OP-Z vs OP-1 post sampling update

I agree, but I’ve got a nice laptop and a DAW, I’m a few plugins from covering the territory of both these devices…

I’m looking for something to inspire workflow, something that’s built around similar ideas to what I have.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not curious about these devices for they’re pure capabilities… I’m interested in them for what they may/may not be laid out to inspire.
:slight_smile:

It really comes down to personal taste. While I still like the versatility of software, I find the hands on nature of hardware far more creative for me. If you can get what you want out of software then totally cool, and you probably won’t find as much value in an OP-1 or OP-Z. However, if you want a small device that you can carry around with you without too much fuss they are both quite capable devices.

I’ve got both the OP-1 and OP-Z, and I have to say, overall the OP-1 feels far more capable as a sampler, and with the 4 track recorder is a reasonable way to just record in many different situations. The OP-Z however, is hands down the better sequencer, and is obviously much more portable. Honestly, for my money, I’d be considering if you’re looking for a device you can use away from or without the computer. The limitations of the devices will force you to really learn them, or learn to hate them.

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You will probably like both devices. Buy the op-1 if you have the cash. If you don’t like it sell it and get the op-z. If you do like it then save up and get the op-z. If you only have cash for an op-z get that. If you don’t like it sell it and put the money towards a op-1.

Both have a good resale value.

Not really, if you look on reverb there is a literal ton of opz’s for sale… I think so many people bought it that really shouldn’t have, not knowing how weird and kooky the companies products are and now are trying to sell and in order to beable to sell it among the herd you have to give it away at a huge loss… I’m glad they are selling more products but I think is at the detriment of the brand. I really think they should have charged more for it to get it out of the under $500 groovebox market because it really doesn’t belong there. Maybe the dust will settle some and now that the oplab is available again people will rethink trying to ditch them… it’s a great device, to me nothing about it seems cheap and I hope it won’t fall into the cheap throwaway garbage category and can grow to become a very powerful workstation. The op1 originally retailed for similar money so I hope it will have a future like the op1 has had.

it’s like the first two weeks with OP1 where nobody is sure if it’s a keeper or a toy. back in 2012 there was nothing like garbage in representation except @cuckoo videos but nowadays it’s like everyone on insta needs the OP1.
I was sure TE is doing it right by pointing out that the OP-Z is so small, people will be upset about it and that’s a great statement I have to say.

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re-stumbled over this nice stuff a few days ago

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New comparison video is up, post sampling updates.

Nice! I strongly disagree about the OP-1’s tape, though. That’s one of its best features!

kingof9x
Both have a good resale value.

i wholeheartedly disagree. The op 1’s are stills selling for 1000$ and the op z market is FLOODED right now on reverb and ebay etc…
I doubt you’d be able to get any serious money back from selling it right now.

Op1’s on reverb can be had for around $700 all day long… that’s a smaller percent that the opz at around $500. There is more opz’s second hand but I think allot of people bought it and didn’t really realize how weird it really was. In time there will be less and less opz’s for sale used, it just came out so naturally allot of people want to flip it for the next thing.

I haven’t seen an OP1 used or new anywhere for less than 950 in the last 4 months

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By the way, I ended up pulling the trigger on an OP1 and I am so glad I did. Thanks all for the great advice!

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There was a couple on reverb for around $700 a couple of days ago… But ok, let’s say $950 that are on reverb right now, that’s still much more of a difference from buying new then you can get on a used opz. There is one for less then $500 but it is beat up so I don’t think that really counts.

Bringing this thread back from the dead -

I have had an OP-Z since release. I am a long-time musician and synthesizer user but the Z is my first and only TE product. I love it BUT there has always been a little voice in the back of my head telling me that the OP-1 would better suit my needs, especially as my workflow has shifted from sequence-based to more songwriting-based (folktronica?). Let me explain by listing my personal pro’s and con’s of the OP-Z.

OP-Z Pros (very personal and exclusively IMO):

  • It brings me places my DAW would never encourage me to go

  • It is immediate and intimate. Much like guitar, I just pick it up, play it and have fun. Whether I am in the my studio, in bed or in another country, I just pick it up and play it. No launching programs, no adjusting settings, no endless tweaking of 1,000 parameters, just me and an instrument.

  • I love how it sounds. I would rather have a thin sounding LoFi synth that can be layered and mangled in post than a synth that is so expressive from the start that it just sounds like a cheesy imitation of an acoustic instrument. With onboard sampling, I can use the OP-Z for hours and not get board, especially because I have other instruments at my disposal to also focus on (mainly guitar and voice).

  • I love how it breaks up when you push it hard. I love the gain staging.

  • I love the FM organ, FM e-piano and all the other recent additions like the chorus and reverb.

  • I love drone mode

  • I love how loud and clear the headphone output is

  • I love promise of expandability with modules (I realize the OP-1 does not have this potential)

  • I love that it has a personality of its own

  • I love it’s portability

OP-Z Cons (very personal and exclusively IMO):

  • The elephant in the room is - I don’t like sequencers. The OP-Z has the best sequencer I have ever used, but I do not want to use it. I do not want to program it. I just want to record what I play into it with out looping; I have found this is a much more enjoyable workflow workflow for me, but it feels awfully silly to completely ignore the flagship functionality of the OP-Z and just record into a DAW. I do not even want the option to edit steps as editing steps has never been a satisfying process for me and I always just end up re-recording.

