Teenage Engineering PO-20 Arcade Pocket Operator - 8-bit Arcade Synthesizer/Sequencer, perfect for chiptune

This review is about the PO-20 Arcade. They may look a bit odd and minimalist, but they sound incredible and provide a lot of fun for the creatively minded. If you are a beginner to electronic music, the PO may somewhat puzzle you, but in the hands of someone with even a little bit of experience, these provide hours of fun and even some serious musical capability. The PO-20 totally takes me back to my youth when I used to own an Atari. The rich 8-bit quality of the square wave arps superbly re-create the atmosphere of that era, but with a modern twist. The chord sequencing is inspired. Very clever indeed, hats of to Jesper Kouthoofd and his team for producing something remarkable. I love the way the chord sequence changes the arps and baseline, even without turning up the drone. The side chain compression simulation on the drone sound is a very cool sounding modern twist. I am also astounded by the very expansive sequencing capability. You can store 16 x 16 step sequences and link them into a chain of up to 128 patterns, that is whopping 2048 steps! The chord sequence of up to 128 "bars" (from a choice of 16 cleverly chosen chords) is independent from this so the options are virtually limitless. Each sound has two parameters that can be sequenced too. I love the fact that I can sync my PO to my Korg Volcas and other synths. Very easy to set up, plug in and select SY2, that's all there is to it! The only bit of criticism I have is about the packaging. I get that this is all part of the overall minimalist design of the product, but does not protect it enough when sent. Especially the knobs are vulnerable as they stick out of the packaging. My first one arrived with one of the knobs smashed in. This is partly because Amazon did not properly packaged it (just stuffed it into an envelope, which got crushed between heavier boxes). The replacement came in the same rubbish packaging, but all works fine. I disagree that the unit is vulnerable to damage. Of course there are always those that treat their kit like Casey Neistat, but then of course nothing is safe from damage. Highly recommended, seriously thinking which one I want next!

I bought this for my kids to experiment with music on. They've so far not shown any interest, but that's ok since I'm having tremendous fun messing around with this! The instructions are good for getting you started, but I found some good tutorial videos on youtube that really helped me get going with this. Sound quality is really good (obvs depended on what speakers/earphones you're using). Recording the output on PC should be really straightforward if you've got a line-in - if you don't have, you'll need to think about buying a cheap USB sound card with a line in to be able to record your music. Really tempted to save up for one of the other pocket operator devices now.

It's such a happy little gadget! I'm in the same boat as some others; a toe-dipper trying to get into electronic music. The PO-12 rhythm was probably where I should've started but I went with the Arcade after hearing the awesome chiptune effects on YouTube. And its adorable. No regrets so far. If you use tutorial videos and the instructions that come with the Arcade, you'll be writing fun patterns and chaining them into tracks in no time. Like an hour at most. Also it's very easy to carry around so will be great for travel entertainment. Furthermore it sounds great plugged into a speaker if you want to show pals the tracks you've made. A great first synth/drum machine, has given me the confidence to look further into synth music and likely will buy another PO or other synth soon.

I have wanted a chiptune trinket for a very, very long time. And along comes Teenage Engineering with a premade, cost effective bleep-blooper. I am in love; from the minimalist and simple packaging allthe way through the grit sweeps and the FX... love it! It's playable in minutes, very easy to learn. The built in speaker is limited, but decent and connecting it to my speaker system reveals a shocking level of depth. For such a tiny thing, the sound is huge! Next up, the PO-137 😎

This is hard to post as the product itself is definitely worth getting and fun to use but I had to return my PO-20 as there was a manufacturing issue and the unit didn't function properly. A real shame as I was looking forward to using it but it just became too frustrating to try and use a faulty product.

This is a basic loop device with 16 stored sounds that cannot be replaced. That said it fits in your pocket and I take it everywhere - it's really addictive. It is not easy to use straight out of the box, get ready for loads of frustration as you master creating your loops, but imagine somebody giving you a piano... The instructions tell you how it works, but it's going to be a while before you play your first few bars. I will definitely be buying other Pocket Operators, just might have to save up first as they are expensive. You could get an app for ur phone that works just as well, if not better, and I have had many of them but I would still rather use the PO. It's hard to explain, almost like reading real books vs e books.

Nice lil machine you can spend hours playing with, for easily making arcade game style themes. Reccomended for some fun on the sofa or taking on trips. I'm not giving it 5 stars because the instructions booklet is a bit scarce, and because it could include a protective case.

I fell in love with the Arcade in seconds, the chip-tune beats hit me right in the nostalgias. Everything works flawlessly and you can start programming in your own tunes right away, the learning curve isn't too high and it will be a long time before you get bored messing around with the different parameters. The chord function is awesome and it affects some of the other 'notes' depending on the patterns played. I'll be buying another PO without hesitation. I bought a case at the same time, it's not necessary but it is a nice touch, if a little pricey.

Pas du tout dans l'univers du son je me régale a faire des bidouilles inutiles et me satisfait du pierre résultat. Il y a un côté régressif et très galvanisant a pianoter sur les touches qui changent de couleur et l'écran qui se met à jour. Je n'en ferais probablement rien de plus mais ça reste un régal a utiliser.

Great little musical toy. Hours of fun

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.

This is actually the coolest thing ever. I have not put it down since receiving it. Easy to learn and very addictive. My only concern is the lack of casing. It’s literally just a chip board with a screen and buttons/knobs. Time will tell if this is an issue, until that point this pretty much a perfect little device.

Ich mache sehr selten positive Rezensionen, aber das Gerät ist es wert. Zwar braucht man auch hier ein Stündchen um sich einzuarbeiten, lohnen tut es sich auf jeden Fall. In Kombination mit den anderen Pocket Operators kann man noch viel mehr Tiefe erreichen, und ein Effektgerät a la NTS-1 bringt auch noch einiges, der Arcade kann aber als Einzelgerät selber schon so viel, dass er sich als Musikgerät mit Kopfhörern in der Bahn bestens eignet. Auch 5 Sterne an das Musikhaus Korn, die waren schnell und freundlich beim Umgang mit einer Rücksendung.