Bad Gear - The Yellow B*stard
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
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Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator Modular 400. Can this analog Eurorack compatible modular synthesizer DIY kit be used in actual music production or is it yet another stylish coffee table decoration released by the Swedish design company? Will it survive the IKEA - like assembly process and why do I call it The Yellow B*stard ?
Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:04 TE PO Modular 400 Overview
01:31 First Patch
01:46 Power Supply
01:54 More Patches
02:07 Oscillator Section, Tuning, PWM, FM
02:48 Mixer, Noise
03:00 Filter
03:19 Random, LFO, VCAs, Envelopes
03:43 Sequencer, Limitations, Tricks
04:44 Internal Speaker
05:00 Even More Patches (Generative Patches, Drone, Traditional Synth)
05:19 Build Quality (or lack thereof), Pricing
05:38 Hate
06:01 Jam 1 (Techno)
06:57 Jam 2 (Electro)
07:58 Finale (Disco Banger)
08:28 Verdict - Hudba
Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel*
Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/audio.pilz/
When you need to spend more than everyone else in the room to be "misunderstood"... for those occasions, there is Teenage Engineering.
I hate to say it but to make it sound better you really gotta give it some extra juice, maybe some actual eurorack modules to go along with it, once you hit the whatever thousand mark that satisfies your tonal pallet, you'll understand easy with 1-2k total invested including this kit, if you can tune into what to get. I feel like this one fell kinda flat for you, whereas you can really get a lot more out with most other bad gear. Anyways, awesome episode, great way to make some lemonade out of it ;) I watch every week and appreciate your work!
"I'd buy that for a dollar"
Are you on X ? Twitter ?
"in case you want to take your manbun for a walk and do some busking on a busy sidewalk of your hip metropolis, the internal speaker made of melted licorice jellybeans is fortunately not powerful enough to harm innocent bystanders"
10/10
Hilarious line 😂
Thank you so much!!!
Yeah, that line wins the internet for today :D
My salzlakritz goes to 11
My guess is 2 watts rms.
"A gamechanger in upscale dust collection" could describe Teenage Engineering's entire business model 😂
😀😀😀
💯
I've been playing synths since the late 80s, and have played or owned most of the major synths, and the OP-1 is by far my favorite I've ever used. It's the only instrument I own that if it broke, I'd buy a new one the next day.
@@TheDungeonDive sorry to hear that 😂
Basically. Just look how little content there is on the sold-out choir dolls haha.
Starting the New Year with actual really bad gear. Fortunately this edition is risk of GAS free, unlike so many previous editions
Have a great 2024!!!
Truly the antacid we all need.
I have BAD G.A.S. right now.
I think most of us should thank TE for making their products crazy expensive so that we are not even tempted to buy stuff that even freeware software outperform.
Agreed!!!
the modular 400 is actually quite affordable, costs about as much as the ep-133
@morgue502 it's, like, *suspiciously* inexpensive compared to their really dumb stuff. It's also not great at all, but given that this is honestly more the synth equivalent of assembling a Gundam model rather than being a stage-ready instrument, I think that the price is actually pretty fair.
@@thelefthandofcreation1617 The design is outstanding, the rest is often unusable. Pocket operators are a joke...
@@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWiii mean, obviously? do you think they are meant to be stage-grade equipment?
as someone from a third world country, thanks for making me feel good about circuit bending 80s casio toys and making cardboard project "cases", I'm sending my resume as product designer to TE right now.
❤️❤️❤️
Shoot, you're already overqualified for TE :D
Start your own cardboard synth company and overflow the market with cheap models.
The 80s Casio keyboards hit different. I got a few myself and wanna try circuit bending one of them. Any good tips?
My wife has listened to so many of your videos while we work, and I thought she really didn't like it, but I was happily surprised to learn that she really enjoys your channel and loves your music and funny dialogue. I met my wife at a rave 22 years ago now. Much love to you AudioPilz!
Alert the media to the fact that there’s a wife who doesn’t call Florian, “that guy with that voice.”
