Teenage Engineering PO-32 Pocket Operator Tonic Drum Synth
drum and percussion synthesizer
PO-32 tonic
The PO-32 tonic is a drum machine like the Rhythm. Each drum sound is tweakable, but unlike other operators you can also entirely replace the sound in each slot using Sonic Charge’s Microtonic Plugin. Microtonic is a drum synthesizer which allows you to craft electronic percussion from scratch.
3.5mm TRS Jack Input Input jack for audio & for sync signal to jam with other
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />Battery HolderPowered by 2 x AAA batteries
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />External Speaker Solder Pointsolder an external speaker to your pocket operator.
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| Weight: | 59 g |
| Dimensions: | 17.8 x 8.8 x 0.5 cm; 58.97 Grams |
| Model: | PO-32 Tonic |
| Colour: | Gold/black |
| Colour: | Gold/black |
My son has enjoyed experimenting with this, particularly in the summer holidays.
Great little machine. You can make some cool little songs on it. I make hip hop beats but I use this for using the unique sounds to diversify my production. The packaging is so cool aswell. Great recommendation for synth nerds or producers alike.
Bought this for my boyfriend for this birthday after we watched a few youtube videos on the Pocket Operators. He loves it! We were both pleasantly surprised at how small it really is. Definitely not a toy and need to know a bit about them before purchasing but such a cool and quirky little piece of equipment. 10/10.
Bought this for my boyfriend for this birthday after we watched a few youtube videos on the Pocket Operators. He loves it! We were both pleasantly surprised at how small it really is. Definitely not a toy and need to know a bit about them before purchasing but such a cool and quirky little piece of equipment. 10/10.
Pros
It’s so much fun! Seriously it is very fun to just muck about with this and try out new sounds, record samples and re-mix them.
Very small and very portable. Easily slips into a pocket or a bag and so light you’ll never notice it.
Great for getting into sampling and re-mixing. It’s probably the cheapest ways to get into this out there.
Has some great options and you can create some really great sounds and tunes from it using even simple filtering, pitch adjust and trims. Good thing is it never erases the original recording, so if you want to go back and change the way you’ve tweaked the sound you can.
Cons:
It does have a bit of a learning curve. There are no instructions, and even the online guide is limited in that it only explains basic functions and doesn’t go into detain on how they combine. I can recommend watching some how to videos on this to learn the complexities.
It has a 40 second sample memory, but that’s split across all the 16 samples, so you may find it a bit restrictive. The built-in ones don’t count to this 40 second limit and you can overwrite them with your own.
The built in speaker is very quiet. You can connect headphones that helps, but in all the videos I’ve seen of it they are definitely amplifying the audio.
Overall I have really enjoyed playing with this and I am seriously considering getting one of the other rhythm based units to connect to it.
This was a requested present for my Grandson who says it is ideal although smaller than he was expecting. He is pleased however.
Nice little piece of kit:
Pros: Easy to use, chain mode, high output plus effects.
Cons: pocket calculator size and flimsy.
Much higher output than the volca beats….
Nice little piece of kit:
Pros: Easy to use, chain mode, high output plus effects.
Cons: pocket calculator size and flimsy.
Much higher output than the volca beats….
Such a dream to pick up and just start jamming. You can make tracks so quickly, it’s just the best workflow I’ve ever used.
Such a dream to pick up and just start jamming. You can make tracks so quickly, it’s just the best workflow I’ve ever used.
Such a dream to pick up and just start jamming. You can make tracks so quickly, it’s just the best workflow I’ve ever used.
Such a dream to pick up and just start jamming. You can make tracks so quickly, it’s just the best workflow I’ve ever used.
Purchased this for my partner’s birthday and he was over the moon.
Diese Frage stellt sich wohl jeder, wenn er einen Pocket Operator das erste Mal zu Gesicht bekommt. Ja, das Ding sieht unfertig aus, ist verdammt klein, Batteriebetrieben und der gnstige Preis wirkt auch nicht gerade wie ein Qualittssiegel.
Aber berraschung! Die Sounds, die man aus diesem Ding holen kann, klingen sehr gut und dank der vielen, verstellbaren Parameter, von der Tonhhe bis zu diversen Effekten, sind sie auch vielseitig einsetzbar. Die volle Klangqualitt erschliet sich aber erst, wenn man gute Kopfhrer oder gleich richtige Lautsprecher daran anschliet.
Ja, ich gehe soweit und sage, dieses kleine Dingens, das wie ein kaputter Taschenrechner aussieht und zum Taschengeldpreis verkauft wird, ist ein professionelles Musikinstrument! Vielleicht nicht wirklich das Umfangreichste und Vielseitigste, aber das war z.B. der gute TR-808 auch nicht.
Der grte Nachteil liegt an der mangelhaften Gebrauchsanweisung. Wie so oft heute, muss man sich ins Internet begeben, um entweder auf der offiziellen Website oder auf YouTube herauszufinden, wie man den PO-12 berhaupt bedient.
Eine externe Speicherkarte wre auch ganz nett gewesen. Wenn man seine einzelnen Patterns irgendwie in anderen Produktionen benutzen mchte, muss man sie halt mit externen Gerten als Soundfiles aufzeichnen oder sich jeden einzelnen Beat und Parameter ganz genau notieren, damit man ihn sich spter wieder zusammenbasteln kann. Okay, sooo professionell ist er vielleicht doch nicht.
