PO-20 programmable
arcade
synthesizer
user guide
ガイド
arcade download as PDF
download as PDF
notice. read this first. the product is esd sensitive and is sold without casing.
battery information:

install only new batteries of the same type.

failure to insert batteries in the correct polarity, as indicated in the battery compartment, may shorten the life of the batteries or cause batteries to leak.

do not mix old and new batteries.

do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zink) or rechargeable (nickel cadmium) or (nickel metal hybride) batteries.

do not dispose of batteries in fire.

batteries should be recycled or disposed of as per state and local guidelines.

fcc statement:note: this equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class b digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the fcc rules. these limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. this equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. however, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.; if this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures;

reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

increase the separation between the equipment and receiver

connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

consult the dealer or an experienced radio/tv technician for help.

this device complies with part 15 of the fcc rules. operation is subject to the following conditions;

this device may not cause harmful interference, and

this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

caution: changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void user’s authority to operate the equipment.ices statementcan ices-003 (b) / nmb-3 (b) teenage engineering warrants that this product will be free from defects in material or workmanship for a period of 12 months from the date of teenage engineering’s shipment of the product to you, the customer. in the event of a defect covered by this limited warranty, teenage engineering will, at its option and free of charge to customer, repair, replace or refund the purchase price paid.
TEENAGE ENGINEERING MAKES NO OTHER EXPRESS WARRANTIES EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, AND ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE SHALL ONLY BE IN EFFECT DURING THE 12 MONTH WARRANTY PERIOD PROVIDED HEREUNDER. TEENAGE ENGINEERING'S LIABILITY ON ANY WARRANTY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE ACTUAL PURCHASE PRICE PAID. TEENAGE ENGINEERING SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE TO CUSTOMER OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, REVENUES, SALES, BUSINESS, GOODWILL OR USE.
what does this limited warranty not cover?
teenage engineering has no obligation to repair, replace, or provide refunds in the following instances:

if the alleged defect arises because customer has altered or repaired the product without the prior written consent or authorization of teenage engineering;

if customer did not follow any applicable instructions for proper storage, usage, or maintenance of this product;

if customer has failed to notify teenage engineering of any defect where the defect should have been reasonably apparent on inspection; or

if customer fails to notify teenage engineering of the defect within 12 months of teenage engineering's shipment of this product to customer. this limited warranty does not cover the cost of shipping the defective product to teenage engineering for repair, or the cost of shipping the repaired or replacement product to you. how do customers receive warranty service? please call your teenage engineering customer service representative for details on how to raise an issue in relation to your product.

