Teenage Engineering OP-1? Badass?

[jskadiang]

This damn thing has seriously gotten me interested, and every review I've read either says it's an overpriced toy or it's the second coming of the synth messiah. Anyone here owns one and loves it and wants to make me $850 poorer? Or you know, the other way around.

Youtube clips all don't seem to really showcase its capability, but it sure looks like a shitload of fun. I know it sounds like I've already made up my mind but I'd love to hear your opinions on it!

[hazelwould]

I think Cloudscapes has one.

[skullservant]

Yeah, he does. It's a pretty crazy little synth.

I saw a guy use it live once, but he definitely didn't use it to its full potential. It looks like it would be so intuitive to use once you got used to it

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

i've had one for about a month now. it IS an overpriced toy/synth, but its also a synth/drum sampler, a drum synth, multiple kinds of sequencers, fx unit, 4 track tape recorder, sampler, fm radio, midi controller, its even got a video game on it thats mega hard. so its actually not so overpriced, but yea its a lot of scratch.

the synths sound soo good on it (and u get a lot of different flavors w/ all the different synth engines, LFOs and FX), and its very simple to use. minimalist and limited in certain aspects, yet u can get very complex sounds out of it. but this is why i like it, it forces u to think differently in order to create. its unique and has a certain charm to it. and above all it sounds TITs.
the graphic displays for all the menus are fun and cheeky, aesthetically it is beautiful. it has that 80s casio keyboard vibe to it, but its got a lot more power and functionalilty under the hood.

also TE seems very dedicated to the device and to updating it w/ new features, like the new OS they just dropped for NAMM. I think that they are only using a fraction of the DSP power that the OP1 is capable of. they are some cool dudes, and they are very receptive to feedback from their users based on what i've seen over at ohpeewon.com, the op1 forum.

yea so to recap, it sounds great and is a lot of fun to use, and its portable! battery lasts like 16 hours on one charge. its badass.

[jskadiang]

SOLD. I suppose if I somehow manage to hate it, I'd be able to flip it without too drastic a loss? I'm itching to get my hands on one now. A common issue I've read about is that the built-in sounds are just not particular tweakable? I'd probably be able to get around that with the sampler, but still.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

yea they seem to hold their value pretty well. i got mine used for the same price TE sells them for, but i didn't have to pay the shipping/customs charges if i had ordered direct from TE. most of the ones on ebay i've seen go for around that $800-850+ range.

i guess it would depend on what your used to, but I think the sounds are tweakable enough. it IS def simple w/ the 4 knob, 4 menu per, layout, but u can run pretty wild w/ those. i think if you're used to (or searching for) something like a DS Evolver/Moog/ARP/Radias type shit where theres a million knobs, yea its not gunna be nearly as tweakable, but i've owned several of those types of synths in the past, and all the knobs start to confuse me, which actually ends up hindering my creativity. instead of tweaking the knobs to really zone in on my own sounds, i get flustered and end up just scrolling thru presets. but i'm a big fan of limitations and learing to freak the limitations.

for sound shaping the actual synth engine there is 4 knobs to tweak the sound, but then when u throw in the envelope, FX, and the many different LFO's, u can make some crazy sounds. keep in mind that there is like 6-8 different synth engines not including the synth sampler or the drum synth. each has its own character and tweakable settings. so u get a very wide and versatile palette u can choose from (8 bit, FM, pulse, multiwave, string, digital wave are a few i can think of off the top).

YMMV obv, and this is more of my own opinions on what i like and what fits my style. to me, its the perfect marriage of simplicity and complexity. the controls are very simple, but the sounds that u can create can be otherworldly.

oh and yea u can use multiple synth engines/fx/4 track tape/bouncing/resampling to make crazy layered sounds and then u just copy paste into the synth sampler and u got a whole other dimension of sound creation.

[jskadiang]

Damn, that does sound like it's right up my alley. I own a Korg PS60 and a DSI Mopho, both of which are basically preset-driven even though the DSI is basically knob-per-function. 300 factory presets should never be a selling point IMO. Thanks for the input man!

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

no problem man! glad to be of help.

i used my op1 last night at a house show on some ambient/noise/drone vibe w/ my friend playing the banjo. it was pretty fuckin awesome.

[kosta]

no problem man! glad to be of help.

i used my op1 last night at a house show on some ambient/noise/drone vibe w/ my friend playing the banjo. it was pretty fuckin awesome.

You're pretty f'n awesome, Sticks. (I bet that shit ruled.)

[kbit]

As the Dr. said, it sounds really, really good.

[Achtane]

The interface is really impressive, I hadn't seen any footage of it before now. Sounds super cool.

[jskadiang]

no problem man! glad to be of help.

i used my op1 last night at a house show on some ambient/noise/drone vibe w/ my friend playing the banjo. it was pretty fuckin awesome.

Shit that sounds like a gig I'd watch. Any chance of a vid?

[Muse FTW]

I have had mine for a little over 2 weeks now, and I love it to death. Super portable, long battery life, SO MANY SOUNDS...very easy to export songs/import samples and the interface is the best I've ever seen/used.

Totally worth it. Going to update it tonight with the new OS.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

no problem man! glad to be of help.

i used my op1 last night at a house show on some ambient/noise/drone vibe w/ my friend playing the banjo. it was pretty fuckin awesome.

You're pretty f'n awesome, Sticks. (I bet that shit ruled.)

awwww shucks kosta YOURe pretty AWESOME

I have had mine for a little over 2 weeks now, and I love it to death. Super portable, long battery life, SO MANY SOUNDS...very easy to export songs/import samples and the interface is the best I've ever seen/used.

Totally worth it. Going to update it tonight with the new OS.

d000d two words....finger sequencer. monkeys and hipstahz altho i think my fav is still endless.

just cuz we're op1 bros, heres some drumkits i made for it:
http://soundcloud.com/digdugproductions/sets/digdug-op-1-drumkits/

Shit that sounds like a gig I'd watch. Any chance of a vid?

unfortunately no, but i'll bet we'll get some video soon enough. last night was kind of a test run, the maiden voyage if u will.

[Chankgeez]

no problem man! glad to be of help.

i used my op1 last night at a house show on some ambient/noise/drone vibe w/ my friend playing the banjo. it was pretty fuckin awesome.

Shit that sounds like a gig I'd watch. Any chance of a vid?

Banjo & synth? Where do I sign up?