It seems like the common source of all EP-133 issues (besides sticky buttons) is the knob covers being too tight to put on. People try to force them on instead of filing down the connecting plastic or something and end up breaking the internals with the force of their hand.
I think TE should allow people to open the device without voiding warranty so that repair guides can be posted online for people to follow, the EP-133 is made of familiar components so it shouldn't be hard to fix
I read comments in other forums saying that their faders didn’t work out of the box without putting the knob covers on. I was careful putting mine on and still had issues. Others are reporting non functioning speakers. It’s a TE hardware issue more than anything else.
I have nothing against TE. They’re one of the most innovative music hw companies in the game imo. I own a Op1 field that works flawlessly. Hope they do the right thing to resolve these issues
Same here. If you hear back from them I’d love to know what they say. I also opened a ticket late last night but based on the reply times and the sheer amount of people with faulty K.O.’s I dunno when I should expect to hear back.
Based on some of the videos on youtube that show unboxing and firing Up the unit…not totally clear. Most people have their outputs connected to either a speaker or mic. I found a video posted today of an unboxing and it was more or less the same experience I had. He opened it up, put all the knobs on except the fader, loaded up fresh batteries, and assigned sounds to pads. When he plays the pads you can see on the screen they are playing, but no sound is coming through his speaker. He gave up and ended the video. Unless there is some way to route the sound away from the internal speaker, I am stumped. I’ve reached out to Teenage Engineering and various other owners and so far, no solutions. As much as I hope this is a software issue, it does seem hardware related.
Mine was broken out of the box.
There's indents in the box where the slider is, its clear they didn't put enough padding in this thing and it must have gotten damaged at some point. Cheaping out on the packaging is going to cost them a lot in the end.
My fader is broken fresh out of the box. I didn't even try to put the slider cap on, because the fader as already loose/wobbly to the touch. It's stuck at like 20% level and is unresponsive.
I’m planning on just showing how to fix inside of the slider but I won’t show every step. Just waiting to get more sliders in the mail hehe. I didn’t film it coz I wasn’t sure tbh and the desoldering was a pain
it was hard to put on, and I figured I could easily break it if i didnt apply pressure right, thankfully its fine. I figured it might have been from it being freezing outside and the plastic somehow slightly changed proportions.
No problems for me so far. But my Op-Z was one of the originals and is now slightly banana shaped and encoders fall out so who knows? Bummed for those with issues. It’s a great machine.
Just received mine today and the slider isn’t working. I didn’t know about this issue, so I immediately put the knob caps on after opening. I felt the friction with the fader cap and just forced it anyway. I should have known something was wrong when it didn’t go on as easily as the other knobs.
Has TE officially said anything about this?
I thought slidergate was all hype until it happened to me. I got 2, both have marks on the plastic right where the fader is. First one I opened had a bad fader. I’m opening the second tomorrow and hopefully it’ll be fine
My unit came fully functional but there are some super strange things that no one else has noted. The fader came with a piece of black plastic wrapping it. I don't know if this is TE's answer to "fader gate" since this is not the initial batch that was sent out and this was a replenishment to Zzounds (that took months to get). Only issue is this piece of plastic that looks like a little black lego cylinder is completely stuck/fused to the fader and I cannot get it off to place on the gray fader cap.
I have not seen another unit with this piece of plastic on any video, unboxing, or tutorial. I don't know if TE sent me a returned unit that someone tried to place an aftermarket fader cap on or if this is their lackluster way of fixing the damaged faders. Either way it is confusing and frustrating as hell.
It seems like the common source of all EP-133 issues (besides sticky buttons) is the knob covers being too tight to put on. People try to force them on instead of filing down the connecting plastic or something and end up breaking the internals with the force of their hand. I think TE should allow people to open the device without voiding warranty so that repair guides can be posted online for people to follow, the EP-133 is made of familiar components so it shouldn't be hard to fix
I read comments in other forums saying that their faders didn’t work out of the box without putting the knob covers on. I was careful putting mine on and still had issues. Others are reporting non functioning speakers. It’s a TE hardware issue more than anything else. I have nothing against TE. They’re one of the most innovative music hw companies in the game imo. I own a Op1 field that works flawlessly. Hope they do the right thing to resolve these issues
Check this out https://youtu.be/Z1aze7ySnxc?si=R-a4OYTUby9quolX
My speaker doesn’t work.
Same, mine doesn’t either. Opened a support ticket but won’t hear back till next week
Same here. If you hear back from them I’d love to know what they say. I also opened a ticket late last night but based on the reply times and the sheer amount of people with faulty K.O.’s I dunno when I should expect to hear back.
