20 ms·

OP-1 field

289 points by bpierre 4y ago

cestith 4y ago
This is yet another Teenage Engineering bauble that as an interested amateur I love to look at and at 1/4 to 1/3 the price might consider buying. I'm glad their target market can justify their prices because their stuff is really nice. I'm just not part of it.
0atman 4y ago
I clicked through to the store thinking "Come on TE, what pricepoint have you set this time", and it's $2,000. Two grand. I chuckled, and closed the tab.
- motogpjimbo 4y ago
  For the same money it would be possible to buy the full version of a DAW of your choice, Kontakt, Arturia V-Collection and a PC to run them all on. I'm sure the OP-1 is fun, but I doubt it's £2,000 worth of fun.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    And the debate of hardware vs software continues! It's true that if you just compare the costs, it might be cheaper to go the software route. But I mainly make music to go away from the computer, as I spend a lot of my days programming on one already. And the ability of pulling me away from the computer you can't put a price on :) Plus, fiddling with real knobs that affect the sound in real-time, having a keyboard with a heavy feel, being able to turn on the hardware and instantly be able to use it (no fucking around with forced updates) and the ability to mod your own hardware with just a solder-iron is just like really really fun.
    - motogpjimbo 4y ago
      In hardware terms, it's the same price as a Yamaha Montage. The OP-1 isn't good value for money no matter how you look at it.
      - goldenkey 4y ago
        Utility decreases as one acquires more money. For someone with a lot of money the OP-1 might be worth it. But yes, on an objective scale, the OP-1 is not competitive.
      - capableweb 4y ago
        Sorry, didn't want to give the impression that the OP-1 (original or this one) is good money spent, because that I don't think. The price of this (+ the rest of their products) are wildly over-priced. I was more talking about the whole software VS hardware side of things. If I had $2000 to throw around, I'd buy a Syntakt + Digitone/Digitakt instead and get a setup that could do whatever I want + more.
        motogpjimbo 4y ago
        No, I was just pointing out that its functionality doesn't really justify the price tag when you compare it with what's also available elsewhere. £2,000 would also buy you a Korg Minilogue XD, a Korg Opsix, a Korg Wavestate AND some form of groovebox or hardware sequencer to tie them all together, if you like small form factor gear.
        capableweb 4y ago
        > No, I was just pointing out that its functionality doesn't really justify the price tag when you compare it with what's also available elsewhere Yeah, I agree with that, which I thought my previous comment made clear, maybe I wasn't clear enough.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - hammyhavoc 4y ago
      Calling an OP-1 "hardware" is a real stretch considering it is digital and doesn't even have velocity sensitive keys.
  - skinpop 4y ago
    I hate working with DAWS and plugins. I went all in on modular a few years ago and wish I had done so a decade earlier.
- monatron 4y ago
  I remember buying the first OP-1 when it came out for something around $700 and even then thought "wow, this is a stretch". Since then they _raised_ the price of the original north of $1k. Don't get me wrong, TE makes incredible stuff and the OP-1 is no exception, but the price point just doesn't make sense unless you have serious money to burn. I had the same reaction to you after seeing the price for the mk2. At least, like a lot of synths, they hold their value?
  - capableweb 4y ago
    > At least, like a lot of synths, they hold their value? Like most synths, it seems so. Obviously not adjusted for the launch of the new "field" OP-1 yet, but locally (EU country) the OP-1 seems to go for about 700-1000 EUR second-hand. New one in stores here seems to still be 1100+ EUR (closest store to me lists it at ~1200 EUR new).
  - agloeregrets 4y ago
    > but the price point just doesn't make sense unless you have serious money to burn. Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. I think the market is massively successful artists and they know they will pay.
    - JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago
      40%? That seems like a lot. Where did that number come from?
    - objclxt 4y ago
      > Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. I’d love to see a citation for that. Lots of artists use it for demos, and it’s a good live tool, but if you look at modern pop it’s being produced with soft synths or Sequentials, Rolands, Korgs, etc.
    - throw_m239339 4y ago
      > Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. Citation needed, given how poorly its synthesizer engine sounds, I do not believe that the case one second. It's certainly hip among hobbyists though because praised by a bunch of youtube influencers... To me your comment sounds like something you just made up entirely.
- xcambar 4y ago
  TE does greatly, as a cult. Also, good products.
  - bodge5000 4y ago
    > 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 them as much. The original OP-1 didnt seem to have these issues at least. That being said, I've never been able to fully replace my OP-Z with anything else on offer so yeh, they're innovative if nothing else.
    - hammyhavoc 4y ago
      Their support is piss-poor for their products. Would love an OP-Z, but quality and durability is unacceptable.
- cushychicken 4y ago
  If any business on this site has taken to heart the advice to charge more, it's Teenage Engineering. Doesn't really seem to be hurting them, now, does it?
  - iamricks 4y ago
    If you can't be the cheapest be the most expensive
    - hammyhavoc 4y ago
      They aren't the most expensive though. Value-wise, perhaps.
capableweb 4y ago
HN is usually fine when it comes to the technical details about music making and new instruments. But if you want to read opinions from people who make music but not all of them are technical, here are some other threads to follow: - https://www.elektronauts.com/t/new-op1-field/172653 https://www.elektronauts.com/t/new-op1-field/172653 - https://op-forums.com/t/new-op-1-field/21969 https://op-forums.com/t/new-op-1-field/21969 - https://old.reddit.com/r/OP1users/comments/unwdo9/op1_just_got_a_new_model_with_a_tonne_of_upgrades/ https://old.reddit.com/r/OP1users/comments/unwdo9/op1_just_g... Surprisingly, no thread at gearspace yet
xdfgh1112 4y ago
I was just about to sell my OP-1 too, there goes the resale price.
- bodge5000 4y ago
  And here comes my chance at finally getting an OP-1 ;)
- marban 4y ago
  I bought mine 3 months ago at sticker price. I hear you.
- post_break 4y ago
  Let me know what you're selling it for, I've always wanted one but never been able to afford it.
marban 4y ago
Given that the feature list reads almost like new product and the OG is already pretty complex, I'm most definitely happier with mine now than before.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Yeah, "new product" indeed, especially considering these "features" from that huge "feature" list: - NEW COLOR SCHEME - DUAL VELCRO® BACK FASTENERS - ERGONOMIC POWER SWITCH - ULTRA-FIDELITY HEADPHONE OUTPUT - NEW CUSTOM USB CABLE - NEW FONT - NEW METRONOME SOUND - NEW PACKAGING - QR CODE GUIDE LINK I'm not gonna lie, I'm generally a teenage engineering fan (besides the price that is), but some of those features sounds like part of a comedy/sarcastic copy of the actual launch website.
