Hey, all you crazy operators!
Following a discussion with @opsr , I thought creating this thread would be a great way to share generic, creative and/or specific tips and tricks about your very own workflows on the OP1 Field.
Since the OG and The Field share a lot of feature but rely on different architectures, I thought this thread would be a great way for anyone to share the surprisingly creative ways they use their OP1f.
Feel free to share!
All tips, all tricks are welcomed.
And for starters, here’s my take this week :
That’s me for today.
Will share some more soon!
Heyes,
Thanks for starting this thread!
I intend to post all kinds of things I learn, even if they might be obvious to some, already posted in OG OP-1 threads, or even if they’re very simple.
(Hey- can you share a link to the radio transmitter or something similar? I’m not sure what to search for.)
This week I’ve gotten Logic and the OP-1f to sync. The OP-1f Sequencers will not sync, though, they start very late, I’m going to keep working on that problem, but the OP-1f Pattern Sequencer does sync, and the Clock In works to keep everything in time.
Here’s what I’ve done:
on the OP-1:
Shift + Mic, choose USB
Shift + Com, choose 1 (MIDI), set
MIDI Ch 1
Clock In
Notes In
Other (ccs etc.) In
press Metronome, use the Ochre knob to choose MIDI Sync
in Logic:
File>Project Settings>Synchronization>MIDI
Destination- choose OP-1
enable Clock
Clock Mode- Song SPP at Play Start and Stop/SPP/Continue at Cycle Jump
The transmitter I got is the KenTech Transmitter FM.
Plugs in any audio output mini jack, recharges via mini-usb.
The amazon link didn’t work, but it should be an easy Google search. If need be, I’ll DM it to you directly.
As for the Logic Sync, it is quite cool to see your workflow. Way easier than what I did last week.
My goal was to create some MIDI regions in Logic and record them straight into the op1f. In doing so, I wanted both Logic and the op1f to get in sync. The aim here was to get the op1f to start recording when pressing play on the iPad/MacBook.
(I also used the op1f as a MIDI controller with Logic. Works flawlessly.)
So it goes like this.
On the op1f
On Logic Pro (for iPad/macOS)
Pressing PLAY in Logic Pro should then enable recording on the op1f.
I needed to record some old demos I had on the iPad. This workaround was just what I needed to finish these old tracks.
More to come soon!
Still on the MIDI side of things, I played a bit with the Dato DUO - a wonderful albeit limited machine. Aimed at beginners and kids, this thing can easily yield interesting sounds and sequences.
Wanted to program a sequence on the Dato DUO and record it on the op1f. Got both BPM synced.
On the Dato DUO
On the op1f
Plug a stereo mini-jack out of the Dato DUO into the op1f.
You should now be able to control the Dato DUO transports and record the sequenced audio directly to tape, with the op1f acting as the main clocking device.
The op1f could also control the Dato DUO and act as a MIDI controller.
The Dato DUO could act as a MIDI sequencer, controlling the op1f sounds.
Really helpful to help craft sequences on the Dato DUO’s intuitive (but limited) sequencer. Adds a cool option to the op1f.
All in all, a pretty fun and straightforward experience.
I’ll try controlling some op1f parameters with the Dato DUO - but even the Dato’s makers are a bit at loss when talking about the ins and outs of their machine.
Seems like there are some limitations. I’ll keep this one refreshed if I ever get around it!
Sequencer tip:
The Pattern and Sketch Sequencers are the only Sequencers that allow you to play live along with the Sequence, but only as long as you stay on the Sequencer page. Moving to the Synth page will allow you to use the keyboard to change the key of the sequence.
The Sketch Sequencer even allows you to change octave while on the Sequencer page which makes playing along even more fun.
Nice one!
If I’m not mistaken, the Tombola works the same way.
Pretty useful when crafting ambient pads and random textured sounds. Playing with the G parameter and the Speed parameter can yield pretty interesting results - this method made crazy results with vowels I sang and sampled and then input in the Tombola at random speeds with the Phone effect (modulated by a soft Element LFO)
The idea of using Tombola with vowel sounds is inspiring! Nice.
I created some pretty background vocal parts using chopped up pieces of a lead vocal my partner sang, tumbling around in Tombola. I had to record about 20 minutes of Tombola to get any usable pieces though.
The Tombola is slightly different than the other two Sequencers mentioned in that you can’t really play over the top as the notes you play keep being added to the sequence whether you’re on the Synth page or the Tombola page. With Pattern and Sketch that doesn’t happen, you can just play over the top without affecting the sequence.
This instrument is fascinating,
I presume this is common knowledge, but listing it here in case it isn’t!
On the tape, Shift-Orange sets the pan for recording to the tape track. So that kind of lets you have 8 tracks, given that record always overdubs.
This pre-tape panning option is amazing.
But I gotta ask (and try later) : does this works with internal sounds?
I’ve already managed to record mono, hard-panned guitars on both L and R channels. Works like a charm. But with the stereo synth engines, I’m not sure this works. I’m under the impression that being stereo, all synths would just be panned, not mono panned. Thus, not really doubling your track count.
But I may be wrong.
I would need to test it, as I’ve also used external sounds so far. Drum samples can be hard panned also.
I might be wrong, but the resample option could be of help, here. I still have to check, tho. Not sure I can tell the ReSampler to turn anything into mono!
In gaining this tape shift pan functionality, did the old shift function of attenuating the level change move or disappear? The OG1 shift orange allowed finer level changes.
I think you get that with push+turn on the orange encoder.
I tried it tonight, while recording mono guitars. Shift-orange pans pre-tape. But click-orange didn’t seem to fine tune the gain setting any way more than the usual way.
I may expect too much off of this feature, tho.
Latest firmware, btw
Not sure where the heck else to put this - haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere though.
Noticed that when selecting a Reel, each reel file has is filled in with red a little or a lot, depending on how much of your tape you’ve already recorded to in that reel. Maybe useful if you are just looking for a little blank space to sketch something out.
Yep.
Helps a lot with managing space.
As it happens, I used this last week. Needed to record a vocal mantra.
Selected the tape with the closest BPM and with the most tape available.
Handy!