Seems a lot of people really dislike these because they fail to understand what they're setting out to do. Whether the sounds are useful to you or not is up to what you're trying to achieve musically. They're just fun little blip boxes guys, come on. Quit acting like they're trying to be a substitute for the Roland TR-606 and TB-303 chain, because they aren't.
+Landon Balk Every time there is a crappy piece of music gear, someone always comes in to say that it isn't bad, as it has some musical usage. Most reviews of music gear are almost always positive, even when the product is highly disappointing. Like wtf is negativity not an option in this industry or something?! Everyone of these little blip boxes are 70€ on the official site and if you want these to not look ugly as damn there is that 40€ "pro" case. For the majority of people, these are a waste of money and time and sorry, but that kinda just means they suck. But yeah sure they do have a very limited usage(unless something is broken you can probably make music with it, so this doesn't mean much at all), but that doesn't make them worth the money or good.
2 Y adapters and a cheap Behringer 4-channel mono mixer will set you back $60 and you fix the sound passthrough issue and get mixing. It is a flaw, but not a fatal one. I think I'd want to have the isolated audio anyway, since these are going to sound best with some basic effects anyway. I might pick up the factory or sub. At the price point, I always think "Will I get *one* good song out of this gear for every $50 I spend?" and that is how I judge the value. They are obviously very limited, but I could see myself returning repeatedly to get some thick lofi digital grunch, and get several songs out of them. I definitely would not expect to make full tracks with only Pocket Operators, since this sound isn't really my thing, but a lead or a bassline once in a while would be fine. Also, performing with one of these would be awesome. You could really blow an audience's mind by playing what looks like a dissected calculator.
Thank you very much mr, for this brilliant review!I can see you're a man that has quite the amount of hands-on on these little devices, and mixed with a vreat presentation, you basically covered almost all questions I never knew I had of this device!
I kind of like those Pocket Operators. They are fun to play around with and create quite some quirky stuff. The real fun came to me when I started to add external effects to them. Like delay, echo, and various of modulation effects. Especially when combining them in drum-tracks to add some spice here and there. So yeah, I know exactly what I got, even if the sounds themself are quite "op-ish" they can be used to make quite some cool things. Just don't be afraid to experiment and as mentioned before. Don't compare them with huge synths, because there's a reason why they are called "Pocket Operators", right? :) Anyhow, have yourself a nice creative day!
What happens if I use my loop station as input for this guy, looping basslines and a guitar riff here or there and making the msound crazy with one of these synths?
That is so odd, by themselves they are funky gadgets that are a great source for odd sounds and sampling but together they just don't work that well, this whole sound passing through is a bummer.
there is a way to boost the levels of all the pocket operators way high up... hold the pattern button and activate all the first 8 steps on the keypad.
I think the PO-12 sounds really good and has a lot more punch than the Volca Beats.Combined with the real time tweaking possibilities through the encoders and the efx i think it makes a nice little drum machine.I also think the Sub has some nice sounds and lots of bottom end.
3 years later and it's all about you Gaz, these are toys and fun but if you are like me and can't afford to waste money, these are just fun to watch errr, I mean you playing with them is fun to watch haha. I have no desire to own any of these. The only one I would consider is the new PO 33K.O! for 2018. One thing I don't get in your little setup here is why the drums is not the master clock, why did you put the bass as the master clicktrack? Is it a limitation with the way the audio is filtered thru these toys?
with all these plus the volcas I would seriously invest in audio minijack splitters (the ones for walkmans 2 in / 1 ou) if I owned a music gear shop ..... I mean I had to go long way to find some and they do help with all these mini jack outputs rocking 3 or 4 volcas and a army of Pocket Operators , you put two of these into one and got 4 inputs on one outputs !
was gonna pull the purchase-trigger on these but I think the biggest downfall of these cool little gadgets is that they will crumble accidentally from my fat-fingered forcefulness...great review tho, Gaz..I admire your enthusiastic approach to the reviews!
I heard Nick asking you if you sent the pocket operators back Gaz. Send them your socks back mate, you alone will have sold a few thousand ! Lots of love mate x
Those people that just rushed out to buy them straight away, I wouldn't want to be them. I was excited about the PO12 but even at this price I wouldn't look at them. Each to their own tho
I just ordered the trio for myself. They do come across as a bit toy like, but their functionality and work flow look to be a blast. Once I found you can sync them with the Volcas I was sold. MIDI into the volca, sync through the POs and you'll have the ability to sync it with a DAW [if your interface has a MIDI out]. I cant wait to get my hands on them their potential grittiness is extremely appealing to me, what a perfect gang to bring to work.
