Can the OP-1 take the place of all my Metal Pocket operators? Or should I keep some of them

Hi. So I just ordered an OP-1. I already have the PO-32 Tonic, PO-33 KO! and PO-35 Speak. So im wondering if the OP-1 covers all the features of these three, so I can sell them, or would it make sense to keep one or more, and why? Thanks

They are all very different machines. The POs and the OP-1 have much different workflows. The POs are sequencer based, and the OP-1 has sequencers that are fun and very useful (mostly), but it pushes you toward the 4track tape.

I know. But are the some of my PO’s that overlap more with the OP-1 than others, or should I keep all of them?

You’ll never get the po35 speak effect from an op-1.
But the op-1 is a very capable sampler,overlapping the KO.
With the 32 - do use microtonic to create, or use other user’s to drop new sounds in? The op-1 has a nice drum synth, but microtonic is the bomb.
(me personally, I’d keep them all, for a fun hands on alternative).

Thanks Spheric_El, exactly what I needed to hear. My own thoughts was also, that the Sampler on the po-33 KO! was the one overlapping the most with the OP-1. Ill keet the Tonic and Speak. Thanks for your input :slight_smile:

@vanark I’d keep the KO as well if I was you. I have two of them and wouldn’t part with them…
You might find that the workflow of the pocket operator sampling is much quicker and can be quite useful synced to the OP-1.
Try them next to each other and then see if you need to sell it is my advice.

I agree with @RisingSon.
I say play with the Op-1 & see how you feel. If you don’t want the P.O.'s after getting the Op-1, sell them (or sell some of them ).
Personally I have the K.O. & the Op-1. I will never sell the K.O.
It’s fun on it’s own, it’s fun to use WITH the Op-1 & it has it’s own sound (I’ve even used it just for sound design). I also love samplers tho.

Thanks guys. Im so excited. Op-1 coming tomorrow with the mail. :slight_smile: Ill keep the PO’s for now, even though all my money just went to the OP-1

Frankly, although they share the Teenage Engineering aesthetic - and I´m talking not only about relaxed visuals and nice interfaces but a spirit of music making which I can´t exactly describe now - the OP-1 and the Pocket Operators are very different and I don´t think that they share the same features. Definitely the P.Os aren´t an “split” OP-1 in 9 different machines - (nor the OP-Z looks like an OP-2).

The most obvious difference is the live focus on the P.Os versus the hybrid approach of the OP-1.

Even the sampling capabilities of the OP-1 operates in a distinct form - and I don´t know if I can say that in practice the OP is so superior as a sampler (ex: it´s easier to edit a slice in the OP-1, but the K.O have the global filter and the punch-in effects).

There´s also a cool trick with the K.O which is the possibility of having longer samples if you use trigless slots (great for polyrhythmic beats). The punch-in effects are also based on the slots and not the samples, so you can apply them to those longer sample tails - even on different parts of the tail.

Finally, and this is more subjective, although the sound of the OP-1 is not exactly clean, the sound of the K.O definitely have character, if you are into this more dusty/lofi sonority.