Teenage Engineering PO-33
Shares rank 4 of 6 pocket synthesizers by recommenders
A pocket synth that people find fun and easy to play, and one that can boost creativity despite its limits.
A pocket synth that people find fun and easy to play, and one that can boost creativity despite its limits.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun and easy to play with
“They are fun, definitely toyish, but you can get good results”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: I built a synth for my daughter” “it is fun and easy to play with”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: I built a synth for my daughter” “The POs are fun to play with”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: I built a synth for my daughter”
Other pocket synthesizers people recommend
The four most recommended other pocket synthesizers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-VAVE FM-1 | 14 | 2 | 88% | 1 | 1 mo3 owners | — |
| Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator | 11 | 2 | 85% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Teenage Engineering OP-1 | 8 | 3 | 73% | 5 | — | — |
| Teenage Engineering PO-33This page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| CHOMPI portable sampler | 5 | 4 | 56% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it'd be a toss up between the PO33 and the PO35”
“They are somewhat limited but that can a good creativity booster.”
“They are fun, definitely toyish, but you can get good results”
“The POs are fun to play with”
“it is fun and easy to play with”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.