I ended up buying a mini male TRS to 2 female splitter. So I have one line running the sync track, and the other broken off for audio. I have the three of those audio going into a 4 channel Behringer MX400 micro mixer. This gives me the ability to mix the POs and have them hit a single 1/4" output to either hit an interface, or a keyboard amp. I'm sure there are several other ways to connect and sync them but this was the most appealing to me. If you are just going one to one to one, then a single interface input would work. If you wanted to split them you could do what I did, or use 3 inputs on the interface
Hi there, nice tutorial! How to set up the VOLCA? i am not so into it, if i connect the volca, the PO´s just start to run, because the VOLCA is sending the CLIC al the time, if it´s in PLAY mode or STOP mode... any idea how to set up the VOLCA, that it will give the CLICK out only in PLAY_MODE? i testet some VOLCAs and i can not find anything in the manual? THANX
I am pretty sure it's going to be all those plastic controllers for software that gets outdated and incompatible within 2 years that's going to be in the landfill.
What are Teenage Engineering thinking? I was going to throw every expletive into condemning these devices, but the mob has already said it before me :) I can't decide if I'm more outraged at the sewing machine or the sub.
Hahaha! Gaz is having fun! :] Look at you putting the Bass unit first in line, figures :P Really cool to see how they work with the Volca√ I guess these, for me... will be the same as the OP 1, interesting, inspired... but not practical. $298? I'd just save the extra $151 & buy a MiniBrute SE... or the $201 it would cost me for a Bass Station II. Thanks for the review, you've saved my ( perpetually empty ) wallet :]
still find it funny that people whine on about a £50 unit, calm down, its what you do with it not what it sounds like lol these sounds are some your heroes were using 20 years ago lol ohh its not a dave smith lol
It's £70 without a case. £100 with. It's a cool toy for people with money to waste. A few of them linked starts to get interesting, but that's a few hundred pounds and you've still got a mono sound...
Yes, and if your pour petrol over them and set fire to them they just burn and melt. Why are you just being SO negative about a cheap and fun musical device? You always just concentrate on what things CAN'T do rather than what they CAN do. It's simply very sophisticated for the price and size. SO stop treating it like some high end synth that costs hundreds or thousands times more. This is just such an unfair review and you really need to take your head from so far up your own arse occasionally.
UTTER BOLLOCKS - a TRUE musician can PLAY a musical instrument, read music and maybe even compose. These are faddy dumbed down SHITE and you know it, but no doubt too embarrassed to admit to be defending the indefensible.. Go waste oxygen somewhere else,however you'll probably try & fail at some weak response.
They look fun but as you say when you have all 3 they start to get too close to the price of something serious. I've ordered a Rhythm to make a few fun beats and see how I like the pattern making process. I would have got the Factory instead but with no chromatic support there's no point as you can't make proper tunes comfortably.
Seems a lot of people really dislike these because they fail to understand what they're setting out to do. Whether the sounds are useful to you or not is up to what you're trying to achieve musically. They're just fun little blip boxes guys, come on. Quit acting like they're trying to be a substitute for the Roland TR-606 and TB-303 chain, because they aren't.
+Landon Balk Every time there is a crappy piece of music gear, someone always comes in to say that it isn't bad, as it has some musical usage. Most reviews of music gear are almost always positive, even when the product is highly disappointing. Like wtf is negativity not an option in this industry or something?! Everyone of these little blip boxes are 70€ on the official site and if you want these to not look ugly as damn there is that 40€ "pro" case. For the majority of people, these are a waste of money and time and sorry, but that kinda just means they suck.
But yeah sure they do have a very limited usage(unless something is broken you can probably make music with it, so this doesn't mean much at all), but that doesn't make them worth the money or good.
+PolarTrance Sounding like a casual
@@PolarTrance I love my pocket operators.... sucker
Gaz you are far more entertaining than the pocket operators. I can't see myself ever buying one of these but I've still watched the whole series!
it was fun watching, thats all.
who cares.. they're so cheap. Hell more useful than a monotron
I have very little interest in purchasing these either, I just love listening to Gaz describe things.. It brings me joy..
