A criticism that's often levelled at Teenage Engineering is that their products are very, very expensive. It’s not one the Swedish synth company can easily refute, yet their flagship devices, including the OP-1 Field remain hugely coveted by everyone from engineers to hobbyists and pro musicians.
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators at Ten
One part of the TE stable has remained resolutely accessible, however. We’re talking about the Pocket Operator range, a ground-breaking collection of pocketable synths, samplers and beat-making devices that have earned themselves a cult status since going on sale exactly a decade ago.
To celebrate ten years of the PO range, Teenage Engineering have created an exclusive Anniversary microsite and brought the price of one of the models that started it all, PO-12 rhythm, down to just $49.
The series began back in 2015 with the introduction of the PO-10 at NAMM, a $59 assemblage of components that celebrated simplicity to keep costs down and workflow fluid. Featuring just a bare circuit board, and LCD screen and a few knobs to tweak parameters, the device was an instant hit.
The PO range has followed TE's passion for limited editions
Inspiration came from lo-fi synth design with displays building on the graphical simplicity of early pocket LCD screen games, in particular Nintendo’s Game & Watch series, overseen by designer Gunpei Yokoi (who also had a hand in the company’s Gameboy), starting with Ball in 1980.
Pocket Operator PO-10 series: PO-12 rhythm, PO-14 sub, PO-16 factory
Pocket Operator PO-20 series: PO-20 arcade, PO-24 office, PO-28 robot
Pocket Operator PO-30 series: PO-32 tonic, PO-33 K.O!, PO-35 speak
The low power LCD screen and instant accessibility of the PO-10, with its built-in speaker and crunchy sound, was intriguing and inspiring. More POs followed, with TE leaning into the idea of creating a portable pocket studio thanks to a unique connectivity system that allows the units to be synced together.
Pocket Operator Ultimate Punch set
Pocket Operator Ultimate Cocktail set
Throw in TE’s trademark mastery of graphics and packaging, along with a few limited editions that played into the PO’s lo-fi, granular, chiptune audio aesthetic, and the company found itself a winner. Nearly a million have been sold to date and the series shows no sign of going anywhere.
The anniversary celebrations don’t just include the price drop, but a site stuffed full of historical footage, information about development and prototypes that didn’t make it, along with a competition for aspiring Pocket Operator experts and a curated selection of jams, beats and experiments created by the burgeoning and loyal community.
The full Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator range
The winner of the new #PO10DIY contest – awarded to the participant who comes up with the most creative idea for the series, whether it be music, performance, designs, accessories or videos, will get themselves a complete set of the Pocket Operator range. The runner up will get the cult Teenage Engineering PO-80 Record Factory.
The Pocket Operator silicon pro case range
There's still plenty of life left in this most basic of musical building blocks. If the bare circuitry isn’t your bag, TE also has a range of coloured silicon cases. With even the costliest Pocket Operator still coming in at under $100, the range shows no sign of losing its cult lustre and collectability.
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