Panel & controls · K.O. II guide

2.1BasicsTE guide §1, §4

The front panel

The panel is laid out in zones. Down the left are VOLUME, KEYS, FADER, the fader and SHIFT. Across the top are the three mode keys — SOUND, MAIN and TEMPO. In the middle sit the group keys A–D and the twelve pads, and on the right the X and Y knobs, the function keys and the transport.

Tap any key, knob or pad. Hold SHIFT or FADER to light up their extra jobs.

Pick a control to see what it does.

All 24 controls on the panel. The word on the lower half of a key is what it does while SHIFT is held; the labels above the pads are the fader assignments.

Redrawn from TE’s panel diagram · not to exact scale

Things the panel tells you

The word printed under a key (EDIT, COMMIT, LOOP, CHOP, CORRECT, OUTPUT, SYSTEM) is what it does with SHIFT held — see SHIFT and the secondary functions.
The labels above the pads (LEVEL, PITCH, TIME…) are the fader assignments — see The twelve fader assignments.
BPM and METRONOME above the knobs are their jobs in TEMPO; GAIN and SWING beside them are their jobs in SAMPLE and TIMING.
The small icons on A–D are their SHIFT jobs: new pattern, undo, copy and paste.

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2.2BasicsTE guide §4.4

SHIFT and the secondary functions

SHIFT sits at the bottom left and works with nearly every key. Hold it, then press the other key. Pressing SOUND on its own opens SOUND mode, for example, while SHIFT + SOUND opens SOUND EDIT.

Every key and its SHIFT job

Key	On its own	With `SHIFT`
`SOUND`	SOUND mode: pick samples for pads — Putting sounds on pads	EDIT: sound edit — Sound edit
`MAIN`	MAIN mode: the home screen — MAIN mode	COMMIT: save the scene and continue in a copy — Commit
`TEMPO`	TEMPO mode; tap it for tap tempo — Tempo, tap tempo and the metronome	LOOP: loop part of the pattern — Loop mode
`SAMPLE`	SAMPLE mode — Sampling basics	CHOP: slice a sample across pads — Chopping samples
`TIMING`	Note interval, quantise and swing — Note interval, quantise and swing	CORRECT: timing correct — Timing correct
`FX`	The send effect — The send effect	OUTPUT: master compressor and sidechain — Master compressor
`ERASE`	Hold with another key to erase — Erase and undo	SYSTEM: system settings — System settings
`A`	Select group A	Find the next empty pattern — Selecting and creating patterns
`B`	Select group B	Undo — Erase and undo
`C`	Select group C	Copy — Copy and paste
`D`	Select group D	Paste — Copy and paste
`FADER`	Hold + a pad to assign the fader — The fader	Reset the virtual fader — Recording fader moves
`−` / `+`	Step, browse, choose — The − and + keys	Move by bar, or jump ten sounds — The − and + keys
`PLAY`	Play and stop	Play from the start (song) or from the pattern start — Live recording
X / Y	Whatever the mode maps them to	Finer, slower adjustment — The X and Y knobs

From the community

2.3BasicsTE guide §4.3

The − and + keys

− and + are the K.O. II’s all-purpose step keys. Whatever is on the display, they usually move it down or up one notch, and holding another key first changes what they step through.

Where	`−` and `+` do
MAIN, stopped	Move back or forward one step in the pattern.
Holding `MAIN`	Choose a scene.
Holding `A`–`D`	Choose that group’s pattern.
Holding `RECORD`	Shorten or lengthen the pattern.
SOUND	Previous or next sample on the selected pad.
SOUND EDIT	Move between the six edit pages.
Holding `SHIFT` + a pad	Nudge that pad’s note on the current step.
Holding `KEYS`	Octave down or up.
TIMING	`−` picks quantised recording, `+` free time.
FX	Choose the effect.
SAMPLE	Choose the input source; during hands-free sampling, the number of bars.
CHOP	Fewer or more slices.
Song list editor	Previous or next song position.
System settings	Move through the options.

