Fantastic Lil thing

This synth is slept on, for being a tiny lil synth you can actually pull alot off with it.

Surprisingly the keys for being the tactile laptop feel, still feels buttery.

Bonus if you like listening to the radio.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

It's not overpriced... You can get any almost any sound you can think of from it.

GOOD: High quality recording studio, sampler, drum machine, synth, and arpeggiator, all in one small package.

BAD: Novelty wears off after a month. Very hard to add software instruments. Basically impossible to slide between notes, so solos are not really an option. (Roger Linn pointed this out as a drawback to sampling, after he played a big hand in popularizing and advancing samplers.) Not enough recording time, and no undo button. As for things Teenage Engineering doesn't have control over, but the government should make easier rules for musicians for are as follows... Ethical issues surrounding sampling, difficulty getting copyright clearance. You should be able to loop something for 30 seconds without any red tape, as long as it's not used in a commercial ad. Petition the man!

THINGS TEENAGE ENGINEERING SHOULD ADD (FOR AN OP-2): Eight tracks. 12 minute recording time. Dual recording inputs. DSD recording and playback.

FINAL WORD: Why did I give it five stars? The OP-1 has made it easy for me to write a song a day, without the distraction of the internet, which is a big advantage over Logic and Pro Tools. The sound quality is not on par with analog equipment, like my Fender Rhodes, but I'm perfectly happy with it, nevertheless. It's super fun to be able to sample a few words of your voice, over the surprisingly good microphone and have it map it out over all the notes.

Your parlour synth and more...

For the cost of this thing new, or even second hand you could most likely set up an entire home studio with 'proper' gear... However since I'd never consider myself a 'proper' musician this thing fulfils the role of being my basic 'home studio' - one that I can take anywhere in my backpack! Sure I could perhaps get an ipad to do as much or more but I face more than enough screen time in my daily routine already and the OP-1 offers an escape from that. It's a very tactile and hands on little instrument; a pleasing relief from the flat, cold touch-screen experience. There's an immediacy to it too; having the OP-1 within reach just inspires me to make music, capture sounds and record spontaneously. It's the synth equivalent to keeping a parlour guitar by the chair for whenever the urge to play strikes.

From Gear Setup

The weirdo

The OP-1 has a lot of surprising limitations that most people probably wouldn't expect. For instance: To apply a simple filter envelope to your sound, you have to 1: use up your one allotted effect for the filter, and 2: sacrifice the LFO to act as an envelope-follwing modulator for the the effect. I think this kind of work-around turns a lot of potential owners off, but they're not seeing past what they see as a flaw into what I think of as a strength. See, the OP-1 isn't about creating standard synth sounds, so once you wrap your mind around the idea that its creators gave it this set of odd handicaps for a reason, you're able to see the instrument in a new light. It can do a lot of strange, beautiful things that no other synth I know of can do, and it fits in your pocket. Oh, and the rechargeable battery lasts for an extremely long time. I've owned mine for three months now and I've only had to charge it twice. There's this one sound I made on it that I just can't stop playing with: I filled a crystal wine glass with water, then ran my wet finger around the rim, pouring small amounts of water out until the vibrations matched middle C. I sampled that, applied a slow, subtle pitch modulation to it, and then some spring reverb. That sound is the most haunting, mystical thing I've ever heard. OP-1 is a keeper.

Fantastic, ...little beast of a synthesiser!

I appreciate my OP-1 for it's compactness and portability. I use it primarily as a MIDI device, but under-the-hood are so many layered features to assist anyone, serious about musical composition and recording. The basic synthesiser has the standard 4 No. LFO's, but with a graphic interface. Hence, they are more accessible to the user. The single and dual channel drum combinations are wicked, and are 'the plaything' to digital drummer geek, who can enjoy the 'barrel-of-monkeys' drumming graphics! I could go on about the on-board tape-recorder and microphone... but just try it!!! :-R

Wow...

Arrived less than 24 hours ago & I've already finished a song. I've barely skimmed the surface but this has got to be hands-down one of the most intuitive, inspiring, and fun and to use piece of gear I've come across. I have had a crush on the OP-1 for several years all I can say is I wish I would have pulled the trigger sooner.

Besides being incredibly intuitive and fun to use it and you've got to talk about the size of it's footprint-

It's tiny.

It's absolutely perfect to bring along to a coffee shop or an airplane ride or maybe my favorite- the new "Sunshine Studio" in the backyard. 16 hour battery life?!? I'm in luv.

While it is tiny it's versatility is just mind-boggling. You would have no trouble writing and entire song/songs hell, an album on it. It actually feels more similar to a dog venison. (That's a fun auto correct quirk). It actually feels more like a mini DAW than "just" a synth.

I didn't even plan on whiting the tune I did. I was just mucking about to see what it could do but it's just so fun & easy to use songs just happen.

Took a while to save up for it but...

Now that I have it I could not imagine ever selling it.

If you're on the fence? I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Best sounds for a portable synth.

OP-1 has its limitations and finicky hardware but the sound it produces 99% of the time gets your creative juices flowing. I love mine while it's still kicking.

This is the most overrated piece of kit of all time

It is beautifully designed but it's capabilities are massively overstated. The FX modules are great, the synth modules are solidly OK, the recording/comping interface is a nightmare. This unit is also prone to grounding issues when you have both the 1/8" jack and USB power in use at the same time - good luck trying to play live.

Invaluable piece of equipment

I absolutely love this thing. Whenever inspirations strikes I am able to quickly sketch down ideas without having to load up a DAW and risking losing the spark. The different synth engines are incredible and offer a very wide range of sounds, and the onboard effects are delightfully strange (one of them is a cow, and each of its four stomachs represents a different filter parameter), while remaining functional. The ability to sample directly through the input or through FM radio using the built-in tuner really seals the deal for someone who enjoys sample hunting for inspiration.

Borrow an OP-1. I bet you won't give it back!!

Great intro to synth --->>> drum sounds, sampling, synth sounds, sequencing, arpegiator, 4-track recorder... WOW!! Such a useful ideas and pre-production planning tool. I can sit anywhere and create or plan arrangements, etc. Some sampled loops I've created are then incorporated into full productions. I've also used it live just for fun. Using the beats and loops is incredibly inspiring. Borrow one and try it for a week. I bet you won't give it back!!