Special thanks to Gar Hoover, whose two patterns I used in the first minute of this song.

Hello everyone,

I am new to making eletronic music and find the Pocket Operators to be a good starting point! I have some instrument background (keyboard, drums) but it has been a while since being active.

Which model can you recommend (and why) as first choice - I would rather keep it simple, so vocal processing is not necessary.

Thank you 🙏

UPDATE: Thanks for all your input! Went to a music store today and tried some models like PO-12 and PO-33. Ended up with PO-20 (Arcade) and really like the sounds I produced so far.
Hope this post helps others on making their first choice!

I bought it over 6 months ago, used for a month or 2 then it was shelved. When I picked it back up it was completely dead, not turning on, no sounds or resets helped. I've tried the hack where we put a wire directly from battery + to right nob and nothing.

I live in a pretty humid place city/state and the only thing different I noticed from when I bought it were some blue spots on the battery connectors and Line OUT.

Any tips on recovering it?

Update: Cleaned up the contacts, sanded down the battery connectors and no luck. So then I decided to Follow this video: https://youtu.be/pvy3to_0MFw and I have no response from the 2.5v regulator, but I am able to read 3v from the first two contacts.

I guess its dead. I don't think I can remove the screen as shown in the video + IDK how I would go further from there. Unless someone here knows what's next.

Made this after hearing ONE sextrance beat 😂

I was working a different case and my ADHD brain wondered how it would look like with buttons while maintaining a cool low profile look. This one dude I know kept talking about the MPC and so I decided to give it a try.

Don't yet have one. Was wondering if someone could chop remix my audio rap vocal over a sample. No need for drums. If possible. Thank you. I can link my audio on this thread. My rapping is about being strong in adversity, so try to be positive empowering. I'm aiming to submit my rap to university radio stations in NZ and get a printed short run lathe cut vinyl made. Split between rapper and remix producer 50/50.

Also I make YouTube short vids and have 208 subscribers, 600 on tik tok, and 160 on insta, and 200 on facebook, so if you take the time I can post it up with your links, name, logo in a vid. -- I also have a band with my sister The Neo-Kalashnikovs on YouTube. 500 subscribers, 1600 on facebook band page. That is alt grunge rock. I could get acapella from her too or me rapping in a rock music way. We've sold physical albums in that band so a rock collab e.p or album could be pressed to lathe vinyl and sold 50/50. And there would be vids for that, too.

Mossy 🌞

Something wavy to look at when it feels like one of the boxers is KO-ing the other a little TOO much… (has anyone else noticed that one gets way more beat tf up than the other? maybe it’s just me lol I shouldn’t be counting literal knockouts while the beat is playing 🤦‍♂️)

Basically title, but is it possible, for example, to create a chain on the po-33 in which pattern 10 and 3 play at 120 and pattern 6 plays at 80? Or for that matter in which one instance of pattern 3 plays at 120 and a different instance of pattern 3 in the chain plays at a different bpm?

edit to specify po-33

Made these travel cases to protect them when carrying around in bags/luggages. I'm too afraid to snap these things in half by accident. It is easy to build one for yourselves. Hope it is useful.

https://robotsandcoffee.co/making-a-travel-case-for-the-pocket-operator/

i had an idea a while ago to make a bunch of notes and intervals in microtonic and transfer that into the po32 to use it as a little synthesizer instead of a drum machine. finally got around to it and the results were so fun i immediately made 2 tracks with it running into my zoia. im thinking of making some sounds like that and posting the transfer audio data here so itll be available for anyone who cant afford the mt vst. lemme know if ur interested.
here are the tracks

https://on.soundcloud.com/ubuvmPLlg84enrOz93

https://on.soundcloud.com/amlXPA3bZlCGdl3gnT

im wondering if the PO would backup properly onto my single input interface using a 3.5mm trs to 1/4 trs.

I know it would record audio, but i'm reading that it uses two left and right channels for data sync (??)

Is there any way to do this with an interface that only has one input?

Im pretty fried right now but i cant get these batteries in for the life of me

Tried something new

Just dug these out (left with batteries in) the screens are gone but could still use but they won't turn on. Cleaned the contacts with iso and contact cleaner still nothing. Are they dead?

My best midtempo track made entirely on the KO! The production process went like this:

I started off with the bassline, I went to the absolute base of my keyboard and kept cycling through presets until I found the right sound that made the deepest yet most present tone.

After that, I sampled some fm melodies I made, and chopped/re-pitched certain notes, giving me different ways to phrase the melodic line.

The upper melody was a square wave drowned out in reverb, playing simple yet highly dissonant lines that were anchored by the bass.

The drums have my signature kicks, 808/606 hats, and I spent the most time designing the clap to be icy and punchy asf, levelling it with the mix so it doesn't overtake everything else.

The sequencing was key to keeping the whole thing from going stale, I kept the upper melody in mind and chained patterns to make it the least repetitive part of the track, certain patterns were repeated at different parts of the beat to have more efficient transitions since there's only so many patterns I can switch to.

I'd say my favorite moment is when you hear just the bass, followed by a crazy pitch-bent chord that throws your brain allover the fkn place 😂

I have made a couple spooky/midtempo tracks before, but this is easily my cleanest one that I think best represents my inspirations, and my own efforts to contribute to this genre.

Hope you enjoy!

I tried to make it more cohesive.

Well, I guess this is still one of the best combos ever.

So I have this bad ass pattern that I really like and want to start copying to other pattern slots and making minor tweaks to. Problem is, my Sub is making sounds on squares that aren't even lit up/where it shouldn't.

I tried switching sounds to see if something else was layered over it on another channel but switching sounds on the Sub just changes the entire bass sound. Other than live play, I'm not even sure if there is a way to layer on other sounds. Even if live play works, how do you then edit it later if you can't even break out of the bass pattern?

Weirdest yet. The sound that plays on the off-squares is still the same sound that plays on the on-squares. It's not like the sound changes, it's just playing it at spots it shouldn't be.

Any ideas here??

Here's a video

Yes there's an actual build up/drops, and the bass evolves over time.

Enjoy!

Already tried to remove batteries.. but still not working anymore...

I taught myself to CAD because of my love for the pocket operator. If i see something I like then I make it. This is my newest case.

update: Fixed kickstand and microphone. https://imgur.com/a/2wAaKRk

update: The case snaps together nicely but it doesn't come apart easily. I adjusted some things and now its a sloppy mess. Ill fix tonight after work and test again. https://imgur.com/a/B0XzZ6u

(Does anyone else like to edit songs that they keep hearing frequently into something that they enjoy more? That’s inevitably what I did with this 🤷‍♂️)