Teenage Engineering EP-136 K.O. Sidekick Mixer & Audio Interface

The Teenage Engineering EP-136 K.O.-SIDEKICK brings mixing, effects and computer connectivity into a compact performance instrument. It is designed for the point where separate sources become a live set: a sampler, a synthesiser, another player or a pair of compact music machines. Dedicated controls let you balance those sources, shape their tone and introduce changes without having to move away from the music you are making.

Give each source a place in the mix

Two stereo channel strips provide the main working area, with a further stereo auxiliary input for an additional source. Level faders make the balance immediately visible and easy to adjust. Instead of treating a small mixer simply as a way to combine cables, SIDEKICK gives you tools for actively shaping the relationship between the parts, helping a bass-heavy source sit alongside percussion, melodies or a complete backing track.

Three EQ styles support different ways of working. Choose an approach suited to broad performance moves or more deliberate tonal adjustment, and use the channel compressors when you need more control over dynamics. These tools can help separate competing sounds or make the combined result feel more consistent. Their value is particularly clear in portable hardware setups, where individual instruments may have very different output levels and tonal balances.

Perform with the effects

The six performance effects are designed to be played as part of the set. Two effects can work together in series or parallel, giving you different relationships between the original material and its processing. The pressure pad and modulation stick add expressive control, so changes can follow a gesture rather than a fixed series of parameter adjustments. A short phrase can become a transition, and a familiar loop can take on a different rhythmic or spatial character.

Motion control captures up to two bars of movement for looping automation. This lets a useful gesture continue while your hands return to another part of the setup. Per-channel beatmatching provides another practical performance tool, while the cue connection supports previewing material or routing a signal separately. Together, these features make SIDEKICK particularly useful when you want a compact rig to feel like one playable system.

Connect the hardware and computer worlds

Over USB, the EP-136 operates as an audio interface with eight inputs and four outputs, and it can function as a MIDI controller. That makes it useful beyond standalone jams: integrate external instruments with a computer-based session, capture a performance or build a hybrid setup that combines software with the immediacy of physical controls. The main and cue outputs provide separate destinations for listening and routing.

Its narrow format fits naturally beside an EP-series instrument, but the standard connections allow it to work with other compatible equipment too. Use USB-C power at a desk or two AAA batteries for a portable session. Multiple units can be linked when a setup needs more channels. For musicians who already enjoy the direct approach of compact samplers and sequencers, K.O.-SIDEKICK extends that approach to the mix itself, making level, tone, dynamics and effects part of the performance rather than a separate task at the end.