In this point There’s little to say about Teenage Engineering that hasn’t already been said. Every review of the Swedish brand’s stylish audio gear begins with a glowing opinion that ultimately underlines the same points: while their gear is quirky and surprisingly expensive, it’s hard to hate what they do when they do it this well.
Within the synth space and the broader realm of Very Online People making music between bouts of doomscrolling, the Swedish gear maker operates in a similar way to comedian Tim Robinson’s Netflix series. I think you should goThe final product is a defiant and proud art concept that is brilliant but also a little annoying. It’s critically acclaimed, but clearly not for everyone. And the memes that spring up in its wake are pure gold.
Compared to its siblings in the brand’s “Field” series of ultraportable music devices, the TX-6 makes a compelling case for being the most useful and worthy of its lofty $1,199 price tag. At its core, the TX-6 is a mobile USB-C interface and standalone mixer, with an impressive six ⅛-inch stereo inputs packed into a rugged, attractive little unit that’s smaller than a deck of cards. Plug an audio source into one of the top-mounted jacks, and the tiny black-and-white display asks whether you’re using a stereo or dual-mono source. Adjust treble, mid, and bass with the cutest little trim pots you’ve ever pet, and vertical sliders beneath it adjust the volume of each track, which outputs to a ¼-inch jack on the bottom of the unit.
A white knob beneath the display moves smoothly as you turn it left or right to adjust the master output volume. Clicking the knob opens an expansive menu of options like tempo sync, Bluetooth connectivity, and preset settings for the channel knobs. A pair of color-coded FX buttons cycle through effects like reverb, delay, and EQ, and the toggle button unlocks a world of menus hiding beneath the TX-6’s small but mighty surface. The USB-C port offers a class-compliant, driver-free connection to an iPad or your desktop device of choice. It even works seamlessly with an iPhone via USB-C to Lightning, using an MFi-certified connection. Insert a USB stick into the USB-C port and you can record a live stereo track directly to the unit from the TX-6’s master mix channel. You’ll need to provide your own microphone to capture audio on the fly with this method, but it’s a bit more convenient than the similar workflow you’d find on the TP-7.
Photography: Pete Cottell
A tiny blender
Not surprisingly, the unit’s diminutive size requires significant compromises that a traditional studio musician will find annoying. Connecting a guitar or traditional microphone requires a converter, and the plastic housing of the average ⅛-inch connector you’d find on Amazon or Guitar Center fits snugly next to the other inputs. Couple that with the lack of 48-volt phantom power for condenser mics, your best bet is either a cheap lavalier mic with a built-in ⅛-inch output, or a high-end clout mic like the Tula or the Austrian Audio MiCreator. Teenage Engineering sells its own connectors, of course, with prices ranging from $12 for a simple ⅛-inch to ⅛-inch cable, to $19 for a ⅛-inch stereo to dual ¼-inch mono cable.
Photography: Pete Cottell