  - marban 4y ago
    Yeah, new packaging might pull me over
  - Spunkie 4y ago
    They also relist the same feature multiple times in slightly different ways ... - INTERNAL FM ANTENNA FOR BOTH RX AND TX - BUILT-IN FM RADIO TRANSMISSION - OB–4 COMPATIBLE USING FM TX OR WIRE
chaosprint 4y ago
It looks nice and I may consider buying one for research purpose. But I know the price tag can be quite high for many. Maybe that's partially the reason that I believe free and open-source software is a form or music democratisation. I would like to invite those who are interested in this idea to try my live coding project in the browser: https://glicol.org https://glicol.org I have been taking this project to different workshops and there will be more. The most unforgettable experience so far is that in one place the host can only provide old laptops that can hardly run Chrome smoothly. It really makes me think a lot afterwards. There are so many people excluded from music making due to the price tag. On the one hand, it's exciting to see the exploration aestheticism, design and interaction. But on the other hand, we should really consider the democratisation of music tech.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Talking about making it easier to write music and then linking to a programming language for making music feels a bit weird. Yes, hardware is a barrier for sure, but a even larger barrier would be to put it behind a complicated programming language. If we really want to "democratize music tech" (whatever that means), then I think things like the Korg Volcas are much closer to achieving that. Cheaper than most computer hardware, very intuitive even for people who never touched a synth before, and hardware that is relatively easy to grok, even the insides of it. Easy to take apart as well. The only thing missing from the Volcas would be a completely open source design both for the hardware and the firmware. That would get us much closer than a programming language for music could ever.
  - bambax 4y ago
    I disagree. I think there is room for both. I own two Volcas, and don't use them much unfortunately. The problem with hardware is it's extremely difficult, or downright impossible, to save state. On a physical modular synth, the only way to remember what you did is to write it down or (maybe) take pictures. On a virtual modular synth all you have to do is Save As. I'm sure OP-1 can save its patches, but that doesn't address the problem of the whole chain, or backups.
22c 4y ago
Link should be https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1 https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1
anentropic 4y ago
The design is beautiful, but it's not really clear from this page what it is.
- dkdbejwi383 4y ago
  It's quite obvious to me that it's a keyboard instrument from the first picture alone. The copy gives plenty of information on the synthesis and sampling capabilities.
  - anentropic 4y ago
    Yeah I can see it has a keyboard, presumably some kind of synthesiser. It also appears to have some recording facility, but not clear how to get audio into it - can't tell what ports it has. Is the recording feature just for sequencing internal sample and synth sounds? Or... they highlight the new version now has a 2.4ghz antenna - do you stream audio in/out over bluetooth? A little explanation of basically what it can do or how they imagine it being used would go a long way
    - dkdbejwi383 4y ago
      I think both of your questions are answered on the page. Maybe not in the direct manner in which you have asked, but my understanding is that recording is possible with the mixer accessory mentioned towards the bottom, and the antennas are for the Bluetooth MIDI feature heavily emphasised towards the top. Maybe they do need a FAQ with a basic Q&A format, though. e.g. Why does it have antennas? How do I record? What do the knobs do? How many instruments are included? How do I transfer recordings to my computer or phone? etc.
    - filoleg 4y ago
      > not clear how to get audio into it In terms of wired connectors, it has USB-C, line in and out sockets, and a 4-pole audio jack for headset or mic support. OP-1 also has its own mic built into the body as well.
- validuser 4y ago
baisq 4y ago
Someone put "image-rendering: optimizespeed;" in the css and all the images look blocky.
- capableweb 4y ago
  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  - baisq 4y ago
    That's not how any of this works.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- bowsamic 4y ago
  It's part of their aesthetic
import 4y ago
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.
- varispeed 4y ago
  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 ;-)
  - LegitShady 4y ago
    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.
stephc_int13 4y ago
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)
- _def 4y ago
  In a creative context/process I think it is a good thing if you can toy around with a device/instrument in a playful way. I'd definitely love if they would make their devices hackable though, that would unlock so much potential and the community is there.
- sneak 4y ago
  It's called the Playdate. https://play.date/dev/ https://play.date/dev/
  - hypertele-Xii 4y ago
    General purpose pocket computer, he said.
    - sneak 4y ago
      The demand was "more general purpose", though. The Playdate has an SDK and apps. The OP1 does not. I think it applies. :)
  - stephc_int13 4y ago
    Yeah, this completely the opposite. Two buttons, no peripherals, clearly a toy.
- amazing_stories 4y ago
  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 patterns and 128 measures is enough to write a good song). Also, Pocket Operators are cheap as hell, most under $100.
bravura 4y ago
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.
- lynndotpy 4y ago
  Another example: Sunvox, runs on about everything. Extremely versatile for something that originally targeted Windows CE and Palm Pilot. I don't make much music, but I've been having a blast tinkering with it.
- severak_cz 4y ago
  Cheaper way is to use Caustic 3 on old Android phone while commuting by bus. Been there, done that! :-D Of course - it's all in software solution but it's pretty powerful actually. But it's more like a DAW or tracker style of things.
- capableweb 4y ago
  > Why has no one else figured that out? It is literally not the only piece of music gear you can bring on a airplane and write a whole song... Just a recent example, the Syntakt is very capable for writing full songs. So is other gear in the Elektron lineup, namely Digitakt. Otherwise you also have (cheaper) gear like the Novation Circuit Tracks that can also do the same. I mean, a cursory search for "portable grooveboxes" should have revealed a ton of results for you, that are able to do the same job as the OP-1 but for even as low as 1/4 of the price (the Circuit Tracks)
  - blub 4y ago
    The Syntakt is not battery powered. I guess one could buy a beefy battery pack and adapter cable, but… what’s the point? The Tracks is nice, but the synth engines are not fully accessible in the hw interface. At least the params are labeled now, trying to change sounds on my original was quite frustrating.
aosaigh 4y ago
