Teenage Engineering unveils EP-136 KO Sidekick, compact mixer for samplers and live sets

Teenage Engineering has pushed the KO line further into performance territory with the EP-136 KO Sidekick, a compact mixer aimed at artists who want to run two samplers, or any two audio sources, through one portable rig. The device was shown at Superbooth 2026 in Berlin and is priced at $179 in the United States and €189 in Europe, putting it well below many full-featured performance mixers while keeping the company’s stripped-down, playful design language intact.

The real pitch is not just mixing, but solving the small-rig problems that slow down live sets. The KO Sidekick gives users two 3.5mm stereo inputs, a 3.5mm stereo aux input, a 3.5mm main output and a 3.5mm cue output, so a performer can monitor one source while sending another to the main feed. Teenage Engineering said the product was originally planned as a mixer for the K.O. II, but it turned into more of an effect box with a built-in sequencer, which helps explain why it leans as much toward performance manipulation as toward basic routing.

That matters for musicians who build sets around samplers, pocket gear and tabletop electronics. The unit includes three EQ styles, individual compressors on both input channels, dual-channel beat matching, six performance FX, a pressure-sensitive FX pad and a tap FX sequencer. It also works as an 8-in/4-out USB audio interface and a MIDI controller over USB-C, which makes it useful not only on stage but also as a desktop interface and studio companion. Teenage Engineering said the device can be used for standalone mixing, as a studio companion, as a desktop audio interface or on stage.

The portability numbers reinforce that use case. The Sidekick runs on two AAA batteries or USB-C, weighs about 300 grams and measures roughly 240 x 88 x 16 mm, small enough to sit between a pair of samplers without taking over the desk. Teenage Engineering also said multiple K.O. Sidekicks can be linked together to expand channel count, and the included EP pegs physically snap it to EP-series units, tying the accessory more closely to the KO ecosystem.

That makes the EP-136 less like a general-purpose mixer and more like a targeted tool for performers already working in Teenage Engineering’s orbit. For users building live sets around compact hardware, the combination of cueing, compression, beat matching and sequenced effects addresses real workflow gaps. For everyone else, it remains a niche piece of kit, but one that widens the KO platform in a way that is both more practical and more performance-driven than a simple add-on.