# CHOMPI portable sampler

5 Hacker News commenters recommended CHOMPI portable sampler and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Fun, unusual sampler with a distinct workflow, now open-source. Critics say it was overpriced and is discontinued, with thin second-hand supply.

## Why people recommend it

- Fun, unique workflow (2 comments): "it does look fun and has a unique workflow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920835)) "The CHOMPI is a very fun project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49919151))

## What people warn about

- Priced too high (5 comments): "I could MAYBE go as high as 300-350, and that's really pushing it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49941122)) "It was priced very high, even for a boutique musical instrument." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49918918)) "But I literally laughed out loud, HARD, at the price." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49919960))
- Discontinued, thin second-hand supply (2 comments): "Wildly, severely not, honestly. They're going about retail second-hand on Reverb, with thin supply." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49916504)) "Too bad they're discontinued but I'm glad they open sourced it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49916047))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [M-VAVE FM-1](https://hackerapproved.com/p/m-vave-fm-1-pocket-synthesizer.md): 14 recommend
- [Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/teenage-engineering-pocket-operator.md): 11 recommend
- [Teenage Engineering OP-1](https://hackerapproved.com/p/teenage-engineering-op-1.md): 8 recommend
- [Dato Duo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dato-duo.md): 5 recommend
- [Teenage Engineering PO-33](https://hackerapproved.com/p/teenage-engineering-po-33.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=CHOMPI+portable+sampler&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "CHOMPI portable sampler", https://hackerapproved.com/p/chompi-portable-sampler/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).