Quick Summary
Teenage Engineering’s newest creation is not one other trendy synth or pocket-sized music maker – it is a full-blown skilled vinyl-cutting machine.
The APC-2 is a 140kg file lathe designed to show digital audio into bodily information in actual time, and it is likely to be the corporate’s most bold product but.
Teenage Engineering is the corporate that satisfied musicians they wanted brightly colored pocket synths. It was additionally behind a futuristic subject recorder and a pc case that appeared prefer it belonged in a design museum. But the brand new APC-2 is likely to be its boldest transfer but.
At first look it seems to be extra like industrial equipment than shopper tech. That’s as a result of it principally is. The APC-2 is an expert record-cutting system designed to create playable vinyl information instantly from audio, in actual time. Ideal if you happen to’ve already invested in probably the greatest file gamers.
Rather than urgent information in a manufacturing facility, the machine bodily cuts grooves into discs because the audio is being recorded. Teenage Engineering describes it as a professional audio disc recording system.
This is a world away from the company’s earlier PO-80 Record Factory, which was more like an enthusiast’s toy for creating novelty records at home.
The APC-2 is aimed at studios, labels and specialist audio producers, with only a limited number reportedly built so far. Pricing hasn’t been shared publicly, which is usually a sign that this isn’t something destined for a spare bedroom setup.
(Image credit: Teenage Engineering)
The APC-2 feels like Teenage Engineering has stepped its game up seriously. The machine incorporates precision cutting, heating, vacuum and motor systems to achieve the accuracy needed for high-quality vinyl production.
It has reportedly been developed alongside Austrian analogue media specialists Supersense, meaning this should be more than just another design-led experiment.
Of course, being Teenage Engineering, it still looks impossibly cool. The towering black machine has the same minimalist aesthetic that has made the brand so stand-out, only scaled up to workshop size. At roughly 140kg this is one Teenage Engineering product you’ll need to find a pretty permanent home for.
Whether the APC-2 becomes a genuine industry tool or simply another wonderfully eccentric chapter in Teenage Engineering’s history remains to be seen. Either way, it’s refreshing to see a company known for playful gadgets producing something with genuinely serious audio ambitions.