Who is this for? Is it for music professionals who can actually record music (or ideas) on the go? Or is it for wealthy enthusiasts who have cash to throw around at a fun piece of kit? It's a beautiful piece of hardware from a design-first company and from all the reviews of the original it seems to be an excellent and unique music making machine, but at the price I'm just not sure who it's aimed at. I'm not a musician but I've played the piano for a lot of my life. I'd love to experiment with making music and the original OP-1 looked like a lot of fun. I'd kept my eye on it and was thinking of pulling the trigger. At $1k+ though it was a total stretch for a non-professional. The new OP-1 at $2k+ is just ludicrous.
- comboy 4y ago
  It's not ludicrous. It's rational decision on their part. OP-1 is still available, expensive and sells well. If you want to experiment you have everything you want on your laptop. There are many alternative cheaper solutions. It is somewhat unique and well thought-out. The fact that you were considering it at $1k just proves their point.
- enneff 4y ago
  It’s a great bit of fun that can produce interesting and surprising sounds. For a lot of musicians a fun piece of gear can be a source of inspiration, which can be very valuable. So yeah, it’s a toy, but you can make real music with toys.
malthaus 4y ago
I'm convinced TE is just a show case for pricing consultants
polyterative 4y ago
great design
voigt 4y ago
I hope for 2k bugs it has at least an „undo“-button. The classic op1 doesn’t have one. Would increase my productivity dramatically.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Unlikely. People hailed the lack of undo (and the tape-recorder) as a feature because it makes you either commit to your mistakes, or having to re-record. Not for me, but that's what I've heard people say about it. And also, "undo" is mentioned nowhere, and since they add "new packaging" to their list of features, I think undo would be mentioned there if it had it. I've heard an equal amount of people praising the lack of undo, as berating the OP-1 for lacking one, so they surely would have added it if they wanted to.
planb 4y ago
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.
- danielvaughn 4y ago
  same! I’m vaguely interested in the idea of programmatically creating music, but I don’t think that’s the TE products are for, but still…I want one.
- throw_m239339 4y ago
  > 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. Because you are the target, people who like nice looking hip things and can afford it. That device doesn't do much, doesn't sound particularly good, and certainly is sold to you at a premium. No wonder these products are sold at the MOMA...
  - httpsterio 4y ago
    I beg to differ. I mean sure, the OP-1 isn't as versatile as a laptop with a good daw and a few plugins but hardware still has its' place in some producers' gear bag. For a standalone device it's extremely versatile and it does sound good.
    - throw_m239339 4y ago
      > I beg to differ. I mean sure, the OP-1 isn't as versatile as a laptop with a good daw and a few plugins but hardware still has its' place in some producers' gear bag. For a standalone device it's extremely versatile and it does sound good. First, we're not talking about hardware in general but that TE device precisely and second "it sounds good" is really a matter of taste here, the synth engine is very limited and the first version didn't sound really good given its price. This is absolutely a hipster device, just like all TE products. https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 650€ for a freaking radio? Don't make it about hardware vs software, this red herring has nothing to do with my comment.
thih9 4y ago
There are some nice improvements, but also: > ERGONOMIC POWER SWITCH > NEW METRONOME SOUND > NEW PACKAGING > INCREASED TOMBOLA SIMULATION ACCURACY It's nice to have a company that doesn't take themselves too seriously. How are people paying 2k for that though, I do not know.
KingOfCoders 4y ago
$2000 - Teenage engineering worked hard to become an identy product and now can charge for it. If you sell identity, no price is too high. Do I want one? Yes. Do I buy one? No the identity tax is too high for me. (though I like my Teenage Engineering PO-20, but a Novation Circuit works for my dabbling with sequencing).
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
possibleworlds 4y ago
Off topic, but does anyone have stereo OD11s? I’m seriously interested in these as an alternative to spending too much money on a two channel system that beams at a single sweet spot.
Shadonototra 4y ago
i have no idea what this is, but what a beautifully designed thing, it makes me want to use it, just to feel it lol
fbanon 4y ago
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 :)
- j5r5myk 4y ago
  I know a few professional musicians who have them and you can look up a host of famous musicians who are known to use them: Diplo, Bon Iver, Deadmau5, Yasutaka Nakata, even Ariana Grande has one. It seems to occupy a similar space to the Elektron products —- high end with a steep learning curve
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    There isn't much of a learning curve. Modern Elektron products also don't have much of a learning curve versus their pre-Digi lineup.
- alin23 4y ago
  Well there’s this guy on YouTube who demos all kinds of synths and got a huge following from his OP-1 videos: https://youtu.be/7z4hoazra_g https://youtu.be/7z4hoazra_g The video shows me that OP-1 is a pretty cool all-in-one package, but it probably needs honing a special skill to work with it as smoothly as that guy does.
  - mrkwse 4y ago
    Even with RMR though, he's pretty much moved away from the OP-1 videos, I can't recall the video where he explained why 100%, but I think he found it a bit creatively constraining.
    - Gigachad 4y ago
      He got upset a while ago because someone else started making a similar style of OP-1 videos (Top down, subtitles, wooden desk) which he felt was theft of his creative property.
krnlpnc 4y ago
I was so excited to see the announcement! Finally some new OP-1 stock will drive the prices back down to the original ~$700 mark. Nope! On what planet is this actually worth $2000? I'm really disappointed to see TE become this lifestyle company and continue jacking up their prices.
- cxcorp 4y ago
  The hi-fi audiophile world is certainly an expensive one.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    Music production isn't "hi-fi audiophile", and the OP-1 isn't hi-fi, nor audiophile, if anything, it is lo-fi.
- nathanvanfleet 4y ago
  I feel like I have also seen this in the espresso community. Companies sprung up that are address a boutique audience that ultimately seems to be best-in-class but also charge some astronomical prices.
- 999900000999 4y ago
  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
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    "Hardware". It's DSP. It doesn't even have an analog filter, right?
    - 999900000999 4y ago
      Not much is actually hardware anymore. Unless you actually mean like an old school synth keyboard.
krnlpnc 4y ago
From 2011: Finally. After more than two years of development the OP-1 is now ready for production. Due to initial limited supply we now accept reservations. Manufacturing, assembly and shipping will be eight weeks. $799 https://web.archive.org/web/20110201230202/http://namm.teenageengineering.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20110201230202/http://namm.teena...
