I’m a week into the OP1 and barely got comfortable in laying down some beats. I feel like I got my head around how I’d like to use the Tape and currently working on 3 different beats at same time. Not being able to tweak after tape isn’t such a bummer since its really easy to lift and paste. I don’t do live recording. I just use patterns, so I just tweak out on the patterns.
OP-1 saved my (music) life . Rethinking is essential and workaround is the norm.Fruitful combo on the OP I tell ya.
Same here mate. A girlfriend told me once that I supposedly love it as if it was my child…and sometimes, yes, I do cradle it in my arms.
I have to apologize to the thread started that I didn’t answer his question but immediately had to be the clow again.
This makes the OP-1 very special to me:
User interface:
Very unique and probably the MOST INTUITIVE visual user interface EVER on a piece of sound gear. I can not stress this enough!!! When I tweak the parameters I actually intuitively understand what is happening to the sound, yes even with Cluster and Digital. Same goes for the effects and LFO. The way the buttons and functions are arranged is pure design genius, they should be awarded for it.
Unique synth engines, effects, sequencers and LFO’s:
They are designed to be simple yet very pliable, you can make a wide variety of sounds. All modules work perfectly together and have probably been designed to do just that. The sequencers are again very well thought out (except tombola imho) and the LFO’s are awesome. Put on a strap, us the OP-1 as a retards keytar with the G-sensor and sequencer.
It is all simple but deep…very deep
Sampler
It is a full fledged sampler, need I say more?
The 4 Track Tape Recorder:
It is just not enough tracks, which is perfect, it forces you to not muck about. You want to record a musical piece that you can’t sequence in the sequencers? Well tough luck, key in those musical parts like mozart. And once it is set…it’s set. Not liking it? then do it all over again, no midi note correction here. This way you don’t waste time in nitpicking details.
But god forbid you overdub the wrong track, ooooo dear lord, an all to familiar scenario for any operator, on the flipside, that mistake you made might work out to be pretty cool. Furthermore it is pretty easy to loop and mute stuff and do all crazy shit. The tape recorder gives you permanence and simplicity and forces you to make progress but also provides you with some cool features.
Mobility
Charge and go make some music at an inspiring location like a mountain or at the park, in a train or plane, put it on your (girl)friends back and tap that ass on an original beat.
Flexibility
It has USB and MIDI (over usb), if all the limitations are like a bad nightmare, meh, connect it to other gear and have at it
Build quality
It is an aluminum brick, you can kill someone with while it is playing your latest track and when you are done you can tune-in to a Country music station with your OP-1 and riverdance on his lifeless corpse just for good measure.
Simplicity
Did I mention it is really simple to use? My 10 year old cousin figured it out in 2 hours, the music was shit but he knew at least what he was doing.
I can go on for a while but will leave it at that.
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I really regretted the OP-1 when I first got it. Now I used it more than all my other synths combined. If for no other reason, than, I can sample them, and make music on the go, but that’s just the start. It’s a full fledged workstation sans computer. If you need to backup on the go, there are solutions too, that don’t involve a laptop, search around. I use the Raspberry PI backupthingamajig 2000 from the old forum. It’s about the size of two packs of cigarettes and fits in one of my two OP-1 cases.
I think the key with this instrument is to work with it, and let it teach you how it will work best for you. It didn’t happen overnight for me, but it’s now indispensable to my workflow. As long as you don’t ask it to do things it can’t do, it can do magic within its capabilities.
Also, join the battles, nothing will teach you more about the OP-1 quicker.
I really regretted the OP-1 when I first got it.
Thats funny cuz I think almost everybody says this. I was really disappointed with the synth engines, but like you say, once I got to understand it more I got really good results.
@burnthair I do like most of the features, apart from tape. I’d prefair a midi sequencer / sampler thingy where you’d be able to manipulate the sounds. I like when sounds evolve, with the tape you are stuck on repeat.
@erhenius I agree with your little “review” buddy, maybe my expectations were too high. I’ll give it a chance and will see.
@Tribrix yes, some portable storage will be a necessity. I don’t get the tape/album. Surely everyone would prefer easier way to store/name files.
@fred81 it kind of forces you to work on/finish one project at a time. This was something I had to get used to, but it forced me to commit to an idea until completion or abandonment, and I’m okay with that now. I use the mobile storage to save completed projects when I need to start another one quickly.
@Erhenius she probably does speak English, I’ve been to Sweden several times and the only person I met that didn’t speak excellent English was very old. But I digress >.>
I was sorta “meh” about my OP-1 at first, too, but now I’ve grown to love it. I circulate a lot of gear but the OP-1 is the only thing I’ve never even really thought about selling. By itself it’s sorta lofi-ish (which I like) but it can work in context with other things to come off more polished, too.