Key combinations

SHIFT + − / +: Moves back or forward a whole bar.MAIN mode
SHIFT + − / +: Jumps ten sample numbers at a time.SOUND mode
SHIFT + − / +: Changes which scene plays at this song position.Song list editor

2.4BasicsTE guide §4.2

The pads as a number pad

Each pad plays one of the current group’s twelve sounds. They are laid out like a calculator — 7 8 9 on top, then 4 5 6, 1 2 3, and . 0 ENTER along the bottom — so whenever the display wants a number, you can type it.

Where typing a number helps

Hold	Then type	To
`MAIN`	`1–9`, held until `P` shows	Open a project — MAIN mode
`MAIN`	A scene number	Jump to that scene — Scenes
`A`–`D`	A pattern number	Choose that group’s pattern — Selecting and creating patterns
`SOUND`	A sample number	Load that sample onto the pad — Putting sounds on pads
`TEMPO`	A tempo, with `.` for decimals	Set an exact BPM such as `120.51` — Tempo, tap tempo and the metronome
System settings	A three-digit code, then `ENTER`	Jump straight to a setting — All system setting codes

The pads are pressure and velocity sensitive. Velocity is off by default — switch it on in the system settings (Pad velocity). Punch-in effects and note repeat respond to pressure.

2.5BasicsTE guide §4.6

The X and Y knobs

X (orange) and Y (black) change meaning with the mode, so the same two knobs set the input gain, the tempo, the swing or the reverb colour. The display lights the X LEVEL and Y LEVEL icons to show the current value.

What the knobs do, mode by mode

Mode	X	Y
MAIN	Input gain	Effect send for the live input
MAIN, holding `SHIFT` on a step	Velocity of the step’s notes	Length of the step’s notes
SOUND	Amplitude (`AMP`)	Pitch (`PTC`)
SOUND EDIT	Depends on the page — Sound edit	Depends on the page
TEMPO	BPM	Metronome volume
TIMING and timing correct	Note interval	Swing
LOOP	Slide the loop	Loop length
Holding `KEYS`	Key	Scale
SAMPLE	Input level	Threshold
CHOP	Start of the selected slice	End of the selected slice
FX	Depends on the effect — The send effect	Depends on the effect
OUTPUT	Compressor drive (sidechain: length)	Compressor speed (sidechain: shape)

Key combinations

Hold SHIFT + turn X or Y: Makes the knob move more slowly for precise settings.

2.6IntermediateTE guide §3

The display and its icons

Instead of a screen with menus, the K.O. II has a hybrid display: a three-character readout surrounded by 66 fixed icons. Once you know the icons, a glance tells you which mode you are in, whether you can undo and what the knobs are doing.

The icons you will see most

Icon	Lit when
`SOUND`, `MAIN`, `TEMPO`	You are in that mode (TEMPO lights while you change the tempo).
`A`–`D`	That group is active.
`PLAY` / `RECORD`	Playing. RECORD blinks when armed and stays lit while recording.
`BAR` / `TIC`	You are stepping through the quantised grid (BAR) or in free time (TIC).
Umbrella	An undo is possible — Erase and undo.
Floppy disk	Data is being saved; it blinks after a sound is erased.
`COPY` / `PASTE`	A bar, pattern or sound has been copied or pasted.
Hand on a key	The pads will accept a typed number.
Keyboard	All twelve pads are in KEYS mode.
`MUTE`	Two or more pads share a mute group, or a group is muted.
Fader (with arrows)	Fader automation; the four fader-value icons show its level.
Sound, trim, envelope and time icons	Which SOUND EDIT page you are on.
Stopwatch	The active sound has time stretch on.
`STEREO` / `MONO`	Whether the sample is stereo or mono.
Scissors (`CHOP`)	You are chopping a sample.
Metronome	Blinks in time with the click.
`LOOP`	Loop mode is on.
`SYNC`, MIDI, USB	Sync or MIDI is being received; USB is connected (blinks on activity).
Battery	Running on batteries; blinks when they are low.
`X LEVEL` / `Y LEVEL`	The value of the current X or Y parameter.
Level bars	A meter for the current track’s volume.
New pattern burst	The K.O. II is finding an empty pattern for you.