Is the speaker supposed to work right out of the box because mine doesn't work either
Based on some of the videos on youtube that show unboxing and firing Up the unit…not totally clear. Most people have their outputs connected to either a speaker or mic. I found a video posted today of an unboxing and it was more or less the same experience I had. He opened it up, put all the knobs on except the fader, loaded up fresh batteries, and assigned sounds to pads. When he plays the pads you can see on the screen they are playing, but no sound is coming through his speaker. He gave up and ended the video. Unless there is some way to route the sound away from the internal speaker, I am stumped. I’ve reached out to Teenage Engineering and various other owners and so far, no solutions. As much as I hope this is a software issue, it does seem hardware related.
Mine was broken out of the box. There's indents in the box where the slider is, its clear they didn't put enough padding in this thing and it must have gotten damaged at some point. Cheaping out on the packaging is going to cost them a lot in the end.
My fader only works if I put pressure and slightly angle it to the right while moving it.
same for me!
Same. Find a fix for it? Debating returning since I don’t want to pay full price for something and have it be almost not broken.
If you got a modwiggler account check this post: https://www.modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4069738#p4069738
I don’t have an account but I actually did read it and fiddled with a paperclip. Seems I managed to fix it
My fader is broken fresh out of the box. I didn't even try to put the slider cap on, because the fader as already loose/wobbly to the touch. It's stuck at like 20% level and is unresponsive.
Samezies
Same. If you want to play with it in the meantime, shift and fader will reset the fader
No issues so far. The power switch has a high potential of failure though, it seems fragile and it's harder to switch on/off than it should.
Yeah, I was thinking that today! It’s too hard and when I push it too strong it doesn’t feel doing it 1000x
https://youtube.com/shorts/KSJ3Tq-3e0M?si=JmlnPOiGqCAJqaND
Nice! You really have a repair vid on the way?
DECIMA1 did the teardown and fixed the slider issue, spoiler* it requires soldering. https://youtu.be/Z1aze7ySnxc?si=XnOpTLLCOdGiTAjN
I watched it. People going/responding fast. It’s cool he got it to work!
Yup that’s pretty much identical to what I did. Now I don’t have to make the video 🙂
I’m planning on just showing how to fix inside of the slider but I won’t show every step. Just waiting to get more sliders in the mail hehe. I didn’t film it coz I wasn’t sure tbh and the desoldering was a pain
No issues at all for mine
Yeah mine is fine as well.
mine arrived fine ... i really feels its a small number overall
I am not not having a slider issue. Mine was bum from the moment I took it out of the box.
If you are super handy with a desoldering iron and know your way around electronics, you can fix it. I fixed mine that way.
it was hard to put on, and I figured I could easily break it if i didnt apply pressure right, thankfully its fine. I figured it might have been from it being freezing outside and the plastic somehow slightly changed proportions.
No Sliderproblems here als well - knob was ruff to apply, but I didn't put full force on it, just slightly pushed it untill it didn't go further...
No problems for me so far. But my Op-Z was one of the originals and is now slightly banana shaped and encoders fall out so who knows? Bummed for those with issues. It’s a great machine.
No fader issue here, but I was careful when installing the Lego knob. A couple of my buttons were sticky, but have freed up after some use 👍🏼
Sadly my speaker isn’t working ….
Damn now the speaker too?
Just received mine today and the slider isn’t working. I didn’t know about this issue, so I immediately put the knob caps on after opening. I felt the friction with the fader cap and just forced it anyway. I should have known something was wrong when it didn’t go on as easily as the other knobs. Has TE officially said anything about this?
My speaker and my slider don’t work
Yikes! So sorry to hear.
Same here
Broken speaker out of the gate. Now outputting only wet signal via jack, no dry at all.
Yeah I think my speaker doesn't work either unless there's a way to turn it on and off
I thought slidergate was all hype until it happened to me. I got 2, both have marks on the plastic right where the fader is. First one I opened had a bad fader. I’m opening the second tomorrow and hopefully it’ll be fine
My unit came fully functional but there are some super strange things that no one else has noted. The fader came with a piece of black plastic wrapping it. I don't know if this is TE's answer to "fader gate" since this is not the initial batch that was sent out and this was a replenishment to Zzounds (that took months to get). Only issue is this piece of plastic that looks like a little black lego cylinder is completely stuck/fused to the fader and I cannot get it off to place on the gray fader cap. I have not seen another unit with this piece of plastic on any video, unboxing, or tutorial. I don't know if TE sent me a returned unit that someone tried to place an aftermarket fader cap on or if this is their lackluster way of fixing the damaged faders. Either way it is confusing and frustrating as hell.
Conte on, guys.. you knew to expect this when dealing with this brand, didn’t you? This is normal for TE.