- tibbon 4y ago
  As a studio enthusiast and electronic musician, I always felt this was a reasonable price for the OP-1. I have a _lot_ of synths here, ranging from the high end Moog Voyager to various Pocket Operators by Teenage Engineering. $2000 however is just too much for this. The Polyend Tracker sells for $500 used in comparison, and while its drastically different - is vaguely competitive to the OP-1.
  - tarentel 4y ago
    Polyend also just announced another groovebox that is vaguely competitive to the op-1 for $800. Looks a bit like a slimmed down deluge, which for half the price of the new OP-1, I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a portable music station or groovebox in general. I've had it for about 5 years now and they are still actively working on it which is a nice bonus.
- tweetle_beetle 4y ago
  Wasn't it originally manufactured in Europe to boot? Seem to remember a major price rise coming when they had moved production to Asia. There were many people selling their used European models for more than they had paid because it was still cheaper than the new RRP. I guess TE took advantage of demand for an established product and use it to subsidise their other lines and new development, which I can't see them selling much volume on for the most part (maybe Pocket Operators?).
tmountain 4y ago
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 out of the box. Sure, you can load up the sampler with tons of cool tones and op1.fun is a wonderful resource, but it's a lot of work to go curate a bunch of sounds to compensate for a lackluster palette. I can already hear people saying that I'm missing the point and that the constraints are designed to inspire creativity, etc. I respect that point of view, but at the end of the day, my creative time is at a premium, and I'd like to use that time to create stuff that I'm proud to show friends and family. Most of the stuff I produced with the OP-1 sounded like video game music or music for a kid's cartoon (i.e., Adventure Time). If that's your thing, then awesome! If not, I'd consider the core tonal possibilities before you make a big investment.
- freerobby 4y ago
  Agree about the built-in sounds, but I solved that pretty quickly by adding things like mellotron samples to it.
- tarentel 4y ago
  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 less. I was actually pretty excited to see this until I saw the price. I have spent a lot of money on electronic music gear, way more than 2000, and I'm a bit baffled about who this is for exactly.
  - zimpenfish 4y ago
    > 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.
blueblob 4y ago
As someone not in the field of audio engineering, I had no idea what this product is. The website focused on describing all the features without giving a simple 1-2 line description of what the product even is.
- luckydata 4y ago
  it's the kind of thing that if you don't know it's not for you. very hipster product for weird electronic musicians, more of a fashion statement than anything else really.
neoCrimeLabs 4y ago
The newly announced Polyend Play and Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field are great examples of very different UX and very different workflows to solve a similar problem - making music without a computer, creatively, ideally with a flow state. It's very interesting just looking at how they do it. Dunno if I will get either one, or both. Either way, I do appreciate the direction they are going in. :-)
thallavajhula 4y ago
I have no idea what this device even is, but it looks beautiful and I want to try it out.
YoyoyoPCP 4y ago
The OP-1 has been the single most inspiring tool I've had in a decade. Every other sampler I've bought has always failed to reliably draw me in. There is no putting a price on creativity. Sure, the competition can compete on specs and price, but they never seem to get me to want to turn them on like the OP-1. Just my opinion of course. But it is already a classic at this point and is deserving of respect.
randomcarbloke 4y ago
I do want it but man is it expensive, $1999...
riwsky 4y ago
Bon Iver, 2015 interview: > the thing I’m working with the most is the OP-1. It’s a sampler-based synthesizer, and I honestly think it’s the most important instrument that’s come into my life since I first picked up a guitar when I was 12 years old. I’m not exaggerating at all. I never leave the house without it. I don’t travel with the guitar anymore. I travel with just my OP-1. It’s been a big deal living with this thing. I love making music with it. I love traveling with it. I like using it as a writing extension. It’s a really special technology, essentially what a guitar is to me. https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/lost-in-the-world-justin-vernon-on-his-new-music-festival-and-the-uncertain-status-of-bon-iver/ https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/lost-in-the-world...
zasdffaa 4y ago
The cow. Why?
gitowiec 4y ago
Too expensive. But I'm glad there are people that can utilise it well! Eg. RedMeansRecording channel on YouTube!
psychomugs 4y ago
It would be amazing, and not too unlike TE, if they released some of these features as updates to the original OP-1. I'm particularly interested in the new tape recording styles.
elliotlarson 4y ago
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.
verilux68 4y ago
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?
mit20220401 4y ago
have read some comments here: > "They have the best designers, i feel like in the US we have no taste, i knew this couldn't be an American company." -- @iamricks how about monome (https://monome.org/norns https://monome.org/norns)? @chaosprint glicol is cool. another two interesting live coding languages are tidal (https://tidalcycles.org https://tidalcycles.org) and orca (https://100r.co/site/orca.html https://100r.co/site/orca.html)
leach 4y ago
I've always wanted to buy the OP-1 because it's such a cool little device. I'm not very talented when it comes to making music though so the steep price tag has always kept me away. Maybe one day i'll buy one
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- chaosprint 4y ago
  Perhaps you can try this to make music in the browser: https://learningmusic.ableton.com https://learningmusic.ableton.com Or my work: https://glicol.org https://glicol.org
deleted 4y ago
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dreamcompiler 4y ago
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 multitude of handy features, and excellent design. But it's the same surprising problem as the flying cars: The technology to build it exists but it costs 10x what I'd be comfortable paying. I'd be okay paying 2x for the great design, but 10x just makes the thing a piece of wealth-signifying jewelry. Even if somebody gave me one, I'd never want anybody to know I had it.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  A laptop satisfies most needs. If you can't make a modern VST sound good, the problem isn't the tools.
  - dreamcompiler 4y ago
    Agreed, but I love the idea of a real keyboard that's self-contained.
    - hammyhavoc 4y ago
      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.
lucidlive 4y ago
$2k? Yikes. I’m sure it’s cool cause I had the original OP-1 and it was lots of fun. But that’s just too expensive. You can get a serious analog synth at that price.
rzr999 4y ago
Are they happy to sell less for this price?

