In a continued effort to expand its miniature synth lineup, Teenage Engineering has now announced the new Rick and Morty Pocket Operator. Much like the previous crossover PO collab, the new synth will make use of the lineup’s already established technology in a brand new sampler instrument influenced by the popular show. Not only are the stock sounds inspired by the show, but the entire machine will be adorned with its titular characters and specific artistic touches. All the details are down below.
After announcing its move into the modular space at the top of the year, we weren’t sure where that left the fate of the original Pocket Operator synthesizer line. But TE ended up joining forces with record label Ghostly International and its artist Steve Hauschildt on the new PO-33 KO! back in April. That, on top of this new Pocket Operator, appears to be keeping the lineup alive and well.
Rick and Morty Pocket Operator:
The latest Pocket Operator was designed in collaboration with Emmy award-winning producer Justin Roiland – the co-creator and executive producer of this hit show. Roiland, for those unfamiliar, also voices the show’s titular characters and the PO-137. The new synth is being described as a vocal synthesizer and sequencer with “8 different voice character sampling options”, all of which were voiced by Roiland himself.
Animated LCD Display:
As usual, you’ll also be getting the fold-out stand feature, built-in alarm clock and the fantastic, vintage-style LCD display. As you might have imagined, the new machine will feature the titular characters as well as more familiar imagery from the show on the animated display.
More PO-137 Features:
Unfortunately technical details on exactly what the little instrument is packing are still quite scant outside of the aforementioned details. By the sounds of it, you can expect the usual sequencer possibilities – allowing you to program patterns and sequence FX directly on the machine. It sounds like you’ll be able to add your own sounds on top of the included Roiland offerings using the built-in microphone as well, but not much is known outside of that.
PO-137 Pricing and Availability:
According to today’s press release, it will “be available online in the beginning of July and in stores in November.” However, the landing page on the official Teenage Engineering website is pointing at an exclusively online release at the end of July 2019. Go to this page and hit the “Notify Me” link to make sure you don’t miss out on the first run.
9to5Toy’s Take:
While they aren’t necessarily pushing the boundaries in terms of features and tech like the initial run did, the new PO-137 is moving the lineup in to new territory a little bit more than the PO-33 did. The inexpensive, yet powerful little machines are ideal for crossover promotions, so chances are this is just the beginning of an ongoing trend. This time around it looks like TE put a little bit more effort into the look of the machine as well as the overall uniqueness of the included sounds. Hopefully these crossovers continue to push that boundary and increase the value of the PO-lineup as viable little boutique sound makers.
And here’s our hands-on review of the 400-series LEGO meets IKEA modular synth from Teenage Engineering.
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