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So... the Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field
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The cost is blatant capitalism 'shit costs more now' if you ask me, and TE is asking it cause it will sell... not really stoked about that, cause I'm personally about making music accessible! These are the kinds of changes that should have come with the first price hike. That said, I'd happily spend that for a Prophet 8, so maybe the problem is me.
To the replies below that are crusty about my wording - I personally don't feel it brings enough new to the table. 32-bit is kinda cool, but it mostly feels like more of the same. I have owned an OP-1 3 times, each time I buy it I honeymoon hard, each time I sell it because I don't use it enough. A completely 'new product' might have been a different conversation. But now I am almost expecting an aluminum version of each pocket operator at $500 each.
This kinda sums my sentiment.
TE will sell many, I hope the owners enjoy and make tunes.
In all honesty I’m just jealous of mf’ers who can even entertain the thought of buying these gadgets. There’s a couple posters who have routinely bought what seems like every new shiny awesome toy and I feel nothing but burning hot jealousy. Even though I’m just above middle class there’s no way I can afford more than a couple multipurpose computing devices and a handful of legitimately purchased licenses with a dash of cracked software. I’m too worried about being completely bankrupt with cancer in 10 years to afford more.
Not everything that every company makes has to be targeted towards the lower end of the market. I like that there's higher end stuff out there to dream about, and for a lot of people it's nice feeling like you purchased a quality tool for the job. Making music is about a lot more than simple economics, different things excite different people and some are willing to pay more for that experience.
The OP-Z comes across as a pretty simple device, but it can be quite complex and cover a ton of different areas of the music making process. Everything I've seen so far shows that they overhauled pretty much all of it, at least graphically but often in other more important ways too. Coupled with much better encoders (the originals feel cheap to me), better display, stereo through out (the original was boringly mono for me), better A/D/As, WAY more memory, and new effects and synths (to name just a few things), I think there's a good excuse for why they are asking as much as they are.
Certainly a design element premium to it too, no denying that. But I think as a musical tool and how much it can do now, that the price isn't that outrageous. I plan on buying one shortly, so I'll know more and report back if I feel different after using it if people want.
It’s hardly a high end imo. It’s all about milking the fan base. F.e I haven’t heard much about their eurorack line since release... and those guys put a lot of money in their rigs... it’s even a trend atm (past few years)
IMO it’s generally for the same people who get the newest iPhone/iPad each year... it’s the best device for a year and then ‘I have to upgrade because this and that’
Personally I don’t think anything wrong with this... these people finance most affordable stuff down the line.
I’m saving for Shared System Balck & Gold like crazy, this one has no appeals to me
I was going to pass but then I saw it has dual Velcro back fasteners.
Walmart Silver Series shoes also have dual Velcro fasteners.
God the life of living without a conscience must be very freeing.
So now that we have established that every TE customer ist a bearded capitalistic pomp without musical talent we could talk about the machine.
I bought the first gen OP1 at a reasonable price second hand a few years ago and thought that this would be one of the synths I keep forever. Very rarely you find a synth which really feels like a 'classical' instrument, it is an object to care and love, it is a joy to handle and a truly great object of product design. But for me as a music instrument it didn't really work.
Too often did I screw things up with my overdubs, I hated most of the effects, I really missed a proper filter, I didn't get along with the sequencers and I am crap at playing the piano, so I really missed quantisation.
Still I kept it for a few years just for the nice object it was and it got a little use from time to time.
I am sure it will be one of the decade defining gadgets like the first Sony Walkman (TPS-L2), the Tamagochi, the first Swatch, the first Iphone....
A couple of months ago I sold it though, it was just too expensive as a paperweight and not obsolete, so it would be a crime not to play. And I sold it for more than I paid for.
The new one is very tempting, but it still is the box I can't really work with, so I'll probably pass.
I have done this three times, and would have liked to see TE take a whack at a completely new machine for my money - not just a refinement.
I feel very conflicted. I may well be the target market for this, in that I’m not really a musician at all, I just like messing with soundscapes and doomy noises, with a large dose of manipulated found sound in the mix. I first saw the OP-1 in the hands of Hainbach, and immediately loved the whole tape recorder aspect of it, coupled with its’ dinkiness and portability.
