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OP-1 field

teenage.engineering

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Re: OP-1 field

#191

Post by zimpenfish »

tarentel wrote: post #156
tmountain wrote: post #154

I owned and sold an OP-1. It is a beautiful piece of hardware and its analog controls and mashable buttons provide a more tactile experience than an iPad does. That said, the sounds it ships with really leave something to be desired. My subjective opinion is that anyone who's played with a best in class software synth (i.e., equator2) is going to find themselves feeling pretty limited by the blippy tones that you get…

As someone who produces electronic music I kind of dig the limitations of the op-1. At a 2k price point though with those limitations in mind I can't justify the price. Even at ~1300 or whatever the old model is going for I can't justify the price. For cheaper you can get both a digitakt and a digitone, which I own the latter, and they sound 1000 times better than the op-1 although each respectively do quite a lot le…

> Even at ~1300 or whatever the old model is going for [...] you can get both a digitakt and a digitone

You could probably get an iPad, a USB midi dongle, a midi keyboard, and a whole suite of software for that, too.

Re: OP-1 field

#193

Post by elliotlarson »

Even for a Teenage Engineering product, I have sticker shock over this and their field mixer. They're nice products, but the premium is so high. I mean, I kind of get it. Their original OP-1 remains the top selling synth after 10 years. And the product is much loved and used (at least on Youtube). But, for the price of an OP-1 Field you can get a couple of Elektron digi-boxes, with a bit of money left over. This is certainly more portable... but wow $2,000 is a bit steep. I mean, I still want it, of course.

Re: OP-1 field

#194

Post by agentwiggles »

amazing_stories wrote: post #155
stephc_int13 wrote: post #33

The problem with TE is that they are building top quality toys, not tools. Maybe those toys can be used as tools in some niche context, but as a non-musician I wouldn't know. I'd love to see them selling a more general purpose pocket computer, with the same high quality design and even the hefty price tag. A pocket computer made for hackers (the tinkering kind)

As someone who has written a lot of music using Pocket Operators I disagree. They have been part of my songwriting tool chain for years and have pretty much worked their way into every recording I've made since I bought them. They are the perfect accompaniment when sitting down with a guitar to write music either acting as a metronome, a groove to jam over, or a complete drum/bass/synth backup with an arrangement (16…

What's your favorite PO? (or even a couple favorites)

I loved playing with the one I have (I can't remember which it is off the top of my head). But it never became a major part of my music noodling workflow and now is collecting dust somewhere.

I do remember at some point that a friend got a different one and I was struck with jealousy over all the cool stuff it could do that mine didn't. Maybe it's time to check out a different one. Any recommendations?

Re: OP-1 field

#195

Post by IE6 »

blairbeckwith wrote: post #162
paxys wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird thing to say considering all of their designs are clearly influenced by an American company (Apple).

As a non-designer, I don't have the skills or the vocabulary to say whether this is true or not, but at first glance Apple and Teenage Engineering seem to share little in common. Can anyone who knows better enlighten me?

Whenever TE is mentioned here I always struggle with the parallel to apple. As a non-designer too Apple always embodies form over function minimalism and these TE products seem to be almost entirely function over form.

Re: OP-1 field

#196

Post by 613style »

agentultra wrote: post #185
aa-jv wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you're not yet familiar with the Synthstrom Deluge: https://synthstrom.com Far better than the OP-1, by miles .. See also the 1010music BlackBox: https://1010music.com/product/blackbox Easily set up on an airplane seat-table for production.

The Deluge is huge (size-wise) compared to the OP-1 and doesn't run off batteries, have wifi/bluetooth connectivity, sample editing, etc, etc. It's a nice groovebox but I don't think it really compares. $2k is a steep price but there's a lot going on here that's not immediately obvious to a lot of folks.

The Deluge does have a built-in rechargable battery and basic sample slicing. The new 4.0 firmware added wavetable synthesis, euclidean sequencing, MPE/polyphonic aftertouch, and tons of other stuff. Their venn diagrams overlap a lot but each one has _many_ features the other doesn't. Honestly it's a pretty insane device for half the price and would be my pick too.

Re: OP-1 field

#197

Post by verilux68 »

How many of the people in this thread saying:

The OP-1 is only for rich techies. Musicians don’t use it.

Are folks who enjoy making music & who have tried the OP-1?

Re: OP-1 field

#198

Post by evo_9 »

tmountain wrote: post #186
evo_9 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I agree, it's not really a great choice as your 'main synth'. I think it's really meant to be a self-contained portable 'music sketchpad'. I owned 2 at one point thinking maybe that was the issue, I like to double up my gear (for example I like to use two TB-303 layered); when that didn't work out the way I hoped on the OP1s I sold them and both were bought separately by traveling musicians that wanted something…

You're making a good point about VST compatibility over time. One way to at least ensure a track remains playable is to bounce your midi tracks to separate audio tracks (waveform). Clearly, you lose the flexibility that comes with manipulating the original score, but you're guaranteed to be able to playback, eq, and mix the original performance. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

True, I've done that too, but you're right it's obviously a limited way to go about it.

It's funny, I kinda feel like this is what the OP1 was trying to be, or maybe what I wanted it to be, but this actually delivers on that promise. I want one: https://polyend.com/play/

Re: OP-1 field

#199

Post by Puts »

iamricks wrote: post #98
planb wrote: post #83

I have absolutely no use for the products made by teenage engineering, as I don't have a clue about audio production. But scolling thought their store, I still want to own these beatiful devices.

Quoted post unavailable.

I mean there is no secret that Teenage Engineering is very inspired by the European early and mid 1900s design movement. I remember hearing an interview with Jesper Kouthoofd the lead Designer about how they approach product design in the same way as graphic design, just with more surfaces then a paper. Everything is based on a grid (Josef Muller-Brockmann and the International design movement), with focus on simple shapes and a few primary colors (Bauhaus). And just comparing the OB-4 speaker with the Braun T520 radio I think it's safe to say that Dieter Rams has also been a great inspiration.

So for sure there is a lot of European design heritage going in to these products. But personally I think the main reason we don't see this kind of design coming from the US right now simply comes down to the fact that minimalism as a concept goes against typical North-American culture.

Re: OP-1 field

#200

Post by Slow_Hand »

paxys wrote: post #138
fbanon wrote: post #131

I know a number of electronic musicians, and none of them has an OP-1, or anything from TE. The only person I know with an OP-1 is a designer at a startup I worked for, and he "didn't get around using it much yet ". So yeah, the $2000 price point will work great for them, given their customer demographics :)

Heck I doubt anyone in the music production industry even knows what Teenage Engineering is. They make toys for rich techies, but that's it.

Record producer here. We certainly do. It’s a well-known product that’s not uncommon to see being used by people.

I’d never decide to use one for my needs, but it is common enough to find among many music makers.

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