Teenage Engineering Pocket operator modular system

You, me, Brad any anyone else who has used :banana: :rofl:

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Super basic, but you gotta give them credit for the industrial design and marketing. Really next level coolness factors outta roof!

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Agreed. I kind of want one just for how it looks! Lot of YouTube era humans will cop one of theseā€¦

I love this, I think its looks beautiful and is a great intro into modularā€¦
I think its simplicity is also part of its beauty.

I also donā€™t think the fixed case/layout with lack of expansion is an issue for a starter kit.
BUT I think TE should have a plan/solution for how users can then upgrade/expand this, by providing Eurorack faceplate/power (upgrade) kits , and possibly an affordable eurorack case.
its doesnā€™t feel very modular, if you cannot switch out/expand your system, and it feels like that ability is something TE should be providingā€¦ rather than just DIY :slight_smile:

however, its early days for TE, I suspect they have this planned (when they start selling individual modules), and Im sure they are currently in a phase of ā€˜testing the watersā€™, and do not want to promise things too early.

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Exactly this. The Samurai approach :wink:

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Feels to me more like the ā€˜buying almost exactly the same instrument over and over again for eternityā€™ approach :wink:

If this didnā€™t look the way it does and was just the same basic Lfo/osc/filter/env/vca, made by behringer in a Euro case I have a feeling most people would be totally underwhelmed except for the price. Samurai chops or not :wink:

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humans of peak consumerism :thinking:

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if you look closer it seems they are using 4 trs jacks. so the module does 3 cv outputs, one gate, and you can choose between midi in/out or clock/trigger in/ out at eurorack or po level. this way the opz becomes an attractive modular sequencer. curious about the pricing: my guess is something like 80 to 100 bucks. I wish they will do some sort of sampling module with audio in next.

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Or the realisation that after years of using different gear you know what you like?

Donā€™t get me wrong lots of exciting modules exist now more than at any point before, choice is great, at one point I had 27u of euro but now I prefer the focus that comes from simplicity and appreciate low level approach more than the new shiny. Personal preference and whatever works best for the individual, your point about Behringer is probably true to a certain extent, but I think they would still sell anyway.

I donā€™t for one second consider the TE offering as particularly exciting on its specifications alone, indeed I could immediately identify shortcomings in the individual modules basic functionality, for example single wave shape oscillators with no waveform articulation such as PWM, folding or shaping, limited amount of modulation inputs on all of the modules, and so on. One could view this simply as reduced functionality - which of course it is, but it is also as an opportunity to explore and overcome the limitations of a system. In just the same way that a fully featured all bells and whistles eurorack system is extremely limited compared to say a Kronos or DAW, point being the limitations are there for the user to choose or not. I donā€™t expect everyone to view it like this, but thatā€™s fine.

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Both beautiful, both useful, some overlap, I like both, in some cases one is infinitely more useful than the other though, and vice versa.

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But only one is usefull for Opening a can of soup vs chopping up a Zombie. The person behind this has to choose what He wants to do and Pick the Tool that works best for him.

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I know not as cute but this : https://dubreq.com/genr8/ seem to be a better alternative for less money.

I dont know at first i was wow but for 500$ you get a basic mono synth + step sequencer , thats all.
Unless it sounds FANTASTIC im just a little perplex.

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Tangible Waves AE Modular is also a serious alternative for less money, and with modules that are more functional, and cheaperā€¦ (20-30 euro/module) , and most importantly the system is a proper modular, you can add/remove/swap modules, buy additional cases etc.

whats more Robert has been adding new modules and refining existing modules at a really great pace to dateā€¦ and there is a thriving community behind it all.
(oh and DIY is easy for it too :wink: )

downsides?

its not eurorack - BUT even the starter system has 2 CV IO for connectivity, and you can buy 4IO modules to add more if needed. (though I personally like to have my Eurorack and AE system quite separate)

patchwires are smaller/fiddly
but in my experience(had since KS) these have been perfectly useable and durable, no real issues, and Robert has now improved sockets and patchwires to address concerns.
definitely worth the trade off in my experience.
(oh, and nice not to spend so many $$$ on patch cables :wink: )

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Yeah that sounds/looks like a pretty cool little unit. Thanks for heads up.

Yeah that looks dope, personally Iā€™d quite like a small(er) format system like this to become another standard, Iā€™ve used pin header devices for a while and never had problems with them, and it is not like any such issue would be difficult or expensive to repair.

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But i have to say TE design is superb !

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you could only get about 2 2hp modules and a case for the price of a whole 400 system. It really is a great deal.

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Ahh yea, now I gets it

OPZ + 400 System PO =

not bad

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I hope they make a 2hp case with battery/speaker for people who want to try a fully customizable experience on there stuff, and 2hp face plates.

It all looks beautiful but nobody seems to see the big design fail when using batteries with the 2 smaller units. Reading the manual and build process it seems that you always need to reopen your casing to take the batteries out! With the 400 you can just access them without opening the whole case. Anyway reading further it seems to me a basic modular synth, also you canā€™t just connect with other gear because you need to attenuate voltage. It seems pretty flimsy just like how Lego is but hey what you want for this money! GAS is tempered and Soma pulsar 23 stays on top of the 2019 list :grinning: