Teenage Engineering’s $1,499 Field Recorder Is Bringing Back the Click Wheel

Teenage Engineering’s days of churning out $50 digital musical toys appear far behind it, however it’s onerous to lament the firm’s focus shift when it’s creating {hardware} like its new TP-7 Field Recorder, which contains a spinning wheel that can be utilized to start out, cease, and skip by recordings by merely touching it.

For those that can keep in mind again to the iPhone days, the TE TP-7 Field Recorder is paying homage to the authentic iPod mannequin, which featured an interface centered round a wheel on the face that may very well be spun with a finger to navigate menus, skip by a monitor, or modify the playback quantity.

The Click Wheel was ultimately changed with a round touchpad that didn’t transfer, however Teenage Engineering has seemingly drawn inspiration from Apple’s authentic iP0d design by giving the TP-7 its personal spinning disc on the entrance that simulates the tape reels used on audio units many years in the past. Unlike the iPod, nevertheless, the disc on the TP-7 is motorized, and spins as an apparent indicator that the gadget is recording sound. But it options sensors as nicely, and like a chunk of vinyl on a report participant, the disc will be manually spun as a method to management playback of recordings. You may even pause recordings by simply briefly stopping the disc from spinning, which looks as if an intuitive means to make use of the gadget. In different phrases, it’s not simply there for eye sweet.

But the TP-7’s disc isn’t the solely means to make use of the gadget. It’s bought bodily report, play, and cease buttons, buttons for quantity management, and a devoted button on the aspect for shortly recording voice memos. Opposite that could be a distinctive rocker change that can be utilized as an alternate method to modify the playback pace of a recording, or rewind it. And sure, the disc will spin quicker in both route whereas the rocker is pressed.

The intuitive playback controls will make it simpler for individuals who must transcribe a recording, however Teenage Engineering has a fair higher resolution for that. When related to an iPhone with a USB cable or wirelessly by Bluetooth, an accompanying iOS app will routinely flip voice recordings into editable textual content, and the app may even be used as a distant for the TP-7 itself. Sorry, Android users–the recorder solely helps iOS, macOS, and Windows.

Three stereo two-way jacks can be utilized for connecting enter or output equipment together with microphones, headphones, audio system, or for connecting the TP-7 to different Teenage Engineering gear, like its $1,200 TX-6 compact mixer. It comes with 128GB of storage and a chargeable battery good for about seven hours of recording or playback. Teenage Engineering hasn’t set a particular launch date simply but, only a promise of availability someday this Summer, with a $1,499 price ticket.