Finally pulled the trigger on the OP-1

OP-1
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Gettin’ it from Sweetwater. I’m having it shipped to a little place across the line in North Dakota (I’m less than an hour from the border) that, for a VERY small fee will allow Canadians to have stuff shipped to them from American sources.


My “Personal Sales Engineer” or whatever already left a message on my phone to say that it should be in stock and ship at the end of the month, which is nice because I’ll have another paycheque under my belt by then : P
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Just got mine! I’m in love with it. Definitely everything it is hyped to be, at least in my eyes.

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Congrats.

Also, this “sales engineer” is probably going to call you every few months “to see if you need anything.” At least that was my previous experience with Sweetwater.

1 Like
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Congrats.

Also, this “sales engineer” is probably going to call you every few months “to see if you need anything.” At least that was my previous experience with Sweetwater.

Yeah, my friend ordered a guitar from them and they still call him from time to time to see how the guitar is doing…and also to try to sell him stuff : P


I don’t really mind. Seems like they’re pretty concerned with customer service there. I’d rather have too much support than none. I’d call him back to ask some questions but that international calling.

I’m not a really good musician, but I’d rather hone my chops on something fun and unique rather than the endless, paralyzing options of a DAW.

As a weird question, anybody here ever plug an OP-1 into one of those old TASCAM Portastudio cassette 4-tracks? I have a 424mkII and record the Pocket Operators on it without using a pre-amp, so I assume it goes the same for the OP-1

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Congrats.

Also, this “sales engineer” is probably going to call you every few months “to see if you need anything.” At least that was my previous experience with Sweetwater.

Yup.

And when you order that $2 headphone adapter, he’ll call you a week after it arrives to see if it arrived OK. There’s customer service, and then there’s harassment.

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Congrats.

Also, this “sales engineer” is probably going to call you every few months “to see if you need anything.” At least that was my previous experience with Sweetwater.

Yup.

And when you order that $2 headphone adapter, he’ll call you a week after it arrives to see if it arrived OK. There’s customer service, and then there’s harassment.

It’s nice to know that I’ll have a crazy obsessed stalker at my beck and call should something go amiss. THAT’S customer service!


Also, it was cute to hear him mispronounce “Dunseith” on the phone message he left me. Poor North Dakota never catches any respect.

I was sort of planning ahead of time what to do with the OP-1 once I got it, but I think I’m just gonna keep it spontaneous and see what happens by accident. That’s what I do with the POs a lot of the time and I get pretty good results.

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I’ve plugged mine into a 414mkIII and a 488mkII with no problems @Jellygeist

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I've plugged mine into a 414mkIII and a 488mkII with no problems @Jellygeist

Good to know!

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It finally shipped yesterday. Should be at the depot across the border by Wednesday. It’s currently in exotic Black River Falls, Wisconsin.


What’s the first thing I should do when I get it home?
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Shut down your phone and get in a place where you won’t be disturbed :smiley:
I suppose you already read the manual, didn’t you ?

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Shut down your phone and get in a place where you won't be disturbed :D I suppose you already read the manual, didn't you ?

Not yet, I should do that today! I’ve watched so many videos I feel like I sort of know what I’m doing, but who knows what will happen when I finally get it in my hands.


It’s kind of exciting to not know what I’m doing, though. I’m looking forward to finding my own way of using the machine.


I do have a couple questions:

1. If I use an external MIDI controller with the OP-1 that has velocity and aftertouch, do the OP-1’s synth engines respond to said velocity and aftertouch?

2. What’s the best way to sample something from a computer into the OP-1? I have a Mellotron synth in Logic that I’d like to be in the OP-1 instead.

Edit: There’s a Help Key? Nobody ever mentioned that before! : P

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  1. It responds to velocity. There are 4 CC slots in the LFO section so you can map aftertouch using that. Hardwired to CCS 1 - 4 so you’d need to remap (using Logic?)
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1. It responds to velocity. There are 4 CC slots in the LFO section so you can map aftertouch using that. Hardwired to CCS 1 - 4 so you'd need to remap (using Logic?)

