Teenage EngineeringPocket Operator PO-33 K.O.! Micro Sampler and Drum Machine with Built-in Microphone, Sequencer and Effects

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: 13-14-15-16-9-10-11-5Major 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.

If you are looking to buy your first pocket operator, I would choose the KO 33. You are now able to insert your own samples, splice them up and create music. It cost $89, but I see it going for upwards of $130 or more. The 33 version seems to be the one that is always sold out. There is a reason for that. You will probably have more fun with this than any of the other pocket operators, but that's up to you. Metal series is hours of fun for someone who is creative.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.

The media could not be loaded. 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!

Very cool little device!