Just buy it. If your looking at this and watched a few youtube vids on it, do yourself a favour. Of all the synths, keyboards, midi controllers I’ve ever owned in my life, this is by far the best value!

– 40 second sample time can be limiting, but is easy to work with if you keep it in mind
– Speaker on this thing is good (around as good as a mid range phone), microphone is AMAZING! Makes live sampling easy breasy
– It looks flimsy but this thing is solid. It feels like the motherboard you might pull out of your computer, solid piece of hardware

THE ONLY THING IS….

Data transfer can be tricky. You save dataa/songs/sounds etc through the line out port, but it can be tricky to do that, and with 40 seconds of memory backing this thing up on thee regular is important. HEADS UP, most people have to purchase ADDITIONAL cords or cables/peripherals to be able to actually record the songs they make on this thing to a phone/computer etc.

TL;DR: BUUUUUUUYYYY ITTT!!!! This thing is AMAZING!! It’s the pocket sampler/baby MPC you’ve been dreaming about. And lets be real, it’s the best pocket music device to come out in more than a decade so if it’s actually in stock I’d say get it!

So first of all, if you were like me and this is your first foray to this kind of thing : the guide printed in the cardboard container is useless. The manual in 3 different language is slightly more useful, but its also as confusing. Go to the website and find the fully illustrated guide, thats what you need.
The problem is, the thing is loaded with demo patterns etc that is meant for you to remove and re-write over before you start. Which in the guide is like step 5, or 6.

If you just kind of press buttons according to the short guide, the thing would make all sorts of demo noise, and you’ll accidentally add even more noise and effects to it, and before long you’d be totally, loss.
If you just press chords button, you’d be like nothing is happening. There is no reason for you to know that the volume was 0.

Etc etc. All in all, great device, bad included manual, but that said, the online manual is good, and the youtube tutorial by ricky tinez will explain the thing to you , the whole thing, in 15 minutes . Have fun!

Pour ceux qui connaissent, je me cherchais un mini sampler standalone pile type Yamaha SU-10 ou Roland MS-1 de l’poque.
Les protagonistes sont les microgranny, volca sample, ou appli android/iPhone
Microgranny trop cher, Volca Sample -possd, revendu- qui ne sample pas vraiment, et sur un smartphone trop peu de “ressenti instrumental” et qui ncessite une interface supplmentaire pour pouvoir sampler.
Et TE a sorti le PO-33.
Merci.
Parce que tout comme toi lecteur, en tant que beatmaker devenu papa de 3 enfants, et bien c’est bien pratique de pouvoir pratiquer notre art commun assis tranquillement dans son lit, casque viss sur les oreilles.

Les plus :
Le son: machine spciale hip-hop lo-fi, bien aid par la dure limite d’echantillonage
Le traitement des samples est vraiment bien foutu, une partie mlodique qui joue chromatiquement les samples, et une partie drum qui dcoupe les samples le tout sur 16 pas.
Pour nous autres amateurs de boombap bercs la MPC et autres SP, cette section drum est fort intressante car une fois les chops ajusts, ceux ci sont jouables en mode mute group (le dclenchement d’un sample coupe celui en cours de lecture) ce qui rend le tout aussi musical que nous l’attendons pour un sampler tel que nous l’entendons.
Le swing, le pitch shift, les effets, les filtres (omg ils sont fous) in fine mme la dure de 40s est fort honnte, et bien sur tout a dans un prix qui dpasse toute esprance

Les moins:
Pour ma part ils sont d’ordre ergonomique. Mes peluches ncessiteront sous peu l’aide d’un botier permettant de mieux apprhender les touches qui, mme si elles sont trs fonctionnelles (au point de pouvoir fingerdrum sans problme en enregistrement live), mrite une meilleure surface de contact.
En l’occurrence plus large pour moi.

En conclusion:
Ce qui est bon avec ce sampler c’est qu’il concentre les bons points de tout ce qu’on a eu de mini dans les annes 90: les boss sp202/303, lesdits SU-10 et MS1, portabilit et autonomie en plus, mais sans les inconvnients.
Allez il manquerait une fonction resample et l et bien ma foi… Ils exploseraient le march
Teenage Engineering si vous me lisez…

Parce que du coup pour rendre le truc ultime de chez ultime, c’est pas 1, mais 2 po33 qu’il faut…

All units operate in a similar manner so really starts to entertain from the moment you put the batteries in . I now have nine of these little machines and sadly this one has the same low volume problem as two of the others hence knocking down to four stars ,…..( Unfair really )…….. just plug it into an Amplifier and……….Problem solved!
You will lose hours with these playing around with these machines and your face will ache with the grin that comes from such a simple yet complex sound generator .