@@kcrosleyfor me, that guy is either Doug DeMuro or Dave Jones from EEVblog
Happy to hear that!!! Thanks!!! All the best!!!
"Please bear with me while we free ourselves from the confines of the Western tonal system".
I was expecting the Akai Rhythm Wolf to put in an appearance at that point!
There are some similarities;)
I am so going to quote this next choir practice...
Are we sure Teenage Engineering isn't just the latest prank hatched by Banksy commenting on how ridiculous the synth industry can get? This video was a riot, thank you for suffering for us grateful fans!
I suspected him to be part of this too!!!
I enjoyed that brief moment where it was spitting out “Temporary Secretary” for the modern McCartney.
Thanks!!! That's just what sequencers do;)
Teenage Engineering: never disappoint in disappointing
….and mostly for a lot of money too.
Agreed!!!
TE should be paying you millions for making this thing sound good.
quite the miracle
Thank you so much!!!
I laugh so hard whenever someone gets one of these or the volca modular and calls it modular. Then I go home and cry over the 15k+ I've spent on my elertic fart machine.
It's like a substitution drug;)
IMO semi-modular is legit. It can be a more streamlined to have that modular patching with a small curated selection of submodules designed to play well together. More like "a real instrument" that way. Of course that hasn't stopped me from building a giant monster as well...
@@voltijuice8576 Don't get me wrong I LOOOOOVE semi modular too!
@@voltijuice8576 A Mini Brute or Micro Brute.
Volca modular... Sweetwater Guy recommended it as a starter volca and I haven't asked for his advice since. Goddamn what an ugly useless device, that volca modular!
This channel is a blessing. I used to want everything, now I want nothing
You can still drone like a monk
Happy to hear that!!! Thanks!!!
It looks like a nightmare to use but you got some great sounds out of it.
Thank you so much!!!
I'd say it still is a nightmare for most other people lol
Totally nailed it. The $260 I spent on mine was well worth the diversion away from the Eurorack money hole. And I do still have fun messing with it on occasion.
Thank you!!!
I'm looking at the "knobs" on that synth and thinking "I wonder if you could automate it using lego technic components?" That would honestly make it way more fun. Perhaps not more useful, but it would be a cool project.
Yeah that’d actually be awesome, way cooler than the Lego “features” on their new sampler
That'd be super interesting!!!
TE was made for this program. Your take was a lot kinder than mine would have been but on point. And you still managed to get a decent jam out of that yellow monstrosity at the end. Hats off to you Florian, you’re a master.
Thank you so much!!!
The zoom out intro with the duct tape killed me
Thank you!!!
That sounded much better than I was expecting - pretty nice. You did a wonderful job showing it off! And totally agree on using it would put you off diving in to the deep end and losing your mind, like the modular freeks have!
Thank you!!!
GAS free modular -- VCV Rack. A) it's free and B) if you use it, you don't even need to buy patch cables.
It sounded as bad as I expected...
@@thelanavishnuorchestraor miRack on iOS. I’m still a big fan of this yellow gadget though.
sounds awesome - actually hard to make it sound bad (except for the sequencer, if you want to play western pitch correct - just don‘t or try a quantizer...
DivKid trying to put this together was hilarious 🤣🙌 Well deserved place on Bad Gear 🙌
DivKid actually did a better job than me;) Thanks!!!
I hope this will not disappoint you, but the first two jams (especially the first one) hit right into the sweetspot of my musical taste. Dayum ;)
Thank you so much!!!
Me too 😢 I gotta buy one now 💸
Always fun and actually usable content!
Thank you!!!
Glad to see the greatest sequence ever programmed appear in this video at 3:24
😀😀😀
I've had the PO400 on my mind for the last few days, such a perfect moment for this video
😀😀😀
Absolutely love the intro, and one of my favorite movies. Also, very happy to see more teenage engineering gear on your channel. Keep up the great work my friend!
Thank you so much!!!
I was watching this on my TV but had to get on my phone to write a comment to give you props for those jams… all super fire! The synths tone sounds surprisingly pretty good too!
