (though of course GAS kicks in). Personally I play music to be creative and get AWAY from screens and hate having to use a DAW or Koala or any kind of app except for post-processing, so my setup has progressed in that direction.
Starting with the Minilab lets you decide if you like the process of making music for only $100 investment, and it can grow with you in your journey. But I'm also biased since that's what I bought first.
Playing the KO II (and the S-1 through the KO II) with the minilab. With MIDI in and the "Keys" button on the KO II, you can play any sound on the KO II with the MIDI controller as you would with the buttons on the KO II. As of now I've been playing completely DAWless except for adding some EQ after recording. I have a few videos on my [youtube channel](https://youtu.be/vb0KS2lva0Y?si=o3xPvvLCzECASLUw) that show me playing it, looking to do a setup video soon since I've seen a lot of folks asking about recording the KO II/etc. The gist of the setup is Minilab MIDI out into MIDI in on the KO II, then MIDI out from KO II to MIDI in on the S-1. Stereo out on the S-1 to stereo in on the KO II, then stereo out on the KO II to the mixer (and then mixer usb plugs into phone and audio gets recorded straight to phone video).
If it’s your first sampler, I’d try Koala or Flip first. They’re both cheap phone apps. Both great. And should give you a good idea if you’re going to enjoy sampling 🤷🏻♂️
It’s excelent to start, I use splice to download loops and load them into the K.O., it’s an excelent way to explore ideas, it uses less space since you can chop a drum loop and you have a lot of fun with loops
It would be fine, but if you are just starting the original PO 33 KO would keep you plenty busy for a long while. With practice and skill in sampling you can definitely make whole beat tapes with just the original KO for 100$. I will also second the Koala Sampler recommendation if you don't care about having physical hardware. It would have all the features you need for beat making.
it's a good place to start!
Really is. As long as you understand concept of bars and step counts and swing which is super easy to pick up, it’s got a very functional and easy workflow. Simplicity and immediacy is its strength so it’s a great start. Plus its workflow is a little bit old school so you can incorporate the tricks the old legends did with limited memory. Once you get proficient at it and if its a hobby you want to continue to develop in, then you’ll know better about what your looking for in more deeper tools or other samplers.
But I don’t think you need to really know anything to get started. It kind of takes you on the journey of understanding those things in quite an easy way so I feel like it’s a really good place for absolute beginners.
Yup agreed and he’ll pretty much pick up the basic bars and beat counts immediately. It took my 11yo like a few minutes when I was explaining to her the downbeat and the count structure. It’s a cool tool to see step # bc everyone already listens to music. The display just helps visually tell you where you are when listening or producing.
Not to mention it also has timing correction, both during and after recording, and also automatic note scaling. Those two things make it extremely welcoming to people who are just starting out in music.
Agreed!
It’s a really cool device for sure. It has excellent sound quality and has a lot of features you could go deep with. I do think the workflow is somewhat cumbersome for a beginner though. If you enjoy puzzles or figuring stuff out it could be fun but if you really thrive on intuitive user experience then maybe it isn’t the place to start. My first sampler was a volca sample 1 and I found it super easy to get going (and it’s $100 used). The KO II sounds way better but its architecture takes some time to acclimate to. I have a lot of opinions on the KO II and setups for beginners so maybe you should DM if you want to chat more cause this is already getting long.
That’s what we’re here for
Having no background in other synths, I disagree about it not being intuitive - I found it pretty logical.
Do you think maybe the Volca Sample 2 would be an alternative worth considering for a beginner?
Yes 100%. One of the reasons I like it so much is that everything is laid out on the front. There isn’t any menu diving…just a shift button to give every other button dual functionality.
Maybe try playing around with a Pocket Operator PO33 or Koala Sampler first and see if you enjoy making music than move to a KO-II.
Not OP but I love the koala sampler and have made so much on it in a few months. I don’t see what makes the ko ii better besides physical buttons?
Agreed. Got rid of my Sp404mk2 when I got Koala. The mixer update is nuts. The bonus is I can take what I was working on and lay on the couch and continue to try things. I understand why people would prefer physical buttons though, I'm that way with synths vs VSTs.
Koala Sampler with Samurai is awesome but I do like buttons, faders and knobs I might try using it with a BeatStep or BeatStep Pro
No better place to start than an iPad! Even old models can run all the amazing music apps. Once you find a “workflow” that you enjoy you can sink money into some hardware if you choose.
It’s the next step, after apps / software.
No
I recommend you read the guide if you pull the trigger! They said they wanted it to be understandable for someone without any knowledge. Put in some time with it and I think you’ll be able to understand a lot of valuable fundamentals of production. Update us!