  • I use sampled drums in about 1% percent of my music and I would love to not have to look at those 4 OP-Z drum tracks anymore.

  • I love the portability of the OP-Z but it is both too large to fit in my pocket (need a back pack anyway) and yet also comically small. It is stressful to handle in live situations and fiddly to play.

  • Managing and organizing sounds and samples is a bit of a nightmare. I hate how one sample takes up an entire synth engine slot and in general it is difficult to figure out where I left things.

  • I have no interest in using my phone as a screen. I have tried it multiple times. I do not like it.

  • The OP-Z alone presents no opportunity for playback of long-form fieild recordings in the backgound of a piece, something that I really enjoy doing.

  • Although the computer connectivity on the Z is great, exporting tracks from the OP-Z (for further work) is still a bit of a hassle.

So should I just live with the OP-Z and learn to make it work for me? Or is the OP-1 really still the premium instrument for the songwriter type? Any advice, especially direct responses to the pros and cons above but in the context of the OP-1 (which I do not know very well) would be much appreciated. Also, please leave cost out of the equation - that is a factor that I already very much understand. I am also not looking for suggestions about other synths or iPad apps. Lol. Thank you!

For me, the sequencer is the whole point of the OP-Z. I L.O.V.E it. I also don’t like the built in sounds much, so I use a ton of samples.

It sounds like you might like the OP-1 though. If playing live and recording it is your thing, the OP-1 Is perfect. It’s also a lot easier to sample with it, and transferring the tape to ableton is absurdly easy.

Also, IMO the sequencers in the OP-1 are terrible. I don’t like them at all, apart from Endless. The good part is that you can easily sequence the OP-1 with the OP-Z.

If you can try one out, do so. But it sounds like it’s up your alley.

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Remember, people love seeing the op1 as the premium, but it cost so much because of the new screen, before that it was around $800… so they were priced compatibly. It seems like you would like the op1 more though I would get that instead.
I’m the opposite, I love programming sequencers and hate the way the op1 works, plus I really hate non removable batteries… is just so silly in a musical instrument, in a phone it’s dumb… But a synth?? Dumbest thing ever and no way I would ever buy a op1. There are many other options too…

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For me OP1 is by far the better instrument, I don’t care about DMX lighting, photomatic or the unity stuff, I care about making music, so none of that is of interest to me.

The OPZ build quality is pretty poor, definitely not built to last, tiny buttons are a bit too fiddly, the recent update allowing the function buttons to latch was long overdue and should have been there from the start. Updates can break old projects too which is a bit annoying.

The sequencer on the OPZ is excellent, the sound engines are pretty good too, the mute groups, tape track, punch in fx, and step components are very nice.
Can also be used as a midi sequencer. Impressive in such a tiny package, but at the cost of usability.

TE was definitely not lying when they said the small size will annoy, it does but only because it is fiddly to use, the buttons are very low profile and very low quality.

I’m definitely more a sequencer guy than a tape guy too, BUT the tape on OP1 is much more than just tape, it can be thought of as an audio sequencer, but most people, especially the synthfluencers just use it in the very basic tape way. But you can do lots of really cool stuff with the tape outside of just recording 4 bar loop sections.

Like most TE gear both my OP1 and OPZ have had numerous faults, make no mistake I love their gear, I love their design aesthetic and most of the employees seem to be really cool and helpful. But, they really need to get their act together when it comes to quality.

I never treat my gear roughly, I’m not heavy handed and I don’t do dumb things like use rigid cable adapters, both my OP1s and OPZ are kept in cases when not being used.

If the OPZ was better built it would be great, as it is it feels like not many will still be working in 10 years.

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How do you use a ton of samples? I want to do this but keep hearing about the limited memory. How much can you actually get on there? And did you take the stock sounds out?

How do you know the quality of the opz buttons? Just because they are small does not make them cheap… if they went to such elaborate lengths to make the strange plastic composite and weird magnetic encoders, that type of engineering didn’t seem to line up with using cheap crap for buttons… sure they might double trigger every once in awhile, they are tiny, but that doesn’t mean they are lower quality, just that you don’t like buttons so small. I don’t agree, there is nothing “cheap” about the opz, just allot of problems from the small design. I have no reason to doubt that my opz will be around in ten years or however long as any of my other stuff, unless I drop it or something.

I mostly use custom samples on the percussion and hat tracks, although I also keep some hats on the first plug. You can add 10 per track, which is easily enough for a few songs, for me anyway. Then I use the OP-Z to chop and generally mangle samples.

On the lead/arp/bass/chord tracks, I have a few pianos, toy instruments, and the like.

I most often sample direct through the mic, or USB audio.

The trick for me is to manage the OP-Z from a computer. I just hook it up in disk mode and copy the entirety of the OP-Z’s contents. I then name it with a good project title to remember what’s there. I should probably start grabbing 10-sec mixdown clips as a reference.

Then I delete all the projects and whatev samples I don’t need, and start over. If I want to work on a song again, I just drag the whole lot back on.

What I don’t do is try to load up a whole sample library of stuff I’ll probably never use. I add samples as needed. It works well for me.