- Teenage Engineering unveils the APC-2
- It’s a big, very heavy disc cutter.
- Unlike the brand’s previous efforts, it’s definitely not designed for teens.
If you like listening to records, you will realize how difficult it is to buy them. Either you pay a huge amount for the latest releases, or you scour thrift stores for pieces so out of fashion that even your grandmother doesn’t want them (she’s the one who threw them away, after all).
Not if you listen to Teenage Engineering (not to be confused with Teenage kicksas The Undertones’ self-titled album costs over $100 for a first pressing). The Swedish brand has unveiled the APC-2, a record cutter that allows you to “burn” music from digital to the physical world, to listen to it using the best turntables.
Before we begin: This is not a device aimed at your average consumer – unlike the cute toy cutter it unveiled in 2022. The brand clearly states that this is a “professional” disc cutter; no price is listed, and only a “limited set” of these have been built so far. You can’t just buy this and throw it in your garage and make a record every once in a while…unless your garage (and budget) is a lot bigger than mine.
He weighs 140g, so more than twice the weight of an average human being (who is apparently 62kg, much less than I thought…), so good luck climbing the stairs on your own. What I am. that said, it is a workshop device.
Record Maker
So, what is the Teenage Engineering APC-2? Well, it’s a giant old machine that cuts a vinyl plate by scraping the grooves where the music comes from. Simple.
Well, too simple. The device has suction, heating, cutting and motor tools to ensure that cutting is done precisely and efficiently as it seems like a complex task.
The APC-2’s listing doesn’t indicate how you would actually transfer music to the device; perhaps you need to “burn” files losslessly from USB storage, or using the same Internet connection that allows you to control the device remotely, or in another way completely.
Once again, Teenage Engineering is no stranger to record creation devices; in 2022, we covered its Record Factory device (which really looks like a children’s toy). This only allows you to record four-minute singles in mono, though, so it seems like a step beyond in many ways.
In fact, the brand is no stranger to… anything, considering it also makes Windows PC cases and portable synthesizers, all things real teenagers probably haven’t heard of…
The best vinyl turntables for every budget
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