Wee Noise Makers - PGB-1 (Pocket Groove Box)

A complete studio that fits in your pocket.

The PGB-1 from French boutique maker Wee Noise Makers is a genuinely pocket-sized groovebox, smaller than a smartphone, built to craft entire tracks on one device. Eight sound channels cover the whole arrangement: six synthesis tracks for kick, snare, hihat, bass, lead and chords, plus two sampler tracks for everything else, fed by the onboard mic, the line input or your own samples.

The sequencer runs deep: sixteen tracks with sixteen patterns of sixteen steps each, conditional steps, ratcheting, chord sequencing, per-track arpeggiators, live sequencer effects and a song mode. And it does not stop at the internal sounds. The same sixteen tracks can drive external MIDI gear, turning the PGB-1 into a pocket brain for an entire hardware setup.

The kicker is the firmware: fully open source and hackable in CircuitPython, C/C++ and Ada, with regular updates that keep adding engines and features. Battery powered, USB-C charged, and ready to play out of the box.

Specifications

• 6 synthesis channels (Kick, Snare, Hihat, Bass, Lead, Chords) plus 2 sampler channels
• 19 sound engines, 8 LFOs (one per channel)
• 4 master effects: reverb, overdrive, filter, bitcrusher
• Onboard sampling from line-in or internal microphone, up to 62 seconds of sample memory
• Sequencer: 16 tracks (internal or MIDI), 16 patterns x 16 steps per track, song mode, chord sequencer, 16 arpeggiators, live sequencer effects
• Open-source firmware, hackable in CircuitPython, C/C++ and Ada
• 128 x 64 OLED display, 25 RGB LEDs, 30 tactile switches, touch strip
• I/O: USB-C (power and data), 3.5 mm headphone, 3.5 mm line-in, 3.5 mm MIDI in and out (type A), internal microphone
• RP2040+ dual-core ARM processor, rechargeable Li-ion battery
• Size: 10 x 6.6 x 1.5 cm