2 Y adapters and a cheap Behringer 4-channel mono mixer will set you back $60 and you fix the sound passthrough issue and get mixing. It is a flaw, but not a fatal one. I think I'd want to have the isolated audio anyway, since these are going to sound best with some basic effects anyway.
I might pick up the factory or sub. At the price point, I always think "Will I get *one* good song out of this gear for every $50 I spend?" and that is how I judge the value. They are obviously very limited, but I could see myself returning repeatedly to get some thick lofi digital grunch, and get several songs out of them. I definitely would not expect to make full tracks with only Pocket Operators, since this sound isn't really my thing, but a lead or a bassline once in a while would be fine.
Also, performing with one of these would be awesome. You could really blow an audience's mind by playing what looks like a dissected calculator.
Yep. I feel the same way.
Hey Gaz, we bumped into each other outside the shop in Easton. Was a pleasure chatting to you, you are a gent.
Thank you very much mr, for this brilliant review!I can see you're a man that has quite the amount of hands-on on these little devices, and mixed with a vreat presentation, you basically covered almost all questions I never knew I had of this device!
I kind of like those Pocket Operators. They are fun to play around with and create quite some quirky stuff. The real fun came to me when I started to add external effects to them. Like delay, echo, and various of modulation effects. Especially when combining them in drum-tracks to add some spice here and there. So yeah, I know exactly what I got, even if the sounds themself are quite "op-ish" they can be used to make quite some cool things. Just don't be afraid to experiment and as mentioned before. Don't compare them with huge synths, because there's a reason why they are called "Pocket Operators", right? :)
Anyhow, have yourself a nice creative day!
What happens if I use my loop station as input for this guy, looping basslines and a guitar riff here or there and making the msound crazy with one of these synths?
That is so odd, by themselves they are funky gadgets that are a great source for odd sounds and sampling but together they just don't work that well, this whole sound passing through is a bummer.
there is a way to boost the levels of all the pocket operators way high up...
hold the pattern button and activate all the first 8 steps on the keypad.
gaz that intro was bad ass.....i want them now hahah
Thank you Gaz! You are a star
Well that was a fun week! Thanks Gaz and Nick.
I think the PO-12 sounds really good and has a lot more punch than the Volca Beats.Combined with the real time tweaking possibilities through the encoders and the efx i think it makes a nice little drum machine.I also think the Sub has some nice sounds and lots of bottom end.
3 years later and it's all about you Gaz, these are toys and fun but if you are like me and can't afford to waste money, these are just fun to watch errr, I mean you playing with them is fun to watch haha. I have no desire to own any of these. The only one I would consider is the new PO 33K.O! for 2018. One thing I don't get in your little setup here is why the drums is not the master clock, why did you put the bass as the master clicktrack? Is it a limitation with the way the audio is filtered thru these toys?
with all these plus the volcas I would seriously invest in audio minijack splitters (the ones for walkmans 2 in / 1 ou) if I owned a music gear shop ..... I mean I had to go long way to find some and they do help with all these mini jack outputs rocking 3 or 4 volcas and a army of Pocket Operators , you put two of these into one and got 4 inputs on one outputs !
Pfffft, $70? I'ma pick up the SUB PO14. Looks like a fun toy to bang out ideas with at least.
was gonna pull the purchase-trigger on these but I think the biggest downfall of these cool little gadgets is that they will crumble accidentally from my fat-fingered forcefulness...great review tho, Gaz..I admire your enthusiastic approach to the reviews!
I heard Nick asking you if you sent the pocket operators back Gaz. Send them your socks back mate, you alone will have sold a few thousand ! Lots of love mate x
Whoa! Here we go!
Those people that just rushed out to buy them straight away, I wouldn't want to be them. I was excited about the PO12 but even at this price I wouldn't look at them. Each to their own tho
Awesome mix!
Gaz: Funniest dude in music tech reviews
why the heck don't these have a plastic case? it would add barely anything to production cost.
The cases are an extra £30
I just ordered the trio for myself. They do come across as a bit toy like, but their functionality and work flow look to be a blast. Once I found you can sync them with the Volcas I was sold. MIDI into the volca, sync through the POs and you'll have the ability to sync it with a DAW [if your interface has a MIDI out]. I cant wait to get my hands on them their potential grittiness is extremely appealing to me, what a perfect gang to bring to work.