289 points by bpierre 4y ago

This is yet another Teenage Engineering bauble that as an interested amateur I love to look at and at 1/4 to 1/3 the price might consider buying. I'm glad their target market can justify their prices because their stuff is really nice. I'm just not part of it.

0atman 4y ago

I clicked through to the store thinking "Come on TE, what pricepoint have you set this time", and it's $2,000. Two grand. I chuckled, and closed the tab.

motogpjimbo 4y ago
For the same money it would be possible to buy the full version of a DAW of your choice, Kontakt, Arturia V-Collection and a PC to run them all on. I'm sure the OP-1 is fun, but I doubt it's £2,000 worth of fun.
- capableweb 4y ago
  And the debate of hardware vs software continues! It's true that if you just compare the costs, it might be cheaper to go the software route. But I mainly make music to go away from the computer, as I spend a lot of my days programming on one already. And the ability of pulling me away from the computer you can't put a price on :) Plus, fiddling with real knobs that affect the sound in real-time, having a keyboard with a heavy feel, being able to turn on the hardware and instantly be able to use it (no fucking around with forced updates) and the ability to mod your own hardware with just a solder-iron is just like really really fun.
  - motogpjimbo 4y ago
    In hardware terms, it's the same price as a Yamaha Montage. The OP-1 isn't good value for money no matter how you look at it.
    - goldenkey 4y ago
      Utility decreases as one acquires more money. For someone with a lot of money the OP-1 might be worth it. But yes, on an objective scale, the OP-1 is not competitive.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      Sorry, didn't want to give the impression that the OP-1 (original or this one) is good money spent, because that I don't think. The price of this (+ the rest of their products) are wildly over-priced. I was more talking about the whole software VS hardware side of things. If I had $2000 to throw around, I'd buy a Syntakt + Digitone/Digitakt instead and get a setup that could do whatever I want + more.
      - motogpjimbo 4y ago
        No, I was just pointing out that its functionality doesn't really justify the price tag when you compare it with what's also available elsewhere. £2,000 would also buy you a Korg Minilogue XD, a Korg Opsix, a Korg Wavestate AND some form of groovebox or hardware sequencer to tie them all together, if you like small form factor gear.
        capableweb 4y ago
        > No, I was just pointing out that its functionality doesn't really justify the price tag when you compare it with what's also available elsewhere Yeah, I agree with that, which I thought my previous comment made clear, maybe I wasn't clear enough.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    Calling an OP-1 "hardware" is a real stretch considering it is digital and doesn't even have velocity sensitive keys.
- skinpop 4y ago
  I hate working with DAWS and plugins. I went all in on modular a few years ago and wish I had done so a decade earlier.
monatron 4y ago
I remember buying the first OP-1 when it came out for something around $700 and even then thought "wow, this is a stretch". Since then they _raised_ the price of the original north of $1k. Don't get me wrong, TE makes incredible stuff and the OP-1 is no exception, but the price point just doesn't make sense unless you have serious money to burn. I had the same reaction to you after seeing the price for the mk2. At least, like a lot of synths, they hold their value?
- capableweb 4y ago
  > At least, like a lot of synths, they hold their value? Like most synths, it seems so. Obviously not adjusted for the launch of the new "field" OP-1 yet, but locally (EU country) the OP-1 seems to go for about 700-1000 EUR second-hand. New one in stores here seems to still be 1100+ EUR (closest store to me lists it at ~1200 EUR new).
- agloeregrets 4y ago
  > but the price point just doesn't make sense unless you have serious money to burn. Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. I think the market is massively successful artists and they know they will pay.
  - JoeyJoJoJr 4y ago
    40%? That seems like a lot. Where did that number come from?
  - objclxt 4y ago
    > Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. I’d love to see a citation for that. Lots of artists use it for demos, and it’s a good live tool, but if you look at modern pop it’s being produced with soft synths or Sequentials, Rolands, Korgs, etc.
  - throw_m239339 4y ago
    > Meanwhile, the OP-1 was used on like 40% of all modern pop music production process. Citation needed, given how poorly its synthesizer engine sounds, I do not believe that the case one second. It's certainly hip among hobbyists though because praised by a bunch of youtube influencers... To me your comment sounds like something you just made up entirely.
xcambar 4y ago
TE does greatly, as a cult. Also, good products.
- bodge5000 4y ago
  > 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 them as much. The original OP-1 didnt seem to have these issues at least. That being said, I've never been able to fully replace my OP-Z with anything else on offer so yeh, they're innovative if nothing else.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    Their support is piss-poor for their products. Would love an OP-Z, but quality and durability is unacceptable.
cushychicken 4y ago
If any business on this site has taken to heart the advice to charge more, it's Teenage Engineering. Doesn't really seem to be hurting them, now, does it?
- iamricks 4y ago
  If you can't be the cheapest be the most expensive
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    They aren't the most expensive though. Value-wise, perhaps.

capableweb 4y ago

HN is usually fine when it comes to the technical details about music making and new instruments. But if you want to read opinions from people who make music but not all of them are technical, here are some other threads to follow: - https://www.elektronauts.com/t/new-op1-field/172653 https://www.elektronauts.com/t/new-op1-field/172653 - https://op-forums.com/t/new-op-1-field/21969 https://op-forums.com/t/new-op-1-field/21969 - https://old.reddit.com/r/OP1users/comments/unwdo9/op1_just_got_a_new_model_with_a_tonne_of_upgrades/ https://old.reddit.com/r/OP1users/comments/unwdo9/op1_just_g... Surprisingly, no thread at gearspace yet

xdfgh1112 4y ago

I was just about to sell my OP-1 too, there goes the resale price.

bodge5000 4y ago
And here comes my chance at finally getting an OP-1 ;)
marban 4y ago
I bought mine 3 months ago at sticker price. I hear you.
post_break 4y ago
Let me know what you're selling it for, I've always wanted one but never been able to afford it.

marban 4y ago

Given that the feature list reads almost like new product and the OG is already pretty complex, I'm most definitely happier with mine now than before.

