Teenage Engineering PO-16chat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Surprisingly capable ambient and pattern sound design for the price. Multiple commenters were pleasantly surprised that the PO-16 could produce ambient, non-busy tunes when played sparingly, contrary to its reputation for harsh, random-sounding demos. One user said they'd been 'desperately trying to convince myself' ambient tunes were possible with pocket operators, while another called it 'exciting to see ambient sounds possible from these things.' Given it's a $99 device, users found the sound design depth impressive relative to cost.

The interface has confusing quirks that trip up even experienced users. Several commenters flagged persistent UI confusion: the 'fx' button is oddly named 'styles' while the 'styles' button is named 'key,' still confusing one user two years after first commenting. Another described a glitch where sound selection defaults to the wrong synth sound and must be re-picked when saving patterns. A separate user complained the LEDs aren't visible enough, making operation confusing at times.

Deep, hidden features reward users who dig into tutorials. Commenters discovered non-obvious functionality through guides, such as holding 'write' to save notes into a sequence, changing the key of each individual note, and a hidden metronome toggle via holding 'key' and pressing bpm. One user said learning about per-note key changes 'changes everything.' Others returned to tutorials after years of ownership just to relearn basic operation, including how to use the built-in drum machine.