selected
tempo
break away hanger
time / note /
additional info
sound
parameters A / B
folding stand
knob A / B
A parameter 1
A swing
A drone level
B parameter 2
B tempo
B sidechain
chord control
effects
play / stop
write
play / rec mode
indicates write
mode is active
sound
to select sound hold
sound and press 1-16
alarm
to select pattern hold
pattern and press 1-16
pattern
press to select tempo
hold to set master volume 1-16
hold step 1-16 + m
to set multiplier
to toggle effects hold FX
and press 1-16
bpm
sound 1-16
chord 1-16
effects 1-16
sound 1-16
1. bass
2. bass drum
3. snare drum
4. hi-hat
5. tom
6. blip
7. hardsync
8. noise fx
9. arpeggio
10. melodic arp
11. falling arp
12. octave arp
13. lead
14. vibrato
15. portamento
16. echo
chord 1-16
1. dm
2. em
3. Esus
4. E
5. F
6. G
7. C/G
8. E/G#
9. am
10. C/A
11. dm/A
12. D/A
13. A
14. B/A
15. C
16. D
effect 1-16
1. solo chords
2. solo chords + lead
3. solo drums
4. solo drums + bass
5. lowpass slow sweep
6. lowpass fast sweep
7. hipass filter
8. hipass sweep
9. fill-in
10. fill-in (fast)
11. retrigger
12. retrigger(fast)
13. glitch
14. glitch (fast)
15. blinds
16. rising arpeggio
auto power off (a.p.o)
the unit auto powers off after 5 minutes of inactivity. in this state all patterns and settings will be saved, leaving only the LCD lit. this state draws very little power so there is no need to remove batteries. if there is a cable connected in the line in, the unit will auto power off after 60 minutes of inactivity.
press any key to wake the unit after sleep.
press sound + bpm to show battery status.
press sound + write to power off. this also saves all pattern data.
factory reset
hold pattern + write while inserting batteries to restore the unit to
factory default.
1 – getting started power up set clock alarm clock reset clock insert two fresh AAA batteries. pay attention to plus and minus poles.
set time by turning knob A for hours and knob B for minutes. press any key to confirm and exit.
press sound + pattern. set alarm clock by turning A for hours and B for minutes. (disable alarm by turning knob A all the way down.)
press any key 1-16 to set pattern for the alarm.
reset the clock by removing the batteries and start over.
2 – play select pattern play sequencer pattern 1-16 play hold pattern and press any key from 1-16 to select pattern. blinking led indicates active pattern.
press play to start playing. press play again to stop.
a pattern consists of 16 steps.
3 – creating a pattern select sound create sound 1-16 write hold sound and press any key from 1-16 to select sound.
press write.
rec symbol is lit on screen.
enter sound/notes in grid.
press play to listen to your pattern.
parameter locking during play, hold write while turning knobs to write sound parameter changes over time.
hold any key 1-16 and turn knobs to edit sound parameters on that particular step. for most sounds, parameter 1 controls the pitch and parameter 2 controls the waveform.
4 – chords hold chord and press any key 1-16 to select chord. during play, the change takes effect at the next pattern start.
hold chord and press a sequence of keys 1-16 to create a chain of up to 128 chords. one chord can be selected multiple times. example: 9, 9, 9, 16 plays chord 9 for a duration of three patterns, then moves on to chord 16. the entire sequence then repeats.
5 – live effects add effects FX 1. solo chords
2. solo chords + lead
3. solo drums
4. solo drums + bass
5. lowpass slow sweep
6. lowpass fast sweep
7. hippos filter
8. hipass sweep
9. fill-in
10. fill-in (fast)
11. retrigger
12. retrigger(fast)
13. glitch
14. glitch (fast)
15. blinds
16. rising arpeggio
hold FX and press any key 1-16 to toggle effects. hold FX without pressing any key to clear effects.
some effects are mutually exclusive. fill-in, retrigger and glitch effects last until the next pattern boundary.
the solo effects can be pre-activated while the sequencer is stopped.
drone fade out hold chord while turning knobs to control drone playback of the current chord.
during playback, press
FX + play to fade out and stop the sequencer.
6 – tweak the sound swing tempo volume hold bpm and turn A to adjust the swing.
press bpm to switch tempo. the bpm will be displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.
HIP HOP (80 bpm)
DISCO (120 bpm)
TECHNO (140 bpm)
hold bpm and turn B to fine-tune tempo (from 60 to 240 bpm).
hold bpm and press any key 1-16 to adjust master volume.
note: be careful with the volume setting when using headphones. only exceed volume setting 5 with caution.
live record step multiplier while playing, except in write mode, hold write and press any key 1-16 to punch in notes. notes will be quantized along with current swing setting. release write when finished.
in write mode, press and hold any key 1-16 to select step while pressing bpm to insert a re-trig on that step.
press bpm mulitple times to switch between 2, 4, 8 or 16 multiplier.
7 – making a song (pattern chaining) copy pattern clear pattern chain pattern pattern 1-16 hold write + pattern and press 1-16 to paste the active pattern to the corresponding new slot.
press chord + pattern to clear the active pattern.
hold pattern and press a sequence of keys 1-16 to create a chain of up to 128 patterns.
one pattern can be selected multiple times. example 1,1,1,4 plays pattern 1 three times then moves on to pattern 4. after last pattern is played the sequence will start over again.
8 – sync multiple units sync sync modes input
output
master
SY1
SY4
sync
ID input output
SY0 stereo stereo
SY1 stereo mono/sync
SY2 sync stereo
SY3 sync mono/sync
SY4 mono/sync stereo
SY5 mono/sync mono/sync
it is possible to sync
multiple pocket operators with a click track using line in and out.
warning: sync levels should not exceed 5Vpp (volt peak-to-peak).
connect a standard stereo audio cable between the units. the master unit will control the tempo of the sync unit.
hold chord and press bpm on master unit to toggle sync modes. press repeatedly to toggle between different modes.
there are 5 sync modes. default mode is SY0.
when sync is used the signal will be split between audio (right) and sync
(left).
sync scenarios SY1
SY5
SY4
master
sync
sync
external
device
SY2
master
sync
example A: sync three pocket operator units.
example B: sync external device such as volca, iPhone, computer or synckontrol to PO-20.
external
SY3
SY4
device
master
sync
sync
SY1
device
external
sync
audio
master
sync
example C: sync an external device to two pocket operator units.
example D: sync PO-20 to an external device.
mount the pro case (optional) make sure
the folding stand
is also removed.
break away
hanger
don't have
a pro case?
buy here.
to mount the pro case to a pocket operator,
first you need to break away the hanger and remove
the folding stand.
wrap the pro case around the edges of the unit. make sure the edges of the case is tightly fit.