capableweb 4y ago
Yeah, "new product" indeed, especially considering these "features" from that huge "feature" list: - NEW COLOR SCHEME - DUAL VELCRO® BACK FASTENERS - ERGONOMIC POWER SWITCH - ULTRA-FIDELITY HEADPHONE OUTPUT - NEW CUSTOM USB CABLE - NEW FONT - NEW METRONOME SOUND - NEW PACKAGING - QR CODE GUIDE LINK I'm not gonna lie, I'm generally a teenage engineering fan (besides the price that is), but some of those features sounds like part of a comedy/sarcastic copy of the actual launch website.
- marban 4y ago
  Yeah, new packaging might pull me over
- Spunkie 4y ago
  They also relist the same feature multiple times in slightly different ways ... - INTERNAL FM ANTENNA FOR BOTH RX AND TX - BUILT-IN FM RADIO TRANSMISSION - OB–4 COMPATIBLE USING FM TX OR WIRE

chaosprint 4y ago

It looks nice and I may consider buying one for research purpose. But I know the price tag can be quite high for many. Maybe that's partially the reason that I believe free and open-source software is a form or music democratisation. I would like to invite those who are interested in this idea to try my live coding project in the browser: https://glicol.org https://glicol.org I have been taking this project to different workshops and there will be more. The most unforgettable experience so far is that in one place the host can only provide old laptops that can hardly run Chrome smoothly. It really makes me think a lot afterwards. There are so many people excluded from music making due to the price tag. On the one hand, it's exciting to see the exploration aestheticism, design and interaction. But on the other hand, we should really consider the democratisation of music tech.

capableweb 4y ago
Talking about making it easier to write music and then linking to a programming language for making music feels a bit weird. Yes, hardware is a barrier for sure, but a even larger barrier would be to put it behind a complicated programming language. If we really want to "democratize music tech" (whatever that means), then I think things like the Korg Volcas are much closer to achieving that. Cheaper than most computer hardware, very intuitive even for people who never touched a synth before, and hardware that is relatively easy to grok, even the insides of it. Easy to take apart as well. The only thing missing from the Volcas would be a completely open source design both for the hardware and the firmware. That would get us much closer than a programming language for music could ever.
- bambax 4y ago
  I disagree. I think there is room for both. I own two Volcas, and don't use them much unfortunately. The problem with hardware is it's extremely difficult, or downright impossible, to save state. On a physical modular synth, the only way to remember what you did is to write it down or (maybe) take pictures. On a virtual modular synth all you have to do is Save As. I'm sure OP-1 can save its patches, but that doesn't address the problem of the whole chain, or backups.

22c 4y ago

Link should be https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1 https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1

anentropic 4y ago

The design is beautiful, but it's not really clear from this page what it is.

dkdbejwi383 4y ago
It's quite obvious to me that it's a keyboard instrument from the first picture alone. The copy gives plenty of information on the synthesis and sampling capabilities.
- anentropic 4y ago
  Yeah I can see it has a keyboard, presumably some kind of synthesiser. It also appears to have some recording facility, but not clear how to get audio into it - can't tell what ports it has. Is the recording feature just for sequencing internal sample and synth sounds? Or... they highlight the new version now has a 2.4ghz antenna - do you stream audio in/out over bluetooth? A little explanation of basically what it can do or how they imagine it being used would go a long way
  - dkdbejwi383 4y ago
    I think both of your questions are answered on the page. Maybe not in the direct manner in which you have asked, but my understanding is that recording is possible with the mixer accessory mentioned towards the bottom, and the antennas are for the Bluetooth MIDI feature heavily emphasised towards the top. Maybe they do need a FAQ with a basic Q&A format, though. e.g. Why does it have antennas? How do I record? What do the knobs do? How many instruments are included? How do I transfer recordings to my computer or phone? etc.
  - filoleg 4y ago
    > not clear how to get audio into it In terms of wired connectors, it has USB-C, line in and out sockets, and a 4-pole audio jack for headset or mic support. OP-1 also has its own mic built into the body as well.
validuser 4y ago

baisq 4y ago

Someone put "image-rendering: optimizespeed;" in the css and all the images look blocky.

capableweb 4y ago
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- baisq 4y ago
  That's not how any of this works.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
bowsamic 4y ago
It's part of their aesthetic

import 4y ago

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.

varispeed 4y ago
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 ;-)
- LegitShady 4y ago
  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.

stephc_int13 4y ago

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)

_def 4y ago
In a creative context/process I think it is a good thing if you can toy around with a device/instrument in a playful way. I'd definitely love if they would make their devices hackable though, that would unlock so much potential and the community is there.
sneak 4y ago
It's called the Playdate. https://play.date/dev/ https://play.date/dev/
- hypertele-Xii 4y ago
  General purpose pocket computer, he said.
  - sneak 4y ago
    The demand was "more general purpose", though. The Playdate has an SDK and apps. The OP1 does not. I think it applies. :)
- stephc_int13 4y ago
  Yeah, this completely the opposite. Two buttons, no peripherals, clearly a toy.
amazing_stories 4y ago
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 patterns and 128 measures is enough to write a good song). Also, Pocket Operators are cheap as hell, most under $100.

bravura 4y ago

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.

lynndotpy 4y ago
Another example: Sunvox, runs on about everything. Extremely versatile for something that originally targeted Windows CE and Palm Pilot. I don't make much music, but I've been having a blast tinkering with it.
severak_cz 4y ago
Cheaper way is to use Caustic 3 on old Android phone while commuting by bus. Been there, done that! :-D Of course - it's all in software solution but it's pretty powerful actually. But it's more like a DAW or tracker style of things.
capableweb 4y ago
> Why has no one else figured that out? It is literally not the only piece of music gear you can bring on a airplane and write a whole song... Just a recent example, the Syntakt is very capable for writing full songs. So is other gear in the Elektron lineup, namely Digitakt. Otherwise you also have (cheaper) gear like the Novation Circuit Tracks that can also do the same. I mean, a cursory search for "portable grooveboxes" should have revealed a ton of results for you, that are able to do the same job as the OP-1 but for even as low as 1/4 of the price (the Circuit Tracks)
- blub 4y ago
  The Syntakt is not battery powered. I guess one could buy a beefy battery pack and adapter cable, but… what’s the point? The Tracks is nice, but the synth engines are not fully accessible in the hw interface. At least the params are labeled now, trying to change sounds on my original was quite frustrating.

