Teenage Engineering APC-2: Cut Your Own Vinyl in Real Time
The Teenage Engineering APC-2 is a 140kg pro record cutter that presses dubplates in real time from your DAW, with automated pitch and locked grooves.
Teenage Engineering introduced the APC-2, a professional record cutter that presses playback discs in real time. This is not a desktop toy or a novelty. It's a 140kg machine in powder-coated aluminum and granite, aimed at producers, studios and mastering rooms that want to cut their own vinyl without sending audio out to a plant.
At a glance: a real-time stereo record cutter with a direct-drive motor, an integrated cutting amplifier and RIAA encoder, vacuum disc handling, and DAW-automated pitch for specialty cuts. It's sold exclusively through analog-media specialists SUPERSENSE, in a limited run, with pricing quoted on request rather than published.
What the APC-2 actually is
Record cutting has always been gated by the machine. A cutting lathe is heavy, precise and historically rare, which is why pressing vinyl usually means shipping your master to a plant and waiting weeks. The APC-2 collapses that loop. You feed it audio, it cuts a playable disc in real time, and you hear the result immediately.
Teenage Engineering built it around a direct-drive motor on a precision tungsten shaft, with variable speed and a quoted wow and flutter below 0.01% WRMS. That figure matters: it's the specification that separates a professional cut from a wobbly one. The disc sits on an integrated vacuum system that both holds it flat and clears the swarf, the thin ribbon of material the cutting head removes as it carves the groove.
The cutting head itself is a stereo feedback design with an automated lift mechanism, and it runs through temperature-controlled heating to keep the stylus in its ideal range while it works. All of this sits in a granite-and-aluminum body that gives the machine the mass it needs to stay stable while a stylus is physically carving a groove into a spinning disc.
Feature by feature
The APC-2 folds the whole cutting chain into one machine.
- Real-time stereo cutting. Audio in, a playable disc out, as it happens. There's no offline render step and no waiting on a plant.
- Direct-drive motor with variable speed. A precision tungsten shaft and variable speed control, with wow and flutter quoted under 0.01% WRMS for stable, professional-grade rotation.
- Stereo feedback cutting head with automated lift. The head monitors and corrects itself as it cuts, and lifts automatically when a cut finishes.
- Integrated vacuum system. Holds the disc flat during cutting and continuously removes swarf, which keeps the groove clean and the cut consistent.
- Built-in power amplifier with RIAA encoder. The cutting amplifier and the RIAA equalization the format requires are inside the machine, so there's no separate rack of cutting electronics to source and match.
- Headphone monitoring. A built-in headphone amplifier lets you monitor the signal path while you cut.
- Temperature-controlled heating. Keeps the cutting stylus in its optimal thermal window for a clean groove.
- DAW-automated variable pitch. Pitch, the spacing between grooves, can be automated from your DAW. That opens specialty cuts such as locked grooves and unconventional groove layouts that a fixed-pitch setup cannot do.
- Remote control over Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The machine is networked, so control and integration do not depend on a tangle of front-panel knobs alone.
Here is the APC-2 cutting a live take straight to disc:
Teenage Engineering APC-2 specifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Professional real-time stereo record cutter |
| Motor | Direct drive, precision tungsten shaft, variable speed |
| Wow & flutter | Below 0.01% WRMS |
| Cutting head | Stereo feedback design with automated lift |
| Disc handling | Integrated vacuum for hold-down and swarf removal |
| Electronics | Built-in power amplifier with RIAA encoder; headphone amp |
| Thermal | Temperature-controlled heating for the cutting stylus |
| DAW control | Automatable variable pitch for locked grooves and specialty cuts |
| Connectivity | Remote control over Ethernet or Wi-Fi |
| Dimensions | 1300 x 600 x 400 mm (51 x 23.6 x 15.7 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (308 lbs) |
| Materials | Powder-coated aluminum and granite |
| Power | 230V / 120V, IEC connector |
| Availability | Exclusively via SUPERSENSE, limited run |
How the APC-2 compares to a traditional cutting lathe
The APC-2 is best understood against the two options producers had before it: a vintage professional lathe, or an affordable desktop cutter.
| Teenage Engineering APC-2 | Traditional pro lathe | Affordable desktop cutter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound quality | Professional, real-time | Professional, the long-time reference | Lo-fi, hobbyist |
| Cutting electronics | Built in (amp + RIAA) | Separate racks to source and match | Basic or minimal |
| Disc handling | Integrated vacuum + swarf removal | Manual or add-on | Minimal |
| DAW integration | Automated pitch, network control | Rare, usually manual | None |
| Availability | New, limited run | Vintage, scarce, needs restoration | Widely available |
| Footprint | 140kg studio machine | Very heavy, room-scale | Tabletop |
A vintage lathe remains the historical reference and can sound superb, but sourcing one, restoring it and assembling matching cutting electronics is a specialist project in itself. Cheap desktop cutters are fun and accessible, but they're lo-fi by nature. The APC-2's pitch is a new, professional-grade machine with the whole cutting chain integrated and DAW control built in, a different proposition from either.
Who the APC-2 is for
This is a machine for studios, mastering engineers, labels and serious producers who want to cut dubplates and one-off records in-house. If you DJ from dubplates, run a label that wants short-run physical playback discs, or simply want the immediacy of hearing your track on vinyl minutes after you finish it, the APC-2 is built for that.
Skip it if you want casual vinyl novelty. The weight, the price bracket and the SUPERSENSE-only distribution all point to professional equipment. For most bedroom producers, a pressing plant is still the sensible way to get a physical record, and better production tools will do more for your tracks than a lathe ever could.
How much does the APC-2 cost?
Teenage Engineering isn't publishing a price. The APC-2 is available exclusively through analog-media specialists SUPERSENSE, only a limited number have been built, and interested buyers are directed to contact Teenage Engineering directly at the address on the product page. Treat it as professional capital equipment rather than a catalog purchase, and expect the price to reflect a hand-built, low-volume machine.
While you wait to hear back, the audio you feed a cutter still has to be right first. You can prep and master your material with the tools in our plugin database, and keep an eye on studio gear offers on our deals page and via Plugin Boutique.
FAQ
What is the Teenage Engineering APC-2?
It's a professional record cutter that carves playable vinyl discs in real time from your audio, with a direct-drive motor, an integrated cutting amplifier and RIAA encoder, vacuum disc handling, and DAW-automated pitch.
How much does the APC-2 cost?
Teenage Engineering has not published a price. It's sold in a limited run exclusively through SUPERSENSE, with pricing quoted on request.
Can the APC-2 cut locked grooves?
Yes. Its variable pitch can be automated from a DAW, which enables locked grooves and other specialty cuts that a fixed-pitch setup cannot produce.
How big and heavy is the APC-2?
It measures 1300 x 600 x 400 mm and weighs 140 kg (308 lbs), built from powder-coated aluminum and granite for the stability real-time cutting demands.
Is the APC-2 better than a vintage cutting lathe?
It's different. A vintage lathe is the historical reference but is scarce and needs restoration and separate electronics. The APC-2 is a new machine with the full cutting chain and DAW control integrated, which makes professional cutting far more accessible.
If you are deep in the Teenage Engineering ecosystem already, see our takes on the EP-40 sampler and the KO-Sidekick, and browse the best hardware synthesizers of 2026 for the instruments that pair with a cutting setup.
