#124

it sounds like you’re feeling burned out (it’s 2020, everyone is) and need music-making to be fun again. The OP-1 is great for that.

don’t worry about “tracks”, or what the bigger picture is. just turn it on and start experimenting. it lends itself to entering flow state and losing yourself in creativity. once you’re having fun again, the tracks will come automatically.

and once you’ve learned its depths, it fits into the creative process in a variety of ways. in the last 3 years literally every piece of my setup has changed except for the OP-1, which always has a role somewhere.

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#125

This really hit home dude! Thank you

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#127

I’ve had my op-1 for about 3 years and I’m very happy with it. I guess I’ve used it in a lot of different ways, but mainly to sketch out ideas and parts to process further in ableton.
Don’t think I’ve ever made an entire track on the op-1 itself, but that’s just a result of the way I work and not a limitation of the device I think

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#128

I regret selling my OP1 back when they were selling used for $600-700.

I would sketch out ideas in the OP1, export the tapes, and then cut up in Ableton and replace sounds as needed. In some ways I was the most musically productive then, before I got into the churn of building a hardware and then modular setup. In retrospect I might have been better off sticking with the OP1 and Ableton.

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#129

I would 100% recommend a Synthstrom Deluge. I find myself using that as the place where I write and sketch out song ideas on the internal engine. With the addition of downrush, you can export midi files to your computer after you’ve composed the parts on the (very) playable interface and toy around with sounds/arranging in the traditional DAW view.

I own both an OP-1 and a Deluge and find them to be very, very different machines. OP-1 is really great for ambient and all that, esp if you pair with a better microphone and some external effects. Deluge is good for ambient and live-looping with the newer firmware, but really excels at ‘pop’ electronic music (techno, house, etc.). I regularly write songs start to finish on my deluge, where I almost never do that on the OP-1.

2 Likes
#130

I wanted to love the OP1 so much. For physicality, portability, and ease of use it can’t be beat. The battery life is amazing! I like the synth engines, the UI, almost everything.

BUT: Six minutes of total usable space and only one project at a time was just too much of a restriction for me. Four tracks wasn’t the dealbreaker, I like restrictions in that domain. But the time restriction and only being able to keep one project was too much.

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#131

I had no idea about those restrictions, will have to think it over a bit more.

#132

Yeah, sorry to be the downer on that one.

“your OP-1 has a built in tape feature with 6 minutes of recording time (in normal tape speed and 44.1 kHz/16 bits). it has 4 individual tracks.”

Unfortunately that’s your entire canvas to work with. If you want to switch to a different song or project, you have to connect to a computer, offload what you currently have, and upload the other tracks.

#133

I had an OP1 for about a decade and I don’t think it can be beat as a fun and flexible all in one box. Any tool has limitations, so if you dwell on what things can’t do, then good luck with that. Maybe a list of non-negotiable features and a list of ‘oh, that’d be cool’ would be useful.

The biggest reason I ended up selling mine after all that time, and after saying I never would, is that it didn’t play well with other instruments in the way I wanted it to. But I think I got a lot of great mileage out of it over that 10 years and I still think it’s an amazing and inspiring box.

As pointed out above, it’s FUN and that counts for a whole hell of a lot in the big picture. It will go down as one of the classic electronic music instruments of the last 25 years I think because it’s so fun and flexible. Also, as pointed out above, the price point has gotten to the point where I’d be less sure about buying one. When I bought mine for $800 or whatever shortly after it came out though, I felt like it was totally worth it.

There aren’t many tools that are as timeless as the OP1.

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#134

I think that’s what I’m trying to achieve with my music at the moment, I want to find FUN again.

I just copped it and it arrives end of the week. Thanks everyone for making me excited like a kid over this!

Looking forward to sharing my music with you all.

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#135

It is undeniably FUN. Once you get the keystrokes to muscle memory, you can really fly on it.

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#136

The tape doesn’t have to work in such a linear way. I mainly use the tape with looped parts. In composing on it I move from loop to loop while and muting unmuting things and playing live. In this way I can fit 4 or 5 sketches on it before it’s full. I still find it a bit restricted but it’s not as bad as it sounds.

7 Likes
#137

I want to get an understanding of the line input signal processing in the OP-1. What I want to do is to get a clean line level mono signal into the device. Op-1 basically processes every signal in mono (sampler, tapes, instruments). I’ve read that if you connect a stereo jack into the line in it sums it up to mono. I find it dumb to take a mono signal, get it out of my DAW with a stereo cable just that it can be summed up again by the OP-1.
So, what kind of connection do you use to sample into the OP-1 to get a high quality signal and do not lose quality on the way? Any help appreciated!

#138

exactly…I use the tape machine all the time but rarely if ever use it to “make tracks” and thus the limitations don’t really bother me

#139

I haven’t given it much thought if I should be honest. But since it is mono like you say I would probably just use a mono-cable from one output jack on my interface. Much can be said about the OP-1, but I wouldn’t say hi-end audio is its strongest point. In general, although the OP-1 in certain regards is very smart, it also is a bit dumb. A bit lofi, and I feel it’s best to work within the constraints it offers. However, sometimes workarounds forces you to try unconventional, creative solutions. And that’s how the dumb limitation breeds smart ideas etc.

So, I rarely worry too much about stereo signals being summed to mono, or sampling the radio or the crappy built in mic. I just try to get some idea moving and then transfer it to Live when I get tired of four tracks and loop points etc.

4 Likes
#140

yeah, that‘s totally true, high quality audio isn’t the thing that makes the op-1 stand out, and that‘s totally okey and charming. Messing around with sounds within the limitations is the way I use the device, and like you said, the limitations are the beauty of it.
I just want to find a smart way to use it as a sampling device in my live rig and mess around with sequencers and stuff. And for that purpose I wondered if I maybe lose quality of the input signal if the Op-1 sums the signal with just one side used (if I run it in mono) or if it would be better to feed it a stereo signal.

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#141

I get it, now that’s an interesting way to use it. The quality might depend on what kind of material you sample perhaps? Or perhaps make the lower-fidelity “the strength”.

How would you do it? (thinking out loud). I figure I would have Op-1 synced to some external midi-clock. Have a section prepared on the tape, with loop points for 8/16 bars - so I could go straight from record to playback?

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#143

Interesting thoughts! By recording into the tape section it gives some nice possibilities to tweak it with effects and the playback functions (reverse, stutter etc.).
What I had in mind is to record audio from maybe an acoustic guitar, vocals or other parts of the performance into the sampler of the OP-1 and then trigger the slices with the keys or use sequencers like the tombola to create cheat codes style random effects. Works nice together with effects and playing with the envelopes I guess.

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#144

Sounds like an interesting idea. Haven’t used my OP-1 for some months, but this gets me inspired. Maybe you’ll find some tips in here: https://op-forums.com/t/op-1-drum-sampler-slicing-algorithm/7490

I’m not sure it will be super-easy in a live-context, but it definitely allows for interesting accidents in the studio I think.

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#145

great to hear that! tell me your experiences with it if you want, always interesting to see other peoples approaches. and thanks for the link!

1 Like