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Ten years of OP-1

teenage.engineering

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Re: Ten years of OP-1

#151

Post by sdenton4 »

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…

Yeah, I absolutely love my OP-1. Drum machines, synths, everything I need for sketching out ideas anywhere I might happen to have some free time. Before the Lost Year, it was great to bring on trips: You can do some great stuff on an airplane.

I believe George Harrison said the ukulele is the best instrument for songwriting - it's portable, self-contained, and incredibly easy to work with. The OP-1 hits a similar spot for me: It's a bicycle for songwriting.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#152

Post by tjr225 »

megameter wrote: post #144
tjr225 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Modulars and multifunctional devices like the OP-1 or Octatrack seem to be what "the kids" are interested in, if they buy new hardware - there is just more "bang for the buck" when you go with those options. Vintage synths are fun curiosities, but with prices skyrocketing, most everyone turns to the very accurate software reproductions to actually use the sounds. It's a very rapid divergence between collectors and us…

There are plenty of musicians using classic hardware, not just collectors. Same with guitars.

OP-1 and Octatrack provide a different workflow but the classic stuff provides a truly special sound. While the software reproductions of vintage analog synths get you 90% of the way there, musicians want 100% of the sound. If that weren’t the case then you would see prices of classic instruments go down.

I am not a pro musician however, I just want to noodle every so often for fun.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#153

Post by evidencepi »

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…

Obviously TE is a company for profit. I don't feel it's a bad thing for them to do so. This proves there is a market for such product, and the competitors should see the opportunities and try to make some great design products that would catch everyone's eye. As a result, it should benefit the consumers. Sure, you have to wait for a while if you don't want to throw cash to TE, but such cool-kids-toys are not expected to be cheap anyway.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#154

Post by bsder »

devin wrote: post #115
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…

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.

You have an uphill battle arguing that this isn't just a status symbol when the photos on the main webpage show Lamborghinis.

This is a status symbol. Usefulness is incidental.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#155

Post by bsder »

musicalynejd wrote: post #139
devin wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do me a favor and go on YouTube or Instagram or Facebook and look up the million videos of people making music with it. You don’t know what you’re talking about here. I don’t know a single person who flashes their OP-1. By your argument, owning a guitar and only knowing a couple chords is “status symbol” purchase.

You know what I see in 20% of instagram pictures tagged OP-1? Cassettes. Are you telling me there is no hipster aesthetic that a lot of these posters aspire too?

Oh, God, you're not joking.

Cassette--because 6 bit ADC's are good enough for everybody.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#156

Post by bsder »

Marazan wrote: post #68
thenewwazoo wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the meta-discussion (which I know is against the guidelines), but I'm finding it really hard to respond kindly to your comment, given the overarching tone ("no respect", "hard to swallow", sarcasm about parts, "shitty pricing"). I'd love to engage with you on the merits of pricing for what the market will bear, CoGS including software and craftsmanship, etc, but I am not able. Perhaps that's my failing, but…

I've no problem with a company pricing a product to be what the market will bear. However, Teenage Engineering claiming they were jacking the price due to "supply issues" is just insulting.

I would have agreed with you, but sourcing OLED displays is a pain in the ass. I've been personally bitten by this.

So, if they bought a 1000 obsolete displays and burned through them, it may actually take an act of God to get more. And you'll probably have to redesign your circuits.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#157

Post by dankoss »

arvinsim wrote: post #148
jaxwerk wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

For $1100, I would rather get an iPad Pro and go the software synth route.

I agree; I tried standalone boxes like the Electribe 2 and Circuit, and the iPad with Korg Gadget is just way more flexible and quicker. The soft synths available are truly equal to desktop apps now. DAWs like Cubasis and Aria are way more powerful than the OP-1s abilities, although I still feel like the workflow could be improved.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#158

Post by bsder »

sdenton4 wrote: post #149
agloeregrets wrote: post #101

This page is nuts: https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1/anniversary/made-o... The crazy part about it is that they only really mention the bits that show the OP1 in a primary means, you can find every case of a modern musical team making something and find an OP-1 somewhere. Taylor Swift? Easy. Despite the clear flaws and price, the OP-1 just does something for creativity. Also: This is not seen in the list as t…

A couple other sightings of my own: Nine Inch Nails live rig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMXEvNUjgCg Zola Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx6hFRW3Lyg Dan Deacon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEwpOKhLT7E (The Teenage Engineering page includes, amongst many others, Depeche Mode, Ariane Grande, Timbaland, Animal Collective, Deadmau5, Usher, Bon Iver, Childish Gambino...)

I never put any stock in what gear musicians use unless I see them before they became even slightly famous.

Musicians get paid to use gear. I don't know of any moderately famous musician for whom that isn't true.

My favorite examples of this are bands that have that cool Rickenbacker sound and shoot a couple of videos with them. And then suddenly once they get some traction, they're playing Telecasters in public all the time.

Fender paid them. And that's totally fine--musicians get paid garbage so any source of cash is good. I just wish the musicians were more straightforward about it.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#159

Post by psychomugs »

Rebought an OP-1 recently after selling it, trying to fill the hole it left with MIDI controllers and software and loopers, and realizing that I really don’t like mingling work and play on my computer. I see it as the musical equivalent of my beloved Fujifilm cameras, especially the X100: behind the retro chic aesthetic is a very capable machine that’s a joy to use. Are other devices cheaper, faster, and less likely to be branded a hipster fashion accessory? Yeah, but they’re not as fun.

Re: Ten years of OP-1

#160

Post by p1necone »

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…

It's only become a status symbol because it's a really well designed, useful product.

I don't think the company has been around enough to fully pivot to actually intentionally just building a status symbol like say Apple or Nike have.

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