aosaigh 4y ago

Who is this for? Is it for music professionals who can actually record music (or ideas) on the go? Or is it for wealthy enthusiasts who have cash to throw around at a fun piece of kit? It's a beautiful piece of hardware from a design-first company and from all the reviews of the original it seems to be an excellent and unique music making machine, but at the price I'm just not sure who it's aimed at. I'm not a musician but I've played the piano for a lot of my life. I'd love to experiment with making music and the original OP-1 looked like a lot of fun. I'd kept my eye on it and was thinking of pulling the trigger. At $1k+ though it was a total stretch for a non-professional. The new OP-1 at $2k+ is just ludicrous.

comboy 4y ago
It's not ludicrous. It's rational decision on their part. OP-1 is still available, expensive and sells well. If you want to experiment you have everything you want on your laptop. There are many alternative cheaper solutions. It is somewhat unique and well thought-out. The fact that you were considering it at $1k just proves their point.
enneff 4y ago
It’s a great bit of fun that can produce interesting and surprising sounds. For a lot of musicians a fun piece of gear can be a source of inspiration, which can be very valuable. So yeah, it’s a toy, but you can make real music with toys.

malthaus 4y ago

I'm convinced TE is just a show case for pricing consultants

polyterative 4y ago

great design

voigt 4y ago

I hope for 2k bugs it has at least an „undo“-button. The classic op1 doesn’t have one. Would increase my productivity dramatically.

capableweb 4y ago
Unlikely. People hailed the lack of undo (and the tape-recorder) as a feature because it makes you either commit to your mistakes, or having to re-record. Not for me, but that's what I've heard people say about it. And also, "undo" is mentioned nowhere, and since they add "new packaging" to their list of features, I think undo would be mentioned there if it had it. I've heard an equal amount of people praising the lack of undo, as berating the OP-1 for lacking one, so they surely would have added it if they wanted to.

planb 4y ago

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.

danielvaughn 4y ago
same! I’m vaguely interested in the idea of programmatically creating music, but I don’t think that’s the TE products are for, but still…I want one.
throw_m239339 4y ago
> 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. Because you are the target, people who like nice looking hip things and can afford it. That device doesn't do much, doesn't sound particularly good, and certainly is sold to you at a premium. No wonder these products are sold at the MOMA...
- httpsterio 4y ago
  I beg to differ. I mean sure, the OP-1 isn't as versatile as a laptop with a good daw and a few plugins but hardware still has its' place in some producers' gear bag. For a standalone device it's extremely versatile and it does sound good.
  - throw_m239339 4y ago
    > I beg to differ. I mean sure, the OP-1 isn't as versatile as a laptop with a good daw and a few plugins but hardware still has its' place in some producers' gear bag. For a standalone device it's extremely versatile and it does sound good. First, we're not talking about hardware in general but that TE device precisely and second "it sounds good" is really a matter of taste here, the synth engine is very limited and the first version didn't sound really good given its price. This is absolutely a hipster device, just like all TE products. https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 https://teenage.engineering/products/ob-4 650€ for a freaking radio? Don't make it about hardware vs software, this red herring has nothing to do with my comment.

thih9 4y ago

There are some nice improvements, but also: > ERGONOMIC POWER SWITCH > NEW METRONOME SOUND > NEW PACKAGING > INCREASED TOMBOLA SIMULATION ACCURACY It's nice to have a company that doesn't take themselves too seriously. How are people paying 2k for that though, I do not know.

KingOfCoders 4y ago

$2000 - Teenage engineering worked hard to become an identy product and now can charge for it. If you sell identity, no price is too high. Do I want one? Yes. Do I buy one? No the identity tax is too high for me. (though I like my Teenage Engineering PO-20, but a Novation Circuit works for my dabbling with sequencing).

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

possibleworlds 4y ago

Off topic, but does anyone have stereo OD11s? I’m seriously interested in these as an alternative to spending too much money on a two channel system that beams at a single sweet spot.

Shadonototra 4y ago

i have no idea what this is, but what a beautifully designed thing, it makes me want to use it, just to feel it lol

fbanon 4y ago

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 :)

j5r5myk 4y ago
I know a few professional musicians who have them and you can look up a host of famous musicians who are known to use them: Diplo, Bon Iver, Deadmau5, Yasutaka Nakata, even Ariana Grande has one. It seems to occupy a similar space to the Elektron products —- high end with a steep learning curve
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  There isn't much of a learning curve. Modern Elektron products also don't have much of a learning curve versus their pre-Digi lineup.
alin23 4y ago
Well there’s this guy on YouTube who demos all kinds of synths and got a huge following from his OP-1 videos: https://youtu.be/7z4hoazra_g https://youtu.be/7z4hoazra_g The video shows me that OP-1 is a pretty cool all-in-one package, but it probably needs honing a special skill to work with it as smoothly as that guy does.
- mrkwse 4y ago
  Even with RMR though, he's pretty much moved away from the OP-1 videos, I can't recall the video where he explained why 100%, but I think he found it a bit creatively constraining.
  - Gigachad 4y ago
    He got upset a while ago because someone else started making a similar style of OP-1 videos (Top down, subtitles, wooden desk) which he felt was theft of his creative property.

krnlpnc 4y ago

I was so excited to see the announcement! Finally some new OP-1 stock will drive the prices back down to the original ~$700 mark. Nope! On what planet is this actually worth $2000? I'm really disappointed to see TE become this lifestyle company and continue jacking up their prices.

cxcorp 4y ago
The hi-fi audiophile world is certainly an expensive one.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  Music production isn't "hi-fi audiophile", and the OP-1 isn't hi-fi, nor audiophile, if anything, it is lo-fi.
nathanvanfleet 4y ago
I feel like I have also seen this in the espresso community. Companies sprung up that are address a boutique audience that ultimately seems to be best-in-class but also charge some astronomical prices.
999900000999 4y ago
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
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  "Hardware". It's DSP. It doesn't even have an analog filter, right?
  - 999900000999 4y ago
    Not much is actually hardware anymore. Unless you actually mean like an old school synth keyboard.

