Teenage Engineering PO-12 Rhythm Pocket Operator - Drum Machine

If I were allowed to swear I would. This device is brilliant. If I explain why I bought it you'll see what hole it fills. 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.

Lots of options on this unit and a great value!!

First off, this is great fun. It didn't take me long to get the hang of programming a beat, and once you get going, it is very easy to use the different sounds and effects to build unique and catchy beats. The question I have not yet answered for myself is whether this is a toy or something which can be used in a serious music-making sense. it is an instrument in its own right, even if the way you play it is a bit unconventional. As Teenage Engineering demonstrates on its website and YouTube videos, you can jam and make quite sophisticated music if you chain a couple of different pocket operators together. Which is fine. However, it is more difficult to integrate this into other music making systems such as computer-based DAWs. There is only a (mono!) audio out and no midi/USB/whatever, so once you've put a beat together you can only export it by recording it into a DAW (or whatever) as a single channel of audio. It would add a huge amount of flexibility if you could get each channel separately, or get the midi data out... But I appreciate this would add cost to something which is pretty keenly priced.

It's loud, it's got plenty of funks, twists & efx to keep it interesting & individual. The sounds are awesome, amazing from such a small machine. I have this and the OP 20 Arcade and together they smash it. 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.

The po 12 is pretty cool, it's a very compact drum machine with more control then I was expecting. All pocket operators have the same core functions and controls, so once you know the layout of one its very easy to transfer over to a new pocket operator. This wasn't my first model and it was very easy learn. I did get triped up with how to chain them together; I would of liked if you could pause and play a slave po and have it sync with the masters click track, however what actually happens is once you pause a slave you need to stop and start the master controller, it's not a huge deal but that was one of the few nitpicks I've found. Overall I love these things, and they are fun to try to incorporate into a proper set to accompany more traditional instruments

They're fantastic, addictive and great fun! Downside, the Instructions are basic and you will need to watch some U tube vids. Many of these are not very good, people showing off and not explaining, but there are some good ones. 3/4 minutes don't bother, look for 10/15 minutes. The POs power down after 5 minutes inactivity, EXCEPT if there’s an audio cable plugged into the IN jack and then it’s 60 minutes. This flattens the battery MUCH quicker! I had a Rhythm and a Sub chained together, the Rhythm last in the chain with a cable in the IN jack. After 3 weeks the Sub battery is 94% and the Rhythm 43%. DON’T leave them chained together! Press Sound + BPM for battery % remaining. Swapping the dying batteries around I found the POs are on the edge of giving up at around 40% The on board speaker, well it works, it’s OK, headphones are better, but get some amplification, I play mine through a guitar amp, awesome! Doug

Very cool little gadget, slightly damaged packaging

Before I bought this I did a bit of research to make sure it meets my needs. Perfect companion for my volca bass and keys. Plenty of good tutorials on Youtube to get you up and running in no time. Really easy to sync with other devices and really easy to create your own patterns.

Got it for a good deal! Love these little things!

Fun to fiddle about with. good sounds

Strumento divertentissimo. Prima o poi comprerò anche gli altri della stessa casa, possono essere usati tutti collegati in parallelo.

Ótimo pra criação, estudos e pocket performances. É mesmo lofi, mas os recursos de efeitos dão o charme e se usado com consistência não compromete, torna-se um estilo

Great, portable and powerful drum machine in a small size. The cheapest of the series. Great starting point. Fun to learn with and as complex as you would like it to be.