Meet the PO-33 — a pocket sampler

This is a side session — the first step beyond the core five, and a complete change of pace. The PO-33 K.O! is an entire sampler, sequencer and effects box that fits in one hand. Nothing else is needed: it has its own microphone, its own little speaker, and runs on two AAA batteries. In this session we record our own sounds, turn them into a beat, and jam — all on this one tiny device.

It works as a standalone — the core sessions aren’t required. But it’s a lovely break from the bigger setup, and the instincts carry straight across.

Part A — Power on and make a sound (about 10 min)

1. Put in the batteries

   Insert two AAA batteries, minding the + and − ends. The PO-33 powers on by itself — there’s no on/off switch. The screen shows a little clock.

2. Set the volume

   Hold bpm and tap a numbered key from 1 to 16 — that key number sets the output volume. Start gentle at key 4, then raise it to taste.

3. Hear what's in the slots

   Hold sound and tap key 1 to land on the first sound, then tap keys 1–16 to play it. Now hold sound and tap key 9 and play keys 9–16. Some slots may already hold sounds; empty ones are silent — those are the ones we’ll record into next.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Selecting and playing sounds

How the PO-33 is organized (about 8 min)

Just like the Digitakt, it’s boxes inside boxes — far fewer of them. From the outside in:

• Memory — one shared pool of 40 seconds of recording time, kept inside the device. No card, no computer.
• Sound slots — 16 of them, split in two:
  • Melodic (keys 1–8) — the recorded sample is spread across the keys as a scale, so each key plays the whole sound at a different pitch.
  • Drum (keys 9–16) — the sample is sliced, so each key fires a different piece of it — one hit per key.
• Pattern — a 16-step loop that records which sound fires on which step. It points at the sound slots; it doesn’t store the audio.
• Pattern chain — patterns played back-to-back as a song, up to 128 in a row.

Where these live — and the one big gotcha

Part B — Record our own sounds (about 20 min)

1. Sample from the built-in microphone

   Hold record and hold a destination key: pick a key 1–8 for a melodic sound or 9–16 for a drum sound. The mic records for as long as the keys are held — release to stop. The screen counts down the seconds left in the 40-second pool, so keep takes short.

   A good first pass: hum or sing a steady note into a melodic slot (1–8), and tap a tabletop or clap into a couple of drum slots (9–16).

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Sampling with the microphone

2. Or sample from line-in

   Plug a 3.5 mm cable from a sound source — a phone, or the Kawai’s output — into the PO-33’s line-in jack. With a cable inserted, it records from line-in instead of the mic. Then sample exactly as before: record + a destination key while the sound plays.

3. Trim the sample

   Select the sound (sound + its key) and open its trim page. Turn A to set where the sound starts and B to set its length — trimming off silence and tightening the tail makes a sample feel instantly more playable.

   Reference clip not recorded yet — capture this and save it under public/audio/, then add src="/audio/…".

   ⚠️ If the sound starts late or has a long silent tail, nudge knob A (start) and knob B (length) until it triggers tight.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Trim, tone & filter (the sound parameters)

Part C — Build a pattern (about 22 min)

1. Choose a sound to play

   Hold sound and tap the key of the sound to sequence first — a kick-like drum slot is a good start.

2. Turn on write and record live

   Press write to enter the step sequencer, then press play to start the 16-step loop. Tap the numbered keys in time with the beat — each tap lands a hit on the step that’s passing. Active steps light up.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Write mode — recording a pattern

3. Fix mistakes

   Tapped a step by accident? Tap the lit step again to clear it. It’s the same on/off toggle idea as the Digitakt grid.

4. Set the tempo

   Press bpm to step through the tempo presets. For an exact tempo, hold bpm and turn B (60–240 BPM); hold bpm and turn A to add swing.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — BPM and swing

5. Layer a second and third sound

   Select another sound (sound + its key) and tap it in over the same loop. Build it like a drum loop — something steady on the beat, something on the offbeats, one bit of character.

   Reference clip not recorded yet — capture this and save it under public/audio/, then add src="/audio/…".

   ⚠️ No single sound should dominate. Re-trim or re-pitch a slot if a part is poking out.

Part D — Perform, then let it save (about 15 min)

1. Punch in effects

   While the pattern plays, hold fx and tap a key 1–15 — the effect lasts only while held, like a punch-in. To bake an effect into the pattern, turn write on first, then apply it; to clear saved effects, hold fx + key 16 with write on.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Punch-in effects (FX)

2. Chain patterns into a song

   Make a second pattern: hold pattern + an empty key, then write a new loop into it. To play patterns in order, hold pattern and tap the pattern keys one after another — up to 128 in a chain, repeats allowed.

   📖PO-33 K.O! manual — Selecting and chaining patterns

3. Let it save

   There’s no save button. The PO-33 writes everything to memory when it auto-powers-off after a few idle minutes. Before swapping batteries or packing it away, let it settle so the latest sounds and patterns are safely stored.

That’s a whole track — sampled, sequenced and performed — on one box that fits in a pocket. The instincts behind it (a sample, a step, a pattern that points at sounds) are exactly the ones from the Digitakt sessions, just shrunk down. The other gear waiting in the wings — the Bestie mixer, the Chase Bliss pedals, the PO-32 — slots in from here the same way: one device, one job, at a time.