Thank you!!!
The jam before the verdict was really good! I have the red model,now you inspired me to try and get useful sounds out of it
Thank you!!!
In the first five minutes you give all the hard info any other synth video would spend half an hour explaining, while making me laugh out loud repeatedly at the same time. Another job well done!
Same here! I wasn't ready for such a quick-fire opening. 😆
That's Audio Pilz
Thank you so much!!!
😂 Doorbel rang while watching this, my POM400 arrived
This is the first video of yours I watched and I must say, it is very Poggers and is a certified disco banger.
Thank you!!!
Maybe the knobs are spaced just right for you to attach some Lego gears to them and turn multiple knobs together. Or something.
I’ve seen some people doing this!
It really sounds DOPE in your jams.I was unfamiliar with this because I have historically veered away from TE and modular.
Thank you!!!
I like it how you remind me that a week has gone by, can't wait for what comes on next Friday
😀😀😀
It sounded really bland when you were just going through it's parameters; but you brought it to life with those Jams. It does have an interesting quality with its electronicy sort of sounds . The FM weirdness. Nice job as usual Florian. 👌
Thank you so much!!!
Midsummer is a god-tier movie. I’ll never look at flowers the same again.
Kind of traumatizing;)
@@AudioPilz fun for the whole family!
@@AudioPilzif I learned that Ari Aster was the executive producer of this channel, I would not be surprised.
Midsommar. Pedantic yes, but words are important 😂
@@AudioPilz I didn't enjoy it
I love that your welcome hand wave gets more flamboyant each video
Thank you!!!
i have exactly 1 synth and 1 drum machine. and yet this is my must watch on release day every time
Happy to hear that!!! Thanks!!!
Great video. The sample and hold at 3:24 sounded a lot like McCartney's Temporary Secretary! I also came to pretty much the same conclusion: modular is not for me.
Thank you!!!
Great video as usual but so many more bonus points for the Garfield/Jon dancing at the end.
Thank you!!!
Yes! Disco Jon FTW!
Highly amusing and insightful as ever. Thank you❤
Thank you so much!!!
This will look good on my coffee table, I'm sure Bad Hair Detective would approve.
😀😀😀
I want to see a part 2 where you use a PO-16 controller with it. The red controller would go beautifully with the yellow Lego rack to make it a McDonald's themed synth.
Great idea!!!
I’ve got both and they are great fun together.
POM16 is brilliant
it's currently reduced to clear on their website too I think. Def seems like you're just meant to get both of them (so that'd be like $750 when it came out?) or the POM-170 as some inbetween thing. Even sillier power supply nonsense in the POM-16, have to take it apart to put in new batteries...
Pretty sure I suggested this episode so happy to see it! I think this synth at that price with the modules being basic af and clearly separated could make it a pretty neat learning tool, most the alternatives people suggest tend to have a much more condensed and therefore confusing layout, which is fine if you already know what you're doing.
I have suddenly gained an appreciation for the conventional western tonal system.
Thank you.
Always a pleasure;)😂😂😂
i respect you so much, man.
You do such good quality videos, you upload so fast, and still awnser so many comments... You problably puts so much effort on this channel.
Like, yeah the videos are formulaic by desing, but i'd argue it gives a comfy vibe bc of that.
I guess what i mean is, one must respect the hustle.
mad respect to AudioPilz
Thank you so much!!! Much appreciated!!!
That was a rather excellent and quite acerbic video. I'm looking forward to seeing your next show meeting with TE! 🥶😁
Thank you!!!
Aw shucks, you really brought modular synthesizer's weird cousin in
He also smells weird
@@AudioPilz I heard in one year or two, you will not notice anymore
@@ThePrestoPrestissimo Florian is a motivated seller for someone who wants to buy it.
