Suggestions for TEENAGE ENGINEERING OP-Z

It narks me too the whole photomatic/unity thing. It’s started to feel a bit forgotten about with no clear path as to even the most basic of setups/operations. It seems like only a handful of people with previous unity experience are getting ahead with this. Good for you if you’ve got it sorted but it’s not the most user friendly experience, it requires a trip to github for starters. Crazy, just IMO tho.

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that’s part of the game! you‘ll loose mind about the controls and you‘ll get angry within Unity but that’s a learning curve! Iam superglad that this Feature isn‘t hyped to death!!

nope i beg to differ …just underdeveloped support from TE if u ask me. and they hyped the shit out of it before OPz got in production. Issues with new versions of UNity, cause of lack or slow of development

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don‘t know why TE should develop the Unity circumstances! basically you don‘t need the OP-Z for triggering things in Unity! but the development of OP-Z in general created a connection between those units.

thing is, if you would get your head around Unity and develop visuals or programs others can enjoy your personal outcome would be more positive aswell. just sayin‘

you should be able to get something going with the github presets, which you basically download sync with your Iphone and use them with the OP-Z. and then you‘ve learned how to do this for future uploads.
peace

IDK, the VideoLab library seems pretty complete. If you’ve got some Unity experience, you should be able to get going based on the included examples. If you don’t have Unity experience, well it’s an enormous piece of software with lots of parts and I don’t think you should look to T.E. to hold your hand through your earliest experiences with it.

Maybe a better question is: why TE has not launched some kind of web store where users could buy (and content creators could sell) videopacks, thus promoting this feature more?

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TE did “hype the shit” out of this feature before it was released and personally it raised the appeal of the OP-Z. When I got my OP-Z I downloaded the wrong version of unity due to confusing and conflicting information across YouTube/github etc and this just put me off. Which legacy version of unity was it we were supposed to use with which OS? I even asked in the unity thread (unity how ironic) which OS and versions of software were working together to no response from those who had got it to work because they were all hyped about what they were doing with it (cheers btw except for the guy who did respond a genuine thank you to you). TE shouldn’t have gone on about it the way they did with such poor implementation, these things need to be user friendly, for all users of all levels of skill. If they had not mentioned it as a feature but casually let slip in an interview that the Z was compatible with unity then i’d understand where you were coming from. It could have grown through YouTube etc with tutorials like getting polyphony on the digitakt as an example. I’m not averse to learning software by myself I’ve learnt photoshop and illustrator to a highly degree of competence without anyone ‘holding my hand’ (offence taken btw I’m not looking for personal tutoring). I just wish TE would make the relevant information available within their site or at least isolate them on a separate github page so we could all enjoy it.

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Dark Mode

I use my opz with the app a lot in the dark and sometimes the white background becomes hard to look at.
Now that we are getting a dark mode with the next iOS, it would be really nice to have a dark mode for the OP-Z too. And it’s simple to make one right?

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Sorry you’re having a rough time with Videolab, but I looked at your post from the Videolab thread and 5.6.7 is a maintenance release of the Unity 5 release cycle (which ended in 2016). The current version of Unity is 2019.1 so I’d recommend installing that or 2018.4, the LTS (Long Term Support) release for the 2018 release cycle. I doubt Videolab was EVER used or tested with Unity 5.

Hey freqout

Thanks for the help i’ll have a look when I next get chance. I got my OP-Z back in January and if I recall there was something about having to use an old version at the time, that’s where I went wrong, I’d downloaded the most recent version at the time. Again thanks for the help.

SAMPLER IMPROVEMENTS

recording threshold
I’m surprised that it’s not possible to set threshold for the incoming audio, so the recording starts automatically. This should be done, as it’s a bit annoying to waste a second of the precious sampling time :slight_smile:

Loop Crossfade
I love using the ‘‘synth sampler’’ as it expands the sonic capabilities of the OP-Z immensely.
But sometimes it is hard to make a sample loop nicely. A Loop crossfade would come in handy in those moments.

and MOST IMPORTANT moving samplechops across different kits
I think it would be amazing to be able to make a perfect drumkit on the device itself wasting none of the 12 seconds. This would be only possible, if we could move chops from one drumkit into another.

This is not to say that I don’t love using the sampler…it’s amazing. I’m surprised that I actually use the synth sampler more than the drum one, as I find with 12 seconds I never get enough of the sample and I don’t want to sacrifice 2 drumslots. The synth sampler on the other hand is the SH!T

just my mustard…

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Audio Interface Mode

Currently it is only possible to monitor audio coming in over USB in sample mode. It would be awesome if the OP-Z provided a mode or setting such that the headphones always monitor the audio coming in over USB, rather than the sound produced by the OP-Z. Sound produced by the OP-Z would still go out over USB.

This would enable, for example, applying effects to OP-Z’s audio or mixing with iOS instruments on an iPad and monitoring the output from the OP-Z.