Ich bin jetzt aber angefixt und werde mir wohl noch weitere Pocket Operator besorgen. Mal sehen, was man aus einer ganzen Reihe von denen herausholen kann.
Subs great, really…. I love these gadgets, I would def say buy all that you can afford.
Subs great, really…. I love these gadgets, I would def say buy all that you can afford.
Subs great, really…. I love these gadgets, I would def say buy all that you can afford.
Tonics one of my faves, great sounds & capability. Go for it.
Subs great, really…. I love these gadgets, I would def say buy all that you can afford.
Subs great, really…. I love these gadgets, I would def say buy all that you can afford.
Some great sounds, sync’d up to my Korg Volca synths no problem. Punch in effects are great, nice deep bass. Great price!
Some great sounds, sync’d up to my Korg Volca synths no problem. Punch in effects are great, nice deep bass. Great price!
love this lil gadget! very cheap for all the fun you can have- good lil companion synth.
it syncs with my volcas which is great (&loads others too probably!) i hope to collect more!
Funny little machine, nice sound and easy to get around. Play and create on the go
I recently bought this to play around with on the way to and from work.
I had been really interested in getting started with synthesisers and wanted something easy to learn and portable to get me started.
Teenage engineering has delivered! It’s cheap and cheerful but also delivers a heck of a sound!
After an hour of fiddling about, watching tutorials and referring to the (tiny) manual I feel like I can do so much on this little calculator!
There are 16 sequences to be played with and many sounds and effects.
Also a micro drum machine, which allows for fun even if you don’t have the po rhythm!
A must buy for anyone looking for a fun first synth under 50!
We’ve reached a total of nine Pocket Operator units now (as of August 2018), and while the various models have had their ups and downs, it wasn’t until I saw demos of the PO-33 K.O. Sampler that I was “blown away” by this series the way in the way that I was when I first saw that YouTube demo and was introduced to the whole concept. Until now, each Pocket Operator seemed planted in its own little niche, but the K.O. Sampler seemed almost limitless. A credit card-sized sampler that can actually sample 40 seconds of audio via on-board microphone OR 3.5mm line in? Powered by 2 AAA batteries?!? For less than $100?!!?
Of course, you can’t triangulate affordability, quality, and depth of features without making some compromises, and there are important limitations you should know about the PO-33. But I find it to be that rare case with music gear where an affordable piece of hardware with notable shortcomings on paper turns out to be much more powerful and enjoyable once you actually get it in your hands.
SAMPLING ENGINE & SOUND QUALITY:
There really are quite a large number of ways to get sound onto the PO-33 and then move them around and edit them once there, so I will try to keep this short. The PO-33 is an 8-bit sampler, which basically means that it has a fraction of the digital “information” contained in a note from a 12-bit sampler or a 16-bit Compact Disc, for example. While I found it to be entirely capable of clear, detailed notes, it does reveal a gritty, raw character on many sounds, particularly when you turn it up. This may come across as “bitcrushed” or even “chiptune”, depending on the type of sound involved, but this is consistent with the character of the overall Pocket Operator series. In some cases, the 8-bit audio engine creates a cool, driven effect, but I do have to admit I’ve struggled with it trying to sample a lot of sounds with the Line In jack – particularly bassy sounds like an 808 Bass Drum, which becomes fizzy and almost unrecognizable. Crisper or higher pitched sound better, and you can work with filter/resonance control to try and improve this further.
The face of the PO-33 has 16 numbered buttons. These represent both the 16 steps of the sequencer, as well as the 16 “banks” for sampled content. Banks 1-8 are “Melodic” samples. By selecting one of these 8 banks, you get control over 16 notes, representing two octaves of a “harmonic minor plus one” scale. (The original sample/root note is located at the “5” key, and one octave lower on the “13” key, so the scales mirror each other on the upper and lower halves, which is nice). This is a bit of a strange decision by Teenage Engineering, as many of their other melodic Pocket Operators were locked in a C Major scale, presumably so those new to music could just mash in notes and play things in key with multiple devices. More on that in the “Workarounds” section later.
Sound banks 9-16 are for “Drum” samples, but here’s where it gets a little weird. The default way that “Drum” banks handle samples are to listen for transients and “slice” up 16 samples of different sounds to be laid out as buttons 1-16. So if you sampled a 3-second clip of an “Amen Break”, or whatever, it would (in theory) grab different kicks, snares, and hats, and lay them out as 16 triggerable samples. That’s potentially very cool, and you CAN adjust the start point and length of each slice, but it isn’t a very repeatable or dependable way to set up a new kit. What you can do as an alternative is to copy and paste individual hits recorded as melodic samples into the slots of a “Drum” kit, though that takes a bit of doing.
The way that you sample is to hold down the red “record” button and then either make a noise into the microphone OR play a sound through the left side 3.5mm audio jack. The quality of the resulting 8-bit audio is a mixed bag. Some of the synth notes I tried to sample into the K.O. had a noise floor going on that made them almost unusable. At the same time, I was amazed how clear and dynamic the extremely small on-board microphone picked up noises. As an example, I banged an empty soda can on the table, figured out that the note I made with that was close to a C#, and then made a whole melodic loop out of…banging a can on a table. That’s an absurd example of what you could do much more effectively with your voice or an actual instrument.