Teenage Engineering have generously discounted the price of this particular handful of magic beans from £"This man is clearly insane and needs to be made a ward of the state for both his own and society's safety" down to £"Well he's sufficiently compos mentis to remember his paypal password and to go through the 2 step verification process but I still wouldn't leave him alone with the sharp scissors." That said, I am currently awaiting receipt of my very own £299 broken fader/Muhammad Ali picture combo deal. . So who am I to judge?
I'm a professional (ward of the state;)
Brilliant! Your Mojo continues undiminished into the New Year
Thank you!!!❤️❤️❤️
Filming quality has gone up significantly. Good job! and thank you for reminding us yet again why some TE products are only a rich kid's poor toy
Thank you so much!!!
You did it again Florian Pilz! Another awesome video that is so entertaining to see and hear! And another unobtainable synth that now costs twice as much as it did before I watched your video!
Thank you!!!
The Casio Rapman is still cheap. 😁
@@treetopjones737 After increasing by $40 after @AudioPilz review in '22. The Rapman has now tanked in value. This leads me to believe I should wait a couple of years for the best bad gear pricing.
I bought one of the first batch, but then changed my mind and resold it once I received it. So glad I did. I haven’t heard anyone produce anything of interest with it, except for the examples in this video. I applaud you 👏
Thank you so much!!!
Loved the chemical brothers slide/glitch ❤
Thanks!!!
@@AudioPilz music that triggers some kind of response
lol@"free ourselves from the confines of the western tonal system" - I like that, going to use that a lot!
😀😀😀
that thing sucks!! great episode!! (that last jam was honestly really good)
Thank you!!!
I am literally terrified of buying any true mod eurorack unit. I know where it would end. In court and homelessness.
Same here!!!
Psst... Tangible Waves
@@raul0ca be gone!
A synth I'd actually be embarrassed to own! It wins!
Best. Coffee table. Decoration. Ever.
@@AudioPilz For hipster cred.
Another excellent video!! Yay 😅😊
Thank you!!!
That FM and bass jam went hard
Thank you!!!
Never been a fan of TE, and completely missed this release until seeing this vid, so coming in without much bias tbh this thing sounds incredible wtf. I was vibing tf out at jam 1 & 2. Maybe that's just your skill, but damn. The hate is confusing cause this sounds really good actually
Thank you!!! It's just a major PITA to use and probably won't last long...
I just found out about this a couple of weeks ago while trawling . I thought it awful tbh and can understand the big price drop from what I can see. However, you made it sound great ( of course) . Keep up the great work 😼👍
Thank you!!!
You did very well polishing some good music out of this.
Thank you!!!
I actually love jams and tracks you made using this thing
Thank you!!!
as a techno fan, this was a fun episode 😍
Thank you!!!
Honestly it seems like a pretty good monosynth in terms of features and timbral range, with a wide potential for experimentation, if I were getting into Eurorack now and it weren't a PoS I'd probably start with one.
Agreed!!!
6:27 I wasn't looking at the screen but also remembered them.
;)
Thanks for your videos, I always enjoy them and appreciate your time and effort. But I couldn't help but think that I was totally cool with not knowing this thing existed.
Thank you so much!!!
Question: Do these boxes still tick all the boxes?
Box ticking like crazy!!!
you know it's a quality product when you gotta bust out Ableton tuner
Like with the Moog Mother-32?;)
Or the krusty korroded Korg tuner!
@@user-ec1wq9os3d Why do these things still work well after 10 years of abuse?
@@AudioPilz Its faithful to the moog original.
Wendy Carlos famously hated how fast and easily it would go out of tune
@@user-ec1wq9os3d Hey now, I've had zero trouble with any of my little Korg tuners and I've some of 'em for years and years. I remember stopping in at Chuck Levin's in the DC 'burbs 'cause I needed a tuner. Guy at the counter pulled out a Korg and said, "You want this. It's small, lightweight, accurate, long battery life, (*WHAM*WHAM*WHAM*) (*hits it HARD against the counter several times*) durable as hell...." :D
I must say: that sounds pretty darned good. Another certified banger, Mr. Pilz !
Thank you so much!!!
