#790

I haven’t used the 16n, but based on my experiences I assume the correct usb cable do the trick!

#791

What is the M8? I’m curious because I haven’t heard of it before. A portable tracker sounds neat!

#792

https://www.patreon.com/posts/m8-progress-and-34997237

The m8 is a portable tracker project by musician Trash80. It is made using the MI braids engine as a basis. He’s going to be making a small first run (which might be kinda fill up) but hopefully in the next few months he’s going to begin to open it up with more units!

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#793

I’ll try it and report back!

#794

I have used it with the opz :slight_smile:
One frustration is that all opz parameters are saved per pattern- so 16n is great if you stay in one pattern, but as soon as you change patterns the fader values don’t match up any more and it’s easy to get undesirable parameter jumps.

I have submitted a feature request to TE to add a special option where only sequencer data is recalled per pattern - a sort of “live” mode… and while the idea was well received i think it would be quite a bit of work to implement - so who knows if we’ll ever see niche a feature like that.

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#795

One of the things that machines often implement in that situation is to allow users to set in settings that values will only be changed when sent midi parameter „crosses” value from pattern so the sudden jumps are avoided on any fader/knob movement, and it should be much easier to implement on their side.

#796

yes - agreed. that feature has also been suggested to them.

unfortunately it doesn’t solve the issue i ran into:
say i’m on pattern 1, and i have brought the filter way down on a part as a transition. i switch to pattern 2, with the intention of fading up the filter on the same part, but now with a more complex pattern - but the filter was last set to wide open - it just jumps to that value, ruining the transition. to pull this off i’d have to pre-plan to set the filter on pattern 2 to closed down, and then very carefully try and nail that same value before moving to the next pattern. not impossible - but not very fun!

this current design is great if you are wanting all your changes to be fully pre-programmed, but if you’re doing more flowy hands-on live performance transitions - it can get in the way.

#797

ah, ok. I see why it would be greatly inconvient for live performance. I always stay in one OP-Z pattern per song so I haven’t noticed that.
I guess without global „live” mode it would probably be hard to solve. I mean really hacky solution would be to write program which detects pattern change on computer to which op-z sends midi data and very quickly resends old parameters data but this for example would not solve the case of synth engines changing etc

#798

yea i’ve proposed a whole concept that uses the existing midi-config text document - but from what i’ve heard pulling this off would require a bit of internal restructuring so prob not going to happen.

my solution has been to use the op-z to midi sequence outboard gear and get my hands-on performance satisfaction there :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#799

What is this? 20 chars of curiosity.

#800

Oh! Check out @dan_derks amazing twitch stream breaking down the incoming v2 of Cheat Codes! There’s a midi component that’s been designed with the OP-Z in mind!

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#801

Here’s a better link to the M8 project.

https://dirtywave.com/

1 Like
#802

I love my op-z and especially the fact that it acts as a USB audio interface. I’m on holiday and the only gear I brought along is my android phone and opz. With that I’m able to sample from my phone and record back tracks to my phone in high quality (bypassing any digital to analog conversion). I’m still working on my chops and trying to use more than one pattern per song :joy:. In this one I sampled a clip from Sesame Street off YouTube and added some bass, drums and chords:

4 Likes
#803

When I connect norns shield and OP-Z I get this ugly noise in the audio output. Please help with advice how to reliably remove it?
The noise appears when I connect op-z with my mixer, it’s not audible in headphones.

#804

You could disable charging when you connect it (Screen + the highest E note [right next to the USB port] aka trigger spark)

Or I’ve seen a few people post about using a ground loop isolator.

I usually just disable charging, even when using it onstage in a live setting — the battery lasts long enough for me, and the moment you power it off it begins charging again.

#805

Get a $15 hiletgo isolator! https://www.instagram.com/p/CFpw2gRBeaw/?igshid=1wu8te9oyh5z5

#806

I use a mini novation controller to change clock divisions and step lengths on the fly! It works great. I pass the controller and OPZ through a iconnect midi pro to connect the rest of my system. Unsure if plugging straight in will work. Is the 16n bank midi cc assignable?

#807

I got my OP-Z on the very first batch with the yellow bag and the “wrong” graphics for mixer/punchin/module. Almost 2 years ago. Feeling at a crossroads with it…

I like it way more as a powerful portable midi sequencer/idea generator than anything else. The step components are so powerful and easy-going to turn boring melodies/beats into endless iteration.

The sounds it makes are good, and the sampling addition is nice(though it loses use to my op-1, digitakt, sk1, morphagene, W/, computer/ableton/renoise, blooper/mood). The visual generators and dmx that had me so interested are forgotten to me in the wake of it’s core composition prowess.

The build quality issues that everyone else has mentioned have slow dripped their way to my door. The shift button will “flicker” at times being held down. I instantly returned an oplab module because it did not fit/stay in and I suspect the culprit is slight warping of the unit. The encoder popping is most recent, I just grabbed it to play and they were all floating and poppy, taking away from the usually awesome/accurate/tactile feel they have.

The OP-Z feels very tracker-like, and I’ve been thinking of selling it(at a loss due to mfg issues) and seeing if a Polyend tracker could be a bandaid, replacement, or revelation.

Any other 2 year opinions? Similar praise/laments? Polyend vs Z? Something I’ve missed?

#808

I agree about all the praise, I really love this thing and I’ve got the same unit you do with the wrong designs (what a weird fuck up…). I’m now mostly just scared some of the bad build quality things will happen to me, I’ve taken such a good care of it I’m yet to experience them, but already I had an issue with the volume knob that litterally stayed in my hand when I turned off the unit, so now I have to be extra cautious with it because I know it can go off at any time. For the pricetag when you compare it to a lower priced Digitakt, it’s kind of puzzling. I’d like to say I’d pay 100/200€ for a sturdier unit but it felt like at 600€ the price was right for this thing to be both what it is and sturdy.

Anyway, no regret at all buying it, it’s a very well designed piece of gear, but it’s also definitely the one that worries me the most I might break it of all the things I own.

2 Likes
#809

Very little has gelled with me in terms of sequencers except for the OP-Z… until my Polyend Tracker. I am having an utter blast with the thing, and what I’m producing tends to sound more musical, at least according to my wife, who’s pretty patient with what I do.

Bear in mind I’m really a hobbyist, not a gigging musician by any stretch of the imagination — but the Polyend Tracker scratches an itch that the OP-Z no longer does for me.

5 Likes