One minor annoyance is that while the sample doesn’t record until it senses a certain noise level, you do have to hold down two buttons at one time, which then makes it hard to produce whatever noise you are making with your one free hand.
SEQUENCER:
I won’t say too much about the sequencer because if you are familiar with Pocket Operators, it is very similar to how the other units work. I also think the sequencer is the glue that holds these units together and converts them from “adorable music toy” to “surprisingly deep sub-$100 musical instrument”. Although each pattern is only one bar (16 steps in 4/4 time), you can program 16 of them and then chain them to repeat in any order over 100 times. It’s almost embarrassing how much more powerful the sequencer is on Pocket Operators versus some “serious” music gear costing 5 times as much. And it’s full of hidden tricks, such as the ability to set up to 8 note re-triggers per step. (Start playing a sequence, program a note, and then hold the button for that step while pressing the BPM button to cycle through re-trigger options).
EFFECTS:
The effects options in the PO-33 K.O. aren’t as memorable as some of the other units in this series (notably the PO-20 Arcade and especially the PO-32 Tonic), but they cover the basic needs of a sampler and get the job done. You have low- and high-pass filters and resonance control for each sample. There are 15 different effects (plus an “erase” key on “16”), though most of these are variations of stutters and loops. It’s still a lot of fun for live performance, and you automate different effects and control parameters within a sequence.
LIMITATIONS & WORKAROUNDS:
In researching the PO-33, I came across a few pretty major limitations that I feared might sink the device. However, thanks to the overall depth of features, and some clever workarounds to defeat these weaknesses, I find that the K.O. Sampler overcomes them.
Probably the most major limitations is that each SAMPLE slot (of which there are 16) is monophonic, while the overall polyphony of the device is limited to four samples played per step. What this means is that if you load “Drum” Bank 9, you can’t play a snare and a hi-hat from that bank on the same step. You also can’t layer different pitched notes from a single “Melodic” sample on the same step to make chords. I believe the PO-33 prioritizes “Melodic” hits over “Drum” hits. However, you can play multiple “Melodic” samples from different banks at the same time, or individual drum hits from different banks, provided the total number of sounds does not exceed four. You can also copy instruments from the “Drum” banks as individual melodic samples, and the K.O. functions much more like an actual drum machine in that way.
The limitations on the scale are another annoyance, but there’s an ingenious workaround I came across online that should allow you to play in any major or minor scale:
Minor scale: The note you sample becomes the root note of the scale, playable with the “13” button. The remaining notes of the Minor scale can be played in this order: 13-14-15-16-9-10-11-5
Major scale: Sample a note that is 3 half-steps or “semitones” lower than your intended root note. So, if you want a C Major scale, sample an “A” note, and then the root “C” will be on the “15” key. The remaining notes of the Major scale will be on these buttons: 15-16-9-10-11-5-6-7.
It sounds convoluted, but try it and match it up to a piano or other instrument for reference, and you’ll immediately hear the notes of your scale!
SUMMARY:
I’m leaving out a ton of features, but the bottom line is that this is a very full-featured sampler that’s just a lot of fun to use, and extremely affordable. By comparison, the Korg Volca Sample is nearly twice the price, holds just a bit more sample data (65 seconds vs. 40 seconds on the PO-33), and you cannot load any samples onto it without a computer data transfer. It’s really the ability to sample anything, anywhere with such a small (albeit fragile) device that propels the PO-33 K.O. to new heights. Its limitations of a piece of hardware are noteworthy, but the musical possibilities with it are endless.
For some background, the “full” version of this sound engine is MicroTonic – a PC and Mac-based drum machine plug in first released in December of 2003. Not only does the PO-32 Tonic operate a simpler version of MicroTonic, but the designers of that program collaborated on the production of the PO-32, and it is capable of loading sound patches and pattern data if you have the full paid desktop version (costing $100). MicroTonic actually looks like a great program, but I didn’t much interest in buying a $100 VST to use with a $89 drum machine.
But as it turns out, I don’t think you have to be a MicroTonic owner to appreciate what the Tonic does. It ships with 16 different instrument sounds, and as with the other Pocket Operators, these actually can be pitched and morphed with both the A/B modifier knobs and an even-more-awesome collection of 16 effects that can be applied live or on a per-step basis. The performative aspects of the Pocket Operators and implementation of effects are arguably the strong point of these devices, and the Tonic is the best example yet of that. Along with distortion, bit crush, and filter sweeps, there are several time based “delay” and stutter effects, including a crazy accelerating delay that sounds like a bouncing rubber ball.
However, since the patch transfer is accomplished by fax-style data bursts (either through a built in mic or direct line transfer), you can back up your own data as 30-second data bursts, or grab other data bursts off of YouTube or SoundCloud. So, while you won’t have the ability to customize your own sounds, you can still expand the palette of the PO-32 with a surprisingly effective transfer method (I tried it a few dozen times without reading the instructions too closely and it worked every time – both from PC and from smartphone). The Tonic sound engine seems impressively powerful and varied. I’ve heard patches that run the full range from classic analog drum machines (808/909/etc), to more driven, electro-style kicks and blips, to almost acoustic-sounding drum sets.
