Well that’s a disappointment
TE probably know it won’t go unnoticed, it’s still publicity for them.
Good luck to whoever agrees with that price (and this move). I hate such inflating of hype.
1 Like
I paid a lot less when I bought mine new a number of years ago. However, I didn’t know at the time what good value for money it really was. One of those surprising “It’s expensive, is it worth it” when you order and a “wow, you can do that with it too” when it arrives.
I, too think a price hike like that could have had something extra though! Perhaps there are fresh petals in every box.
(Note the Synth, sequencer key is correct once you click past the “petals” image).
1 Like
Wow really glad I didn’t try and flip my OP-1! Paid 800$ CDN literally the first day they were ever available. No way I’d ever be able to afford one now a days. Shame they couldnt make the price more reasonable.
1 Like
that’s very cynical , 1299$ is crazy, TE is doing some Apple-like Shark Economy shit…sry for my wording but i feel like that. Repair parts seems expensive…now this shit.
1 Like
Can’t think of a reason except maximizing profit, which, to be sure, is a perfectly ok for a company, but after the previous statement where the decried the price gouging this seems like the height of hypocrisy. TE again proved that they really suck at PR…
I thought that the 800 euros I paid six years ago was a good price for it, but wouldn’t pay 1400 euros now.
4 Likes
Recently bought mine a few weeks ago for £900 with accessories and was a bit gutted when I got the email from TE…then I saw the price.
I’m in the same boat. Honestly, if the thing just functioned flawlessly as-is I’d probably pay the steep price for another one. However, the OP-1 is such a finicky beast. Random bugs, very little support. Line recording with it can be such a pain in the ass.
It’s the definition of a love/hate relationship. It’s my favorite instrument but I can’t believe they raised the price so much with no improvements.
2 Likes
They had component sourcing issues, so I suspect their choices were 1. discontinue or 2. increase the price to pay for retooling/reconfiguring to change the screen and related components. Hardware is hard.
11 Likes
Not wanting to start a fight here…
but couldn’t they have reconfigured it without raising the price? As it will still make them more than enough money when they sell it again.
Longtime OP1 owner here, bought and sold several units already and always ended up getting one because of its unique combination of features, design and portability.
It has never been an affordable product but over the years more people were able to get their hands on a unit ( used or new ) because of its long lifecycle and kinda steady price ( inflation adjustments included ). This was the strength of the OP - that it survived in an everchanging gadget race of electronic music devices for 8 years and established a cult following because it DID NOT change - including second hand prices.
This is now at stake: TE is doing a stupid price gamble - for whatever reasons - and might kill the whole spirit of this machine. They are excluding more potential users and even disgust the existing ones by this a**hole move. I doubt that even with a plausible explanation by TE why the price went up by 40% it won’t have a lasting impact on their reputation and on the future of this company.
1 Like
HMmmm - not many people sticking up for TE here.
I’m wondering if they are struggling to suvive or move forward.
OP-1 was genius and made them seam so , but yes - afew sketchy moves recently.
My guess is that TE spends a LOT on the manufacturing, and their OH&P for the device was nowhere near as high as people think. So they were netting enough from that profit to pay salaries, mfg costs and marketing costs.
Leaves little room for error. Once the mfg snafu w/ the screen happened, they probably found themselves in a tight spot.
If my OP-1 died tomorrow, there’s no piece of equipment in my collection (besides my MPC) that I wouldn’t hock to help finance a replacement OP-1.
Anyone that says it was overpriced @ $900 never really used one competently. Of this, I’m certain.
8 Likes
Can’t say anything for sure, just heard various people saying TE couldn’t get the old OP-1 screen anymore, and at least in other hardware projects I’ve seen that has led to it getting discontinued if the company that makes it is small-ish. Each component can affect a chain reaction of other components/manufacturing processes/software updates and that usually adds up to a major cost. Also the price of each component and manufacturing cost can increase for each unit because something that was easy before is now harder, or they couldn’t negotiate the same price for the new screens, etc. But all of this is just my guess–no interest in starting a fight either! 
5 Likes
I think it’s a joke,it can’t be real !
they are growing with other projects, the Synth culture has been a starting point for them but they‘re supporting it with a sideproject attitude…imagine the IKEA line of speakers and lights dropping this June. huge worldwide sellout
2 Likes
Here’s their reason
i take it that even at the higher price the OP1 is still non-functioning straight of the box and shuts down randomly or whenever the right-hand side of the unit is touched.
i have 20-year-old samplers and 30 year-old synths that still work perfectly. not a single problem or issue after all the these years. but TE can’t even make a unit that works when brand new.