krnlpnc 4y ago

From 2011: Finally. After more than two years of development the OP-1 is now ready for production. Due to initial limited supply we now accept reservations. Manufacturing, assembly and shipping will be eight weeks. $799 https://web.archive.org/web/20110201230202/http://namm.teenageengineering.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20110201230202/http://namm.teena...

tibbon 4y ago
As a studio enthusiast and electronic musician, I always felt this was a reasonable price for the OP-1. I have a _lot_ of synths here, ranging from the high end Moog Voyager to various Pocket Operators by Teenage Engineering. $2000 however is just too much for this. The Polyend Tracker sells for $500 used in comparison, and while its drastically different - is vaguely competitive to the OP-1.
- tarentel 4y ago
  Polyend also just announced another groovebox that is vaguely competitive to the op-1 for $800. Looks a bit like a slimmed down deluge, which for half the price of the new OP-1, I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a portable music station or groovebox in general. I've had it for about 5 years now and they are still actively working on it which is a nice bonus.
tweetle_beetle 4y ago
Wasn't it originally manufactured in Europe to boot? Seem to remember a major price rise coming when they had moved production to Asia. There were many people selling their used European models for more than they had paid because it was still cheaper than the new RRP. I guess TE took advantage of demand for an established product and use it to subsidise their other lines and new development, which I can't see them selling much volume on for the most part (maybe Pocket Operators?).

tmountain 4y ago

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 out of the box. Sure, you can load up the sampler with tons of cool tones and op1.fun is a wonderful resource, but it's a lot of work to go curate a bunch of sounds to compensate for a lackluster palette. I can already hear people saying that I'm missing the point and that the constraints are designed to inspire creativity, etc. I respect that point of view, but at the end of the day, my creative time is at a premium, and I'd like to use that time to create stuff that I'm proud to show friends and family. Most of the stuff I produced with the OP-1 sounded like video game music or music for a kid's cartoon (i.e., Adventure Time). If that's your thing, then awesome! If not, I'd consider the core tonal possibilities before you make a big investment.

freerobby 4y ago
Agree about the built-in sounds, but I solved that pretty quickly by adding things like mellotron samples to it.
tarentel 4y ago
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 less. I was actually pretty excited to see this until I saw the price. I have spent a lot of money on electronic music gear, way more than 2000, and I'm a bit baffled about who this is for exactly.
- zimpenfish 4y ago
  > 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.

blueblob 4y ago

As someone not in the field of audio engineering, I had no idea what this product is. The website focused on describing all the features without giving a simple 1-2 line description of what the product even is.

luckydata 4y ago
it's the kind of thing that if you don't know it's not for you. very hipster product for weird electronic musicians, more of a fashion statement than anything else really.

neoCrimeLabs 4y ago

The newly announced Polyend Play and Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field are great examples of very different UX and very different workflows to solve a similar problem - making music without a computer, creatively, ideally with a flow state. It's very interesting just looking at how they do it. Dunno if I will get either one, or both. Either way, I do appreciate the direction they are going in. :-)

thallavajhula 4y ago

I have no idea what this device even is, but it looks beautiful and I want to try it out.

YoyoyoPCP 4y ago

The OP-1 has been the single most inspiring tool I've had in a decade. Every other sampler I've bought has always failed to reliably draw me in. There is no putting a price on creativity. Sure, the competition can compete on specs and price, but they never seem to get me to want to turn them on like the OP-1. Just my opinion of course. But it is already a classic at this point and is deserving of respect.

randomcarbloke 4y ago

I do want it but man is it expensive, $1999...

riwsky 4y ago

Bon Iver, 2015 interview: > the thing I’m working with the most is the OP-1. It’s a sampler-based synthesizer, and I honestly think it’s the most important instrument that’s come into my life since I first picked up a guitar when I was 12 years old. I’m not exaggerating at all. I never leave the house without it. I don’t travel with the guitar anymore. I travel with just my OP-1. It’s been a big deal living with this thing. I love making music with it. I love traveling with it. I like using it as a writing extension. It’s a really special technology, essentially what a guitar is to me. https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/lost-in-the-world-justin-vernon-on-his-new-music-festival-and-the-uncertain-status-of-bon-iver/ https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/lost-in-the-world...

zasdffaa 4y ago

The cow. Why?

gitowiec 4y ago

Too expensive. But I'm glad there are people that can utilise it well! Eg. RedMeansRecording channel on YouTube!

psychomugs 4y ago

It would be amazing, and not too unlike TE, if they released some of these features as updates to the original OP-1. I'm particularly interested in the new tape recording styles.

elliotlarson 4y ago

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.

verilux68 4y ago

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?

mit20220401 4y ago

have read some comments here: > "They have the best designers, i feel like in the US we have no taste, i knew this couldn't be an American company." -- @iamricks how about monome (https://monome.org/norns https://monome.org/norns)? @chaosprint glicol is cool. another two interesting live coding languages are tidal (https://tidalcycles.org https://tidalcycles.org) and orca (https://100r.co/site/orca.html https://100r.co/site/orca.html)

leach 4y ago

I've always wanted to buy the OP-1 because it's such a cool little device. I'm not very talented when it comes to making music though so the steep price tag has always kept me away. Maybe one day i'll buy one

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chaosprint 4y ago
Perhaps you can try this to make music in the browser: https://learningmusic.ableton.com https://learningmusic.ableton.com Or my work: https://glicol.org https://glicol.org

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dreamcompiler 4y ago

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 multitude of handy features, and excellent design. But it's the same surprising problem as the flying cars: The technology to build it exists but it costs 10x what I'd be comfortable paying. I'd be okay paying 2x for the great design, but 10x just makes the thing a piece of wealth-signifying jewelry. Even if somebody gave me one, I'd never want anybody to know I had it.

hammyhavoc 4y ago
A laptop satisfies most needs. If you can't make a modern VST sound good, the problem isn't the tools.
- dreamcompiler 4y ago
  Agreed, but I love the idea of a real keyboard that's self-contained.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    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.

lucidlive 4y ago

$2k? Yikes. I’m sure it’s cool cause I had the original OP-1 and it was lots of fun. But that’s just too expensive. You can get a serious analog synth at that price.

rzr999 4y ago

Are they happy to sell less for this price?