First post here. Be gentle. I approach you with nothing but respect and kindness.
How viable is the OP-1 as a stand alone production unit for complete tracks? Is it an ideas instrument, a sketch pad or in fact quite appropriate as a one stop music making machine, given that you like the way it sounds?
Or is it just a gimmick, a neat trick but not the way it’s really intended?
I’m looking for a complete one stop music machine and I’m wondering if the OP-1 might be it. Not interested in options, just your opinion on the OP-1 in regards to this subject.Thanks for your advise!
It’s a good question. With the OP-1, you’ll most definitely be capable of doing complete tracks. The people on here do really polished, good-sounding tunes with it.
But they’ve been practicing for quite a while.
In my opinion, the OP-1 is at the same time very simple and very complex. At the simplest, you can select a synth sound, hit record, and play. Then record to another track.
The thing that makes these OP-1 ninjas so great is that they’ve learned how to fully utilize every aspect of the OP-1. This does not mean they’ve had to spend long hours with the OP-1 manual – it’s not too complicated, and the user interface is great. Many of the things that allow you to achieve greatness on the OP-1 are the same things as producing music on any platform requires. Creative EQ’ing, resampling, a good sense of how to fill, not overcrowd all audio frequencies… And you also have to be willing to adopt a different approach, coming from a DAW or some such – I mean, this thing has drumming monkeys and spinning barrels filled with musical circles, bouncing wildly around.
It’s very, very obvious that the OP-1 is limited in comparison to any modern DAW. In Ableton Live, if you want to add 8 EQ’s, 6 reverbs, 10 delays and a ‘mastering FX rack’, it’s a few mouse clicks away. Not so on the OP-1. But limitations often help you focus, and I think this is one of the things that people so much love about the OP-1. And after all – in comparison to almost anything from the nineties, the OP-1 is an absolute dragon slayer of a self-contained tiny synth/drummachine/sampler/sequencer/multitracker/helicopter game. (And many would argue that this goes in comparison to anything ever built.)
I’ve made like 9 albums using only the OP1 and OTO Biscuit. It’s amazing, but I feel it’s really suited to my Lo-fi hip hop style. If you are making more normal music where you are looking for a really crisp produced EDM or pop sound, it’s probably best as a sketch pad or another tool within your greater rig. I suggest checking out the Your Music thread on here. Lots of OP-1 only stuff to give you an idea of what can be done.
The Op1 makes an excellent sketchpad. After filling it up with MANY sounds, songs, Ideas, samples i then have an amazing resource of self produced audio to work with in a more complicated DAW. Plenty of times i am more than happy with what the op1 has made and that is the final product. It has a very unique sound when i master on just the op1. So yes it is a complete production unit/DAW. More importantly its a modern instrument. with all the many bells and whistles of the last 40 years of musical innovation crammed inside! Sometimes i just use it as an extremly powerful synth for jamming with other musicians!
Friends,... How viable is the OP-1 as a stand alone production unit for complete tracks? Is it an ideas instrument, a sketch pad or in fact quite appropriate as a one stop music making machine, given that you like the way it sounds?
Or is it just a gimmick, a neat trick but not the way it’s really intended?
I’m looking for a complete one stop music machine and I’m wondering if the OP-1 might be it.
Hi frand! While most articles refer to it as a synthesizer, it’s most accurately a workstation, a mini workstation you can use while on the sofa, tub, or any other place previously not possible. If you appreciate that limitations in art are liberating, I think you’ll find the OP-1 quite liberating. As an all-in-one instrument, it does it all, but with thoughtfully considered limitations, so you’re not burdened by the infinite power and menus and contextual menus of DAWs.
I particularly love it as my sketch pad. None of my other instruments are nearly as fun–or as beautiful or as delightful to hold in my holds (it’s a substantial but also svelte slab of aluminimum). So more of my ideas come from the OP-1 than any other instrument. And I can do so while snug in my sofa.
That it is a workstation is also intended. Once you see all the different sections–4 track tape, mixer, album recording, in addition to the synthesizer engines, drum machine/synthesizer, sequencers–it’s clear the many songs on Youtube/Soundcloud made exclusively on the OP-1 were part of their intent.
