For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
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By Lampdog Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:57 am
Buy and op, save the ozone :lol:

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By abc Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:41 am
Anyone got some insight on how the Op sounds? On a scale that goes from MPC 60 dirty, to 4000 clear.
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By abc Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:25 pm
What would you say the cons are? I've been thinking about picking one up for when I'm traveling.
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By sciguy Sat Sep 30, 2017 5:40 pm
the main con is you really can't go into it with a particular workflow or sound in mind.
It's weird, unconventional, vague, there's a ton you can do with it, but there's also a ton you can't.
You might find some aspects clunky at first, but it just clicks once you understand what it can do.

Second-biggest con that I see, it doesn't play too well with other gear. (limited MIDI functionality, usb only; just a single stereo out, mono in; really tailored toward use with its internal tape; etc)
But it does so much just on its own that I don't really mind that. For me, it feels like a really powerful sketchpad, there's such a low activation energy for just doodling.
I bring it along any trip I go on.

don't watch this dude unless you're ready to buy an op-1, I feel like it's hard to watch what he does and not want an op-1 yourself...
https://www.youtube.com/user/jjbbllkk
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By sciguy Tue Oct 03, 2017 12:41 am
Good example of what I was saying:
The OP-1 is not a sequencer, and if you expect to use it like one, you'd be disappointed.
On the OP-1, it's all about the 4track tape interface. The sequencers in the thing are really intended as tools for recording segments to the tape, segments maybe that you can't record live by hand.
You can't really do any layering of sequences; you can play one synth sequence or one drum sequence at a time, essentially. (the different sequencer types make it a bit more complex than that, but that's the gist of it).

And then theres a sort of "permanence" with the tape; you have to accept the workflow that once you put something on the tape, you're limited on what you can do with it afterwards. You can't fix some off notes, or adjust the level of one instrument in an overdubbed track. You can re-sample and re-process tape segment, but in the end there's not really an "undo".
But that can be inspiring, you can't get bogged down in getting that one element exactly perfect. (and if you get to a point of no return, there's always the option to scrap and try again, maybe you'll come up with something you didn't think of the first time)