This appendix covers the most common problems you’ll encounter on the PO-33 and the Ravine: Phoenix firmware.

Problem: My recording sounds distorted.

Cause: the recording was too loud. The PO-33’s microphone is sensitive. The internal limiter clips at high volumes.

Fix: record the sound again, but quieter. Move the sound source farther from the mic. Or use the line-in instead of the mic.

Problem: My recording has silence at the start.

Cause: you held REC + pad, then took a moment to make the sound. The PO-33 recorded the silence.

Fix: use Tweak Trim mode (tap FX until it reads TRIM). Turn Knob A to move the start point. Trim the silence off.

Problem: My beat sounds robotic.

Cause: no swing. Swing is what makes a beat feel “human”.

Fix: hold BPM + turn Knob A to 2 or 3. The beat will feel “groovy”.

Problem: My kick and snare are on the same step (step 5, step 13), and one of them doesn’t play.

Cause: the PO-33 has only 4 voices of polyphony. If you have kick + snare + hi-hat + bass all on step 5, the PO-33 may not have a voice for the snare.

Fix: drop one voice. For a beat with kick + snare + hi-hat + bass, drop the hi-hat on the kick-snare steps (steps 1, 5, 9, 13).

Problem: My chord doesn’t sound right.

Cause: the sample is too short. A chord that lasts 1 second will cut off after 1 second.

Fix: use a sustained sound (“ahhh”, a synth pad, a guitar chord). Trim the sample to start at the attack, not at the silence.

Problem: My drum sample is in slot 9 but the wrong slice plays when I press pad 9.

Cause: the auto-slicing splits the recording into 16 equal slices. If your recording is short, the slices are also short. If the recording is 4 seconds, each slice is 0.25 seconds.

Fix: trim the recording to a power-of-2 length (2 seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds). The slices will be cleaner.

Problem: My parameter lock doesn’t stick.

Cause: you didn’t hold the pad long enough. Parameter locks are set when you hold the pad and turn a knob, then release.

Fix: hold the pad for at least 0.5 seconds while turning the knob. Release the pad AFTER the knob is at the desired position.

Problem: The PO-33 doesn’t respond to button presses.

Cause: the firmware is locked. The PO-33 has a “key lock” feature that prevents accidental presses.

Fix: hold the lock button (or any modifier) + tap the unlock sequence. On the Ravine: Phoenix firmware, the unlock is “hold WRITE for 2 seconds”.

Problem: My song doesn’t loop properly.

Cause: the chain has gaps. You added pattern 1, then pattern 3, then pattern 2 (instead of 1, 2, 3). The chain plays in the order you added them.

Fix: clear the chain (hold PATTERN + REC). Re-add the patterns in the correct order.

Problem: I can’t remember which pad is which slot.

Cause: you haven’t labelled your slots. The PO-33’s slots are all named “slot 1” through “slot 16” by default.

Fix: use the SOUND key to preview slots. Hold SOUND + pad to play the slot without writing it to a step. Listen to identify the sound.

Problem: My recording won’t save.

Cause: the PO-33’s sample memory is full. 40 seconds of samples fills up quickly.

Fix: delete unused slots. Hold REC + the pad for 2 seconds to delete a slot’s sample.