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I think the work of this company is fragile and shortsighted, encouraging creators to put their energy into a cascade of non-standard paradigms, but without cre

by cfr2023 4y ago

I think the work of this company is fragile and shortsighted, encouraging creators to put their energy into a cascade of non-standard paradigms, but without creating any valuable new conventions. As such I do not enjoy hearing what their founder thinks about anything, or puff pieces about him, like this one. I'm open to being convinced otherwise but all of the new information I receive fits in with the prior assessment - they want your money for a cool looking music toy.

Gracana 4y ago
I don’t see the problem, though I am also not sure what you mean. What is standard? What should people be doing instead? Do TE’s products differ from other grooveboxes?
- cfr2023 4y ago
  Standard = generic. The difference between telling someone to play guitar and telling someone to play a Black Les Paul Custom with Block Inlays through a Mesa Mark I head into a tall Marshall 4x12 cabinet. Both have their places, but telling someone just "play guitar" is an inherently more useful thing. People looking for music tools that will serve them over time, or even a lifetime, will be better served investing their time into tools and practices that are not bound to the fate of a single company. All of this stuff can be fun to play with, but they market these things as serious tools for creators, when they are better equipped for store window demonstrations. There is nothing that a TE box can do that a DAW can't do out of the box except for be a silly dedicated box with cryptic controls.
strawpeople 4y ago
What’s so wrong with a cool looking toy? Once upon a time I worked a full time stressful job at a startup and was well paid. I didn’t have a lot of time for hobbies, but an op-1 would have been a great way to play around with music. I’d have been a perfect customer and very happy with it. Edit: Looks like this commenter is exactly the way I imagine myself back in the day: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665229
- cfr2023 4y ago
  In my view, "cool toy" in this case is a guise for a proprietary platform and a proprietary method of working on music, which can (alternatively) be the most open and free thing in the world. Teenage Engineering goes belly up and your unit breaks, the pathway to creative activity you spent time training is lost, more than if you'd initially bought say, a harmonica, or spent the same $$$ on a conventional instrument, a conventional sampler or computer software.

Gracana 4y ago

I don’t see the problem, though I am also not sure what you mean. What is standard? What should people be doing instead? Do TE’s products differ from other grooveboxes?

cfr2023 4y ago
Standard = generic. The difference between telling someone to play guitar and telling someone to play a Black Les Paul Custom with Block Inlays through a Mesa Mark I head into a tall Marshall 4x12 cabinet. Both have their places, but telling someone just "play guitar" is an inherently more useful thing. People looking for music tools that will serve them over time, or even a lifetime, will be better served investing their time into tools and practices that are not bound to the fate of a single company. All of this stuff can be fun to play with, but they market these things as serious tools for creators, when they are better equipped for store window demonstrations. There is nothing that a TE box can do that a DAW can't do out of the box except for be a silly dedicated box with cryptic controls.

strawpeople 4y ago

What’s so wrong with a cool looking toy? Once upon a time I worked a full time stressful job at a startup and was well paid. I didn’t have a lot of time for hobbies, but an op-1 would have been a great way to play around with music. I’d have been a perfect customer and very happy with it. Edit: Looks like this commenter is exactly the way I imagine myself back in the day: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34665229

cfr2023 4y ago
In my view, "cool toy" in this case is a guise for a proprietary platform and a proprietary method of working on music, which can (alternatively) be the most open and free thing in the world. Teenage Engineering goes belly up and your unit breaks, the pathway to creative activity you spent time training is lost, more than if you'd initially bought say, a harmonica, or spent the same $$$ on a conventional instrument, a conventional sampler or computer software.