teenage engineering OP-1

[nathan m]

i spent a good chunk of the morning watching terrible youtube/vimeo videos of this and looking at the teenage engineering website.
they have some other beautiful looking products in the works:
http://www.teenageengineering.com/pro/studiosystem/
http://www.teenageengineering.com/projects/styrofoam_turntable/
i am not really a hardware guy, but this really appeals to me. in addition to the 2001 a space odyssey aesthetic it looks like a great balance of lo-fi fun and useful features. from what i have seen so far i would be willing to spend a max of around $500, but apparently there are still quite a few changes to be made.
unfortunately i think that removing the built in speaker, mic and receiver would make a marginal difference in price. and the first two give it that take-it-out-and-play-anywhere quality. which seems like something that is important to the designers.

[steinbruchel]

[s_hamann]

True, but these things take time and money to produce. They perhaps should not have started hyping the idea two years ago, but presumably they did so to interest investors.

[mfischer]

i think the fast that they actually showed up with a working product is pretty huge.  once you have that the manufacturing is the easy part.

[nathan m]

http://www.teenageengineering.com/pro/studiosystem/
this already exists (for european customers)

[chorus7]

New video out with more features...They sure are putting everything into this thing?...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0kLTpWgVls&feature=player_embedded

[taylordeupree]

not much in that video besides the guy being excited about fast forward and rewind.. but damn if i don't still want one like mad!

[mac]

lots of new preview clips posted yesterday on their youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/teenageengineering
plus article with clips here:
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2010/03/24/teenage-engineering-reveals-surprisingly-simple-sequencer-for-op-1/

I'd be somewhat worried about keys quality. When you listen carefully to "Tape Demo" Nathan posted, you can hear the keys creaking like a cheap, plastic Casio. Especially after they are released. I hope they work on that as for now it gives a very fragile impression. Their aim isn't to make a pro, "steinway & sons" keybord, yet, for now it seems to be the other end on the quality line. Other than that, very promising.

[mfischer]

the pulse + sequencer looks pretty fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7prOP4dGJhc

[taylordeupree]

can't wait to give this a spin with melodic/ambient material....

[mfischer]

can't wait to give this a spin with melodic/ambient material....

my thoughts exactly.

[haesslich]

warming up this cold coffee again...

just wanted to say: i've been late at work the last two days (since my op-1 arrived), because this damn thing is so addictive that i play with it while having breakfast. 

[puggo]

warming up this cold coffee again...

just wanted to say: i've been late at work the last two days (since my op-1 arrived), because this damn thing is so addictive that i play with it while having breakfast. 

hmmm!!

everybody´s talking so good about the op-1!!

I´d like to read more impressions about this little thing! Would be nice!

I think there´s a forthcoming product from TE soon:

http://www.teenageengineering.com/

best
pug

[rené]

Hey...

So, now that it is out for a while... how good is it?
How often do you guys use it?
What is left after a month? A pretty product you do not use that much or a central piece of your set-up?

Would be interested to know.

Cheers & Thanks
René

[taylordeupree]

hi rené... i bought mine primarily for live performances and messing around when i travel... and i use it exactly like that.. every time... so i can say i don't use it any more or less than i originally intended.

some loops that i've made with it while sitting outside have made it onto my new album, so i guess in that sense you can say i'm also using it in my recordings/studio... but for me it's primarily a live device and something to come up with ideas when i'm not in my studio.

i find the synth engines pretty limiting for creating the kinds of sounds i like to create, but fortunately with the ability to sample it puts little restrictions on your sound palette.