OP-1 Tips and Tricks

ohpeewon
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#261

Hey all, apologies if this tip has already been put into the mix.


While working on the Body Operator battle I came across a helpful looping trick.

I have a 4 bar pattern, which I’m looping in its entirety, and creating variations by muting, tape tricks etc. But for the next song section, I want to loop single bars within that 4 bar sequence.

I struggled for a bit using the encoders to change the loop position on the fly, but was never fast enough.
So, what I did was keep track 1 unchopped / scissored for the 4 bars, but chop track 2 into four 1 bar segments. Then:
  • To loop the full 4 bars, select track 1 then shift+loop button.
  • To loop the single, currently-playing bar, select track 2 then shift+loop button.
This allows for seamless transitioning between looping 1 bar or 4 bars, on the fly whilst playing. Of course you could use different bar lengths for tracks 3 and 4 as well.

Hope this helps some…

Winerz
#262

Yes indeed @winerz, this has already been detailed in this thread a couple of times :slight_smile:

#263

Ah sorry didn’t see it :slight_smile:

#264

No worries! Good tips are worth repeating…

#265

This was something I was messing around with today - holding the OP in one hand, kind of like a violin, and using the Element LFO as an expressive kind of vibrato. This patch was made in Cluster


https://www.instagram.com/p/BPRXm_GBTor/?taken-by=mlbstrd
#266

@winerz idea made me think of another tape variation trick.

Let’s assume that we’re dealing with a 4 bar loop here. The trick is just about changing the start loop point live, by ear, and place it at the beginning of the 4th bar to repeat it. Then do a bit of track mute, add some M1/M2 (low pass/delay) like some sort of build up… Once you’re satisfied with the amount of reps, do a shift+loop button to reloop the entire loop so it starts at the beginning of the whole loop again.
Takes a bit of practice and it does not fit all beats but when it does, it bloody does.

Does that make sense?

#267
#268
Hey all, apologies if this tip has already been put into the mix.

While working on the Body Operator battle I came across a helpful looping trick.

I have a 4 bar pattern, which I'm looping in its entirety, and creating variations by muting, tape tricks etc. But for the next song section, I want to loop single bars within that 4 bar sequence.

I struggled for a bit using the encoders to change the loop position on the fly, but was never fast enough.
So, what I did was keep track 1 unchopped / scissored for the 4 bars, but chop track 2 into four 1 bar segments. Then:
  • To loop the full 4 bars, select track 1 then shift+loop button.
  • To loop the single, currently-playing bar, select track 2 then shift+loop button.
This allows for seamless transitioning between looping 1 bar or 4 bars, on the fly whilst playing. Of course you could use different bar lengths for tracks 3 and 4 as well.

Hope this helps some...

Winerz

Wow, despite it being said that it’ve been mentioned multiple times, I see this for the first time. And it is probably what i was lacking whole this time. Thank!

#269
@winerz idea made me think of another tape variation trick.

Let’s assume that we’re dealing with a 4 bar loop here. The trick is just about changing the start loop point live, by ear, and place it at the beginning of the 4th bar to repeat it. Then do a bit of track mute, add some M1/M2 (low pass/delay) like some sort of build up… Once you’re satisfied with the amount of reps, do a shift+loop button to reloop the entire loop so it starts at the beginning of the whole loop again.
Takes a bit of practice and it does not fit all beats but when it does, it bloody does.

Does that make sense?

I think you might probably chop 1-bar thing at the end of the loop on different track. Considering that you have 4 tracks to mess with this, you easily can have 1 4-bar chop, 2 2-bar chops, and 4 1-bar chops on different tracks.

#270

@konst if I get what you’re saying, that would work if you’re on grid. I’m always off grid as all my beats on the same liveset (tape) have different bpms so chops aren’t easily manageable. Forgot to mention that.
That’s why I’d have to do it by ear.

#271

Here are some of my tips!


1) Faux delay

If you’ve got a short, percussive kind of sound (ADSR with zero S) you can create a faux-delay by applying the Tremolo LFO set at 100%, square wave, and an appropriate LFO speed. Then drag out the release and you get faux-delay! Useful for freeing up your FX slot (if you don’t want to use your LFO for anything, obvs).

2) Pitch bend

Even without the bend/crank/etc accessories, you can still select them. They’re really just encoder mapping modifiers, and if you learn how they change regular encoder behaviour you can make some cool stuff. Or, for the basic, set bend amount (white) to 01 for a +2 semitone bend that’s more useful than the super quick octave jump of the shift + arrow keys.
#272

Not sure if this counts as a tip but I find making a bunch of random sounds using the OP-1 Patch Randomizer and then analysing them after I’ve uploaded them to the OP-1 is a good way to get ideas on how to make new sounds myself from scratch. For example, I wouldn’t have thought of using an LFO to modulate the release on the ADSR envelope before.


