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Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

scandinavianmind.com

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Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#111

Post by smoldesu »

kzrdude wrote: post #56
smoldesu wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And people fall for it. It's crazy how many people blindly buy into TE's "homestyle" marketing like they're some hibrow synth company. The OP-1 tickles every American's "Product Cortex" in their brain though, immediately associating brutalist design and Corinthian leather with quality engineering. It doesn't matter if we're not the target audience, we just want to spend money on pretty things that make us feel good.…

The OP-1 is an instrument though, it seems like a pretty amazing instrument for creativity for those that can use it. And most instruments are more expensive than it..

I've tried a lot of grooveboxes in my time, and the OP-1 is one of the only instruments I've ever seen that has worse value-per-dollar than the DSI Tempest. Very few instruments are expensive and useless enough to justify this; the OP-1 is solidly among them though.

All I'll say is that you should reserve your judgement until you've tried some competing products. The Playmobil laptop looks like a great way to do your Word documents until you try a Dell or Apple machine.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#112

Post by prpl »

smoldesu wrote: post #33
malthaus wrote: post #30

I too would live in a pinterest-ready castle filled with toys but i dont have the stomach to rip off customers as shamelessly as TE is. The B&O of our generation.

Yep. Ostensibly there's nothing wrong with making pricy hipster audio equipment, but the rampant success of their marketing just makes me facepalm. People out there genuinely think the OP-1 is a $1000 product in 2023, which should inspire riots in the street. The OP-1 Field raising the price instead of lowering it is the last nail in the coffin for me. $800 is a pricy toy - $1500+ puts you in brand-new Octatrack terr…

A nice guitar costs just as much, despite being functionally equivalent to one 1/3 its price.

There’s not a ton of rationality in music gear, people like what they like.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#113

Post by jxf »

smoldesu wrote: post #33
malthaus wrote: post #30

I too would live in a pinterest-ready castle filled with toys but i dont have the stomach to rip off customers as shamelessly as TE is. The B&O of our generation.

Yep. Ostensibly there's nothing wrong with making pricy hipster audio equipment, but the rampant success of their marketing just makes me facepalm. People out there genuinely think the OP-1 is a $1000 product in 2023, which should inspire riots in the street. The OP-1 Field raising the price instead of lowering it is the last nail in the coffin for me. $800 is a pricy toy - $1500+ puts you in brand-new Octatrack terr…

> But, people pay for it. They want the whittled down, inspiring experience without any of the effort or trouble.

I don't know if this is the right analogy. Some people want to pay for features _not_ to be included in stuff because they enjoy the simplicity.

There are phones that don't have a browser or let you download apps, for example. That's not a "scam", that's just marketing to people who want simplicity.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#114

Post by smoldesu »

selykg wrote: post #83
sussmannbaka wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am also interested in the $300-500 all-in-one groovebox rivaling the OP-1 (without cow animation)

Same, show me what’s out there.

- Elektron Model: Samples

- Novation Circuit

- Roland MC-101

- Korg Electribe

- Used Digitakt

- (God forbid) Teenage Engineering OP-Z

The list goes on but those are the big names. Again, I'm mostly fascinated that such a nothingburger company like TE can capture the hearts of rich people everywhere. Maybe it just goes to show that the most successful businesses aren't the ones with the best products, but with the most effective marketing and highest sex appeal.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#115

Post by [deleted] »

jxf wrote: post #113
smoldesu wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Ostensibly there's nothing wrong with making pricy hipster audio equipment, but the rampant success of their marketing just makes me facepalm. People out there genuinely think the OP-1 is a $1000 product in 2023, which should inspire riots in the street. The OP-1 Field raising the price instead of lowering it is the last nail in the coffin for me. $800 is a pricy toy - $1500+ puts you in brand-new Octatrack terr…

> But, people pay for it. They want the whittled down, inspiring experience without any of the effort or trouble. I don't know if this is the right analogy. Some people want to pay for features _not_ to be included in stuff because they enjoy the simplicity. There are phones that don't have a browser or let you download apps, for example. That's not a "scam", that's just marketing to people who want simplicity.

