Teenage Engineering PO-33chat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

The PO-33 hides a lot of depth behind a confusing manual. Multiple users describe the official documentation as terrible or incomplete, forcing them to rely on third-party tutorials to learn features like retriggering, chromatic slice playback, and copying melodic samples into drum kits. Despite this, longtime owners of two or three years still discover new tricks, and newcomers say a single clear video made the device click almost immediately after purchase.

Sample memory and slicing have real limitations. One user explains that copying a 'slice' actually copies the whole underlying sample trimmed to that point, not a true permanent slice, so memory fills up fast and there's no way to reclaim space. Others report losing patterns, sounds, or the record feature entirely, or feeling confused after clearing a beat, suggesting the workflow around memory and resets is fragile and unintuitive.

Physical and audio quirks show up in real-world use. Several commenters flag touchy knobs, hiss or brief distortion when recording samples, and weak/quiet output when connected to speakers, a sound card, or a guitar amp for live performance. One user also warns the unit is fragile and shouldn't be stood on, while another notes rechargeable batteries sometimes fail to power it on at all.