All the normal caveats for Pocket Operators apply – these things are small and they are FRAGILE. The failure point that concerns me the most are the super thing metal tabs that hold the AAA batteries in place. If those begin to fatigue and no longer hold pressure, I assume my PO’s will be done. The PO-32 has a workflow that isn’t necessarily intuitive from the instructions, but there’s actually quite a bit of depth there and you pick it up over time. Same goes for the pulse/CV synchronization with other hardware. It took a bit of trial and error and watching some YouTube videos to get each device in the proper mode, but it did work well after that (except for the problem that devices earlier in the chain are significantly more quite than those closer to the output).
Minor gripes aside, there are some seriously great sounds in the PO-32 Tonic. I think the melodic Pocket Operators are more limited because they really suffer from limited scaling and no MIDI or external note sequencing capabilities. But the PO-32, like the PO-12 before, is a self-contained drum machine, and an extremely fun one at that.
Unlike many people who review this, I am not in any way associated with music production. For me it’s a kind of expensive audio toy. My kids introduced me to the series of Pocket Operators, and I found it’s a lot of fun listening to a complex beat and the synthesized (beepy) notes that I had made myself.
The PO-16 Factory lets you set the pitch (no sharps or flats) of a simple series of ‘steps’ of equal duration. Since each step continues into the next (or can be silent), I consider each to be like an eighth note and set the tempo accordingly. It plays looping through a set of 16 steps called a ‘pattern’ that you can chain together for longer tunes. Each pattern plays using only one sound/voice/instrument, but there are 16 sounds and you can chain up to 16 patterns. Some of the sounds are just tones but others are more like sound effects.
The coolest part to me is what you can do _after_ you write the tune. There are many MANY variations and effects you can apply to the sound, either specific to steps or on-the-fly while playing, and some of that can be recorded live. Jamming and jazzing to a goofy tune I wrote is a great way to waste a few spare minutes (or hours on occasion).
The controls were a little strange at first (little push-button switches and knobs), but I got used to them pretty quickly; the documentation is cute but skimpy. All the demos and tutorials start with the beat part, but I suggest you learn how to set the notes first for this particular PO.
Pocket Operators can be connected and synchronized using standard audio cables, so the sound can get pretty complex for such little things. I actually started with the PO-32 Tonic, which is n awesome beat-box / drum machine. If beats are more your thing you might consider that. My kids have the Office and Arcade, which each have their own unique set of sounds.
So, IMO they’re kind of expensive for toys, but I’ve seen in a lot of the tutorials and demos that many consider this to be high-end amateur enthusiast to low-end professional level equipment. I just know in the end I have a lot of fun playing with this.
However I must include this disclaimer, that if you wanna create a tune that sounds good, you need to spend time learning this device in-depth. Yes, it’s a cool looking gadget by itself, but trying to learn it and produce great sounding tunes is another story. If you don’t know how to use it, you will get lost and frustrated, and you will question why you spent so much money on it. $89 is not cheap, neither is $139. It’s not going to make music by itself. Pocket Operator 33 has a steep learning curve, all of them do really.
I suggest you watch all introduction and tutorial videos on youtube, and even then you might not get it the first couple of tries, even with the included instructions. It’s not something you can just pick up and make music with no prior knowledge of how PO operates. It’s a device that needs to be used for hours, sometimes days until you get the hang of it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very capable device, and very rewarding once you learn how to use it properly, but it’s not newbie friendly. Sure you might record a sample, but that’s not enough.
So having that, if you are someone who likes to tinker with things, and spend hours trying to learn something new, this is the device. I suggest getting a case for it, and not the one Teenage engineering offers, there are far better cases out there for the same price or cheaper. This is just my honest opinion for those looking to buy this for themselves or a gift. My suggestion, don’t buy it just because it looks cool, it’s more than just a cool looking device.
This and the Arcade are my favorite.
It appears to satisfy the teenage mind and his younger scientific brother.
Good little drum machine when paired to sonic charges microtonic .you can get some wild and crazy sounds out of it with the drum effects.all it needs is a couple of AAA batteries and your good to go
Good little drum machine when paired to sonic charges microtonic .you can get some wild and crazy sounds out of it with the drum effects.all it needs is a couple of AAA batteries and your good to go
Good little drum machine when paired to sonic charges microtonic .you can get some wild and crazy sounds out of it with the drum effects.all it needs is a couple of AAA batteries and your good to go
Good little drum machine when paired to sonic charges microtonic .you can get some wild and crazy sounds out of it with the drum effects.all it needs is a couple of AAA batteries and your good to go
As someone who grew up during the era of arcade games this is like a pure nostalgia trip.
Within minutes you will be playing catchy tunes and before you know it you’ve spent an hour just messing about. Coupled with the robot pocket operator you can make some complete chip tune tracks .
Highly recommended
Pros:
Thumping basslines. Other Pocket Operators have bass, but this one is specifically tuned to make really awesome bass grooves. I put on some good-quality headphones and in a few minutes with this and a PO-28 Robot hooked up I was making such rocking tunes that I was dancing in my seat. Fun fun fun. This thing will get a room full of people on the dance floor.
MSRP is $10 less than POs, so the price is in line with the reduced function as a bass-only-unit.
Like all other POs, can chain sequences and sync to other POs allowing for all sorts of play options. Also has a mini drum sequencer in place of sound 16, so you can make full-fledged tunes (or at least drums and bass) on this one unit.
