MCP Interface for Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II

<img src="./mcp.jpg" width="318"><img src="./koii.jpg" width="200">

This project is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that acts as a controller for the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II sampler via MIDI

Features

• Connect to your EP-133 K.O. II device via MIDI
• Play notes and patterns through text commands
• View the default pad configuration to understand sound mapping
• Create and play drum patterns with a simple text-based syntax
• Support for multiple instrument reference methods (pad labels, MIDI notes, instrument names, sound names)
• Simultaneous playback of multiple instruments in drum patterns
• Integration with Claude through MCP

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or later
• mido (MIDI handling)
• mcp (Model Context Protocol SDK)

Quick Install

# Install the required packages
pip install mido "mcp[cli]"

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/benjaminr/mcp-koii.git
cd mcp-koii

# Install the MCP server
mcp install koii_server.py:server -e .

Usage with Claude Desktop

1. Make sure your EP-133 K.O. II is connected to your computer via USB.

2. Launch Claude Desktop with MCP enabled.

3. Start controlling your EP-133 K.O. II by asking Claude natural language questions like:

   • "List available MIDI ports"
   • "Connect to the EP-133 device"
   • "Play a C major scale"
   • "Play a drum pattern with kick on beats 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and hi-hat on every 8th note"

Running in Development Mode

You can run the MCP server in development mode to test it without Claude Desktop:

# Run with the inspector UI
mcp dev koii_server.py:server -e .

Features and Commands

Basic Commands

• List available MIDI ports: Shows all available MIDI output ports on your system.
• Connect to a MIDI device: Connect to the EP-133 K.O. II by name or port number.
• Disconnect: Close the connection to the current MIDI device.

Playing Notes and Patterns

• Play a note: Play a single note with specified velocity and duration.
• Play a pattern: Play a sequence of notes with timing information.
• Play a drum pattern: Play a text-based drum pattern.

Sound Browser

• List sound categories: View available sound categories (Kicks, Snares, etc.).
• List sounds in category: Browse sounds within a specific category.
• Get default pad configuration: See which sounds are mapped to each pad by default.

MIDI Implementation

The EP-133 K.O. II responds to the following MIDI messages:

• Note On/Off: Triggers sounds on pads (C2-B5, notes 36-83)

Drum Pattern Syntax

The drum pattern system supports four different ways to reference sounds:

1. Using pad references:

x...x...x...x...  # A.
....x.......x...  # A2
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.  # A5

2. Using MIDI note numbers:

x...x...x...x...  # 36
....x.......x...  # 40
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.  # 43

3. Using sound names:

x...x...x...x...  # "MICRO KICK"
....x.......x...  # "NT SNARE"
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.  # "NT HH CLOSED"

4. Mixed references:

x...x...x...x...  # A.       (pad reference)
....x.......x...  # 40       (MIDI note)
......x.........  # "NT RIDE" (sound name)

Pattern Format

• Each line represents a different instrument/sound
• 'x' or 'X' indicates a hit (high velocity)
• 'o' or 'O' indicates a softer hit (lower velocity)
• '.' indicates no hit
• Each position represents a 16th note
• Comments after '#' specify what sound to trigger using any of the reference methods
• Multiple instruments can be triggered simultaneously with their hits overlapping

Troubleshooting

• No MIDI ports found: Make sure your EP-133 K.O. II is connected and powered on.
• Connection issues: Try reconnecting the USB cable or restarting your EP-133.
• Notes not playing: Verify that the device is in the correct MIDI mode.
• Multiple instruments not playing simultaneously: Use a higher BPM value to ensure the EP-133 K.O. II can process all notes during playback.
• Unknown instruments: Use exact instrument names, pad labels, MIDI notes or sound names in quotes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Teenage Engineering for the EP-133 K.O. II.
• Anthropic for Claude and the Model Context Protocol.
• MIDO for the MIDI handling library.