I probably researched for a few days straight trying to decide which pocket operator to get first. I ultimately decided on this one mainly after watching videos on how much it can scream! Changing the parameters from a barely audible thump to a loud raw analog sound is to satisfying. The added drum sounds are enough to keep on jamming for quite a while too. It is very limited on variety but is simple to use and really gives you a good idea on whether or not you want to invest more in the pocket operator system. I ended up getting the Arcade and Rhythm after but don’t regret getting the Sub first.

Il PO-35 il vocal sinth-sampler-sequencer della serie Pocket Operatori che la Teenage Engineering ha dedicato alla manipolazione di sample vocali.
di dimensioni ridottissime, grande in pratica quanto una calcolatrice tascabile.
Contiene in s un motore di sintesi vocale che permette di registrare (dal microfono integrato o da una fonte sonora in entrata al line-in da 3,5″), editare, applicare effetti in tempo reale alla voce umana (ma non solo!), di creare fino a 16 pattern e di riprodurli grazie o al piccolo ma funzionale altoparlantino integrato o all’uscita jack 3,5” e di sequenziare tracce drum grazie ad una drum machine integrata.
Ovviamente ha tanti limiti, a partire ad esempio dalla polifonia striminzita (2 voci) o da una sensibilit non elevatissima alle variazioni di effetto che si possono comunque registrare in tempo reale.
I contro sono comunque abbondantemente bilanciati e a mio avviso superati dalla geniale creativit che sprizza da tutti i circuiti.
Non lasciatevi ingannare dall’aspetto giocattolino, o magari s, e cominciate a giocare col suono. Scoprirete come la Teenage Engineering sia riuscita ad implementare “fenomenali poteri cosmici… in un minuscolo spazio vitale!” (cit. Aladdin)

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.

Ho ordinato il Pocket operator 12 durante la domenica e mi arrivato il venerd, spedizione rapidissima nonostante venisse dalla Francia. Il prodotto arrivato ben imballato e perfettamente funzionante. E’ una chicca per qualsiasi musicista e anche per i novelli (come me) che hanno comprato questo sintetizzatore portatile per iniziare a farsi un’idea e fare i primi passi verso l’elettronica e non solo. IL PO 12 minimale, pi piccolo di una qualsiasi calcolatrice, ma compie perfettamente il suo lavoro. Tra tutti gli altri Pocket Operator ho deciso di acquistare questo poich non ha un prezzo alto come ad esempio, il PO KO O PO 32, che sono anche pi complessi, ma soprattutto il PO 12 presenta un suono che non cos impostato e definito come potrebbero esserlo un PO Arcade o PO Robot o anche PO Sub. Il PO 12 mi sembrato quello pi tranquillo e facilmente usabile per comporre tipi di musica diversi tra loro. E’ composto di 16 suoni + la drum machine e 16 effetti e altre caratteristiche che facilmente potete trovare, possibile salvare i propri suoni modificati da quelli iniziali e comporre in loop, cos come no. Inoltre sono presenti un entrata e uscita audio da 3,5 in cui possibile collegarci una qualsiasi cassina bluetooth o delle cuffie, cos come qualsiasi altro amplificatore di maggiore importanza. La composizione dei tasti e delle combinazioni veramente intuitiva e fin da subito si pu arrivare a comporre qualcosa che sia leggermente orecchiabile. E’ uno strumento efficacissimo per il prezzo che ha, che qui su amazon (a 63 euro) veramente modesto, perch sul sito di teenage engineering si trova a 79 + spedizioni. Non necessario, a mio parere, comprarsi la custodia che solitamente viene consigliata insieme a qualsiasi altro PO, dal costo di 34 euro; se si possiede un minimo, ma veramente minimo spirito di manualit, facilmente si pu trovare qualcosa che faccia da protezione allo strumento, che proprio per le sue microdimensioni si presta anche bene ad essere rivestito e facilmente protetto appunto

Smashing capability for such a small thing. Hours of fun!

I hate to be one of those back in my day old guys, but this sampler reminds me of the early days of phrase samples/ samplers with units like the Akai S20, the Yamaha SU10, and of course the Roland SP 202, which I owned them all and regrettably sold at one point, fast forward and there’s this Teenage Egineering PO 33 (knockout) phrase/Auto drumchop (Wow just wow) sampler with a built in pattern sequencing and a built in MIC for all under $100 , actually at one point under $70. Is it perfect? No, but for a price point at a fraction of what a used SP 303, or forget about the price of a new Roland SP 404 costs, you get nice grungy but clean 8 bit sampling and stereo (or at least fake stereo, doubling mono) sampling at that. Does it have all the bells and whistles like MIDI or CV, nope but you can sync it to other Pocket Unit by playing a click track, I have the PO 12 drum machine as well and most times I just sync them manually (pressing play) when I use them together. I’ve included a video of me using the PO 33 with a vocal sample of my own I recorded right into the mic input, and a pattern chain of some of the factory patterns and a few of my of my own made from scratch so far on this unit, hope you enjoy! And I highly recommend this for anybody who makes hip hop/dance/whatever music to have as a basic sample scratchpad. I own other units like the Korg Volca Sample and my biggest grip is that nothing in the sub 500 price range (and please don’t mention electribe) actually samples besides the old Korg Microsampler and now this gem. And yes I have an MP and DAW software plug ins yadda, yadda but this brings back the fun of using those old samplers like the Akai S20 and Yamaha SU10 at a fraction of most hardware costs, great job Teenage Engineering!

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….

Purchased this for my partner’s birthday and he was over the moon.

Love the pocket operators..this one was my first from the new series alittle more expensive but still worth every penny … there’s plenty of free sound patches around very easy to change sounds and reset to defaul

The first time I saw a demo of the Pocket Operators – a YouTube video of the PO-12 Rhythm shot in some dreary, overcast field in Scandinavia – I was blown away. I assumed what I was looking at was just a prototype (nope) and they would rehouse this fragile-looking computer chip…thing in some actual protective case for sale (nope again). But still, it sounded incredible into a powered speaker, seemed legimiately fun to tweak and program, and cost only $60!

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.

It appears to satisfy the teenage mind and his younger scientific brother.

brought for my teenage son he loves it.would recommend getting a cover .

If you play guitar, get one. You can make some amazing stuff with this and a bit of practice.

This little device is loads of fun. It comes preloaded with 16 patterns, which can be erased and over written once you understand how to program them. The sounds it makes are fun to play with, easy to manipulate, and they sound pleasing to the ear, assuming you like, bleep-bloop, chiptune-esque sounds. It has a number of effects to apply to the sounds as you play, as well as the ability to set and adjust chord progression through your composition. I have had the Pocket Operator Arcade for about a week and I am still learning about it, but I would say that I am very pleased overall, and will be trying out the other models Teenage Engineering has to offer.

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.

Man glaubt kaum, wie kompakt dieses Gert ist – auf der Rckseite der Platine befindet sich nur noch die Batteriehalterung 2x AAA, ein Bgel zum angenehmen schrg Aufstellen auf den Tisch sowie 2 Klinkenbuchsen 3,5mm. Dabei ist die Flche kaum grer als eine Zigarettenschachtel. Die beiden Klinkenbuchsen dienen als Ein- und Ausgang; am Ausgang funktioniert ein Kopfhrer genauso gut wie ein LineIn-Gert. Eingang und Ausgang kann man darberhinaus in verschiedene Modi konfigurieren, so dass man mehrere solche Gerte mit einfachem Klinke-Klinke-Kabel hintereinander schalten und somit zusammenmischen kann. Die Modi unterscheiden dabei, ob der Ein- bzw. Ausgang ein Stereo-Audio-Signal liefert oder Mono-Audio plus CV zum Synchronisieren mehrerer Gerte. Die Funktionen sind weit vielfltiger, als man vermuten wrde – von Spuren ber Pattern bis zum Sequencer, verschiedene Synthi-Presets mit Parametern, Effekten, Bearbeitung von Patterns, Mute, Lautstrke- und BPM-Regelung hat man an jede Menge gedacht.

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.

The PO-16 Factory is my 3rd Pocket Operator, and I’m going to try to make it my last, though the combination of small size/low price does make it tempting to become a “collector”. The Factory is marketed as a lead synthesizer, but I also own the PO-20 Arcade and find that device to be a more complete product. Both of them have a very finite number of sounds they can produce, and actually, both of them end up sounding a “chiptune”. Still, for a $60 device, I’m comfortable with the fact that this is more of a niche product offering a few interesting sounds, rather than a primary musical instrument for writing leads.

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.

Best Christmas pressie my son’s had for years – but you really do have to be into this stuff !

WOW! I have purchased many different types of electronic instruments in my life and i have to say this is about the funnest thing i have bought for less than the price of a cab ride in the city 😀 It’s sound quality is actually really great, considering you would expect something of this price to have sub-par sounds 😛 The user manual is cryptic at best, but there’s just enough in there to get you going and you can easily find great resources online from people who have had more time exploring this thing to really help you dive MUCH deeper than you can ever imagine. The unit looks flimsy, but it really is pretty well built even without it having any sort of protective case or shell on it. You can buy a rubberized protective case somewhat like an iphone or other cell phone case but honestly, if your cautious of where you store this thing, it should be just fine without it ie…. don’t stick it in your back pocket and plop yur arse on a bench 😛 The effects on this thing are not only great, but the way they are implemented into the whole performance like fell allows for some pretty insane and really just random/hard to reproduce music moments that will really keep you hooked on playing with this thing for a long time. I’m the proud owner of a full fledged professional music production studio and this little puppy really can add more than just a “gimmick” bit of flavor to any serious producers pallet of sound design tools 😉 Might have to get the other two now just to complete the set! 😀