The original Pocket Operator sampler, the PO-33 packs a built-in microphone, 40 seconds of sample memory, and eight melodic plus eight drum slots onto the same exposed circuit board as the rest of the family. Its 8-bit sampling gives everything recorded through it a deliberately gritty, lo-fi character rather than trying to sound clean.

Sixteen effects — loop, reverse, scratch, stutter, and more — layer over samples in real time, sequenced across 16 chainable patterns, small enough that the whole idea of sampling something you just heard and turning it into a beat takes seconds, not setup.