Cut your own grooves with Teenage Engineering PO-80

(Image credit: Teenage Engineering)

published 30 September 2022

Teenage Engineering has a sense of humour. Whilst it is best known for quirky and sophisticated, albeit pricey, audio gear for studio professionals (see the OP-1 Field compact synthesiser), many of the company’s other products embrace a more playful approach to audio. The OB-4 speaker, for example, with its inbuilt digital ‘tape’ loop, or the Pocket Operator music machines, which take their design language from early Nintendo consoles.

Packaging for Teenage Engineering PO-80 Record Factory — The packaging for Teenage Engineering's PO-80, along with its important consumables.

They all share a passionate and meticulous approach to packaging, product and interface design. The company’s latest device is the PO-80 Record Factory, developed in collaboration with artist Yuri Suzuki.

As its name suggests, the Record Factory is a one-stop shop for personalised vinyl creation. Although the colourful player also functions as a (deliberately low-fi) record deck, simply pop-on one of Teenage Engineering’s custom 5in discs and the multifunctional needle will cut the input from the 3.5in audio jack onto its surface.

Music turntable used for cutting vinyl records — The Teenage Engineering PO-80 in all its low-fi glory.

This is vinyl creation at its purest and most immediate. The opportunities for musicians to cut live copies of loops and riffs is endless, with the pop, crackle and buzz of the audio playback baked in for a warm, fuzzy listening experience.

With vinyl on a shallow but steady comeback curve, what better than a device that you can use to cut your own record to sample from?

Bag — Teenage Engineering PO-80 has its own carrying bag.

Nearly all Teenage Engineering products can be doubled up and used together, and PO-80 is no exception. Compose a track on a Pocket Operator, then cue up a fresh disc and cut yourself a record in an edition of one: instant digital-to-analogue conversion.

Suzuki, recently appointed a partner at Pentagram, and best known for his installations and objects that blend audio and art to create new experiences, has helped usher in a plaything for the modern age. Resembling a barely grown-up version of Fisher-Price’s classic Music Box, the PO-80 is both toy and tool.

Connected musical devices including a turntable cutting a record — Teenage Engineering PO-80 (Pocket Operator not included).

INFORMATION

Teenage Engineering PO-80, £149

teenage.engineering

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.

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