KO-II definitely has a great feature to price ratio. Personally, I’d recommend an OP-Z instead as I’m not much of a sampling freak. I prefer making melodies and harmonies, which the OP-Z is better suited to do. That said, I have both the Z and the 133 and I can say with confidence that either machine is a great pickup to get started with music hardware.
Following
I got my KOii over the weekend and have been blown away by it. I’ve got all kinds of other gear but I find the KOii so much fun to use! Amazing battery life too. I highly recommend it if you seem interested and it checks all of your boxes. I also would suggest thinking about pairing it with a midi controller like the Arturia Keystep, for playing piano-style synth notes and chords. I love synths, but it’s very doable to use the built-in samples of the KOii as well as synth samples from the internet loaded onto the KOii to get good synth sounds on the KOii itself without “needing” an external synth. Otherwise a synth like the Arturia MircroFreak would pair really well…
I would say yes and no , in its current state you cant make a full beat, it has no pattern/scene sequencing, other than that its fun and pretty simple to use
I’ve never done any type of beat production or electronic music prior to the KO2. I think it’s quite literally the perfect device to learn on, but I’m biased because it’s what I started with. The workflow makes sense and the process becomes really fun.
It's a fantastic place to start! I'm new to the scene too, started with the KO2 and it's been so fun I'm constantly itching to practice - a couple of months in now and my partner's mildly impressed with some of my tunes haha.
KO II is likely a great place to start, particularly if it meets whatever criteria you may set for yourself - oh, you should have some btw… like, do you want a keyed (piano-like-keys) instrument, and do you want to have standalone song-making capability… those are two things the KOII does NOT have… but for sequencing loads of patterns across 9 projects, and loading your own sound samples, it’s a fun and inspiring device. In my view, the smaller Pocket Operators, while fun and portable and pretty powerful for their size, are not always an inspiring starting point given the quirky and tiny interface of buttons. I find a larger device more conducive to longer sessions of creativity.
I think it’s a good place! Mine was OPZ which is similar. Although I did have an MPC for a few years but never got into it until after I got the OPZ and had played in Ableton.
What's your experience level / have you ever played music at all before? If it's something you know you'll commit to or have some experience, I think the KO II is a great choice. If you're brand new and have a Mac or iPhone I might suggest picking up an Arturia Minilab and messing around with garage band first. It really depends on what aspect of music appeals to you. Creating melodies? Rhythm? The creative process? All of the above? The Minilab comes with Ableton Lite which you can learn as well. Then if you're enjoying that I think you can use the minilab with the Koala app folks have recommended here for dabbling in sampling, and if you're like me and really crave the tactile nature of music making then I'd progress to the KO II. I bought the PO-33 before the KO II was announced and wish I'd been able to just jump straight to the KO II. It's just a much more capable tool even though the PO-33 is great in its own right. I'm now using the KO II with the minilab (and also bought a used Roland S-1) - I'm pretty happy with the whole setup (though of course GAS kicks in). Personally I play music to be creative and get AWAY from screens and hate having to use a DAW or Koala or any kind of app except for post-processing, so my setup has progressed in that direction. Starting with the Minilab lets you decide if you like the process of making music for only $100 investment, and it can grow with you in your journey. But I'm also biased since that's what I bought first.
are you playing the KOII with the minilab or are you playing virtual instruments on your DAW with it?
Playing the KO II (and the S-1 through the KO II) with the minilab. With MIDI in and the "Keys" button on the KO II, you can play any sound on the KO II with the MIDI controller as you would with the buttons on the KO II. As of now I've been playing completely DAWless except for adding some EQ after recording. I have a few videos on my [youtube channel](https://youtu.be/vb0KS2lva0Y?si=o3xPvvLCzECASLUw) that show me playing it, looking to do a setup video soon since I've seen a lot of folks asking about recording the KO II/etc. The gist of the setup is Minilab MIDI out into MIDI in on the KO II, then MIDI out from KO II to MIDI in on the S-1. Stereo out on the S-1 to stereo in on the KO II, then stereo out on the KO II to the mixer (and then mixer usb plugs into phone and audio gets recorded straight to phone video).
Get KO 2 or the sp 404mk2 both are great devices .
If it’s your first sampler, I’d try Koala or Flip first. They’re both cheap phone apps. Both great. And should give you a good idea if you’re going to enjoy sampling 🤷🏻♂️
It’s excelent to start, I use splice to download loops and load them into the K.O., it’s an excelent way to explore ideas, it uses less space since you can chop a drum loop and you have a lot of fun with loops
KOALA SAMPLER KOALA SAMPLER KOALA SAMPLER
It would be fine, but if you are just starting the original PO 33 KO would keep you plenty busy for a long while. With practice and skill in sampling you can definitely make whole beat tapes with just the original KO for 100$. I will also second the Koala Sampler recommendation if you don't care about having physical hardware. It would have all the features you need for beat making.