Looking for insight from others on complex beat and synth programming on the op1. I’ve gotten close to meticulous beats but of course can’t hit that level of editing like a computer/tracker. Anybody here make this kind of music on the op1? I mainly like doing beat repeat stuff on loops but I find it tedious and prone to error. It would be cool if you could program detailed ‘drukqs’/venetian snares type beats on the op1. If the beat markers could go down to 1/128 resolution that would be rad.
Sequencing that precise on the OP-1 alone will be tedious.
Without bringing in an external sequencer, the only way I can think of would involve sequencing at twice the desired BPM, effectively doubling the resolution of the sequence but halving the length.
Alternatively, you could record off-grid, no sequencing at all. With some creative layering and resampling you could probably get a satisfactory result, but the process would also be a bit of organized chaos.
Another portable option,but not OP-1 exclusively, use an iPhone and the USB-Lightning adapter to control the OP-1 via USB MIDI. There are loads of sequencing apps available for iOS that will offer the precision you’re wanting.
Good point on the ios apps. I have used some before but there were some latency issues but maybe I’ll have better luck this time. It would be a dream if there was an op1-x that had advanced sequencing capabilities with the immediacy that a tracker brings. Not sure if the opz will really bring that level of freedom. If I had the time and money I would make the op1 killer.
If you like trackers then I’d suggest SunVox. It’s like a beefed up Milky or NitroTracker.
I’m curious about the OP-Z too, whether it forces the sequences to be quantized or not. If it has to be quantized then I have no use for it, regardless if it has a decent swing algorithm.
i think u maybe have to think around sequencing everything like maybe u would traditionally think about it.
cutting and pasting the tape can be tedious inside those beat markers.
couple different ideas...
delay, phone, grid, etc can all be setup to do glitchy / beat repeat things easily.
m1 or m2 can be setup for momentary triggers of these fx settings on the master/tape.resample your parts back into drum sampler or even synth sampler.
chop accordingly there.
lift drop the same part or sound onto different keys using different lengths, pitches, whatever u wanna do.
set sounds to loop for easy beat repeats
replay back onto tape.
or like suggested above, increase your tempo or tape speed to get more markers or be able to do faster stuff w/ the sequencers.
if u always do a multiple of your original tempo, everything will still line up.
from my point of view, the tape isn't a DAW. don't think about it like one.
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i do a fair amount of complex beat programming. the op1 is not suitable for anything like this. get a digitakt or another capable drum machine, then sample the results into (or record onto) the op1, mind the sync, it’s not great.
This was done in a fit of haze. ‘prone to error’ is the preferred method of operation. vicious random LFO, lots of stupid tape tricks done live, cut straight to album mode, done on a day when my brain was just burning and burning and burning. obviously more from an æ/gantz graf influence.
normal / meticulous sequencing is for chumps. play with it. feel it. push it. let it breathe.
slightly more normal. can’t remember as much of the drum programming. hell - might have just used the arp? that doesn’t seem right. more of a glitchy minimal techno maybe? again - all done on OP-1, straight to album again.
Also, the Sketch sequencer in drum mode can be used to make very detailed beats. A bit tedious to edit though. Also outputs MIDI.
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This was done in a fit of haze. 'prone to error' is the preferred method of operation. vicious random LFO, lots of stupid tape tricks done live, cut straight to album mode, done on a day when my brain was just burning and burning and burning. obviously more from an æ/gantz graf influence.normal / meticulous sequencing is for chumps. play with it. feel it. push it. let it breathe.slightly more normal. can't remember as much of the drum programming. hell - might have just used the arp? that doesn't seem right. more of a glitchy minimal techno maybe? again - all done on OP-1, straight to album again.
Cool beats. Yea I’ve done stuff like that on the op1 and it’s awesome but I guess I’m feeling chumpy right now and want to do some deep sequencing. I guess the computer will always win for that.
Also, the Sketch sequencer in drum mode can be used to make very detailed beats. A bit tedious to edit though. Also outputs MIDI.
That’s def a sequencer I rarely use. Will test it out for beats. Thx
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Cool beats. Yea I've done stuff like that on the op1 and it's awesome but I guess I'm feeling chumpy right now and want to do some deep sequencing. I guess the computer will always win for that.
Yeah, I feel that. I found the OP-1 works best when using its sequencers for the peculiarities or uniqueness. You can do a lot with the Finger sequencer for beats, and it’s so easy to make polymetric variations in there. But doing the kind of beat programming you can do in a tracker like Renoise or on an Elektron box is not really the OP-1’s strong suit. I still think you can do really cool drum stuff on board though.
I had tried to build myself a DnB / Breakcore OP-1 drum kit to see if I could get into V-Snares territory at all, but I was getting strange errors at the time and thought the drum kit was too chaotic for the OP-1 to handle! (Turns out I just had too many samples stored on the OP-1). I may have to try re-building that.
finger + some clever slicing of pre-sequenced beat variations might actually do it…
Nice. You should to a youboobs tutorial on your process. I’d love to see it.