Teenage Engineering PO-32 Pocket Operator Tonic Drum Synth

The rest of my life will never be the same. At first I thought the chip I was looking at was just a prototype (nope) that would be rehoused after this prototype was completed. It isn't in a protective case and it isn't for sale (nope). Even so, it sounded great when plugged into a powered speaker, was definitely fun to tweak and program, and cost just I've now been exposed to nine Pocket Operator units (as of August 2018), and while all of them have been ups and downs, it wasn't until I saw demos of the PO-1703 that I realized this is the product that's right for me. It takes 33K. As in the previous example, I was blown away by this series just like I was when I first saw the YouTube demo and was introduced to the idea. The K, however, stands out from the other Pocket Operators because it does not have a niche like the others do. There seemed to be no end to what Sampler could do. The device is the size of a credit card and it samples 40 seconds of audio over an 8" speaker Alternatively, you may use a board microphone. How much line do you need for 5mm? What are the two AAA batteries used for this device? What are you going to get for Then again, it is just one of those rare cases with music gear where an affordable piece of hardware with significant shortcomings on paper ends up being much more powerful and enjoyable once you actually use it. THE QUALITY OF THE SOUND IS GOOD It really is possible to get sound onto the PO--though there are quite a few ways to do it In doing so, I will try to keep this brief. If you have the PO-33 and would like to move them around, then please let me know. In the 33 system, there are 8 digits There is a fraction of a sampler's "information" in each note, meaning that the sample is a bit higher than the note from a 12-note machine You could, for example, use a 24-bit compact disc. You may experience this as "bitcrushed" or as "chiptune," depending on what type of sound is involved, but this is consistent with the overall way the Pocket Operator series is presented. A number of 8-digit codes can be used in some situations A bit audio engine creates an impressive driving effect, but I have struggled with it when I try to sample with the Line In jack - it doesn't seem to work well at all. It has a particularly bassy sound, such as an 808 Bass Drum, and almost completely loses its identity when it gets fizzy. If you want to try and improve this further, try using a filter/resonance control. Crisper or higher pitched sounds are better. In this picture, you can see the PO's face A total of 16 numbered buttons are present on 33. As well as representing the sixteen sequencer steps, these also represent the 16 "banks" with which to store The Bank of New York "Melodic" samples account for eight of the You are given control over 16 notes which correspond to two octaves of a "harmonic minor plus one" scale when you choose one of the 8 banks. on the "5" key, and one octave lower on the "13" key, so that the scales on upper and lower halves of the circle are matching. ) rather odd decision by Teenage Engineering, as many of their other melodic Pocket Operators utilize a scale of C Major, to make it easier for people new to music to mash notes and play tunes on various devices in key. You can find more information about that in the section titled "Workarounds. ". The following sound banks are available This is a little bizarre. By default, the "Drum" banks are set up using four-tap samples of 20 different sounds. This can be confusing, however. Instead of "sliced" samples, the banks will "append" 16 more sounds to the first 16 taps. Thus, if you had a taste of a 3 As a second sample of an "Amen Break", or whatever, it would (in theory) grab different kicks, snares, and hats, and lay them out as 16 signals that could be triggered. The method that you use is potentially very cool, since you can change the start point and length of the slices, but it is not a very repeatable way to set up a If you prefer, you can copy and paste individual hits recorded as melodic samples into the slots of a "Drum" kit, but that requires a bit of work. Samples can be made by pressing down the red "record" button and playing either a sound through the left side 3 OR making a noise into the microphone. An audio jack of 5mm is present. As a result, the 8-bit video was of good quality There is a lot of variability in bit audio. In an attempt to sample the synth notes into K, I tried some synth notes. It was almost impossible to use them because of the noise floor they had. While I was waiting for the order to be placed, I was amazed at how clear and dynamic the extremely small online order was During board meetings, noise was picked up by the microphone. A simple example of this was when I banged an empty soda can on the table, realized the note it sounded like was close to a C#, and constructed a melodic loop using it. The act of banging a can on the The example given there is absurd, as you could accomplish the same thing much more effectively with your voice or an However, it is an annoyance that while the sample doesn't start recording until it senses a certain noise level, you must hold down two buttons at the same time, making it hard to produce whatever noise you are making with your one free hand. I won't give too much information on the sequencer since you can see how it works similarly to the other units if you have ever used Pocket Operators. As well as anything else, I think the sequencer is what holds all these components together and converts them from "adorable music toys" to "surprisingly deep subwoofers" Buying a musical instrument for $100 is great. " Despite each pattern being only one bar (16 steps in 4/4 time), you can program 16 of them and have them repeat in any order up to 100 times before they repeat again. I find it almost embarrassing how much more powerful the sequencer is on Pocket Operators than other "serious" music gear. There are a lot of hidden tricks in it, such as the possibility to assign up to 8 notes to repeat Every step has a trigger. There are several options you can choose from). THE EFFECTS ARE In the PO there are effects options that you can choose from It takes 33K. I especially like the PO-sized arcade and the 20 Arcade Tonic), but they cover the basic needs of a sampler and do the job quite well. A low blood sugar level is a concern for you There is a resonance control on each sample, as well as pass filters. It comes with 15 different effects (plus an "erase" key on "16"), but most of them are variations on The effects can be automated and they can be controlled by various parameters within a sequence. It's still much fun for live performance. The following limitations and restrictions apply The workarounds are During the research into As I analyzed the K33, I encountered some pretty serious flaws that I feared would sink the device. However, I found that thanks to its overall depth of features, and some clever workarounds so these weaknesses can be addressed, the K33 is remarkably solid. Using the sampling tool, these issues can be resolved. There are likely to be the biggest limitations within the device in that each SAMPLE slot (of which there are 16) plays monophonic samples, while the overall polyphony is limited to Four samples It means that if you load "Drum" Bank 9, you won't be able to play both a snare and a hi-hat at the same time On the same stairway, I wore a hat from the same bank. It's also not possible to layer different pitched notes on the same step from a single Melodic sample. Based on what I understand, it's a - It prioritizes melodic hits over music with a drum pattern. It is, however, allowed to play multiple "melodic" samples from different banks at once, or individual drum hits from different banks as long as the total number of sounds does not exceed 4. Instruments from the "Drum" banks, as well as the K, can also be copied as samples. So in that way, the drum machine more closely resembles what we see in an actual drum machine. Moreover, the restrictions on scale are also rather annoying, but there is an ingenious workaround available online that should enable you to play in any major or minor key The minor scale goes like this Upon sampling the note, the note becomes the root note of the scale, playable when the "13" button is pressed. You can play the following notes in order to complete the Minor scale The 13th century The following is the major scale 5