[deleted]

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#116

Post by lykahb »

malthaus wrote: post #30

I too would live in a pinterest-ready castle filled with toys but i dont have the stomach to rip off customers as shamelessly as TE is. The B&O of our generation.

Luxury products cannot always be called a rip-off. They just target a certain audience with different values and less sensitivity to price. Also, the people who create music would be more enthusiastic about the equipment than people who buy purely consumer electronics. So, I'd expect they'd know the options and simply prefer the deal Teenage Engineering offers.

In the modern audio landscape I'd rather pick Sonos as an example of a rip-off. High price, closed ecosystem, and data collection through the cloud services.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#117

Post by psychomugs »

smoldesu wrote: post #110
psychomugs wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... you judge character based on appearances? No other gear company has tackled the all-in-one synth-sequencer-4trackrecorder-groovebox that is the OP-1 in the decade since its release. TE not capitalizing on this would be financially naive.

My opinion is based off the weekend I spent with a rented model. I very quickly realized that the OP-1 is like an iPhone app that someone turned into pricy hardware. > No other gear company has tackled the all-in-one synth-sequencer-4trackrecorder-groovebox Seriously? Plenty of other companies have. If you're old enough to remember, Elektron had an 8 track sequencer/recorder/groovebox that cost roughly the same price…

That last 10% is precisely the point. Nothing AFAIK has the audio-oriented tape-style workflow with a keyboard and groovebox functionality in as small a footprint as the OP-1. The reality is that the OP-1 has been successful enough to warrant a successor and that are not negatively affecting other manufacturers doing whatever they want to do with their offerings, and this affects you personally... how?

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#118

Post by psychomugs »

whatshisface wrote: post #106
psychomugs wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... you judge character based on appearances? No other gear company has tackled the all-in-one synth-sequencer-4trackrecorder-groovebox that is the OP-1 in the decade since its release. TE not capitalizing on this would be financially naive.

I am pretty sure real professionals use carefully configured personal computers with keyboards plugged in.

The same as how professional photographers use expensive 'real' capital-C Cameras with interchangeable capital-L Lenses but still carry pocketable point-and-shoots for 'fun,' e.g. Ricoh GR, Fuji X100. Tools should be enjoyable to use, which these gadgets offer in spades.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#119

Post by smoldesu »

psychomugs wrote: post #117
smoldesu wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My opinion is based off the weekend I spent with a rented model. I very quickly realized that the OP-1 is like an iPhone app that someone turned into pricy hardware. > No other gear company has tackled the all-in-one synth-sequencer-4trackrecorder-groovebox Seriously? Plenty of other companies have. If you're old enough to remember, Elektron had an 8 track sequencer/recorder/groovebox that cost roughly the same price…

That last 10% is precisely the point. Nothing AFAIK has the audio-oriented tape-style workflow with a keyboard and groovebox functionality in as small a footprint as the OP-1. The reality is that the OP-1 has been successful enough to warrant a successor and that are not negatively affecting other manufacturers doing whatever they want to do with their offerings, and this affects you personally... how?

I just find it utterly fascinating how rich, clueless tech workers throw money at cool-looking companies they see on YouTube. It's so unfathomably stupid to me that I feel the need to share it on HN, but I realize in retrospect this community might not share my opinion.

Re: Interview with the founder of Teenage Engineering

#120

Post by MetaWhirledPeas »

sowbug wrote: post #85
sussmannbaka wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am also interested in the $300-500 all-in-one groovebox rivaling the OP-1 (without cow animation)

https://dirtywave.com/ Close enough.

That's a $600 product. Perhaps less expensive but not not-expensive. And it lacks knobs and piano keys.
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