yeah it’s a knockoff but beside of the branding they‘ve been all the same at this time
and the output works as expected…so the „right“ connection is there but the Input won‘t make it through the Unit! why is that? 
Blockquote
i even unscrewed the Adapter and with a direct feed of an analog oscillator „with help of a breadboard“ there’s no way that this stuff works i‘ve Gone pin to pin and was just able to send the signal straight to the left or right output channel but no direct Input to the OP-Z.
My Millso adapter doesn’t give me any input at all… maybe I’ll try it again.
Wish this wasn’t a maybe.
Strange, for me it is working quite reliably now. Here are the steps for reproducing it, maybe it helps someone.
1.) I have the OP-Z connected to the headphone output of my field recorder. The line out would work too but the signal is a little bit hot. I use a 3.5 mm stereo cable. One end of the cable goes into the mic input of the splitter, the other end goes into the recorder’s stereo headphone output. The splitter is wired according to the CTIA standard, I tested it with a multimeter.
2.) Initially, the OP-Z is switched off. I play a recording from the field recorder and turn the OP-Z on. Initially, I hear the recording through my headphones, but the signal cuts out shortly after because the OP-Z has supposedly detected the correct input mode.
3.) I go to a desired track, e.g. the lead track [track + lead] and select and prepare an empty instrument slot (e.g. slot 8) for sampling by pressing and holding [track + 8]. A blinking 8 when holding [track] signals that the slot is ready for sampling. If it does not blink press and hold [track + 8] again.
4.) I switch on the input from the adapter by pressing and holding [screen + shift]. The signal played from the recorder is instantly audible.
5.) (At this point, holding the OP-Z vertically allows for using the microphone functions, such as adjusting the input level or enabling and disabling effects on the input.)
6.) I go into sampling mode by pressing and holding [stop + record], the order matters. The first sequencer step is lit green and the last sequencer step is lit in a blueish to mauve color to indicate the start and end points of the sample (after sampling). I enable monitoring the signal levels from the field recorder by pressing [play]. The signal levels are indicated by the sequencer steps. I can adjust the level by pressing [shift + sequencer step].
7.) I record the signal by pressing and holding [record].
8.) I stop the field recorder and listen to the recorded signal by pressing a key on the keyboard.
9.) Now the sample can be edited with the dials, etc. and when satisfied, I press [stop] to exit sampling mode.
Basically that’s it. Works for me every time now. Of course one could substitute the field recorder with another input source with stereo output, e.g. a group bus of a mixer or the stereo outs of an instrument. However, the field recorder or a mixer setup is convenient, because they can act as a buffer between the OP-Z’s input and the instrument (or microphone) to be sampled from. In addition, I would make sure that the levels of the input are initially not too hot.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
9 Likes
I followed your advice and it finally worked for me. I’m using the MillSO splitter and a Sony PCM D50. Thanks for figuring this out!
1 Like
So do we think the trick is having audio playing before turning the OP-Z on?
Welcome to the OP-Z & Teenage Engineering… where TE provides zero info and tech support is entirely up to the user base.
2 Likes
didn’t work for me. not with a splitter cable, not with iRig 2, not with iXZ. I have yet to try with the two TRRS extensions I have, but I prefer to wait for more users to report, frankly
Okay, kind of got it to work!
Given DerNeils’ chance of using a Bastl Kastl, that gave a pretty solid clue that line signal strength has A LOT to do with it!
Luckily, I have a Bastl Kastl 1.5 as well, and (unlike my phone and other small devices I tried), I was able to get a signal of adequate volume. Using a headphone splitter with passive volume control helped dial in the signal just right. The Kastl is REALLY loud, which I think was the key…
Back to trying to sample off my phone (android, Honor 7x), I’m having the same issue as others where at best I’m getting a super faint signal, if anything at all, and that faint signal doesn’t end up being recorded.
