Questions about the Tape before I buy an OP-1

OP-1
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I'm on the fence about getting an OP-1 right now. I'm thinking of getting in on the current Massdrop ($120-$150 off, if enough people buy in). I have plenty of gear (Octatrack, Analog Four, Machinedrum UW, Pro 2, iPad), but I really like how the OP-1 is an immediately usable synth, sampler and tape recorder in one portable package. I have some questions about using the tape that might convince me to finally take the plunge into getting an OP-1.

How easy is it to split the tape? Say I'm working on some music and I'm making rough sketches of phrases at the beginning of the tape. Then, I start splitting those sketches up into working sections. Then, I lift and drop those takes later on in the tape, putting them into an arrangement I like. How hard is it to work like that (sort of a halfway between linear and non-linear editing)? Is this a reasonable workflow? Or, would this be intensely tedious?

I know you can scrub with a knob to get to the right part of the tape to split at, but moving by arrows seems a bit more convenient. Are the arrow keys always going to move in large quantized steps (meaning I have to scrub to where I want to split at if it's between measures)? If it's quantized to measures, can I double the BPM (without changing the tape speed) to get half-note resolution (basically, what's the range on BPM)?

Say I want to make a drum kit from a bunch of different synth recordings on tape. Can I record the sounds in easy to deal with sections, and then split up the tape to lift and drop the smaller takes closer together? Or, is it just easier to record the sounds close together in the first place?

If I want to do longer loops in the drum sampler (more than 12 seconds), how bad does it sound to record into the sampler at double or quadruple speed and pitch down the slices afterward? I've read that the drum sampler doesn't really have any anti-aliasing and sounds really lofi. I just don't know if that's a good or bad thing? I realize I lose the top end of the spectrum, I'm just wondering if the aliasing noise is particularly terrible or if it sounds reasonably musical.

Also, a question about presets. After watching some of Cuckoo's videos, I've seen he has presets in folders that seem to have category names (like "Chippy"). Can I create folders named other than "User" to organize patches in (as I think that's how he's doing that)? What's the limitation on number of presets per folder, if this is the case?
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Given my limited time with the OP-1, I can only answer the last question about creating folders. Yes you can make user folders and name them when you are running the OP-1 as in disk mode with a computer. You can then re-name your saved snapshots and place them (along with samples) inside the folder. This is one of my favorite features so far when it comes to creating songs. I do not know if there is a limit on how many you can make though.

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Awesome! I had read a thread somewhere (I think here?) that someone had a bunch of snapshots, but still had freespace on the flash memory, but they were getting “out of room” errors when trying to save snapshots. Someone had replied with there was a certain maximum per folder. Wasn’t sure if that was a limitation of the snapshots folder, or, any user folder.

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…evrything else… you can!


grab it buddy
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Pretty much yes to everything. The arrow keys snap to bars, you could double the tempo for better resolution, but not fine. Scrubbing the tape works ok and you can hear where you’re setting the head down.

Making drumkits on tape is awesome. If you turn off the beat match mode in the metronome settings screen, the shift plus arrow key behavior changes to better facilitate tape comping. Instead of moving forward or backward in units of bars, it instead moves to the beginning and end of audio takes. Splicing, lifting, dropping, and merging are all handled with ease, and the final twelve second compilation can be neatly lifted and dropped into the drum sampler. In periods of high productivity, I enjoy using these methods with recordings from the built in fm tuner, random thrift store cassette tapes, youtube findings, and, rarely, ipad apps.

Recording at higher speeds and pitching samples down can get pretty lofi, but the various effects can clean up or conceal things well. I find there to be a very desirable and organic quality to samples manipulated in this way. The punch effect can be used on the master output. It lies somewhere between a filter and a compressor, and has a wet/dry knob that allows you to balance your mix between thump and lofi grime.

Assembling an arrangement from copied sections of tape is effective and becomes second nature quickly. One thing to look out for is losing any release or echo that would extend past the last bar of a loop when you lift and drop. Also avoid recording in loop mode so delay and release isn’t wrapped around to the beginning. All tracks can be lifted together, but in shorter segments than individual tracks. If you are using multiple tracks, you can lift them and drop them imprecisely or scrub them forward or backward for stereo separation or a more dramatic, loosened feel.

I don’t know how productive you may be in your Elektron setup, but I was not before I got the op-1. I purchased the op-1 mainly as something to use in places other than my studio, not expecting it to function a more than a means to jot down some ideas or kill time programming synth patches I may later use with other gear. What I found was that the op-1 is a capable and intuitive alternative to the step sequencer for creating and capturing electronic performances, and it creates an environment that sparks the creativity of its user.

1 Like
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Thank you for the thorough answer! You have pretty much eliminated all trepidation I have with using the Tape.


> If you turn off the beat match mode in the metronome settings screen, the shift plus arrow key behavior changes to better facilitate tape comping. Instead of moving forward or backward in units of bars, it instead moves to the beginning and end of audio takes.

\m/ Awesome! That is exactly what I wanted to know! Just, apparently, didn’t know how to phrase it.

> I don’t know how productive you may be in your Elektron setup

My living situation changed from a three bedroom apartment with me and a single roommate (I had two rooms and a practice space set up in the living room), to just a small bedroom. So, I don’t have room right now to have my gear out. I have room for one Elektron box, if I clear up the space I leave for my work laptop (and no room for keyboards at all … the Pro 2 sadly sits in it’s box). So, I’m looking for a small and portable piece of hardware and the OP-1 looks to be perfect. The iPad is fun, but I just don’t really feel inspired playing glass, and there’s nothing else that portable and complete. I played with one in 2011 or 2012 for about an hour or so and really loved it, but couldn’t justify getting one when I had all my gear available to me at pretty much any time.

But, as for how productive I was in my previous space? I think reasonably so? And, it was only getting more so … until I moved into my temporary single bedroom space. But, all the videos I’ve seen with the OP-1 and Octatrack kinda have me stoked to have them together.
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Thank you for the thorough answer! You have pretty much eliminated all trepidation I have with using the Tape.

> If you turn off the beat match mode in the metronome settings screen, the shift plus arrow key behavior changes to better facilitate tape comping. Instead of moving forward or backward in units of bars, it instead moves to the beginning and end of audio takes.

\m/ Awesome! That is exactly what I wanted to know! Just, apparently, didn't know how to phrase it.

> I don't know how productive you may be in your Elektron setup

My living situation changed from a three bedroom apartment with me and a single roommate (I had two rooms and a practice space set up in the living room), to just a small bedroom. So, I don't have room right now to have my gear out. I have room for one Elektron box, if I clear up the space I leave for my work laptop (and no room for keyboards at all ... the Pro 2 sadly sits in it's box). So, I'm looking for a small and portable piece of hardware and the OP-1 looks to be perfect. The iPad is fun, but I just don't really feel inspired playing glass, and there's nothing else that portable and complete. I played with one in 2011 or 2012 for about an hour or so and really loved it, but couldn't justify getting one when I had all my gear available to me at pretty much any time.

But, as for how productive I was in my previous space? I think reasonably so? And, it was only getting more so ... until I moved into my temporary single bedroom space. But, all the videos I've seen with the OP-1 and Octatrack kinda have me stoked to have them together.

Even with new gear, it’s hard to find any workflow to compare with the sexy tactics developed with an OP-1.


Here’s a recent experience…

Why did I stray? - OP-1 - OP Forums