As most producers and musicians who work in a DAW can relate to, you’ve likely felt the urge to go entirely analog. This feeling intensifies if you’re producing mostly with digital synths, VSTs, and plugins instead of real instruments. If you’re tired of staring at your computer screen, browsing sample/preset libraries on apps like Splice or Serum, and feel uninspired and disconnected from your music, I have a solution for you.

Most people at this point will start researching different gear: analog synths like the Minilogue XD, groove machines like the TR-808 and 909, sequencer/samplers like the Roland SP-404 or the Akai MPC Sampler. Any way to get off Ableton (or whatever DAW you use). These are expensive, and it’s hard to tell if they’ll fit into your workflow. After using nearly all of these, I have a personal favorite (and it’s none of the ones listed above).

The EP-133 by Teenage Engineering. It ticked every box I was looking for in my pursuit of analog: compact, portable, powerful. I also wanted something that would work for the genres of music I like to produce, such as UK Garage, UK Bass, Tech House, and Bass House. I can tell you from experience, this device absolutely can.

I won’t go into the logistics of every feature this device has; if you want that, there are better articles out there for you to read.

Firstly, I LOVE how portable this device is. As much as I love my SP-404 MK2, this device is about a quarter of the weight and half the size, yet it still packs a punch. I can throw it in my bag with my headphones, cables, and a MIDI keyboard, and I’ll still have room for other things. Just this alone made it so enticing for me. Not only this, the batteries seemingly last way longer. It uses four triple-A batteries, and even after a week or two of consistent use, I still haven’t had to replace them. Devices like the SP-404, on the other hand, typically last about a day of consistent use.

Second, the learning curve is designed to get you in fast and keep surprising you at every corner. It’s one of those devices you can watch a few videos on, have a solid grasp of it, and start making full songs after just a day or two of learning. For example, composing songs built out of smaller elements like patterns to scenes to full songs felt right at home because it was very similar to my workflow in Ableton. But I realized that even though it seemed relatively basic, the device was quite complex, and the more time I spent using it, the faster and easier I could produce. The device began to feel more intuitive, like an extension of my body than an external instrument.

Third, it is extremely compatible with other analog gear. When first building out my fully analog setup, I was asking questions like: how does all the gear connect? How do I get all my devices to sync BPM? How do I get them to all play at the same time? The EP-133 solved this and now lives as the master brain behind my setup, syncing BPM between all my devices and can use the play button to start/stop my other devices like my Minilogue XD or SP-404. It was one of those aha moments that alone made it immediately worth the investment. One of my favorite features is that I can sample directly from my phone into the device. It’s as easy as plugging it in, pressing sample, playing a sound, and it’s in. It’s opened up my brain to think more creatively about composing that I otherwise wouldn’t have if I was producing on my laptop.

Fourth, I really love the ability to perform live. As I mentioned earlier, the arrangement process is very intuitive, but if you prefer to mix on the spot, this thing is a beast. From easily swapping from your intro drums to your drop drums, or swapping your VOX/FX patterns in a second, it feels so fun to play with and keeps me extremely engaged/in tune with what I’m making. Its built-in FX are super fun to play with when playing live. It feels like every aspect of this device was meant to just give you a good experience as a producer.

Lastly, it has an amazing platform constantly receiving updates. Since I received my device last month, it’s had five new updates introducing features like sidechaining, USB-C audio input, pad-specific macro-timing adjustments, and so much more. It genuinely feels like they listen to their community and build features around it.

Okay, here’s my short list of downsides. The device only supports up to nine projects, meaning once you fill it up, you have to delete some to make room. Another, there’s no undo button. This is a big L compared to devices like the SP-404, where if you mess something up, you can just undo it. I’ve ruined entire songs by pressing a wrong button. Also, I wish there was a display to see the samples for chopping. It’s quite frustrating trying to chop samples and align the start/end points entirely based on the sound rather than visually. Lastly, it has great performing FX, but the built-in FX is very much lacking for sound design. Just some basic compression, delay, and reverb. But do those downsides ruin the experience? Absolutely not. If anything, they force you to work outside of your comfort zone and come up with new ideas to combat its limitations.

If you are looking for a small, compact, powerful yet fun device to make all your favorite genres of music, this is a great go-to. You can find them on the aftermarket priced as low as $125 (I found one on Facebook Marketplace), and for that pricing, you really can’t beat it. I’m debating picking up a second one just because of how much I love it.