My recently acquired used OP-1 has an unresponsive black key. At first it was working with extra pressure but only about half the time I pushed it. I removed the key after seeing some posts on iFixit thinking it could be a jam but now with the key off, I’m not getting any sound from the button at all.
I’ve reached out to TE already to see what I could do. Just to wait and hear back. I searched the forum for other issues with keys and how they were resolved and wanted to make my own post to see if anyone on here knows of a place I can send it in within the US (located in NY currently) or any other advice in case I missed something.
I’m guessing this will require a new keybed? or maybe it’s just a short with the wiring? I’m not too savvy with this stuff but any help is appreciated.
Bummer to hear that. I hope we both can get this sorted out soon. Have you reached out to TE per chance? I emailed them as soon as possible this past Sunday. Hoping I hear back soon but I imagine they are not too big of a company and very busy. Fingers crossed.
In the meantime, I’m probably going to start seeking out shops within the US that have experience fixing OP-1’s. Seems like most people are reporting it to be fairly easy to repair keys but I just simply don’t trust myself with such expensive equipment, especially if that means replacing the entire membrane of the keybed.
Other than this issue I’ve found the OP-1 to be simply amazing.
Also, it’s probably worth noting that one key stopped working so well about a month ago and the other key stopped working shortly after updating to the new beta.
Sorry to hear about the problems with keys. Hope you get it fixed up. From a selfish point of view I’m hoping thus kind of problem is rare. I already had to send my brand new unit in for repair for a different hardware problem where patch and sequencer would switch/activate by themselves. I always heard that the OP was some kind of modern marvel re build quality etc. Guess we’re just the unlucky ones if any consolation for you guys, T. E were great re response and speed on my repair.
Thanks man! I appreciate you letting us know they were responsive with you, thats good news. to me it sounds like most OP-1’s are pretty reliable, although maybe not the most robust of synths. Luckily that should mean they aren’t terribly expensive/difficult to fix.
Until then, I will continue to use it with 1 key down, it’s too fun to not jam on!
Sorry to hear about the problems with keys. Hope you get it fixed up. From a selfish point of view I'm hoping thus kind of problem is rare. I already had to send my brand new unit in for repair for a different hardware problem where patch and sequencer would switch/activate by themselves. I always heard that the OP was some kind of modern marvel re build quality etc. Guess we're just the unlucky ones ;) if any consolation for you guys, T. E were great re response and speed on my repair.
That happened to me for a bit.....but stopped after a while. Queer things are afoot.
Hopefully this is something that can be fixed in the new update. Must be nearing release soon.
Apparently it cost £45 in materials to fix the problem I had (was on the receipt thing I got. I obvs didn’t have to pay for it cos of warranty etc. Was just on the receipt for their stock records). So I think it’s a hardware thing. Maybe yours has somehow fixed itself if not happening any more though? Otherwise I’d maybe contact T. E while you’re in warranty as it seems like an OS update prob wont be able to fix it.
Same problem here, Shift was the one to go… It stood daily use for nearly 4 years, we’re quite inseparable! As my warrenty was long over, I decided to go with the iFixit option. I’m no rocket appliances guy, the instalation was very straight forward and hassle free.
My new OP-1 developed the unresponsive key syndrome after a month out of the box. The retailer exchanged it, saying that TE build quality is usually solid. Took the new unit home, and the tempo button stays down unless it’s pressed really lightly. I’m beginning to think that TE quality isn’t as good as some claim. Two problems on brand new products doesn’t seem like a coincidence.
Yeah - unfortunately I firmly believe the TE build quality admiration/hype is unwarranted. I think they’re very good at marketing their products as perfect, over-specified dreams (they love to almost exclusively use rendered images of their products rather than actual pictures of devices off the assembly line) but I don’t think they’re able to keep QA under control any longer (or maybe they never were able to?).
I think people are wising up to them and that’s good, it will hold them more accountable and raise their standards more-so than people lavishing Apple-like praise on them and blindly ignoring their shortcomings.
Brilliant engineers; sound design and workflow leaders; very poor quality control.
Interesting points here, hopefully it was just a few bad batches and that overall most Ops function as expected.
Update on my situation here is:
TE reached out requesting a serial number so they could see if it was covered by a warranty still or not.
Have not heard back yet since my follow up.
Turns out my mystery trouble maker black key is back to fully functioning again. Really bizarre, as it went from half responsive to not responding at all then to completely normal. If it ends up being covered by a warranty I might see if I can still send it in as I’m worried this will happen again in the future.
Okay, I completely fixed it but unfortunately sliced the rubber bit for the “<” key in the process. A bummer but no big deal.
TE replied to my email suggesting I used the iFixit link to clean everything and take the board out and clean the connectors (they also stated that going that far would void my warranty). I’d done this before but never taken the board out.
Did it. Didn’t work. Balls. Did it again but this time, along the bottom edge of the board, I cleaned UNDER the connector tape with a toothbrush. Basically sliding a couple of bristles in the gap and pushing anything underneath out.
if any consolation for you guys, T. E were great re response and speed on my repair.