So if you want an all-in-one, I’m not aware of there being a better instrument out there than this. Some are stronger in some areas, but certainly none as holistically intuitive, aesthetic, humored or fun.
Besides the Tracks thread, here’s a few stand outs, songs made exclusively on the OP-1 to give you some idea of it used as a mini-DAW:
Thanks guys, I very much appreciate your advise and enthusiasm. So this is all I needed to know (and wanted to hear, to be honest). As for details on what the OP-1 can and can’t do, I’m less concerned about that. It’s clear to me it can produce great tracks and has a deep but defined sound palette. Limitations is just a word, I’d prefer to look at it as a set of tools, and with tools you build stuff and what you can and can’t build, is something you decide for yourself, not the instrument.
Thanks guys, I very much appreciate your advise and enthusiasm. So this is all I needed to know (and wanted to hear, to be honest). As for details on what the OP-1 can and can’t do, I’m less concerned about that. It’s clear to me it can produce great tracks and has a deep but defined sound palette. Limitations is just a word, I’d prefer to look at it as a set of tools, and with tools you build stuff and what you can and can’t build, is something you decide for yourself, not the instrument.
I think you can do any style of music on the OP-1, it is a great and very limiting framework that sort of forces you to work within certain confines, the tape is both a freedom and a prison, and the synth and sampler engines are finite and sometimes not so flexible as you may be used to, but once you understand all of these things then you start to find interesting alternative methods which often result in a more interesting and unique results. In short it is a portable wonder
I use a RAVpower wifi device to back up all OP-1 stuff to my iPad, wirelessly. In terms of the “6 min.” of tape, it’s also important to remember that, despite the linear tape aesthetic, OP-1 is often best utilized by creating 2-4 bar segments, then loop-skipping around. In this way, you can have several projects on the tape @ 1 time, that, in practice, you can jam over forever. Then you have two 6-min “albums” for mixdowns.
Once you’ve backed up to iPad, it’s simplicity itself to dump tracks into Cubasis or Auria for finishing touches and / or tweaking & mastering.
I’d say with an OP-1, an iPad and a WiFi backup (tiny), you’ve got a complete studio. A good mic helps, too. I use a Samson Meteor > iPad (via CCK) > effects app > OP-1. Pretty simple.
In fact, with the RAVpower wifi solution, I have no reason at all to even LOOK at my MacBook.
I connect the RAVpower device to OP-1 Via USB. Then I put OP-1 into Data mode. Then I turn on RAV device. Make sure iPad / iPhone is connected to the RAV device via Wifi (as you would normally connect to typical WiFi router) then, Launch (downloaded) RAVpower compatible app. Now, you should see your OP-1’s directory in the app. Back up as needed.
Similar to @Unflattered’s workflow, the Kingston also has an SD Card reader, so I have an old 16GB SD in there that allows me to back up to that, freeing up my phone memory.
If I want to edit, share the files, I can open them in AudioShare, normalise, trim, fade and upload to SoundCloud
Similar to @Unflattered's workflow, the Kingston also has an SD Card reader, so I have an old 16GB SD in there that allows me to back up to that, freeing up my phone memory. If I want to edit, share the files, I can open them in AudioShare, normalise, trim, fade and upload to SoundCloud :)
So you can backup directly to the SD card? How do you choose which files? AudioShare is the iOS app, yes?
Windows tablets with full USB ports and running full windows are very cheap. $60 I usually get the 16gb iPads so I don't like having many audio files.
Yeah, but I bought a Winbook running Windows 8, for $60. It was a nightmare. Ran like a pig, fidgity, and a battery life that dropped 60% overnight… When powered down. I mean OFF.
You get what you pay for, and $60 for a windows tablet means you may almost as well have a framed picture of a desktop. Performance is nearly equal.
Hmm I only use it for transferring files and changing the code on my arduinos, no issues so far. I don’t really use it as a tablet. To each there own I guess. It’s still a very cheap solution for op1 backup/file transfer.