"Midsommar" for this synth and company was the most perfectly appropriate intro of your entire CZcams channel's history
Thank you!!!
I find the whole concept of building your own synth quite tempting. Not at that price though. I remember seeing build your own kits for the Korg MS20. Once again, cool idea, but if memory serves, actually more expensive that just buying a made one.
You still really need to do the Korg mini bits synth. Great vid as always btw.
Thanks!!! The MS20 kit seems to sound nicer than the Mini
I have a pretty good sized set of the Korg LittleBits synth gear. Still annoyed they didn't include an LFO in the module selection.
@@AudioPilz I did not know that.
@@EphemeralTaowere they worth whatever it cost to get them all?
@@afk_hesh Yeah, they're fun. Not a big serious synth, but a fun little toy, despite the lack of an LFO.
shit I forgot this existed...I remember everyone roasting this thing
Extreme roastability!!!
@@AudioPilz Yeah but it sure stinks up the kitchen!
I had to rewind and pause for the Nick Batt PWM meme in this episode... that's probably the synth communities finest work to date. Good job, everybody!
The Sine Wave shelf was unusable for books.
😀😀😀
Seeing this instasynth next to my trusted 0coast strega combo with tastefully colored cables makes it look like a vegan ikea cafeteria next to a classy Vegas night club
Understandable;)
Think I'll stick with bastl kastles and volca modular for my tiny modular needs.
If AE modular was more readily available where I'm at, that would be pretty desirable.
The Volca Modular actually makes more sense musically
Careful with those Kastles - they were my gateway drug into the money pit of modular synths!
If you're into mixed: A Mini Brute ( mono analog synth with a small patch section in the corner in addition to standard synth controls ).
I think this is the most authentic sounding opening tune so far (i know, hot take).
You have a point here!!!
I'm sure glad I didn't go the euro rack path. The TRUE bad gear.
Pure gold! Ähh, yellow...
Plus absolut incredible sick jams!
Thank you!!!
First time the gear is actually bad. 😄
;)
I am pretty sure Pedro Pascal's reaction was not edited 😂great episode!
He did that on the fly while I was jammin
That segment was gold!
That Garfield Disco Jam is a banger, tho.
Thank you!!!
you never disappoint!!
Thank you so much!!!
thank you for confirming my continued desire to never support teenage engineering financially 😂
😂😂😂
Yeah, TE is aiming straight at the too-hipster-for-Starbucks crowd pretending to understand synthesis while sipping $15 lattes at trendy caffeine bars :P
Best review of that thing ever. almost the only review of it ever. But if I had that thing when I was a kid, it would have been heaven. I think we are all too jaded at this point. It's simple and basic and would still be hours of fun just to see what sounds can come out.
Thank you!!!
I can't handle the amount of memes haha. I'm not even a big music creator person, but love your stuff
Thank you so much!!!
Sounds Fab!
😀😀😀
❤😂 Again the BANGER bangs hard 🎉 very nicely twicked sounds ❤
And PS double LFO visualisation will stick forever 😂😂😂
Thank you so much!!!
The Garfield clip to that jam was a fever dream.
Thank you!!!
The final jam's got some 'System F - Needle Juice' minimal rework aura.
Thank you so much!!!
S tier use of the Pascal meme in Jam 1 (techno) hahahha it's so perfect
Thank you so much!!!
Yay! Genuinely Bad Gear for a change!
😀😀😀
The midommar intro was just brilliant dude
Thank you!!!
Spot on dude! ✊
Thank you!!!
best intro to date
Thank you!!!
Oh wow! You haven't gone this hard in a while and it was hilarious! I can still smell the burns. XD
Thank you!!!
"upscale dust collection...." man, that really hit me in the feels...
😀😀😀
You are the perfect foil for TE. That said, this thing actually *sounds* fantastic.
Thank you!!!
always wanted one of these and knew there were problems but as a 1st for this channel, you actually talked me out of it.
Always a pleasure;)
Amazing you were able to make music with that parody of a modular synth… Great skills IMHO
Thank you so much!!!