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OP-1 field

teenage.engineering

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Re: OP-1 field

#241

Post by hammyhavoc »

bodge5000 wrote: post #10
xcambar wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TE does greatly, as a cult. Also, good products.

> Also, good products Kind of. In my experience, design gets priority over things like usability and durability. My OP-Z is barely usable after a few years of owning it due to the (admittedly nice) material the chasis is made of. The buttons frequently double trig, the dials have popped out, and it's got a bit of a bend in it. I also get some mis-trig issues on the pocket operators, though for the price I don't mind…

Their support is piss-poor for their products. Would love an OP-Z, but quality and durability is unacceptable.

Re: OP-1 field

#243

Post by dreamcompiler »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #237
dreamcompiler wrote: post #219

This is an absolutely magical device that nevertheless makes me sad. When I was a kid I thought I'd be riding around in flying cars by now. The problem ended up surprising me: It's not that flying cars don't exist--they do. The problem is they cost a million dollars because every one is built by hand. So there's no way I'll ever own one. I'd also like to have a portable synth with great sound, long battery life, a mu…

A laptop satisfies most needs. If you can't make a modern VST sound good, the problem isn't the tools.

Agreed, but I love the idea of a real keyboard that's self-contained.

Re: OP-1 field

#244

Post by crispyambulance »

capableweb wrote: post #122
crispyambulance wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great design and designers exist everywhere. There's nothing extrinsic to the companies in the US, Europe or Asia that makes any of them better at design. It's all about the internals of the companies themselves. I would say, however, that Teenage Engineering is "small" enough to take the kinds of risks that bigger companies just aren't able to do (even with much more money). Here's a fast company article ( https://w…

> Contrast that with KORG, who a few years ago created a "lab" in Berlin staffed with superstars with intention of creating ground-breaking music tech ( https://youtu.be/Y0NY6iUqbEM ). They clearly poured A LOT of money into that venture. Similar kind of hipster vibe, but what became of it? I don't know but it seems like Teenage Engineering is doing just fine. That seems to have been kicked off just short of two year…

It's a little more than 2 years, and there should have been projects underway before even moving to Berlin.

I am sure they're doing good work and it's probably awesome to work there, but looking at the website, it's the kind of thing corporate bean-counters have nightmares about: https://korg.berlin/ No glimmer of product teases, just cool people bios, insta/facebook links, and oh yeah, they have a cookbook of recipes you can download!

Sort of makes me think of Brett Victor's DynamicLand project-- has a really awesome vibe, but where's the stuff?

Re: OP-1 field

#245

Post by LegitShady »

varispeed wrote: post #28
import wrote: post #19

I have mixed feelings about OP1. It’s like a cave man jam toy but also something capable of creating accidental awesomeness. 2000$ is questionable. I wonder what we will see in the sponsored YouTube videos.

Product development of such calibre is expensive, especially given the volatility of the supply chains today. $2000 given what you get is a bargain. Mind you, it's not a product being manufactured at scale like mobile phones. The cost of development of the enclosure alone must have taken several mortgages ;-)

That's nonsense. It's approaching the price of an arturia polybrute. You don't get a lot for the money - it was overpriced before this new model, now its just obscene.

Re: OP-1 field

#246

Post by hammyhavoc »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #243
hammyhavoc wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A laptop satisfies most needs. If you can't make a modern VST sound good, the problem isn't the tools.

Agreed, but I love the idea of a real keyboard that's self-contained.

The OP-1 has a chiclet style keyboard. It isn't velocity sensitive. It is literally doing what Ableton Live et al can do with playing QWERTY keys. Not an Ableton Live exclusive feature either, most DAWs can do it OOBE these days.

Honestly, small MIDI controller and Cubasis on a phone, and you'll do everything the OP-1 can do and much more.

Re: OP-1 field

#247

Post by 999900000999 »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #234
999900000999 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An iPad Mini + a Bluetooth midi keyboard will do anything this can do better and easier. You pay for the brand and to say on Twitter that you use hardware

"Hardware". It's DSP. It doesn't even have an analog filter, right?

Not much is actually hardware anymore. Unless you actually mean like an old school synth keyboard.

Re: OP-1 field

#248

Post by hammyhavoc »

999900000999 wrote: post #247
hammyhavoc wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Hardware". It's DSP. It doesn't even have an analog filter, right?

Not much is actually hardware anymore. Unless you actually mean like an old school synth keyboard.

What are you talking about? Analog synths and analog hardware as a whole are having a renaissance. There's more brand new analog synths on the market today than there have ever been. There's even a new Oberheim.

Re: OP-1 field

#249

Post by tarnith »

filoleg wrote: post #221
dmcginty wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And for the $2000 MSRP of the OP-1 Field you could buy a brand new 13" MacBook Pro, an Ableton Live Standard 11 license, a Scarlett Solo audio interface, an M-Audio Keystation 49 USB MIDI controller, and still have some money left over.

That's like telling someone that for the price of a new BMW S1000RR motorcycle, they can instead buy a really good Honda Civic, because a Honda Civic can carry more passengers, you can sleep in it, it is more reliable, safer, cheaper to service, holds resale value better, more versatile when it comes to different weather conditions, etc. You are missing the point that those in the market for BMW S1000RR are often awa…

Correct. In this case the laptop+audio interface is a lot closer to the BMW S1000RR if we're using this analogy for music production.

The OP-1 if we're using motorcycle analogies is like a Zero. Really cool, new tech, quirky, doesn't use gas (a traditional DAW) but also comes with a bunch of limitations (can't load any of your normal synths into it, have to work around sampling) kind of like the limited range of electric motorcycles.

Totally fine if what you want is an electric bike for city commuting or short trips, until you want to go on a weekend trip or a track day. Now you're waiting on charging, and limited in power.

I think we've stretched this analogy far enough. I wouldn't call a laptop with an audio interface and Ableton a Honda Civic. OP-1 fills a niche, but it certainly isn't high end performance in terms of audio quality or malleability. They're really cool, creative, unique ways of making music if you like the interface, but ultimately a quirky niche in terms of actual production.

Re: OP-1 field

#250

Post by throw_m239339 »

blub wrote: post #77
bravura wrote: post #35

The people complaining about the price tag: I get it. But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song. Why has no one else figured that out? With all these groove boxes etc, why has no other music gear taken the step of being portable and all-in-one. Show me another way to write a song in an airplane, and you can have my money.

There are a ton of replies with counter-examples, but all of those are not exactly like the OP-1: a fun, easy to use, ultraportable, immediate music creation sketchpad. Many other grooveboxes are quite painful to use. Here I’d include the Korg Electribe which is terrible at inputting musical notes. Or the several trackers which look more like scientific calculators than musical instruments. My MPC live can run circle…

> but all of those are not exactly like the OP-1: a fun, easy to use, ultraportable, immediate music creation sketchpad.

BULLSHIT. There are tons of things the OP-1 DOES NOT DO that other devices listed here actually do. And frankly the OP-1 synth sound like crap, so it's not really inspiring for some of us musicians... when it comes to fun, that $2000 thing with a crappy sequencer is not fun to me.

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