Teenage Engineeringpocket operator PO-28 robot, live synthesizer and sequencer, with parameter locks, glide control and punch-in effects

The PO-28 Robot is the lead guitarist among the Pocket Operator lineup. Its specialty is providing lead synthesizer over the top of the other units, although it is fully capable in its own right.What you get:Lo-fi lead synth goodness. Playing the 16 keys and twisting the knobs will get you the lo-fi equivalent of everything from a haunting guitar to soaring synth and bleep-bloop chiptune leads. Although 16 keys isn't a lot, the unit does let you tune up and down a decent amount to get some range. Great for simple live play.A fully-functional sequencer. The 16-step sequencer also makes use of the 16th sound key which provides 16 different drum sounds. Use some of the low synth lines for bass, the drum key for drums, and then rock out your lead with the high instruments. That's full song capability, onboard. Super cool, and so fun for freeform play.Song play. The sequencer can remember up to 128 patterns in sequence. At 80bpm, that's 6.4 minutes of recorded patterns. You can then use the FM and live play to jam over top of that. You can also punch in more patterns or sets of patterns on the fly, meaning you have almost unlimited play options within the confines of the unit.Connects to other POs. Since this is mostly a lead synth, you may want to immediately connect it to the PO-12 Rhythm or PO-32 Tonic which are more fully-featured drum machines. This will let you control the drum separate from lead, making for more complex song ideas. You can also add a PO-14 Sub for basslines, a PO-33 for samples, or a PO-35 speak for voice/vocoder samples. Or how about a PO-20 for more lo-fi 8-bit arcade sounds? So many options! The POs share clock using a simple stereo ("aux") cable, and the audio will be output by the final unit in the chain.The only downside:Teenage Engineering responded to the fact that at high volume the PO-1X series had distorted sound by lowering the volume on the PO-2X series. You will therefore want to look up some guides people have made for chaining the units- you may for instance want the volume on the Robot maxed out while your rhythm machine is set down to maybe half volume. It's a small oddity, and takes moments to fix. But the Robot is very quiet in use, you really need headphones to enjoy it in anything but a silent room.Overall:Love this thing. It's like the rest of the Pocket Operator line are an 80s electronic band and the Robot is the lead guitarist stepping onstage with a keytar. You can really make some rocking lead parts with this unit, as it has more options to fade in sound creating the sort of haunting guitar/synth sound that layers so well on top of the lo-fi drums and bass from the other units. This is a big recommendation for anyone who already owns another Pocket Operator- take your gigs to the next level.If you can only afford one:While the Robot is great, it's meant to sit alongside other units. The most complete unit for a kid to play with, or for an aspiring musician, is the PO-20 Arcade. The Arcade hits the best balance of rhythm and lead so you can make songs on the train. The other big recommendation is that the PO-32 Tonic, which has integration to the Microtonic software meaning professional music producers adore its added flexibility.

When using DAWs like Fruity Loops or Ableton, it's easy to get overwhelmed with options. Once you figure out the initially intimidating interface of the Pocket Operator (youtube videos were / continue to be a lifesaver!), it becomes a great tool to help you concentrate your energies and focus on creating rather than choosing. The PO-28 specifically can work well as a standalone device, coming with a rather capable mini drum-machine along with a myriad of digital instruments to play around with. The display shows a love story between two robots in a factory, which is, if you'll excuse me, absolutely one of the cutest things ever, making the synthesizer even more fun to use. Throw in the fact that it's only $60 and, well, wow. You'd be hard pressed to find a synth basically anywhere for that price. This little guy is perfect for playing around with on the bus and prototyping new ideas, as well as recording your own arcadey, synthy, lo-fi beats and melodies. I'd recommend PO-28 to anyone I know who's a creative type and into music, especially with such a low cost of entry.

Wonderful toy, has some utility for music production but not much. I love using the Po-28 for coming up with ideas. it's extremely easy to use and understand. Minimalism is the name of the game here, and in that, Teenage Engineering pulled it off perfectly. The presets included with the PO-28 are all very fun to listen to and play around with. I love how portable this item is as well, I can bring it with me on the bus and kill twenty minutes. I just plug in my headphones and start jamming. if plugged into a speaker, the sound can become surprisingly loud. for 60$ this thing is a steal. I highly recommend grabbing one if you're remotely interested in it.

Not as intuitive as I'd hoped (each button has multiple functions and can become confusing), but it's fun to mess around with.

I've had this just 1 day and am already thrilled. I carry around a Korg Monotron and play little tunes when I have free time but this is better in that it has a built-in sequencer. But what really makes it useful is that you can chain sequences together. So you can create a wonderfully variable chain. I play guitar also so am able to use this to accompany myself on guitar. I wish it could change key but I can work with Am/C just fine.I have a collection of small synths and will see which works best with this one. I bought the Robot as it can also do lead lines but right away see that is not an important feature as the buttons are hard to play compared to a small keyboard as with a Volca. So with the PO-14 and maybe a Volca Bass and a decent amp, I can have a very cool tiny rig. So far I have not been able to figure everything out about this cool tiny synth but I just got it yesterday. Plenty more fun I can see. The sequencer alone makes this synth worth the money, though for what I use it for, I may have to get the PO-14 Submarine bass synth as well.

Device is a fun and exciting gift for aspiring musicians. I bought this as a gift for the musician in my life, and he is quite excited and delighted by this synthesizer. It is easy to use out of the box. If you buy the cover kit, the hanging tab is easy to snap off the device. With some practice and some review with the expanded instruction manual on the product website and other related sites, one can quickly move into advanced modes and make some fun and quirky tracks. This is a terrific 8 bit synth which any one can master.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my girl friend's son (seventeen years old). She bought him a different model as these things can be linked together to produce more complex compositions. He was very happy with it and frequently plays around with musical ideas on them. Maybe one day he'll let me try it out.

The concept for this device is cool. It seems harder to program than necessary. I will keep working with it. Maybe I can make progress. Higher stars if it was a little easier to figure out.