Hi all!
wanted to know if anyone uses the Op-1 or a track on their Op-1 as a dedicated drum machine. And if so what's your favorite way to make beats. do you prefer using the built in sequencers or do you play by hand?
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Yep, I play in by hand 99% of the time, and usually use Track 1. Sometimes I’ll additional perc or a different sounding kit on Track 4 depending on the track. I just keep lifting+ replaying until I get a good drum take that I like. Occasionally I’ll record it drum-by-drum (i.e. record a loop of just the kick drum, then when it loops around add the snare, then the hat, etc) but usually I’ll try and get an overall vibe by playing it in all at once. That said, I come from a Maschine background so it’s in my fingersssssss
I’m not huge on the drum sequencers within the OP1 (wish the step sequencer had more than 16 steps…), but I find it works really well in conjunction with my Novation Circuit, which is very “gridded” - the combo of the loose-feel OP1 finger drums and the gridded/quantized Circuit drums are really fun to play at live shows. I’ve just started experimenting with Finger a bit, but it’s weird to get my head around for some reason
I can see why Finger seq is hard to get into.
Programming is a bit weird as we can’t play drums until shift is pressed or seq page is exited.(It also behaves different when programming with hold to without).
But once simple patterns are laid into a few keys ,combining fingers ,jamming live is a lot of fun. Set to Join (shift&red),use some swing, maybe set some poly rhythm patterns alongside 4/4 and stop start your kick patterns on and off beat.
It’s my favorite for seq drums.
A tip for editing drums while sequencers are playing. Shift & Drum note will keep focus on one drum instead of leaping about. Good for volume edits or Dbox tweaks.
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I think we also need a petition for a toggle on shift in finger sequencer.
I'm a fan of the pattern step sequencer, I use the finger sequencer occasionally. But I do feel like Op-1 isn't the best for sequencing drums. That being said I've definitely made some cool drum loops on the device so I try to keep my GAS in check and adjust to how the OP-1 wants to be played instead of how I want it to work :p.
The Op-z looks like it's going to have a great step sequencer for drums!
I can see why Finger seq is hard to get into. Programming is a bit weird as we can't play drums until shift is pressed or seq page is exited.(It also behaves different when programming with hold to without). But once simple patterns are laid into a few keys ,combining fingers ,jamming live is a lot of fun. Set to Join (shift&red),use some swing, maybe set some poly rhythm patterns alongside 4/4 and stop start your kick patterns on and off beat. It's my favorite for seq drums.A tip for editing drums while sequencers are playing. Shift & Drum note will keep focus on one drum instead of leaping about. Good for volume edits or Dbox tweaks.
ya i’ve been saying this for years. finger is the best. get a couple different patterns and “fills” on different keys, set to join (even fill and replace can be cool) and jam out w/ the patterns. definitely some funky stuff going on when u start triggering patterns on different beats, etc etc. allows the user to create much longer patterns than the max 32 steps.
endless is really cool too for longer patterns if u can wrap your head around the timing (like how cuckoo taps out the beat in endless w/ the rests and everything) it can be v. intuitive.
i will agree tho that the sequencers aren’t always the best for what your doing and can also be a different way of thinking about sequencers.
the op1 sequencers are almost like instruments themselves that can be played and modified on the fly to create something new.
as opposed to a traditional sequencers job which is to simply copy what you played and play it back.
the most traditional seq. is prolly pattern, and to me its the weakest/least fun seq to use on the op.
I love the swing on the OP, and I find that the less complex a skeletal beat is, the better for hip hop. And I’ve been extremely focused on hip hop production for the last couple of years, for its airtight rawness. Like the Ramones, in a way.
I find that things like the MPC Live give you such a broader palette, in terms of sequence length, resolution, etc, that I’m more inclined to “noodle”, and things just end up soft; “free-jazzy”. I typically end up just working on the OP. I love that 12-bit sounding crunch.
Anyway, once a simple beat is down on tape, via sequencer, it’s very easy to tap in some percussive variation live (unquantized), and stay on-beat).
Please check me.
@unflattered wow this is really nice. Sometimes I forget how simplicity can really be key. gonna work on some new beats tonight. thanks for the inspiration.
I recently started to use OP-1 as a groovebox and tend to sequence drums on live sets with my friends. I use pattern sequencer always running on “Hold” and just edit it while it goes. I play techno stuff, so when some parts of pattern excluding main beat changes slowly overtime it’s okay.
Finger sequencer is also a good way to lay parts of a beat: obvious ways to do it is to use each pattern slot as a small part of a groove, and just mix them with “replace” option, switching slot by slot. “join” gives different result and needs other approach to sequence - layers. i.e. one pattern is a beat, other - hats, so you run them both at the same time and get some sort of changes by mixing patterns differently.
@konst very logical way of using finger. Gonna try that set up.
Speaking of the sequencer. Is there a way to quantize when it begins? for instance if I'm recording into ableton and the clock is already running from ableton and being sent to the op1. Is there a way to make sure the sequencer only plays on beat even if I press a key slightly too early or late?
@unflattered wow this is really nice. Sometimes I forget how simplicity can really be key. gonna work on some new beats tonight. thanks for the inspiration.
Glad to be of service.
Someone mentioned this book on another forum -
Looks great, covers a lot of 4x4 styles and loads of tips and tricks…
Like a few others here, I keep my drums on track 1 or 4 usually, don’t really care for the sequencers other than endless ( @docshermsticks approach sums it up - syncopation is key for humanistic feel with finger sequencer ).
The swing on the OP-1 is pretty cheesy, makes beats sound too sterile in my opinion. That’s how I feel about quantization on drums in general though, can’t substitute the natural swing of live playing. The swing shifts every note predictably, and since you can’t fine tune the placement/swing per note ( like you can on the SP505 or in DAWs ) it makes loops sound a lot like presets or generic sound pack beats.
With the OP-1 I like to use just a handful of kits and tweak the pitch/volume/end points of certain hits, sometimes overdubbing on snares/claps/snaps to give them more variation and soul. Once in a while I sample loops with faint drums then play my own drums on top to supplement.
Resampling a drum loop on the tape is a great way to give it more character too, especially tweaking the mixer/fx or the tape speed (blue encoder) while recording.
If anyone is interested, here’s what I did in June (at least one beat a day, mostly OP-1):
JuneBap playlist
Someone mentioned this book on another forum -https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drum-Programming-Handbook-Complete-Creating/dp/1480392871
Looks great, covers a lot of 4x4 styles and loads of tips and tricks.......
Thanks for the share
spent some time using the pattern sequencer last night and I'm liking it more. only wish it was twice as long or had an option to toggle between variations of the pattern. But it's very straightforward and great for creating the foundation.
I keep forgetting how sometimes I just need to get off the internet and just use the tools in front of me.
I keep forgetting how sometimes I just need to get off the internet and just use the tools in front of me.
+1000000000000000000000000000001
spent some time using the pattern sequencer last night and I'm liking it more. only wish it was twice as long or had an option to toggle between variations of the pattern. But it's very straightforward and great for creating the foundation.I keep forgetting how sometimes I just need to get off the internet and just use the tools in front of me.
Hey, don’t forget the back and forth way, to get awesome beats (with awkward times like 7/4 and such)