I actually do make field recordings, and this thing could go with me into, you know, the field, which my rack, which has now grown, inch by inch, to several times the cost of the OP-1, never can.
Yes, it is very expensive. It’s like, the price of four major Eurorack modules. Or to put it another way: Just four. Which can’t go into the field. As I say, conflicted…
And here I’d like to shout out for Arturia for making very premium feeling products at very reasonable prices. Premium doesn’t have to cost premium but of course the profit margin goes down.
@Svetlovska couldn't agree more about the target, and while I may be more of a 'musician' if using your words - I'd love to have seen something more experimental. Maybe put a take on some open-source mutable stuff, maybe a tracker, maybe open it up to script the tool you need, heck even full IP water resistance ... maybe my expectations just got the better of me, dare I mention Drambo 2.0?
I sold my modular stuff last year to get more portable, but ended up with more boxes plugged into the wall 🤣... I will say that I'm pretty stoked by the Polyend dedicated units... play looks huge!
liked to see TE take a whack at a completely new machine for my money - not just a refinement.
I agree, would love to see their take on a drum machine, with both synth and sample capabilities.
@evnjim : water proof and even more experimental? (Love the idea of some Mutable Instruments in there…] Yes to both of those! Or… Maybe the new SP404 and a neoprene cover for it instead…
I think I'm going to attempt to take the plunge to be honest. In that I wrote TE about possibly doing a monthly payment plan. If that doesn't work, I noticed the website PerfectCircuit.com that has a monthly payment plan option through Affirm. I saw said website towards the beginning of Midlife Synthesist's video.
For me, the OP-1 Field isn't about having a status symbol or "being the coolest music nerd evar 🤓" as most non-musicians at the coffee shop wouldn't even understand what the hell they're looking at. 😂 It also isn't about "making exactly what I want to hear" (if I wanted to make exactly what I want to hear, I have NS2, Drambo, Gadget, etc). It isn't about using it as a hardware synth either.
The tape feature and what seems to be "destructive editing" are what appeal to me. ("Happy accidents" isn't just a Bob Ross term, lol.) Having something super portable, long battery life, while allowing me to disconnect my brain from the internet is what appeals to me. Sampling from FM is what appeals to me. The new dimension reverb appeals to me as I plan to use it to craft Ambient. The OP-1 Field also seems to lend itself perfectly to Minimal Techno, LoFi, Experimental, etc.
(I've watched all of Red Means Recording's OP-1 videos and have a bit of a grasp as to what the machine can and cannot do, lol.)
For anyone who still wants the original OP-1, second-hand prices are dropping. My local eBay classifieds has had a wave of used OP-1s this past week. Prices seem around €150-€200 less than usual.
FWIW
I'm quite sure the OP-1 field is not aimed at pro musicians in the first place.
There are enough people in the world who can afford new cars, a nice house, regular holiday vacations and fine food and drinks.
The same people who look for some kind of entertainment, including having a go at making music with a somewhat exquisite toy, might indeed shell out that amount of money.
Even if it's only to find out what the fuzz is all about.
Hmmm, I guess I should better start designing my own $3000 no-compromise hardware groovebox made from a solid brushed aluminum case with a nice touch screen, endless pots, Synclavier style pushbuttons and velocity + pressure sensitive pads. And a retractable XKey style keyboard 😂
Is the market for one of these types of things basically the person who wants a single unit to do their music with, and isn’t interested in adding further synths, sequencers, computers, devices, etc.?
If that’s the case, that’s the path I’ve taken with my photography — from film cameras with lots of interchangeable lenses (Olympus OM-1; Nikon F4; Mamiya C330) — to an embarrassment of frequently changing digital cameras both DSLR and mirrorless in the 21st century — to, finally, about 6 years ago, selling it all and getting ‘the one’ camera, a Sony RX10, which is a very expensive high-end bridge camera with a superb non interchangeable lens, and that’s the one. Smaller, less hassle, no more spending (well, if I ignore the follow-up II, III and IV models, which though nice, don’t give me anything I can’t live without in my original model).
