at this point There’s very little that hasn’t been said about Teenage Engineering, and every review of this sleek Swedish audio brand’s gadgets ultimately begins with a scathing opinion that emphasizes the same point: Their gear is quirky and shockingly expensive, but they do it so well that it’s hard to dislike what they do.
In the world of synthesisers, and the broader sphere of online people making music in between doomscrolling, the Swedish gear maker has become something of a fixture in comedian Tim Robinson’s Netflix series. I think I should leaveThe end product is a proudly rebellious piece of concept art that’s brilliant but a little frustrating, critically acclaimed but clearly not to everyone’s tastes, and the memes swirling in its aftermath are worth their weight in gold.
Compared to the likes of the brand’s Field series of ultra-portable music devices, the TX-6 makes a compelling case for being the most useful and worth its hefty $1,199 price tag. At its heart, the TX-6 is a mobile USB-C interface and standalone mixer, cramming an impressive six stereo ⅛-inch inputs into a sturdy, beautiful little unit smaller than a playing card. Plug an audio source into one of the jacks on top, and a small black-and-white display asks if you’re using a stereo or dual-mono source. Adjust treble, mids, and bass with the cutest trim pots we’ve ever loved, and adjust the volume of each track with the vertical sliders below. Volume is output to a ¼-inch jack on the bottom of the unit.
Turn the white knob below the display screen left or right to adjust the master output volume. Clicking the knob opens an extensive menu of options such as tempo sync, Bluetooth connectivity, and channel knob default settings. A pair of color-coded FX buttons toggle between effects like reverb, delay, and EQ, while the Shift button unlocks a world of menu diving that lurks beneath the TX-6’s small but powerful surface. The USB-C port provides a driver-free, class-compliant connection to your iPad or desktop device of choice. It also works seamlessly with your iPhone via USB-C to Lightning via an MFi-certified connection. Insert a thumb drive into the USB-C port and you can record a live stereo track from the TX-6’s master mixdown channel directly to the drive. This method requires you to bring your own microphone to capture audio on the fly, but it’s a bit more practical than a similar workflow found on the TP-7.
Photo: Pete Cotell
Small mixer
It’s no surprise that the unit’s small size requires some big trade-offs that traditional studio-based musicians will find irritating: you’ll need a converter to connect a guitar or traditional microphone, and the plastic housing of the average 1/8-inch connector you’ll find on Amazon or Guitar Center fits snugly next to the other inputs. Combine that with the lack of 48-volt phantom power for condenser mics, and your best bet is either a cheap lavalier mic with a built-in 1/8-inch output, or one of the newer influencer mics like the Tula or Austrian Audio MiCreator. Teenage Engineering, of course, sells its own connectors, priced from $12 for a simple 1/8-inch to 1/8-inch cable to $19 for a stereo 1/8-inch to dual mono 1/4-inch cable.
Photo: Pete Cotell