Here is a note that is 34 of an inch wide The step or "semitone" below what you intend to be your For instance, if you wanted to play the C major scale, you'd need to first sample an "A" note, and then the root "C" would There are a total of five notes in the Major scale It is 15-minutes There seems to be a lot going on, but if you try it and match it to a piano or other instrument, you'll be able to hear the notes right away!
*GIVEN IN SUM This is a comprehensive tool, and I'm leaving out a lot of features, but the bottom line is that it's a very valuable resource Enjoy a sampler that's extremely affordable, and a lot of fun to use. As a comparison, the Korg Volca Sample costs nearly twice as much and holds just a little more I spent 40 seconds on the Power of One Unlike the 33), you can't load any samples onto it without using a computer. As a result of being able to sample anything from anywhere with such a small (albeit fragile) device, the PO-03 possesses a lot of potential It takes 33K. Take your business to the next level. Although you may find a few limitations of a hardware device, the possibilities for music are countless with it.

Connor York

| Aug 25, 2020

A PO has been issued to me I did some melodic Pocket Operators from this series as well, including 12 Rhythm. This is the There's no denying that 32 Tonic is better than the rest. I find this unit to be interesting (and perhaps worth the $30 price premium) because it is not a sample player, but rather more like a stripped-down version of an editor It is essentially a condensed version of a drum machine that fits into a credit card. * * * For some context, the "full" version of this sound engine is MicroTonic - a sound engine that can handle 24-bit audio. You need both a Mac and a PC First released in December 2003, this drum machine plug in uses the drum machine API. The PO does not only have the following benefits It is understood that Tonic run a simpler version of MicroTonic, but the designers of that program collaborated to produce the PO-32 If you have the $100 full desktop version (which is really worth it), it can load sound patches as well as patterns. The MicroTonic program looks great, but I hadn't much interest in investing in a $100 VST for use with a $89 drum machine. But as it turns out, I am not a MicroTonic owner, so I appreciate what the Tonic can do. With 16 different instrument sounds to choose from, as well as pitch and morphing options with both the A/B modifier knobs and an even-more powerful morphing feature, this Pocket Operator has a lot to offer. For more information There is a collection of 16 awesome effects that can be applied live or on a per-job basis The steps are outlined below. In terms of performance aspects and implementation of effects, the Pocket Operators are arguably among the best of this brand, and the Tonic is perhaps the best example yet. The DSP emulator features distorting, bit crushing, and filter sweeps, as well as stutters and time-based delays. For example, there is a crazy accelerating delay effect that sounds like a rubber ball bounce. Although the patch is sent by fax, there is one slight downside to this Take advantage of second data bursts, or use YouTube or SoundCloud data bursts. Although you will not have the option to customize your own sound, you can still expand the palette of sounds available through the P-O-C There is an amazingly effective method of transferring 32 with your hand (I tried it a dozen times without reading the instructions too closely, and it was always successful I can do this with my smartphone and with my PC simultaneously). I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and power of the Tonic sound engine. I got a chance to hear patches that ranged from classic analog drum machines (808/909 / etc), to more driven, electro-sounding ones You can hear kicks and blips, to almost an acoustic-style beat Drum sets with a good sound. Please observe all of the normal caveats for Pocket Operator users There are a lot of these things, and they are fragile. Those metal tabs holding the AAA batteries in place are the point of failure that concerns me the most. The PO's will be done at the end of the PO's if those start to fatigue and no longer maintain pressure. This is the As for the pulse/CV synchronization with other hardware, it doesn't seem intuitive at first, but you get used to it. The 32's workflow may not seem intuitive from the instructions, but there's quite a bit of flexibility in it. Getting each device in the proper mode required some trial and error and watching YouTube videos, but it did work once it was in the right mode (except for the fact that those devices closer to the output were much quieter than those earlier in the chain). While the PO-350 has some minor gripes, some extremely great sounds can be heard. I just used 32 Tonic today. There are more limitations with melodic Pocket Operators because they don't support MIDI or external note sequencing and are limited with their scaling. The PO does not seem to understand that It uses PO-32, like the PO-36 A self-referral is a self-referral if you have taken 12 before Drum machine that can be used on its own, and it's really fun.

Poppy Griffith

| Feb 11, 2021