Jean-Michel Jarre made the Korg Mini Pops famous on his 1977 Oxygene album, and now Synthetic Sound Labs has reimagined that lo-fi rhythm machine for modern producers who want that same crunchy, characterful percussion without the vintage price tag.
The tinyPOPS is a compact desktop drum machine built around ten digital percussion and drum samples that include guiro, bongo, bass, claves, cowbell, maracas, cymbal, and quijada. You get sixteen preprogrammed rhythm patterns spanning everything from hard rock and disco to samba, bossa nova, and a dedicated Oxygene pattern that nods directly to Jarre's classic. The interface is refreshingly simple: set your tempo with a dedicated control, flip the run switch to start the beat, and then use individual mute switches to turn sounds on and off in real time, letting you remix the patterns as they play. Two gate outputs let you sync the tinyPOPS to other gear via clock and downbeat signals, making it easy to lock in with synths and sequencers. The whole thing measures just 4.5 by 2.4 inches and runs on a standard 8 to 18 volt DC power supply.
What makes this box special is how it captures that lo-fi aesthetic without feeling like a novelty—the samples have a distinctly crunchy, compressed character that sits perfectly in experimental electronic music, lo-fi hip hop, and anyone chasing that retro-digital vibe. It's small enough to toss in a bag, immediate enough to inspire quick ideas, and deep enough in its rhythm library and mute controls to keep you engaged during longer sessions.