This mode would be especially valuable in the context of newer iOS devices that do not have a headphone jack, where it is currently impossible to use OP-Z with iOS effects/instruments without an audio interface (and even this is complicated by iOS’s limit of one USB audio device at a time). Audio interface capabilities would make OP-Z and iPad an even more amazingly powerful, and much more portable, combo.

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I tried out the sampling modes a bit and so far it is quite nice! I also like the USB audio features very much! However, when designing instruments I find it a bit hard to find looping start and end points that do not produce an audible click. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a function that allowed for dialing in to zero crossings only? For example with shift + dial?
Another thing: when in sampling mode, the app seems to show the amplitude curve of the sample but it would be so much better if the raw waveform itself would be displayed. That would make finding potential looping points and fine tuning a sample instrument so much easier!

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The master track is not doing what I’d like.

So, I program a chord on a short track, then sequence some changes on the master track, with a longer time… It’s going well, but then I program a one note bassline, but when I apply the master track to the bassline with shift + bass, it mangles the chords. So I just want the master track to control the notes on the tracks I want, but it’s working both ways with unpleasing results (unless you’re into 12 tone music).

Am I just doing it wrong?

Yo, I posted this elsewhere, but I’m gonna leave it here, cause I’d love to hear Yall thoughts.

Overall I love the Z. It seems like it has it’s fair share of bugs, and quite a few unexpected behaviours. ie. mute tracks and I can still hear them, or disable sends to FX, and they still send.

These are my notes I made a long the way.

Mostly a bunch of question with a few answers:

Sequence mute groups? No

Panning? Yellow encoder 3

Undo? Nope, but you can save a snapshot of the project (or is it sequence?) with Project +

How does automation work? Ie. Filter sweeps (Automation is locked to steps. Smooth sweeps do not seem possible, but there seems to be some kind of smoothing occuring at times.

Nudging tracks to assist the groove / micro timing adjustment of entire track - NOT POSSIBLE

Transposition of previously recorded notes - Only available via master track

Sometimes first step doesn’t play when entering steps manually on first time through sequence - Weird bug, I think I’ve seen elsewhere.

Holding a chord and pressing steps only inputs a single note - Bug?

Saving variations of a pattern… Possible without copying to a new pattern? - Not actually sure what I meant by this :speak_no_evil:

Record mutes? NOPE

What does link tracks do? Sends input notes to multiple channels… Potentially very cool, & a way of acheiving layered synths, however crashed my Z a few times, and input is only recorded to one track at a time which is a real shame.

Step component to move a trig by micro divisions of a step? Don’t think so.

Try the step component which seems to realign to master phase/sync!!! Align to global or something. Think this is jump 8 or thereabouts. It’s cool for realigning things which got mangled with jump, and repeat components.

Spark components to play every first beat? Nope, but workaround is to use the mute punch in, or velocity step component (0 i think is mute), and component spark set to every 2nd time. This way you can get fills on 1st of every 2, and other fills on 2 of every two. I’d love to see a reverse track function, it would allow for doing things every 1st time out of x amount with FULL step component functions open.

Would love to see step components on FX & other control tracks.

How to mute channel but retain sends - mixer + shift

Copy tracks? - project + shift 3x to copy between projects, but can you copy say the bass to the lead? Nope, don’t think so… A real pity, because it would be a super fast way to make fugues & with micro nudging, also phase music.

Copy track settings? Project shift twice

Solo? Nope

Clear notes - track + stop

Clear param locks - record + stop

Clear step components - shift + stop

Clear project - project + shift + stop

Clear pattern - project + stop

With certain FX like but crusher, send level seems to also be dry / wet control.

Master channel shift + track select seems to still process all tracks… ie. chorus effect is always applied to ALL channels. I would love to apply for instance only to BASS… Then automate with param locks… This applies to the filter too… But as I said seems to apply to ALL channels. So what is the purpose of shift plus track select here…

Nice tip - Delay effect set to highest white key runs sets delay to FULL BAR. If an infinite feedback option was added, along with saving the buffer on power-off, this would actually function as a way to record audio to a track, then the only thing to be added would be to extend the FULL BAR to link to the track speed function, and you could record even longer phrases… if you play with this function, you can get the delay to build up for a full bar, even when set to shorter delay values, drop it to full bar, and you get the in time, in pitch playback.

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I’d love if the oplab had a mode where you can use all of the cv outs as triggers, like a mini beatstep pro for triggering modular drums and sample players. As far as I know, right now you only have 1 trig out and 1 gate out.

Shift and + or - will transpose a track up or down one octave.

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Thanks for the tip!

FYI - this doesn’t seem to work on the master track.

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I would love to have an option to set track panning post effects. Basically, I’m sending drums on one channel and synths on the other, for the most part. It all works as expected. But unfortunately; it appears if I have a track with a reverb or delay it will still hit both channels.

Not a huge deal. I can sacrifice effects for more routing options in this case. But it would be a nice option to have.(if even possible)

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