Good tip! I’ll have to research and tinker when I get around to getting a MIDI controller. I assume all that has to go through a computer and you can’t just plug something like a Keystep into the OP-1 and call it a day?

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To control the OP-1 without a computer (or control a MIDI device from the OP-1) you’ll need a MIDI-USB host such as Kenton, iConnectMIDI4+ or Teenage Engineering OPLab…


I have the ICM4+ and am very pleased with it, I have more than 10 synths and drum machines plugged together with it, it’s very helpful. You can even plug an iPad, which is really interesting if you’re into music apps.
But it costs 200 $/€…



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To control the OP-1 without a computer (or control a MIDI device from the OP-1) you'll need a MIDI-USB host such as Kenton, iConnectMIDI4+ or Teenage Engineering OPLab...

I have the ICM4+ and am very pleased with it, I have more than 10 synths and drum machines plugged together with it, it's very helpful. You can even plug an iPad, which is really interesting if you're into music apps.
But it costs 200 $/€...



Yikes! Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I guess. If I really really want to have velocity on the thing right away, I have my computer, though that really cuts down on the portability…it’s not a big deal either way, honestly.


How necessary is the carrying bag? Are there other solutions that don’t cost 70 bucks? I’m sure it’s a very nice case, but still…is just having it in my backpack enough or is that dangerous?

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I was using an old Sennheiser microphone case I had lying around, for a while. This one. http://www.gearclubdirect.com/sennheiser-casemd421-case-for-md421-ii/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwoYi4BRDF_PHHu6rI7NMBEiQAKZ-JuAc5xtzszkOujl07Zh8C6OZefVBOZXyQR-cY2tQ8Sr4aAtml8P8HAQ

I had to add some velcro to the latches, and do a small mod to the foam with scissors to get it the OP-1 to fit face down, but it had plenty of protection, and room under the foam for cables.

I eventually opted for the carrying bag as it took up less space in my backpack (yay, more gear!), and it’s foam fit for the OP-1. It’s worth the investment if you can make it, but not crucial.

The included cardboard/fiber box with rubber bands would work for just casual travel.
Some folks use $9 pistol cases, or NI controller cases.
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I was using an old Sennheiser microphone case I had lying around, for a while. This one. http://www.gearclubdirect.com/sennheiser-casemd421-case-for-md421-ii/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwoYi4BRDF_PHHu6rI7NMBEiQAKZ-JuAc5xtzszkOujl07Zh8C6OZefVBOZXyQR-cY2tQ8Sr4aAtml8P8HAQ
I had to add some velcro to the latches, and do a small mod to the foam with scissors to get it the OP-1 to fit face down, but it had plenty of protection, and room under the foam for cables.

I eventually opted for the carrying bag as it took up less space in my backpack (yay, more gear!), and it's foam fit for the OP-1. It's worth the investment if you can make it, but not crucial.

The included cardboard/fiber box with rubber bands would work for just casual travel.
Some folks use $9 pistol cases, or NI controller cases.

Good suggestions! I forgot about that thread. I will probably get the case (and the accessories) eventually. The pistol case one would raise a lot of eyebrows here in Canada : P


Speaking of accessories, what kind of straps do folks use if they have the strap loops? I have a bunch of guitar straps but they work for those little nubs and not loops.

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So I got it yesterday! Been playing around with everything and have been really enjoying it.


It’s all cool except the DSynth never seems to want to do anything other than be just plonky and quiet…will be exploring that more tonight.

I have an idea for a song already…haven’t even touched the Tape section yet! It’s gonna be a good long awhile until I master this thing and I’ll love every minute of it.

I’m a really terrible musician so maybe I shouldn’t have spent the money, but hey, maybe I’ll get better using a fun tool like this
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I am a crap musician too, but it’s fun! And beats watching the TV for me… :slight_smile:


Enjoy!

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I’m a (poor) guitar player originally, so switching to keys is gonna take some getting used to.


I messed around with tape a little bit, I can see how powerful it is already