I ended up buying a mini male TRS to 2 female splitter. So I have one line running the sync track, and the other broken off for audio. I have the three of those audio going into a 4 channel Behringer MX400 micro mixer. This gives me the ability to mix the POs and have them hit a single 1/4" output to either hit an interface, or a keyboard amp. I'm sure there are several other ways to connect and sync them but this was the most appealing to me.
If you are just going one to one to one, then a single interface input would work. If you wanted to split them you could do what I did, or use 3 inputs on the interface
I bought these a couple of days ago, they're fun but I should've just waited to get the op1 .-.
that first pattern had me in the groove !
Holy shit Gaz these demos bra
Hi there, nice tutorial!
How to set up the VOLCA? i am not so into it, if i connect the volca, the PO´s just start to run, because the VOLCA is sending the CLIC al the time, if it´s in PLAY mode or STOP mode... any idea how to set up the VOLCA, that it will give the CLICK out only in PLAY_MODE? i testet some VOLCAs and i can not find anything in the manual? THANX
For $50 (US), these are great. I don't think they're made to be super serious, they're more for a bit of fun.
to mute the middle one can't you just press stop on it ?
These will all be in a landfill in 10 years. Just joking, Gaz you are great!
I'm sure someone would give them a good home
I am pretty sure it's going to be all those plastic controllers for software that gets outdated and incompatible within 2 years that's going to be in the landfill.
Here we go!!!!!
thaks for a great review
What are Teenage Engineering thinking? I was going to throw every expletive into condemning these devices, but the mob has already said it before me :)
I can't decide if I'm more outraged at the sewing machine or the sub.
PO-14 and PO-16 don't have swing anyways.
+AA Battery ahha
what a pain to have to deal with that. drive you mad.
I'm glad I decided to just pick one up. haters gonna hate.
Enjoy your toy
Hahaha!
Gaz is having fun! :]
Look at you putting the Bass unit first in line, figures :P
Really cool to see how they work with the Volca√
I guess these, for me... will be the same as the OP 1, interesting, inspired... but not practical. $298? I'd just save the extra $151 & buy a MiniBrute SE... or the $201 it would cost me for a Bass Station II.
Thanks for the review, you've saved my ( perpetually empty ) wallet :]
still find it funny that people whine on about a £50 unit, calm down, its what you do with it not what it sounds like lol these sounds are some your heroes were using 20 years ago lol ohh its not a dave smith lol
It's £70 without a case. £100 with. It's a cool toy for people with money to waste. A few of them linked starts to get interesting, but that's a few hundred pounds and you've still got a mono sound...
I like them! I Have the arcade and sub. Pricing is good not like the op1. I think the op one is really overpriced. But cheers TE
thnx. for the review. not into them anymore.
yep, same here
so you need all 3 for it to work? not feeling it
SO RAD!!!
where are all these greasy strange presenters come from. Sweden? or what??? very strange guys.
Love Gaz... but not these toys. Keep it up Gaz!
hm . . . for less than the price of these 3 you can get Logic Pro X - all of it!
Gaz.... you are amazing! But the pocket toy's are just that... toy's.
Yes, and if your pour petrol over them and set fire to them they just burn and melt. Why are you just being SO negative about a cheap and fun musical device? You always just concentrate on what things CAN'T do rather than what they CAN do. It's simply very sophisticated for the price and size. SO stop treating it like some high end synth that costs hundreds or thousands times more. This is just such an unfair review and you really need to take your head from so far up your own arse occasionally.
What the hell was that crap. Put your childhood toys away and save your money for some real instruments. Grow up boy's.
What a crap way to make 'music'
UTTER BOLLOCKS - a TRUE musician can PLAY a musical instrument, read music and maybe even compose.
These are faddy dumbed down SHITE and you know it, but no doubt too embarrassed to admit to be defending the indefensible.. Go waste oxygen somewhere else,however you'll probably try & fail at some weak response.
Phased Spaces back to the present...
They look fun but as you say when you have all 3 they start to get too close to the price of something serious. I've ordered a Rhythm to make a few fun beats and see how I like the pattern making process. I would have got the Factory instead but with no chromatic support there's no point as you can't make proper tunes comfortably.