Recording DI Guitar Into OP-1 With Effects... Without Applying Those Effects To Pre-Existing Tracks?

OP-1
#1

Hi,

I’ve been building up a track, and my next plan for it is to start adding electric guitar on top, using the OP-1 a bit like an effects pedal to get some interesting sounds out of th guitar and layer them onto the track I’ve been working on.

It seems like the only way to DI an electric guitar into the OP-1 and get effects is by using the master effects… Except in order to play along with the track as it stands, I’ll have to have a bounce of that already on the tape tracks, and then the master effects will affect these tracks too.

This is probably okay if I’m just doing simple tweaks, but if I want to add a guitar part with some quite heavy / weird / syncopated master effects on, I guess it’s going to send the bounced tracks out of time and make them difficult to play along to.

Can anyone think of a way round this? Or a way to DI guitar and add effects without affecting the bounced tracks?

Help is, as ever, much appreciated. Thanks!

#2

I would record the guitar to its own track without effects first, then mute all the other tracks, and then you can either resample to a free track if you have one available, or record into the album with your master effects so you can resample from there over the original track. I prefer resampling into a free track because timing is easier (and have a specific workflow to enable this), but you could always record multiple passes onto the album so you can easily start the tape in time.

#3

Far from ideal, but you could record the guitar into the drum sampler. That would also give you discrete effects, albeit in 12 second chunks.

#4

I have tried recording with internal Mic onto a track ,then processing,with a track bounce.its a shame we can’t process as recording (nothing like having the effect to play off,also bounce must be soloed).
An instrument for external input would be ideal.
Maybe get a mini KP2 or similar,cheap?
Or that drum sample method in chunks could be worth playin with.-Supposedly you can sample while recording ,so you could try sequencing long 2 bar notes say (Endless),then sample and resample onto a track that is recording?Spit out machine like chunks onto tape.

#5

Thanks for the advice.

I thought I’d give it a go, recording direct to the sampler (this time just using the in built mic for the sake of simplicity)… But I’ve never figured out the samplers (either synth or drum).

Following the instructions on Teenage Engineering’s online manual, it looks like you select one of the sampler engines in the synth or drum modes, press shift and mic, leave it selected as mic input, adjust gain / level, and then hit any key to record a sample direct from the mic.

Except when I’ve done that, and hit the key to record, I get a screen up that says standby, and can’t work out how to make it do its thing. Speaking into the mic doesn’t trigger anything, whether I’ve kept my finger on the key or taken it off. What am I missing?

#6

Orange encoder selects trigger threshold - make sure It’s not too high.

#7

Aha, thank you. That’s working now.

Also tried it recording the other tracks to album, pressing play on that, then moving to a tape track and recording along to it, which also works… Although, as already mentioned, that means the timing will need resyncing. That said, I guess you’d have to do that if you’re applying a master effect anyway.

It is a bit of a workaround. If Teenage Engineering invented an add-on to make this kind of thing more seamless, I’d buy it.

By the way, when I was talking about recording to the sampler before, it reminded me of Synthesizer Patel in Look Around You: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z2myFLUDB74

#8

^That’s funny.eccentric.
Some of those sounds are really of their time.I liked that link,thanks.

#9

Hi. Following on this thread. I think what I am looking to do is pretty similar. I want to record to tape a drum beat plus bass or a lead then record vocals over that. When I record the vocals I want to use the OP1 effects like delay but not have delay applied the tape that’s playing. It sounds like my only options are –

  1. Record the vocals as a sample and then trigger this sample. To do this, do I record the sample with FX? Am I limited to 12 seconds of record time?

  2. Record the tape to an album the start recording vocals. If I do this, I would then have to delete the tape with drums and bass though right? In other words, drums and bass will be on the album then I’m recording vocals to the tape. That seems clumsy. Is there a best practice to do that?

  3. Process all vocals externally. This seems like the cleanest option

Is there a method I’m missing?

Thanks

#10

i don’t understand what you are trying to do. but maybe this will help…

record vocals to tape track one without effects.
mute tracks 3,4

turn on master effects and eq, adjust to taste.
select track two (assuming this is an empty track). change record input to “ear”. hit record and play. that will record vocals that are track one to track two with effects/eq.

#11

Hey Squiddly, thanks for the response. I think this will just end up adding master effects to all tracks right? The end goal I am trying to achieve is a tape recording that has drums and bass with no fx at all and vocals that do have FX. Make sense? Ideally I won’t have to create samples of the vocals because then I’m limited in time of sample.

Thanks

#12

no, it won’t add master effects to all tracks – you choose which tracks are muted/unmuted.
mute drums, bass tracks. do not mute vocal track. turn on master effects, resample with master effects into empty track. then delete or paste over original dry vocal track

you are simply bouncing a track with added effects. even if this isn’t what you are looking for with your vocal track, bouncing tracks with effects/eq is a very useful tool on the op1.

#13

Got it! Thanks for explaining this. So there’s no way to have the effects working as I’m live recording the vocals? I believe that’s what someone mentioned above. But I agree with you that this method would produce the same end result on the tape, just without the benefit of live audio with fx.