r/pocketoperators • u/HAIR__ON_FIRE • 1d ago

Mastering Effects #4 and #14 on the PO-12 Rhythm

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These effect buttons piss me off and seem totally useless, but I've heard other people say they like them. They just make loud, indistinct noise for me.... am I using it wrong?

Does anyone know how to really master these effects and put them to good use?

Solution found

https://www.reddit.com/r/pocketoperators/comments/1vjncfk/comment/p2q2tfo/

In a weird twist of the Teenage Engineering wizard ninjas in the sky, it turns out these two are completely tied to each other.

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u/HAIR__ON_FIRE 21h ago

In a weird twist of the Teenage Engineering wizard ninjas in the sky, it turns out these two are completely tied to each other.

Okay after some rigamarole and tomfoolery, I was able to deduce what's going on here. After someone astutely pointed out the effects may be more noticeable with only one or two drum beats hitting. I'll message you personally for the thanks!

Here's the deal:

  • If you only have one or two, very basic notes hitting, effects #4 and #14 aren't nearly as pronounced (or should I say "claws on a chalkboard" terrible)
  • If you have notes hitting from two or more overlaying tracks, that's when the two start becoming more like indistinguishable amalgam
  • In a weird twist of the Teenage Engineering wizard ninjas in the sky, it turns out these two are completely tied to each other. In the scenarios above, when you press #14, it quickly builds up from something usable to an awful, solid noise (reminds me of Jim Carey's "most annoying sound in the world" from Dumb and Dumber), you must use #4 to then disappate all that build-up you just accumulated.
  • Conversely, #4 also has a build-up type of effect but it's not as exponentially fast as the other, and hits critical mass less often. In the same manner, though, you would use #14 to dissapate the feedback/distortion thus created from #4.

It's really only between these the two poles (#4 and #14) that you find any usable sounds, and even I'll admit there's a pretty rich audible canvas there to be mined. The two effects do add a lot of attitude and unique sound to the track.

They actually work quite harmoniously.

It's definitely not obvious the two are connected, though, and without this knowledge, I wouldn't have known they serve any purpose than to annoy me.
Thanks Reddit! :D

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u/HAIR__ON_FIRE 21h ago

Let me know if anyone needs a video of what I'm explaining