Chapter 6
Keys & melodies
Play one sample across the pads, in key, with an arpeggiator.
In this chapter · 3
KEYS mode
KEYS mode turns the pads into a twelve-note keyboard for a single sound. Pick a bass, a stab or a vocal chop, press KEYS, and play it in tune across the pads — or from a connected MIDI keyboard.
- In MAIN, press the pad whose sound you want to play.
- Press KEYS. The keyboard icon lights and the pads play that sound in different pitches.
- Hold KEYS and press − or + to change octave.
- Hold KEYS and press a pad to transpose — the pad you press becomes the root.
Key combinations
- KEYS
- Plays the selected pad’s sound across all twelve pads.
- Hold KEYS + − / +
- Changes the octave.
- Hold KEYS + PAD
- Transposes the scale to start from that pad.
- Hold RECORD + PAD
- Records that note on the current step.KEYS mode
- RECORD, then PLAY
- Live-records notes with a count-in.KEYS mode
- Hold ERASE + PAD
- Erases that note.KEYS mode
From the community
- To transpose a keys part you have already recorded, change the pad’s MIDI root note in sound edit. It works in reverse: raising the root an octave drops the part an octave. via Elektronauts: EP-133 Tips and Tricks
Chord shapes & chord progressions on the EP-133 K.O. II (Music Theory Part 1)
windowbed (James)
Music-theory primer mapped to the K.O. II pad layout: chord shapes, inversions and progressions in keys mode.
Helpful EP-133 K.O. II Tips & Tricks: extending samples, transposing notes, resetting knobs & more
windowbed (James)
Handy tips: resetting knobs, time-stretching via Sound Edit vs the TIME fader, playing triads and transposing a part.
Choosing a key and scale
In KEYS mode the pads follow a key and a scale, so every pad is a “right” note. Change both while holding KEYS — no menu diving.
KEYKey
The key of the scale. Saved per project since OS 2.5.
Knob X
Key combinations
- Hold KEYS + turn X
- Changes the key.
- Hold KEYS + turn Y
- Changes the scale.
From the community
K.O.II firmware update FINALLY adds reverse and crop sampling
Cage Unlimited
Focuses on OS 2.5’s reverse, crop and new time-stretch, plus the key/scale shortcut and arpeggiator.
Chord shapes & chord progressions on the EP-133 K.O. II (Music Theory Part 1)
windowbed (James)
Music-theory primer mapped to the K.O. II pad layout: chord shapes, inversions and progressions in keys mode.
- EP–133 guide: how toteenage engineering — Short recipes from TE: velocity sensitivity, scale changes, syncing with POs and drum machines, resampling a chord, sampling over USB audio.
- EP-133 K.O. II Applied Music TheoryOP Forums — Written companion to windowbed’s theory videos: chords and scales on the 12-pad grid.
Arpeggiator
OS 2.5 added an arpeggiator, built on note repeat. Hold several pads with TIMING in KEYS mode and the K.O. II plays them one after another, in the order you pressed them, at the current note interval.
- Press the pad with the sound you want, then KEYS.
- Make sure the sound’s play mode is oneshot or legato (Play mode and pan).
- Hold TIMING and press several pads.
- Change the speed with the note interval — TIMING and X (Note interval, quantise and swing).
Key combinations
- Hold TIMING + several pads
- Arpeggiates the held notes in the order pressed.KEYS mode
From the community
The EP-133 KO II 2.5 UPDATE Made It 100% COMPLETE
Bass Robotics™
Another OS 2.5 walkthrough, with a sample-rate listening test and a look at the arpeggiator.