Cons:
Monophonic. Other POs tend to have up to 4 voices, split between their drum machine and other functions. The sub only has one voice for its throbbing bassline, meaning that trying to do things like punch in extra bass on the fly will just cut out the current voice. This limits the live play options a little, you can’t really harmonize this unit at all in live play. However, like all POs it contains plenty of options for effects and bending your notes so you can play with it- just in a specific and limited way compared to other units.
Overall:
This may be the second unit you need to have alongside any other PO. As I said, I hooked this up with the PO-28 Robot and used the Robot as a lead synth. The combination had my head bobbing and my feet tapping. I’d set the Bass to a good bassline pattern (maybe 3x rhythm patterns and 1x break) than jam out lead on the Robot. When I finish a phrase with the robot I could switch to punch in some live effects on the Bass. Back and forth a few times, and I had a killer live set going. For this price and easy of play, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything on the market that can compete. The closest is the Korg Volca line, where one Volca can cost as much as two Pocket Operators.
The Bass is the perfect unit to explain the PO line. Sure, it’s limited. There are lots of things you can’t do with it. Then again, the unit allows so much expression for so little investment. Pair the Bass with another cheap PO, (and look up some YouTube videos because the included manual is worthless), and you’ll be making some record-worthy tunes in minutes. Professional musicians may quickly be annoyed with the limitations of a unit like the Bass, but for me, this is just SO. MUCH. FUN. Would you rather invest a lot more money and time into a unit like the Volca or beyond, or do you just want a portable Pocket Calculator you can take on the train and jam out on your tray table? That’s why I love a Pocket Operator like the Bass. I can whip it out on the bus on my way to a destination, spend 5 minutes messing around with patterns, and by the time I get home I’m running to grab an audio recorder to capture my creations. Love the POs. Get one today.
What you get:
Lo-fi lead synth goodness. Playing the 16 keys and twisting the knobs will get you the lo-fi equivalent of everything from a haunting guitar to soaring synth and bleep-bloop chiptune leads. Although 16 keys isn’t a lot, the unit does let you tune up and down a decent amount to get some range. Great for simple live play.
A fully-functional sequencer. The 16-step sequencer also makes use of the 16th sound key which provides 16 different drum sounds. Use some of the low synth lines for bass, the drum key for drums, and then rock out your lead with the high instruments. That’s full song capability, onboard. Super cool, and so fun for freeform play.
Song play. The sequencer can remember up to 128 patterns in sequence. At 80bpm, that’s 6.4 minutes of recorded patterns. You can then use the FM and live play to jam over top of that. You can also punch in more patterns or sets of patterns on the fly, meaning you have almost unlimited play options within the confines of the unit.
Connects to other POs. Since this is mostly a lead synth, you may want to immediately connect it to the PO-12 Rhythm or PO-32 Tonic which are more fully-featured drum machines. This will let you control the drum separate from lead, making for more complex song ideas. You can also add a PO-14 Sub for basslines, a PO-33 for samples, or a PO-35 speak for voice/vocoder samples. Or how about a PO-20 for more lo-fi 8-bit arcade sounds? So many options! The POs share clock using a simple stereo (“aux”) cable, and the audio will be output by the final unit in the chain.
The only downside:
Teenage Engineering responded to the fact that at high volume the PO-1X series had distorted sound by lowering the volume on the PO-2X series. You will therefore want to look up some guides people have made for chaining the units- you may for instance want the volume on the Robot maxed out while your rhythm machine is set down to maybe half volume. It’s a small oddity, and takes moments to fix. But the Robot is very quiet in use, you really need headphones to enjoy it in anything but a silent room.
Overall:
Love this thing. It’s like the rest of the Pocket Operator line are an 80s electronic band and the Robot is the lead guitarist stepping onstage with a keytar. You can really make some rocking lead parts with this unit, as it has more options to fade in sound creating the sort of haunting guitar/synth sound that layers so well on top of the lo-fi drums and bass from the other units. This is a big recommendation for anyone who already owns another Pocket Operator- take your gigs to the next level.
If you can only afford one:
While the Robot is great, it’s meant to sit alongside other units. The most complete unit for a kid to play with, or for an aspiring musician, is the PO-20 Arcade. The Arcade hits the best balance of rhythm and lead so you can make songs on the train. The other big recommendation is that the PO-32 Tonic, which has integration to the Microtonic software meaning professional music producers adore its added flexibility.
Excellent little sequencer. It looks like a toy, but the option for a sync cable, as well with how customisable it is, really transforms this thing into something that works great for live jamming or even songwriting.
The interface is a little weird, but once you figure it all out, it works great.
Combining the beats you play with parameter locking the control knobs, punch-in effects and pattern chaining makes this one powerful bit of kit for it’s size.
Something to look out for – if it doesn’t switch on when new batteries are inserted then try bending the pins in a little – it worked for me.
If very quickly creating electronic beats is what you’re looking for, then for it’s price this thing is perfect. I love it!
A seemingly major down point is that they’re chromatically locked to C major, so if you want any sharps/flats you need to use the semi-tone bend effect on fx number 15. I thought this was going to be a problem, but I haven’t had any issues with it at all, in fact, it enables me to think up more creative basslines. Another thing to point out is that I thought my device was broken straight out of the box as it would not turn on when the batteries were inserted. However, I discovered on a forum that by bending the battery connection points in a little, the problem was solved. I don’t think I’ll bother getting a case as it looks cool and is pretty sturdy – as long as you don’t sling it loose into a bag or leave it lying around on the floor somewhere…
Recording lines live can be a little tricky, but once you’e used to it, building up and chaining pattern sequences is quite intuitive and powerful, especially when synced to other Pocket Operators and similar devices. A lot of people have described these as ‘Toys’, which is a slightly misleading thing if you haven’t ‘Played’ with them; it’s small and fun, but so is a Harmonica or a Ukulele, and this can do SO much more.
