Amazing tips!
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I sure wish TE would have added a MicroSD card slot on the OP-1 Field. That would have allowed us to store more tapes. I think it would be nice if they would add the ability to use an external SD Card USB-C drive to the OP-1 field. Then we could quickly save tapes and sounds to it and bring them back if we want to work on them more. Just a thought that hit me today.
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Or, you know, just make a phone app. The field already connect to the iphone with one cable, without the need for cck.
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Just to be clear: there is no way to fade-in or fade-out tape regions after recording, correct?
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Similar to how you’d work with a four track tape recorder, the method is to flatten the master EQ and disable the master effect, set input source to EAR, mute all tracks except the one you want to change and then record to a blank track. During the recording rotate the gain encoder to lower the level as you go. After the pass mute the original and listen to the new level adjusted version if you don’t like it, lift it from tape and do it again. When you’re happy with it, lift and discard the original version.
In the old days they’d do this sort of thing to get what is on the tape more or less correct, but then would move all the faders to adjust the levels coming off the tape as needed to create a final ‘mix’ going to the master recorder. That was a mix down. This is the same as changing the levels during playback as you record to the record player. But yes if you want to change what’s on the tape you’ve got to essential may record from a one track to the other. The reason to keep the eq flat and no effect is otherwise on each pass the eq will get added again and the effects will get added again. You could chose to ‘print’ effects or eq into a track this way thiugh, like adding a delay effect or phone to a track after the fact, just have it inserted for that pass.
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You can get an octa mk2 for 1k all the time. You can easily mod an internal 5 hour battery into it. The octa is powerful. Can it do it all? No, but most things it can do in one box, no one can also claim.
Op1 is sexy. Because it’s new. The design is…well, designer. Feels heavy in the hands, in a good way. You feel almost esoteric with it. And then the clicks at the end of your loop wake you up, volume drops when you record from sequencers to tape, something’s the keys bleed into the internal mic, no distortion fx, etc. I can live without an undo. That makes you have bragging rights when you master it and play live performances with just the op1 field.
I wonder if these things can be fixed… they should be. If they can get rid of the popping and clicking at end of loops, I may buy it again. But just returned it.
You been saying you just returned it for a few days now, but yet you’re still in the Op1 forums. I assume because a big part of you actually loves the Field but couldn’t get passed your (aporia) stage. You can actually get rid of clicks and pops by recording passed your intended loop marker and just looping what you intended after the fact. Volume drops can be adjusted by just simply gain staging and preparing your mixer section, you can also easily adjust the gain in the envelope shift settings or gain in samples shift setting. I say you should go buy it again and dig deeper, all the things you mentioned as cons have solutions. The restricted workflow definitely demands creativity, I’ve learned things that I can do with my Field that I haven’t found any videos or tutorials about. It has become the one piece of gear that I can never let go, its begging to be explored beyond its conventional uses. And there is most definitely something beautiful/unique about its portability. Also distortion can be accomplished by bouncing your tracks. I love this piece of gear <3
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Well, I returned it once. Or so I thought…the old lady still had it in her car. I saw it, brought it back inside, and spent another hour or two with it. You are correct, I do really dig this product. I have spent over 10k in Eurorack ( been doing that for about 15 years), owned octa, etc. what the op1 field did initially for me was liberating. No more buying modules. Sick of cables everywhere. But maybe I’m just too use to modulating my sound for a visceral feel. Baking it to tape, is an odd way to work-but really liked it. Just a few things and it would be perfect. For that price you could also get push 3 with Ableton Intro. It’s all I would need since I can take something simple like Operator and design my own drums, synths, etc. Buuuuut……like you said, there’s something there. I love the idea of going into a club and playing a loud live set of power electronics/experimental noise music with just an Op 1 field and a mic. Maybe tx-6 . !!! \m/
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Love to hear that! I’ve been producing music for about 4 years, using the Op1-Field like I said before has demanded me to get out of my comfort zone, with its limitations it demands the use of the onboard effects/synths/LFOs to be used in unconventional ways to create a pseudo sound in effect making a patch you otherwise wouldn’t have made anywhere else. I would go as far as to say when I load Ableton now, I don’t see effects the same anymore I approach things from an experimental point of view now, I’ve made the best music I’ve ever made throughout my 4 year span and for that I will forever be thankful to the Field. When I felt I had hit a plateau I got myself a Field knowing its limitations but in hopes it could inspire more of what I already knew and was making but really it became a launchpad to places I’ve never been before in the production world.
Nice !
I’m glad it has done so much for you.
I’ll give it another shot someday.- maybe when op2 comes out. 
Note that lifting up all takes in a loop can leave tiny pieces of audio at the beginning and end of takes. It’s an old bug inherited from OP-1 OG (being mostly fixed there though) but in a better shape because at least those crumbs remain visible on the tape and can be lifted one by one thus cleaning up the tape (note that on previous version of OP-1 there were no feedback of those crumbs in the UI so you had to find clicks by ear and record small intervals of silence over them - it was a really annoying issue).
I really hope TE has the intention to fix such bugs very soon. They must do it especially since entering that price range marking OP-1 field a premium device.
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Geez, more and more issues with this thing. So annoying.
You can try this bug out on your own pretty easily.
- Create a two bar long empty loop.
- Record something on all tracks in that loop.
- Shift+lift all takes.
After lifting takes tiny pieces of audio remain on the tape at the beginning and/or end of the loop.
It’s so basic and fundamental issue I can’t believe TE hasn’t recognized and fixed it till now.
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I do not get that error. Are there perhaps more steps involved?
I don’t get that either. No audio left at all.
I do have some leftovers - mostly when using imported samples and line-in recordings.
But couldn’t replicate that particular bug.
That being said, these left overs can be quite annoying when structuring ideas on the fly.
First week I had the op1f, I use the Portatape a lot. And leaving these in place left some takes with sudden bursts of noise.
And depending on the number of leftovers, it can be a tad bit time consuming to get rid of them all!
I continously get this error on studio tape. Even switching to a new instance of it. And this bug is also reproducible on the original OP-1 but there it’s even worse as no visual feedback over the audio crumbs left on the tape so it’s not possible to lift them one by one.
It may be important to initialize the empty loop by loop-in and loop-out buttons and using shift+arrows to jump between markers.
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Sure. I submitted a request on TE’s support side.
I am not sure if I understand the workflow of OP-1F. I would like to use it as a 4-track stereo recorder.
May anybody confirm, if this example task is possible.
- Record a synthesizer connected to OP-1F’s line-in jack on track one.
- Then record another synth connected to OP-1F’s line-in jack on track two.
- Then record two other audios (vocal, guitar) on tracks three and four.
- Then I will add some effects and make a mixdown.
- Then I can connect OP-1F to a PC and download my mixdown as an AIFF file.
Can it be done? Will the AIFF always be 6 minutes long? Or maybe slowing down the tape speed will extend the AIFF time?