Guides
Everything you can do with a Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II, EP-40 Riddim, or EP-1320 Medieval and Best Friend — written as tasks, so you can find the one you came for.
Getting started
- Connect your EP-133, EP-40, or EP-1320 to iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Android Best Friend talks to your EP over a wired USB-C data connection — here is how to get the two talking.
- Which USB-C cable and adapter you need for your EP A USB-C data cable — not a charge-only cable. Here is how to tell the difference before you buy one.
- Your EP isn't showing up in Best Friend — what to check Work through these in order; the overwhelming majority of connection problems are the cable.
- Turn on MIDI clock so the playhead and arpeggiator work Two features need the EP's MIDI clock sent out — System Code 102 switches it on, 100 switches it off.
Samples
- Get samples onto your EP in bulk Import from Files or straight out of a video, then move, rename, replace, and delete samples in batches instead of one pad at a time.
- Crop, normalize, repitch, and add effects to a sample A real sample editor with studio-grade effects, so samples are finished before they ever reach a pad.
- Every effect in the sample editor, and what each control does A reference for the EQ, compressor, distortion, modulation, and space effects, with the range and default of every control.
- Find a sample's key and root note automatically Best Friend listens to the audio and reports the note or key it hears — not what the filename claims.
- Fit more samples on your EP when it runs out of space Repitch, sample rate, and mono conversion shrink a file before it is uploaded — and deleting slots frees space for a retry.
- Build a multi-sample on the EP-1320 and EP-40 Layer several samples into one playable instrument, then come back and edit a single layer without rebuilding the rest.
- Split a song into drums, bass, vocals, and instruments Pull isolated parts out of any sample, remix the levels, and send just the part you want to a pad.
- Move, share, and delete samples in bulk Select mode, drag-to-move, swipe-to-delete, bulk share, and an undo for all of it.
Pads
- See every pad in a bank at once A grid of waveforms, slot numbers, and names laid out like the hardware, so you can tell a whole group of pads apart without triggering them.
- Edit trim, pitch, pan, and every other pad setting Every parameter for a pad on one screen, with the waveform above it, instead of buried behind hardware menus.
- Mute, pitch, and reverse individual pads while you play Per-pad performance effects and mutes, toggled with the whole bank still on screen.
- Move a sample to a different pad by dragging it Drag one pad onto another to swap them — across groups too — with settings travelling along and one-tap undo.
- See Supertone settings on the EP-40 Riddim Supertone pads show their engine index, their two named parameters, and their baked waveform instead of a blank editor.
Scenes & performance
- See your Scenes and Songs on a full timeline Every sequenced note across every bank, with fader automation lanes and a playhead that follows along.
- See your whole Song end to end Song mode draws every chained scene in one continuous timeline, with continuous bar numbers and each scene's own meter.
- See the fader automation you recorded Level, pitch, time, filter, and FX automation drawn as curves under the notes, four lanes at a time.
- Watch notes appear on the timeline as you record them Pads you play show up on the roll immediately as dashed notes, then go solid once the EP has actually recorded them.
Playing
- Play your EP from a keyboard with chords and an arpeggiator A velocity-sensitive keyboard with one-button triads, custom chords, split zones, and an arpeggiator locked to the hardware clock.
- Play chord inversions with Chord Zones Split every key into three stacked zones — root position at the top, first inversion in the middle, second at the bottom.
- Build your own chords and extensions Every chord and extension button is editable on a keyboard, up to five notes, named automatically.
- Set the velocity range and add modulation by dragging A two-handle velocity band with a floor and a ceiling, and modulation wound in by dragging up the key you are holding.
- Use the arpeggiator on your EP-133, EP-40, or EP-1320 Four modes, six rates, three octaves, locked to the EP's own clock so the phrase lands on the hardware's grid.
Backups & bouncing
- Back up and restore your EP-133, EP-40, or EP-1320 Bank Snapshots, Project backups, and full System backups — all named, dated, and restorable in one tap.
- Save and recall a bank with Bank Snapshots Capture a bank, load it back onto any EP, and share it as a single file.
- Hear a backup before you restore it Play a rendered take of a project backup straight from the Library, so you restore the right one.
- Pull one project out of a system backup Open a full system backup, see only the projects it actually uses, and restore, bounce, or share any one of them on its own.
- Bounce multi-track stems into Ableton, Logic, or FL Studio Export every pad that plays as isolated audio, straight off the hardware.
- What's inside a bounce The folder layout, the stem naming, the MIDI file, the sample sources, and what sums to what.
- Bounce a project from a backup, with no EP connected Any project backup can be bounced to stems offline — the samples and pad data are already in the file.
Library
- Search and organise your Library Bank Snapshots, backups, and bounces in one place — colour-coded, annotated, searchable, and bulk-editable with undo.
- Sync your Library across your Apple devices Backups, bounces, and Bank Snapshots move between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac over iCloud.
- Import backups and Bank Snapshots Which file types Best Friend opens, the three ways to get them in, and drag-and-drop on a Mac.
The EP-Series
Your EP needs a Best Friend.
Download now.