Oh… and there’s a little dude running around on the screen while you play things that goes back to bed to sleep when playing is done!
Fantastic little gadget, perfect for those crunchy techno sounds that I needed!
Fantastic little drum synth, perfect across the board for all electronic genres and just what I needed for my Collection.
Pros:
-Quick to use. Just install batteries and hit PLAY, funky beats come out of the built-in speaker. Hold down Pattern and hit 1-16 to try the 16 different loops. Hold FX and hit 1-16 to try different effects.
-Love the design. Teenage Engineering is primarily a Japanese design company, and it shows. The Operators come in a paper box with a pull-tab down one side. The hanging loop on top gives it the look of some treasure you’d find tucked on a shelf in a hardware store. It looks like some 1980s pocket calculator. Funky oldschool design all the way. The little LCD display looks like an old electronic game, very neat.
-Sound is incredible. Even if built-in speaker is clear and loud for what it is. The unit does distort at high volume, but if you want to output the sound leave the unit around 70% and use external gain.
-Great range. You can change the BPM, volume, and parameters of all the included sounds. Add the FX, and there are tons of options. One filter can make everything sound 8-bit, another kicks up the bass to room-shaking levels. It’s all there.
-Syncs to a range of devices. The unit only inputs or outputs a click track, but this easily patches into the Korg Volca series and other units that have a customizable way to take an analog click track. You can also chain multiple POs, they’ll all pass through the sound and click track to give you one output at the end. Love it for jam sessions.
-The 16-step sequencer, with 16 sounds, and 16 effects, plus more. That’s a lot to get in such an inexpensive synth. The closest competitor is probably Korg’s Volga series, and one Volca may cost you as much as 2-3 POs while offering fairly similar experiences in terms of being able to put together immediately accessible jams. It’s probably no coincidence that the PO can easily sync to the Korg Volca line.
-Did I mention it has clock and alarm functions? In case you want this thing to wake you up with fresh beats, I guess.
Cons:
-The instructions in the packaging are useless. Look up a YouTube video immediately.
-The screen doesn’t actually give a lot of information. The main animation is mostly useless and barely relates to the sound in motion. Only a few of the icons really relate to your sound in progress. For instance, you can only tell if you’re in RECORD mode because of one tiny little icon- that’s easy to miss in play, which is a shame because the only real damage you can do to your loops is in RECORD mode so this should have a more obvious icon.
-So many limitations that can frustrate people who know about music production, even if newcomers will never know they’re missing a thing. Because there’s no MIDI in/out, you can only get notes or melodies to play by twisting the parameter knobs. The sync track also won’t share swing with other units, so you’ll have to keep that in mind if you jam with multiple units chained. There are plenty more quirks to find in YouTube tutorials. Almost all these quirks are just things that someone with this as their only device will learn to play with, but if you’re a real music producer you should check in-depth reviews before purchase.
-For the price, they could probably put this in a plastic case. That’s about my only complaint. The unit is so tiny, and it’s a bare board, and it has such limitations- surely they could afford to either sell it a bit cheaper or put it in a case. The company does sell cases for about $30, but that jacks up the price of a Pocket Operator so high you might as well go for a Korg Volca. In the bare board form though, this is an okay deal. Plenty of people sell cheap 3d-printed cases online.
Overall:
In terms of only buying one unit to jam on, the Pocket Operators are about the most fun you can possibly have anywhere near this price point. High recommended as a gift for any music fan that loves to jam. Anyone who bothers looking up some tutorials will be making awesome songs in minutes. It’s so neat to play with this thing. And it looks so cool, people will steal it out of your hands just to play with it.
Which unit would I recommend out of all the POs? This Rhythm unit is really more of a drum machine, which some people need. It can make neat songs if you know a little about how to tweak the knobs, or it would be a fun backing for vocals or an instrument. If you need one unit for someone who already plays an instrument, or sings or raps, this is the one. The most complete unit to date is probably the 2x-series Arcade, which jams out 8-bit chiptunes (or, the kind of music you’d hear on old arcade machines). I’d recommend the Arcade for instance if someone wants to compose songs while riding the bus, assuming they like early videogame music. The next contender for a total unit apart from these two is the 3x-series KO, which lets you use samples- including things you record with the built-in microphone.
Where to go from here? As said, this unit syncs both to other POs and to the Korg Volca series without much work, so it depends on how much money you have. Obvious connections in the PO line are the Sub, Tonic, KO, and Factory. The Korg Volca series makes an equivalent to pretty much all of those units- such as the Bass, Keys, and Sample. The click track syncs pretty well to almost any other synth that can output a click, so it should work in most environments. Not as recommended for people used to working with a PC(or DAW), as the lack of MIDI may hurt your work flow.
You can build up some quite complex rhythms with this. It ships with minimal instructions. As other reviewers have said, it does take a while to get your head around it. Fortunately there are lots of good guides on YouTube. Do allow for spending at least an hour with this, whilst watching YouTube, before casting judgement on it. We did, and without hesitation now give it 5-stars.
