Now that I’ve started using the OP-1 Field more seriously, I’ve also begun to think a lot about workflow.
It’s great that the OP-1F lets you store multiple tapes, but I’m curious how people actually use this in practice. Do you work on several songs at the same time, or do you tend to finish one before moving on to the next?
Since tape projects don’t store the synth and effect settings, I find it a bit cumbersome to jump between songs and maintain consistency. You either have to remember or manually document which engines, presets, and effect chains were used, which can easily break the creative flow.
I’d love to hear how others approach this. Do you have a personal system or workflow that makes working on multiple songs manageable on the OP-1 Field?
Like you, I work on several projects at the same time, and I also need to exchange data between the OP-1 and the OP-XY.
I don’t know if this will be helpful to you, but here is how I do it:
Since version 1.65, it’s possible to create folders in Snapshots. So for each song, I create a folder with its name in both the Synths and Drums sections.
When I work on a project, I regularly save my Snapshots and store them in the appropriate folders.
When backing up to the computer, I save three important things: tapes, drums, and synths.
If everything is well organized, this makes it easy to transfer from the computer to the OP-1 Field and recover the exact state of my song.
Another advantage is that I can transfer these sounds to my OP-XY and maintain consistent sound design across both machines.
In addition, I am currently working on a companion device for the OP-1 Field. It is based on a Raspberry Pi Zero and should eventually allow automatic backups and two-way transfers.
I always have multiple projects in the works at once on the OP-1F, but for me only the audio recordings are what I worry about saving. I treat the presets and snapshots like they were stored on external synths, IE they’re totally separate from the songs and can be used on any song. And if I’m honest I rarely even save presets and snapshots anyway. Once they’re recorded as audio tracks I’m usually done with them. I’ve had to Factory Reset my TE enough over the years (or the devices do it for me unexpectedly losing my work, cough OP-XY cough) that these days it’s easier to not bother with having saved presets to need to restore. Honestly that’s my favorite part of the OP-1F, everything is saved as audio recordings and I don’t need to mess with the rest.
That sounds wonderfully liberating I’m not quite there yet though. If I’ve built a section with a few specific sounds and come back weeks later to continue the song, I still want those sounds to be easy to recall. But I totally get your approach!
I’ve always printed right to audio for my music making, even with soft synths in a DAW I route them to an audio track and record that versus MIDI. I’ve learned if I leave things in MIDI I just can’t help myself and edit the life out them after the fact. And usually it’s those small accidents that add a little realism that I like in my music making.
Honestly, the lack of those kinds of editing possibilities is probably the main reason my OP-1F has mostly been sitting on a bookshelf since I bought it. But I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago, and something finally clicked for me.
It’s actually a great tool for practicing:
real-time playing skills
musical jamming
letting go of perfectionism
exploring music just for fun, rather than with the intention of creating a masterpiece every time
I’m not quite there yet though. If I’ve built a section with a few specific sounds and come back weeks later to continue the song, I still want those sounds to be easy to recall. But I totally get your approach!