Most photographers who don’t have an RX10 laugh at it and can’t see the point and can’t see themselves ever wanting or owning one. Conversely, the photographers who do have an RX10 invariably love theirs.
Is the OP-1 basically like the RX10?
I'd answer that with a response that is probably true for any better music making device or software: No matter which you choose, you'll get the best results if you limit yourself on using just that one device and focus on making noise with it 😊
BTW, since I've found that RAW processing software gets better and better, I'm using my little RX100 now more and more.
I strongly suspect this is the case. Even for people that do have other equipment, this is sort of in that “forever gear” price range — the kind of thing you splash out for once and use every day for a decade or more. The original OP-1 was that piece of gear for a lot of people so they’re not totally out to lunch.
I spent $2k on a Jazzmaster back in 2008 and it’s the only expensive guitar I’ve ever felt like I needed. I have friends who keep cycling through slightly-cheaper guitars trying to find “the one.” They’ve spent a lot more than $2k over the years.
I’m sure you get the same thing with your camera, but a lot of the people crying foul over the $2k price tag are actually sitting on gear closets worth twenty times that. I’ve seen dozens of comments saying, “For that kind of money you could get X, Y, Z, and two pedals!” — totally missing the point that for a lot of people, needing to buy X, Y, and Z is the main issue.
Of course, I say all this knowing that $2k is firmly beyond what I can justify spending on a quirky synth.
I’d rather say the Rx1m2 : compact, efficient, based on an old design, and expensive !
I really don’t get the controversy. Someone on YT (Benn Jordan?) pointed out a while back that we’re in a golden age of music tools and instruments. We’re awash with great software and hardware and prices from next to nothing to really expensive. If the new OP-1 doesn’t seem worth the price, use something else. Creative people will find a way to make their music whatever: apps, secondhand purchases, you name it.
Saw a tweet by BoBeats today saying some reviewers are getting threats for reviewing the new OP-1. I mean: get a grip. It’s a synth. It’s expensive. Buy or don’t buy. If it’s too expensive, it’ll flop.
Use the tools you click with and can afford to make your art. If the new OP-1 is your kind of thing and you can afford it, enjoy! Otherwise, move on with your life.
Yeah, that overreaction is insane. Those should Quit the moaning and move to something if that synth doesnt appeal !
Even some of the YT videos posted are absolutely stupid, lol. As I said, the one I referred to above showed a screenshot of this website...
https://www.perfectcircuit.com/teenage-engineering-op-1-field.html
Which I found ironic since the man is complaining about the price but yet shows a screenshot of an affordable route for anyone interested in an OP-1 (and OP-1 Field) to take. And if the OP-1 and OP-1 Field are not your thing, that's valid. But what good does complaining do?
TE wrote back by the way and are looking into their own monthly payment options. I can't tell if it's just lip service or if they're actually planning to do this. However, Perfect Circuit is the answer for me. Now to save up enough for that initial down payment.
I’m still disappointed that we haven’t seen a defecto Loopop, BoBeats style video of what the OP-1 Field is.
New products usually get high profile reviews from influencers to convince us that we need it.
Tired of just reading/watching videos complaining about price. I want to see/hear features that make me want this thing😜
Why do i need this synth?🤷♂️
I’ve never used an OP-1. Is it a 4Track synth which allows you to destructively record your 4Tracks to the internal cassettes? Now it has multiple cassettes and offer Stereo in the audio signal path?
Is that the basic feature set?
Synth, Drum, Sampler, FX and Cassette Recorder?
I assume it doesn’t have a sequencer you can record notes to and edit later. Would that be correct?
Pretty everything gets recorded to a virtual tape machine with a 6 minute limit that you can then slice and dice Ala old school tape splicing, bouncing down, etc. There's a bunch of different sequencers you can use to get notes started, but most of them are very unique and don't really do note editing. One acts like an Etch a Sketch, one is a tombolo, there's a few more weird ones. There's more than just 4 synths available, you also have drum machines, samplers, and the ability to record from the onboard mic or radio.
Basically it's a weird playground of sequencers combined with other quirky ways of generating sound. Here's a quick (7 year old) overview I did that can get you up to speed quickly on it: