Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-20 Arcade, Synthesizer and Sequencer, with Parameter Locks, Chord Control and Punch-in Effects

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.

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!

im a hobbyist/semiprofessional musician that has owned just about every value-priced synth/sequencer/music toy/audio gadget you can get nowadays...i have owned them, and inevitably re-sold them all, losing interest or just not being happy with overall functionality...that being said, this is the most full-featured and easy-to-play musical instrument i have ever owned. for the price paid (even paying full price, which i did not, having gone ding-and-dent from amazon warehouse for 59$ i think? torn package but no damage) i could not have asked for more. its really fun to learn, and even more fun once you get fully accustomed to its interface (or lack thereof?) and controls. Yes, this mainly produces chiptune/video game style sounds, but the tweakability of each sound (along with things like swing/chord/fx) ensures a wide variety within this style...you truly wont be disappointed.

I think the company did a fantastic job creating this really amazing product. I think the construction is very interesting! I love the display, the sounds, the buttons and dials. I think it's a really unique product with a great deal of application. I'm not a music, I'm a designer and purchased it for its great design and retro throwback. For someone like me, it was entertaining for a short while, but very quickly I realized I don't have much use for this. The product isn't cheap, and within a 2 days I realized I'm not the audience for this product. My co-worker who also purchased one is in a band, and has further use of integrating some of the sounds in with some of his songs, but for myself I found that I got bored rather quickly. If your not really into music, or making music, then this just won't have much use to you—and for the price it's rather expensive as just "a thing to have". The reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars was the lack of understanding. It was tough to learn the product. It came with a very simplified "manual" (a single sheet of folded paper), that ran through the basics, but to actually get to a place where your making music ON PURPOSE, took some time. A few hours later I mostly understood which buttons did what, and could intentionally make sound choices. The other reason was the poor rubber case fitting. I had an issue where a metal piece on the back which acted as a stand, would get in the way of the rubber case completely being able to surround the device. So essentially there's a small bit of it where the case is slightly pushed out. Both my friend and I assembled separately, but both had the same issue.

This little guy blurs the line between being a toy and being a "real" instrument, and my time messing around with it has been the most fun I've ever had with a synthesizer. 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!

I can't help but view this product as more of a toy than an instrument, but it is still oh so much fun. Turned quite a lot of heads walking around town jammin' on this thing and even met a few rappers while making beats. What more can I say about this product? Fat 8-bit sounds that take you back to your childhood and a pretty cool and very easy to use sequencer. Teenage Engineering leads the industry in creating electronic music instrument layouts, and their genius is shown wonderfully in their Pocket Operater series, especially this Arcade

Anyone that has a budding interest in making music or noise in general would absolutely love this or really any of these pocket operators. I've been playing with it all day and having a blast making up tunes. This one's an arcade-game based synthesizer and composer that runs on AAA batteries and your own creativity. Really cool little devices.

So the device has had no issues since I bought it and I did feel it was a little fragile outside of the PO case I bought for it. The overall fun I’ve had it with it has been well beyond the price point. You can very easily create some sequences and entire songs on this thing. I really love the punch-in FX and the side-chained chords you can add. Unlike other pocket operators, this one really has all the sonic capabilities you need to create something full sounding without having to sample other sounds.