This pocket sized, battery powered synth machine made by Teenage Engineering and Cheap Monday makes making electronic music not only easier, but far cheaper. Priced at only £50 this Sweedish company has developed something very exciting. These pocket sized synths are literally the size of a calculator and can easily fit into your pockets.

The synths come in 3 different designs Rhythm (PO-12), which is a drum synth. Sub which is a baseline synth (PO-14). And Factory which is a melody synth machine (PO-16). Despite its minimalist design each has 16 punch in effects including delay, bit crusher, and filters. Every machine has 16 different sounds. To make things even easier for the user they have also included some tutorial videos just to eliminate any confusion which can be viewed HERE.

The miniature machine also features a LCD animated display screen that keeps in time with the rhythm. It runs on AAA batteries making it extremely low cost to run. By placing all vital and sensitive tech safely under the LCD screen it eliminates the need for a protective outer shell. This production cost reduction method allowed the money saved to be put back into ensuring the highest quality components are used to guarantee the best possible sound.

Music tech mag gave it an overall 9/10. Along with awards for both value and innovation. We would highly recommend this for any young producer looking to get into making music on a budget. You can also find a video of Scotland’s very own Clouds giving the PO-12 a test run and showing it full capabilities on their Facebook page.