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Ten years of OP-1

teenage.engineering

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Re: Ten years of OP-1

#121

Post by dmschulman »

musicalynejd wrote: post #116
devin wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is simply not true. I own a lot of synths, and the OP-1 is a very capable (and extremely portable) 4 track studio. I sketch a lot of music on it, and it sees regular use in the studio.

Sure. But that's not why most people buy it. Just like most people don't buy a Rolex Submariner because they regularly do deep dives in the ocean.

There will always be a collector class with any category of designer product. Established manufacturers (Nike, Monte Blanc, Omega) are aware of this and directly cater to those customers. I don't think this was TE's intent when they launched their synthesizer.

The OP-1 is an incredibly well designed product that stands on its own as an instrument. The device has taken on the life of a status symbol somewhat in 10 years, but is that due to TE or due to the quality of the product? Synthesizers have their own collector class after all, but I don't think you can accuse TE of intentionally catering to those folks when they made the OP-1. People like good design for many reasons. The OP-1 has an undeniable aesthetic quality but it's a versatile and flexible (and portable) instrument under all that.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#122

Post by JoeyJoJoJr »

agallant wrote: post #92
jeffdubin wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Roland MV-1 could be an intuitive, creative, flexible device, but a 16x2 LCD? How does that compare against the OP-1's beautiful, animated OLED display?

They recently updated it to allow you to use an iOS or Android device as an external display: https://www.roland.com/us/support/knowledge_base/36005866483... Clunkier than a device with a proper screen, but the same approach the OP-Z uses (though I think it can use bluetooth to connect instead of a cable).

Whoah this looks awesome. The sequence arrangement looks especially cool. I love the OP-Z, but it’s sound engine is limiting and it’s tricky to create full arrangements. I might have to take a closer look at the MV-1.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#123

Post by singingfish »

jaxwerk wrote: post #100
smoldesu wrote: post #56

Teenage Engineering is a frustrating company. On the one hand, they set out to create some of the most fun music equipment you can own: their Pocket Operator line is awesome for beginners of the hardware world, and they've consistently innovated with their grooveboxes. The problem? They have absolutely no respect for their pricing model. The OP-1 used to cost $800, which was already a big ask for a microprocessor, OL…

I bought my OP-1 at a steal for $600 two years back. I'd pay $1200 for it today, maybe $1600. There's a lot of more technically capable stand-alone gear that can be had for less of course. My MPC Live is what my finished (not good compared to others, I'm just an amateur making video game soundtracks for kids I teach game dev to) songs ultimately come out of, and the Octatrack is something I've really enjoyed playing…

I bought a used one a little while back - because I wanted to try it out and I found one at a price where I knew I could re-sell it easily. I fiddled around with it periodically, and it was fun, and with my limited skills I could do something that sounded reasonably musical with it. But - a. No proper MIDI implementation and b. I found the synth engines very frustrating.

On the other hand, using it as a way to add backing to my sax playing, and record my sax onto the device was fun.

But I got rid of it, and bought a used organellem and plenty of change left over (with which I might buy a proper sequencer at some point, but maybe not).

I've currently got a Novation Circuit which I bought on the same idea. Because I play a lot of acoustic music the circuit seems definitely not for me, but again it's kind of fun and has a nice shallow learning curve.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#124

Post by singingfish »

squarefoot wrote: post #109

Beautiful, although I'd prefer a real keyboard, but the problem is the price. With the same money I could purchase a number of these Open Source and Open Hardware synths. https://electrotechnique.cc/ Demos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCA2L7CeWSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jk79WchWcQ

There is a tonne of potential in the rPi / Teensy space. Check out the organelle https://www.critterandguitari.com/organelle

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#125

Post by jelling »

musicalynejd wrote: post #88
smoldesu wrote: post #56

Teenage Engineering is a frustrating company. On the one hand, they set out to create some of the most fun music equipment you can own: their Pocket Operator line is awesome for beginners of the hardware world, and they've consistently innovated with their grooveboxes. The problem? They have absolutely no respect for their pricing model. The OP-1 used to cost $800, which was already a big ask for a microprocessor, OL…

You don't understand their pricing because you don't understand what they are actually selling. They don't sell musical devices, they sell status symbols. You buy an OP-1 to look cool, not to actually make music with it. It's a bit like with the iPhone, but on a whole different level. Some buy fancy sneakers, others buy fancy pens and Moleskine, others buy an OP-1. And you can't have a cheap status symbol. This is al…

The first time I saw an OP-1 was the MoMa design store. It took me a few minutes to realize that expensive synthesizers are the new unplayed, high-end electric guitars that boomers like to buy.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#126

Post by alfiedotwtf »

scottious wrote: post #23

I'm a musician but I honestly don't really understand this thing. I even tried playing around with one for a while. It just didn't click at all. You could have convinced me that it was a children's toy and I probably would have believed you. Obviously I'm missing something. I've seen some YouTube tutorials but they all seem to produce the same kind of music and honestly I don't find it super impressive. Maybe it'll c…

It’s a portable workstation, with quick workflow.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#127

Post by throwaway606 »

Teenage engineering is a really evil company filled with so much fake people one suffocates from the coolness. Stealing ideas, designs, concepts and often patenting others hard work.

Don’t buy into their bullshit.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#128

Post by GoofballJones »

musicalynejd wrote: post #116
devin wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is simply not true. I own a lot of synths, and the OP-1 is a very capable (and extremely portable) 4 track studio. I sketch a lot of music on it, and it sees regular use in the studio.

Sure. But that's not why most people buy it. Just like most people don't buy a Rolex Submariner because they regularly do deep dives in the ocean.

That's a very bad hole to dig with "most people buy it because" nonsense. Why do YOU care what others buy or don't buy? Were you ever going to get one? Even at $400-$600? It smacks of "I don't want this, therefore NO one should want this...and if they do they are only getting it because blah blah blah".

Let people like/use/play what they want and stop judging others for their choices just because they're not YOUR choices. I, btw, don't own anything by Teenage Engineering, but it absolutely doesn't affect my world one iota if someone else does.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#129

Post by sincerely »

luma wrote: post #48
avhon1 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, Dan Deacon comes to mind. Most of the instruments he uses in his performances are smaller than a computer keyboard. Here's a picture he posted of his gear: https://twitter.com/ebaynetflix/status/442078506655023104/ph... In his NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, you can see an OP-1 on the near-right of his table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heFRwLfjVXI edit: I found a website which catalogs musicians and the equip…

I've never heard of Dan Deacon but I clicked the NPR set you linked above and man - what a treat! Thanks for sharing, friend!

Check out this clip of him on a morning news show from early in his career. It's a gem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eMb_kh_glw

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#130

Post by tjr225 »

jelling wrote: post #125
musicalynejd wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't understand their pricing because you don't understand what they are actually selling. They don't sell musical devices, they sell status symbols. You buy an OP-1 to look cool, not to actually make music with it. It's a bit like with the iPhone, but on a whole different level. Some buy fancy sneakers, others buy fancy pens and Moleskine, others buy an OP-1. And you can't have a cheap status symbol. This is al…

The first time I saw an OP-1 was the MoMa design store. It took me a few minutes to realize that expensive synthesizers are the new unplayed, high-end electric guitars that boomers like to buy.

Sadly, it’s time to sell my beloved Juno 60 as they are starting to sell for upwards of 3000$.

Beautiful sounding instrument though.

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