Here’s what I do:
  1. Go to the OP-1 Patch Randomizer site, just keep pressing the Next button until I get to the last screen and press the Download button.
  2. This downloads a zip file to my computer. Unzip that file and it contains a hundred files named patch00.aif to patch99.aif.
  3. Connect my OP-1 via USB to my computer and put the OP-1 in Disk Mode (SHIFT + COM, press big 3). This brings up a drive called NONAME on my computer.
  4. I copy the hundred patch files to the synth > user folder on the OP-1’s drive.
  5. Put the OP-1 back into OP-1 mode (SHIFT + COM, press big 1), then go to a synth engine (press small 1).
  6. You might have to wait about a minute as the OP-1 creates the new synth patches, but then the new patches should show up in the USER bank when you go to select sounds for any of the synth engines.
  7. Play with the new patches.
A couple of things to note:
  1. Not sure if it’s because of the new firmware recently, but when you select one of your new USER patches and then go to select another one, it looks like all your synth patches have disappeared from the list. To fix that I go into a different synth engine (say you were in synth 1, just go to synth 2) then back into the synth engine you were using a second ago. All the patches should then show up again.
  2. When you are trying out a new patch remember to check if effects, LFO, etc. are on or off. Sometimes what might be a not very interesting sound can be made better by turning on the LFO, etc.
  3. Again not sure if this because of the firmware update but the randomizer only seems to stick to the original synth engines, unless I’ve been super unlucky so far!
Sorry for long post and not really a tip but an interesting way to learn how to make new sounds with the little monster.
#273

Nice workflow tip from @jonsey_op …

Quote

You can sync tape and album. Here are my notes from tape to album and vice versa (in sync) -

recording from tape to album -

Into album mode. Hit play and record at the same time

Jam

Once done, hit stop in album mode. Best to compare the levels between album and tape
to ensure they are the same

Bouncing from album back to tape

(In tape mode) hit shift and mic (top right)
Select the ear input
Back to tape, set points (remove loop mode)
Set input to max
Press mic again, the ear should display (meaning it’s on)
Select an empty track and make sure volume is set to max
Hit shift and Rec - this arms the recording mode
Into album mode. Hit the play button and the play button in album at the same time

Voila

#274

I assume y’all mostly know, but you can fast forward the stutter effect tape trick.

#275

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but you can have a lot of extreme tape trick-like fun by lifting a whole part (with up to 4 tracks) into the buffer, dropping it into a synthsampler, then setting portamento to max and playing around while holding shift plus arrow down or up on different notes. Hilarious for unorthodox transitions to another part.

#276

I haven’t seen this before so here it goes:

Change the envelope of any synth to instant attack - short to very short decay - no sustain - short to no release

Turn tempo to 220 and beat match, turn tape speed +12 so tempo = 440

In endless, just tap in 1 C note on 1/32T for highest tempo

Then you can play the repeated bursts, tweaking the sound in the synthesizer, as well as tweaking tempo, note, and the envelope for additional changes to the timbre

You could obviously do this with any sequencer, I find endless works best with either a single note or patterns, note - up octave - rest, etc.

Very glitchy sounds and each synth takes on a new character, with drastic changes in the sound with each tweak

#277

Sorry if this has been covered before, but last night I discovered this, accidentally, and then realized that it was useful and something I had been hoping for.


If you’d like to have a drum kit play the same hit chromatically, you can turn on the endless sequencer and input one note, the note or sound that you wish to play chromatically. Now when you play up and down the keyboard, so long as the sequencer is on, you will hear that one sample, played chromatically. I didn’t realize what I had done and thought I ruined all my drum kits! Then I thought some more and sorted it out. Very useful for me, hope it’s the same for you!
#278

@jurfin pro tip: Make sure you sustain the sound for some notes so when you gown down in pitch your sound won’t loop prematurely

#279
@jurfin pro tip: Make sure you sustain the sound for some notes so when you gown down in pitch your sound won't loop prematurely

Thanks for that! Do you mean in the sequencer itself, by holding the note and pressing the > key?

#280

@jurfin yes, just like that. Another tipp (not found by me) that goes into the same direction is to use the Sketch sequencer and put in a sustained C plus a line one encoder-click up and one down. Though you loose polyphony you’ll get some detuned oscillator sound.