I wish we could name presets onboard. I wish the Tape could go for an hour (ambient artist mainly >.> ) but the OP-1 is the only thing that does what it does outside of an iPad and a mic.
In a day and age when you can get multiple synths, samplers and DAWs within an iPad for a few hundred pounds the OP-1 is expensive for what it is. I’d never pay the “full price” for one and would either keep my eye on eBay or hunt for a good deal somewhere.
The OP-1 is something you either get or don’t get in terms of what it is and what it does.
There are people who will see the Swedish House Mafia video and buy it thinking it’s an all-out groovebox … these are the people who end up selling their OP-1 on eBay.
There will be some people who do their homework and know what the OP-1 is and what it does … then there’s everyone else - probably most of us. We buy it hoping it is everything, realise it has limitations but still love it, learn to work around the limitations, then love it even more.
Like Tribix I go through a lot of gear and the OP-1 is something I don’t think I’ll ever sell. I don’t create many finalised songs on it but I do use it a lot for jamming and creating sounds that sometimes make themselves onto finished tracks.
The OP-1 is what you make of it.
Don’t get rid of it just yet.
Give it a bit more time. take part in the latest battle or at least try and do a few tracks for yourself.
It has its place. For me, hooking up an iPhone and sampling in Mitosynth or some other oddball noise app… Ohhhhhhhh… Oo! Oo! I’m gonna… I’m gonna… AHHH!!!
I came to the OP-1 having most recently been accustomed to the Elektron workflow and too missed live tweaking. What I discovered, however, is that I would just sit around every new session and tweak what I had been messing with before trying to make it sound a magical as when I first laid it down rather than adding new parts to my song. The OP-1 and the tape kind of make me think more about the way everything sounded first and be happy with it before committing to tape. It’s nice to be able to flip the unit on and hear the song exactly as you left it, then get straight to the business of adding new parts and layers.
There was a good thread recently with some tips that might help you get more out of the OP-1, or start thinking about it differently. It definitely takes a second to adjust your workflow, but becomes a wonderful creative prism once you adapt to its strengths and limitations.
http://www.operator-1.com/index.php?p=/discussion/507/panning-techniques/p1
agree with all who’ve said to try a Battle.
the constraints of the Battle help guide you to focus on particular aspects of the OP, and also encourage you to push it’s boundaries.
had the OP for almost a full year now, but it sat collecting dust on my desk, until about August, when i tried my OP novice skills in a Battle.
only three Battles later, i feel like i know a shit-ton more about the features of the device and how to manipulate the sounds and get really cool results. and i know i’ve only scratched the surface, after listening back to some of the other battles via the Soundcloud battles page and the great works some of the folks on this forum have created.
i’m totally hooked on the OP now, and don’t see that waning.
also, props to this forum…really helpful and has made me feel welcome at every turn. even with less than stellar attempts to win a Battle, nothing but kind constructive criticism and helpful tips and commentary have been the result. and it has made me want to try harder each time. plus the wealth of knowledge from some of the guys on here is golden.
i’ve had some other gear, but it never came with this kind of community.
I followed the Op-1 from an embryo to full birth and always knew I wanted and could utilise it.
Give it time, for some it is like the person at school you hated but ended up being your best friend.
It is only your approach that will leave you feeling short changed.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed here; you all say one thing-the op-1 needs time and I will give it to it. I don’t think I have come across a product community which would be so involved / dedicated to their instrument. Op-1 must be truly unique!
See it as your first tie.
You look at it and think “hmmm interesting piece of cloth, this might be a nice sartorial addition to my suit”.
You struggle with it making all kinds of fishermen knots and understandably you get frustrated.
We get you mate, we have been there too, chill, settle down, we can help you with that, listen it is over-through and back-…etc…etc…
Now you try and voila, your first knot. But now it’s too short and the knot is as big as your head. You try again, but now it’s too long and you end up looking goofy.
But you percivier and finally get it just perfect, you look in the mirror…“Dayuuuuuum that looks gooood, Gordon Gekko ain’t got shit shit on me brah…”
Then you go and destroy the banking sector
Many thanks to everyone who contributed here; you all say one thing-the op-1 needs time and I will give it to it. I don't think I have come across a product community which would be so involved / dedicated to their instrument. Op-1 must be truly unique!
Welcome to the cult.
I’m fooking selling it.
I'm fooking selling it.
o_o; that was quick
…unless I’ll find out how to
a/get rid of the hiroshima ground loop
b/get it in sync with reaper