HOWEVER, THE TRICK to get it to work, I think, was plugging my phone into my Zoom H4n and using it as a signal amplifier… but also, have all of the volumes and gains on the phone and the Zoom turned super low to start, then slowly turning them up. Also, Airplane mode, because data was popping into the signal. Something about starting with a low signal and turning it up seemed to help the OP-Z? In the end my phone volume was at 60%, my Zoom Rec Level at 0.5 and Line out at 75% …
Everything else was as people suggested:
Turn on OP-Z, nothing plugged
Plug in TRRS breakout cable, connected to your instrument / field recorder
Turn on headset mode with Screen-then±Shift. Orange light comes on
Then enter sample mode for drum or synth track…
In Sample mode, turn up the input gain with Shift+Instrument Track
Hit Play button to monitor input (wear headphones, plugged into breakout cable)
You should see the signal bounce on the Z… adjust input gain or external gains as needed.
Trigger your samples on your outboard device, and hold REC on OP-Z
If the orange light turns off at any point, repeat the process. As others mentioned, all of these connections are finicky, so be gentle.
All that said, it still seems to only hardly work… But once it does, it’s pretty sweet.
1 Like
I think the problem is that these adapters don’t fit the OP-Z’s jack properly.
1 Like
Once my setup was working, it worked with anything I hooked it up to. I don’t remember the full list, but it included vintage and new devices (303, Digitone), and different levels (line outs, headphones, Eurorack). I had the ‘VU meter’ on the OP-Z registering very quiet sources and very loud ones on connection, didn’t seem to matter.
I think, based on my experiences, that the OP-Z is deciding whether or not to pass the audio to the sampler when the jack is inserted - but I don’t know how it’s deciding this. I did wonder if having a signal playing when you connected made a difference, but I couldn’t arrive at a consistent answer. I’ll get back to it, though - even though I got it working, I’d still like to know why it’s working.
1 Like
I think, based on my experiences, that the OP-Z is deciding whether or not to pass the audio to the sampler when the jack is inserted
Yes, for instance, the sequence
1.) Turn on the OP-Z without splitter connected
2.) Activate the splitter input with [screen + shift]
3.) Plug in the splitter with field recorder connected
4.) Press play on the field recorder
also works for me. The OP-Z seems to decide based on the signal of the field recorder which mode to select, either when the OP-Z is turned on with the source connected or when the splitter is inserted with the source connected. For instance, if I first plug in the splitter, activate the splitter input and then plug the field recorder into the splitter, I can hear the signal, but it is not passed to the mic/sampling system.
2 Likes
Have anyone tried sampling over usb from iphone?
I think the problem is it doesn’t really work 
technically it’s not a supported feature and some people have got it working through a, by chance, cable/startup procedure but really it doesn’t work, at least in a reliable way. My guess is they might be able to fix it in software to be more forgiving with audio setups, but for now I’m going to stick to usb. I did hear if you have a field recorder with a usb audio interface like the tascam dr40x that works with usb mode and it MIGHT be possible to pass through audio live from the inputs to the OP-Z, but that was not confirmed.
Yes this works fine, apple camera connection cable to TE usb cable, easy peasy.
1 Like
@ghoder Thanks again for the write up. Happy to report that it works as described. Thanks! Now off to learn the art of Sampling
1 Like
Glad that it worked! Have fun!
Btw, was using the internal mic for sampling and beat making with found sounds on the go today. Very nice also!
Just confirmed the method @jesiah recommended as I just got an h4n today by complete coincidence.
Tested with my other adapters and was disappointed to find that the “Headset Buddy” does not work, which is unfortunate since it claims to include circuitry to optimize line levels for headset inputs, but this possibly causes the very issue preventing it from working?
At any rate, I’m more convinced that the issue is with the signal, but cannot explain why @Mistercharlie was able to overcome his issues w/ an extension cable.
1 Like
Got a (dirt) cheap TRRS-splitter from wish.com to test in addition to my iRig1. Works great. Only tested with Micro cassette player as input.
1 Like