Review Synthesizers Teenage Engineering PO-20 arcade. Where to buy it?

I purchased the PO-20 just after purchasing the PO-12 Rhythm, even though I have not tried all (many) associated with Pocket Operators, I felt like those two were the initial that I should possess.
The PO-20 Arcade is a treasure trove of 80’s nerd nostalgia along side a rich combination of rhythm, bass-line, lead, chord, and drone opportunities which make this the sort of device you may make some pretty interesting loops with only just a little experimentation.
As I’ve noticed on my other device, these Pocket Operators are incredibly delicate (and, ergo, not "pocket"-friendly – please protect them!), but for only EUR 60 or more they pack amazing functionality and endless fun into a tremendously affordable package.
The PO-20 Arcade really sticks out in this line-up as a result of number of exactly what it will. At first, it would be very easy to assume it is a niche item for movie or chiptune game-style bleeps and bloops. Additionally provides a surprising amount of musical level although it positively has such an emphasis to its sounds. There are 16 "sounds" available, but while about half of these consist of chiptune synth strikes (bass, bass drum, tom, blip, noise, etc.), one other half includes 3 various arpeggios, a vibrato tone, and an tone that is echo/reverberating.
more over, instead of conventional effects (such as for example distortion and filters), the 16 impacts can consist of fills, retriggers, problems, and universal arpeggios that rhythmically and musically change your pattern regarding the fly. It is very difficult to describe how this works in training, other than to state that one can simply take a fairly simple arcade pattern and morph it into something complex and breathtaking just by incorporating a couple of effects.
My favourite features will be the chords and drones. Making use of chords numbered 1-16 ( each true quantity corresponds to a preset chord, like Dm, Em, Esus, E, F, G, C/G, etc.), you’ll program a chord development up to 128 bars in total. It’s a bit of mystery if you ask me what this really does, except that it will modify that pattern to match the chord structure if you plan a chord sequence over a pattern with different sounds. Even cooler, it will introduce a sustained "drone" chord matching the chord progression you programmed if you support the chord key and twist the "A" (left) knob. This can be further tweaked to range between fixed chords, to swells, and stutters which are glitch-style. All this is BPM synced to your tempo you set for the song, in order to produce loops and even longer progressions and songs that noise like finished products.
the one thing I like about the Arcade that is PO-20 is it presents just the right amount of "hand holding" to permit some body with without any knowledge of music concept to create complex arpeggios and progressions that otherwise would have taken plenty of knowledge and time to generate from scratch. However it performs this without going past an acceptable limit down the trail to be a music toy, or entirely using the control away from the consumer regarding the content being created.

All in all, then PO-20 may indeed never be for you personally if you should be maybe not a fan of chiptune or video game sounds in music. Individually, I find it to be among the better implementations through the pocket Operator line-up that is entire. You would be forgiven for presuming it is a plastic noise effects toy, but with a little work to understand how it works (which I’m nevertheless doing), it proves become a lot more.