Combine patterns to get a decent length of a track, either using editable preset patterns or new patterns constructed by yourself. Tap in hits live to record or by using the step sequencer to switch on/off hits (aided by red led)
16 sounds
16 patterns
16 effects
Only the live editing of sounds is missing to me, you have to stop the track to edit each sound & then restart the track. On the Arcade you can do it all on the fly.
Intuitive and efficient product, the sounds can get quite repetitive but thats the nature of the machine. You can seriously write full tracks on this thing and the fx section brings it to life
This is important as if you want something super basic this is not for you; if you want something with every bell and whistle out there, this is not for you eitther.
Right, here we go:
I have played on iPhone apps that allow you to sequence drum machines. They are fun but they all seem a little too basic and far off what a professional may use. They also do not ‘feel’ like a good stepping stone into music production. So I wondered what to go for. I checked out software first. There seemed to be lots out there ranging in price and complexity. I was reluctant to go out and buy some software that would just put me off for life. You know what I mean: you go and buy photoshop pro, try to draw a circle and find you have to spend four hours on Google to learn how to do it! I did not want the photoshop pro version of music sequencing; I did not want to have to boot up the computer sit at a table with a mouse (and possibly a keyboard) to get going. I wanted something the size of an iPhone that I could just grab and make music.
Then along came this bad boy: the pocket operator. Before you read on check out YouTube to see what people have done with it. When you link it up with another (or even more) you can get some real professional music laid.
How easy it is: I am gonna be honest. It was not intuitive for me. You can’t just open it and get stuck in. I struggled to even play around to work out what things did. This may not be the case if you have experience of this sort of thing; the symbols (pun intended) may mean something to you. I was a little frustrated but remembered why I bought it. I wanted something a little more professional that a simple iPhone app. And that was gonna require a little learning.
So I put the work in. If you have peace you can become proficient with its use in about an hour. You may need to refer back to the instructions to remind you how to do some if it but it is actually relatively simple. I would advice learning one function then spending a few minutes playing with it then moving on.
The hard part is actually making a good track. But then if that was easy we would all be pop stars!
The internal speaker is not brilliant but it is much better than I was expecting so don’t let that put you off; with earphones its perfect. It takes two AA batteries and is constantly on. There is no off button but this does not matter. To my understanding most of the screen is just for show but some of it does help. All the LEDs near each button all mean different things depending on what you are doing. I found it a little confusing at first but quickly got the hang of it.
So, if you are looking to put your foot in the water – get this; it is wicked. I was picking my wife up from somewhere the other day. I arrived early so killed 15 minutes in the car with the Operator, wrote a little track and smiled. Boom!
I read that the Rhythm was was the best to get if you were just getting one. It is not just a drum machine; you can get melody on your tracks to.
Really complete and amazing sounding gadget for its price. I could mess around for hours with this little machine.
brought for my teenage son he loves it.would recommend getting a cover .
Sounds great and I built up a really strong creative flow with it almost instantly.
But sadly enough it’s been having it’s moments, possibly running through batteries really fast (as I use it a lot) and seems to dislike any room temperature under 18 degrees… But all in all love it and hopefully it continues to be a great addition to anyone’s gea
If you play guitar, get one. You can make some amazing stuff with this and a bit of practice.
Everything works flawlessly and you can start programming in your own tunes right away, the learning curve isn’t too high and it will be a long time before you get bored messing around with the different parameters. The chord function is awesome and it affects some of the other ‘notes’ depending on the patterns played.
I’ll be buying another PO without hesitation. I bought a case at the same time, it’s not necessary but it is a nice touch, if a little pricey.
Love it. easy to use and really good sounds. I recommend buying the case though as you tend to be a bit careful due to its looks
I love it! A very handy little drum machine that goes nicely with the Korg Volca Bass or FM. Lives in the Duragadget bag for outdoor sessions!
One important note, though, it is a small device, and as far as durability of this thing goes, it is basically a circuit board with buttons and knobs. I can’t see it holding up if you plan to travel and don’t take special precautions. This isn’t a criticism, but more of a forewarning. So if you’re going to carry this little guy around, you want to think ahead, or spend the extra money and purchase a case for it. It’s a great price at $60-ish dollars, so $20-$40 more for a well-made case isn’t a bad investment, I highly recommend getting a protective case. If you don’t like TE’s cases, there are a number of custom and third party options out there.
Have fun.
We love these, we have three of them – bass, treble, rhythm. Fab stuff.
Electro popping, acid techno, bouncy beat making marvel. I’ve used a ton of drum machines over the last 30 years and this is one of my favourites for a quick session of beats.
I got this as a present for my bother who really loved it. Really fun to use and sounds great. Only reason I didn’t mark it as 5 stars in the instructions could be a bit clearer, my brother ended up looking at some online manuals, and that BATTERIES ARE NOT INCLUDED which is no biggie but it’d be nice it that was more explicit. As a piece of tech though, great fun~
I got this as a present for my bother who really loved it. Really fun to use and sounds great. Only reason I didn’t mark it as 5 stars in the instructions could be a bit clearer, my brother ended up looking at some online manuals, and that BATTERIES ARE NOT INCLUDED which is no biggie but it’d be nice it that was more explicit. As a piece of tech though, great fun~
I like these little PO synths, but I have a problem with it, if I use wires to connect it 1 to 2nd and to 3rd. They lose volume, I can only hear the 3rd one, 2nd bearlly and 1st not st all. Can anyone help me? Maybe there is a way to increase the volume on each device, cause I saw the guy use all 6 devices 1-2-3-4-5-6-out to audio interface. I tried to use few different cables stereo and mono, same problem. Please, what is the solution?
