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Ivan
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The Best Way to Use Teenage Engineering Manuals

#ai #tooling #documentation #productivity

If you own a Teenage Engineering device, you've probably tried to use the official PDF manual. The EP-133 manual is 144 pages. The OP-1 manual is 100+ pages. The OP-XY manual is even longer. These are dense technical documents that assume you'll read them cover-to-cover, but in reality you just need quick answers to specific questions.

There's a better way: Teenage Manual - a searchable, conversational interface for all Teenage Engineering device manuals. Instead of scrolling through PDFs, you can ask questions and get direct answers from the official documentation.

What It Is

Teenage Manual is the best way to access Teenage Engineering manuals. It supports 9 devices with full manual access:

Each device has its own page with two ways to access the manual: ask questions in a chat interface that knows the manual inside and out, or browse the manual in a structured view organized by category.

How It Works

The AI chat interface is available on each device's ask page - for example, EP-133 ask, OP-1 ask, OP-1 Field ask, OP-XY ask, EP-1320 ask, or EP-40 ask.

The AI uses the full OCR'd manual as context, so it's not making things up - it's giving you answers directly from the official documentation. Ask "how do I copy a pattern?" and it tells you exactly how, with the right button combinations and clear instructions.

You don't need to know the exact terminology. Ask "how do I make it louder?" and the AI understands you're asking about volume or gain. The AI knows which device you're asking about, knows the full context of the manual, and can reference specific sections and button combinations.

Error Codes and Troubleshooting

When your device shows an error code like E.05 or E.10, you need to know what it means and how to fix it. Teenage Manual has dedicated error code pages for devices that have them:

Each page shows what each error code means, whether it's a hardware issue or something you can fix yourself, and step-by-step instructions for fixing the fixable ones.

Why It's Better Than PDFs

PDF manuals are designed for printing, not for finding information. When you're in the flow making music, you need quick answers, not a 144-page document to scroll through.

With Teenage Manual, you stay in the flow. Ask a question, get an answer, keep making music. No switching apps, no scrolling, no frustration. The manual is always there, always searchable, always ready. No need to download PDFs or remember where you saved them.

The most common questions people ask are things like "How do I make my first beat?" "What does the fader do?" "How do I sync with other devices?" These are basic questions that should be easy to answer. With PDFs, they're not. With Teenage Manual, they are.

Pro Features

The free version gives you full access to all manuals and unlimited questions. Pro features ($5/month) add voice input for when your hands are on the device, saved answers to reference later, YouTube context to use tutorial transcripts as context for questions, and synced chat history across devices.

The voice input is useful when you're working with hardware and your hands are busy.

Real-World Usage

Since launching, there have been 1,000+ users in the first week and 3,500+ questions asked. People are using Teenage Manual instead of Googling everything or scrolling through PDFs.

Check out the wall of love to see what users are saying.

Try It Yourself

If you own a Teenage Engineering device, give it a try. Go to your device's ask page - for example, EP-133 ask, OP-1 ask, OP-XY ask, or EP-1320 ask - and ask a question. Try "How do I make my first beat?" or "What are the tape tricks?" or "How do I sync with other devices?"

You'll get direct answers from the official manual, with proper button references and clear instructions. No scrolling, no guessing, no context switching.

If you're seeing an error code, check the error code pages. For EP-133 errors, EP-1320 errors, or EP-40 errors, you'll find what each code means and how to fix it.

What's Next

I'm planning to open source the manual processing so the community can contribute, add more devices as Teenage Engineering releases new products, improve the manual view with better organization and navigation, and add video tutorials to integrate YouTube tutorials as learning resources.

You can follow the changelog to see what's new.

Conclusion

Teenage Manual is the best way to access Teenage Engineering manuals. It's searchable, conversational, and actually usable. If you own a Teenage Engineering device, give it a try. Check out the pro page to see all the features.

Instead of scrolling through PDFs, you can ask questions and get direct answers from the official documentation. That's what makes it the best way to use Teenage Engineering manuals.

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