Damit kann man sich auf jeden Fall die Zeit ganz gut vertreiben oder auch die eine oder andere Inspiration zum Musizieren holen. Der Preis dafr ist allerdings schon etwas stolz angesetzt, denn tatschlich handelt es sich dabei um ein Spielzeug, nicht wirklich um ein Instrument. Da die Anzahl der Spuren auf 15 Synthis + 1 Rhythm und die Gren von Patterns sowie Sequencer ebenfalls auf 16 begrenzt sind und auch die 16 Effekte keine vernderlichen Parameter haben, ist man letztlich auch wieder ziemlich eingeschrnkt. Ich finde es trotzdem gut, dass es so was gibt.
Although not my favourite PO, the factory works well with other PO’s, or on its own the the slightly limited drum machine. If you’re going for one PO, I’d perhaps consider the Arcade, but this would definitely add nicely to your collection.
I have this one & the drum one.
The main reason for my one-star review deduction on the Factory is that maddening decision by Teenage Engineering to limit both the Factory and Sub to a whole note (basically, C Major) scale. Yes, you can use one of the effects as a “pitch bend” to raise certain notes a half step and “trick” it into doing sharps and flats that way. But that’s way more complicated than it needed to be. I read somewhere that the idea behind locking these into C major was to make them more beginner friendly for people who pick them up and want to program random notes using multiple Pocket Operators. That explanation made a lot of sense to me, and it’s representative of the strange bridge all of the Pocket Operators walk between “serious musical tool” and “musical toy”.
Still, there’s enough good features with the PO-16 to consider at least giving it a look. The sequencer and pattern chaining are actually more advanced than what you find on the Korg Volcas. The Factory is a fun, tweakable experience, and it even has a (very primitive) drum machine built in as the 16th instrument. I think the best thing that you can say about all of the Pocket Operators is that they encourage you to explore different musical ideas by completely blowing up the traditional way that you would input notes and interact with a musical device. The Factory offers a limited collection of sounds, which are of surprising quality for a glorified computer chip with a couple of AAA batteries strapped to it. It’s a fun little device that could have been done a little better, but I actually prefer the PO-20 Arcade.
All of its sounds are reminiscent of old school video games and arcade machines. You get an 8-bit Mario fireball “bloop” sound, chord stabs, arpeggios, simple percussive sounds, and each sound can be tweaked in its waveform and pitch. As you play with it, you essentially feel like you’re creating a scene in a video game, everything moving to the beat of the music. You punch the buttons on this crazy looking computer chip thing, objects on the screen dance to the music, and you’re surrounded by crunchy and crisp 8-bit sounds of nostalgia.
Its physical build quality is exceptional. All the buttons feel very solid and sturdy, and the feedback you get from each button is perfect. You know when you’ve pressed a button, and you know when you’ve turned a knob. A weird thing you have to get used to is how naked it is. It’s basically a naked computer chip with buttons and a screen on it. Even the batteries underneath it are exposed. None of this is to say it looks flimsy, though. It looks like I can drop it a few times and it’ll hold up just fine. Plus, this unique look adds to its personality, and is bound to turn heads.
Musically speaking, it’s not the most powerful synth in the world, and it has many limitations (eg you can’t do sustained notes, notes are mostly limited to the chord you set the pattern to, everything is cemented into 16 beat sequences). But in a lot of ways, these limitations allow for even more creativity in the way you use it to make music.
One unexpected thing is how small it is. I was expecting it to be small, but it’s basically the size of my palm, and about the same size as an iPhone 5 (see photo).
Overall, I love this thing, and I’m sure it’s going to be a coffee table piece 24/7 now, so me and anyone else can pick it up and start making some cool beats at the push of a few buttons. This synth is perfect for people who grew up with retro video games, gamers, chiptunes fans, and anyone looking to create some cool old-school video game sounds. Highly recommended!
And don’t let the size or price deceive you the Pocket Operator haze a surprising level of complexity to what you can do.
Defiantly going to get others form the series to link up.
Massive 8 bit music fan and found this by accident. Just an engineering marvel, sounds are great, like having an arcade machine in your pocket or even a Commodore 64!!
Would love a case but at 30 they are a bit over priced, will be adding the other PO devices to my wish list!
Massive 8 bit music fan and found this by accident. Just an engineering marvel, sounds are great, like having an arcade machine in your pocket or even a Commodore 64!!
Would love a case but at 30 they are a bit over priced, will be adding the other PO devices to my wish list!
Massive 8 bit music fan and found this by accident. Just an engineering marvel, sounds are great, like having an arcade machine in your pocket or even a Commodore 64!!
Would love a case but at 30 they are a bit over priced, will be adding the other PO devices to my wish list!
The built in speaker is pretty powerful but it really shines thru headphones or speakers. The base is deep and the sounds are crisp.
For a great in depth review check out sonicstate on youtube.
This is NOT a toy