According to a note at the company’s site, the initial run of 500 Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizers is sold out, at $799.
So – who’s buying these little beasts?
According to a note at the company’s site, the initial run of 500 Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizers is sold out, at $799.
So – who’s buying these little beasts?
I would have liked to pre-order one if I had the $$. The size and tactile knobs and buttons appeal to me, though the UI is difficult to grok from the vids so far. Looks fun to play, improvise and glitch-out.
My guess is that they're getting bought by the engadget crowd, not serious synth users.
Meh – I'll wait for the $2.99 iPhone version.
i picked one up.
Who is buying?
Brooklyn. I have heard there is a sudden influx of hipsters
into the local tattoo shops requesting OP1 tattoos right next to their
vintage Monome tattoos.
I actually think it's a cool little device but unfortunately, like the Monome,
it will probably produce the same music for everyone due to lack of creativity
by the user. But hey, screw it, it's thin enough to fit in those skinny jeans so who cares.
This thing looks like a Casio toy for $29,99.
whats the whole big deal with this thing?
People with too much money and probably too many keyboards. I bought an SK-1 for 10 bucks.
Let's also not forget that although the news could be sincere it could also just as well be a media stunt. After all; demand sells, and might be even a good motivation to raise the pricetag a bit.
For the same price, I'll just buy a Little Phatty. Something tells me that's actually worth the 799, and this thing ain't worth a 10th of that price.
Yep, the same way anyone who plays a B3 makes the same music.
the people developping the op-1 include a guy who worked heavily on the elektron monomachine as well as the writer fo the lsdj catridge for the gb. ipad has no haptic at all (which is the concept of the ipad), while the op-1 has buttons, rotary encoders – things you can actually move instead of smearing greasy fingers of a screen. also no fm radio. also crappy d/a converters. also not 20hours of battery life. but to each his own.
I’m the target. The new/ current wave of indie electro pop artists are gonna go crazy after this. And extra convenient when on tour due to the size of this thing. Like Björk said: “If there’s no soul in the music, it’s because no one put it there.” It’s like with any instrument. Some get serious about it, and some just play for fun.
Where can you get a Little Phatty for $799? The lowest price I have found is $1,285. Perhaps you mean the Slim Phatty tabletop?
purchased.
I can't believe the amount of SHITHEADS that write on this forum.
The End.
Yup, that's the one, the tabletop. Sorry, should have been a bit more specific. But yeah, I'd take a tabletop Little Phatty (that I can also run as part of a modular setup) over this thing any day of the week.
COOL STORY BRO
Synthesizer music is all the same. You're selling your soul for not using a guitar and a microphone, the way it was meant to be.
Idiot.
I guess that is what classical music fanatics said about the guitar when it first came out. Same about rock and roll. Why are you on a utopia for SYNTHESIZERS if you do not contain the mental capability to appreciate them? The op-1 is a mega synth and has no right to be hated on. You can import your own synths, drums, and other things and has the full capability to create a #1 hit!
I purchased. I'm not rich or a hipster [afaik]. I've been watching this develop for 2 years so I squirrelled some money away. It seems a very nice balance of groovebox/blofeld/sk1/looper/iApp/Ableton… well anyway I see the op-1 as an interesting forward-looking device.
It will be interesting to see how happy we 500 are with our purchases. I've never had anything so boutique/niche before. My wardrobe consists of 5 identical shirts, three identical pairs of pants and two pairs of identical boots [all from KMart]. I don't think of myself as fashionable but maybe I am.
and why is that exactly? if you are going to compare the two capability for capability, the OP-1 blows the phatty out of the water. The only thing the Phatty having over the OP-1 is analog oscillators, 6.3mm outputs and VC out.
And really, the phatty is just a *very basic* subtractive synth.
the OP-1 doesn't really have a comparitive. It's unique in it's combination of abilities, and it's form factor. Even in the software realm, it would take a bit of work to put together a daw with it's combination of abilities.
It's got a very attractive and well thought out interface, and it's small and portable as hell. I'd love to just take it down to the park on a summer's night and jam on it.
Unfortuntately, i was waiting to see what my finances were today before buying one, and I missed out.
I almost damned it all and bought one when i first got the email that they were taking pre-orders, but i decided to hold back and check my finances at my next pay. I'm regretting it now. :/
You make that sound like it's a bad thing.
watch the video? if it doesn't excite you, then it's not for you.
It could be, but with all the hype it had, I'm betting it's for real. 500 units is not very much for something like this.
I managed to resist preordering, but now I'm wishing I had. The last demo I saw finally sold me on it. Kinda pricy, but I figure I could always resell it if I wanted to and take a small hit for basically "renting" it.
congratulations to the designers for making a unique, inspiring, cool synth……but its unaffordable unfortunately
My goodness, you're proof of that all right!
I'm happy with my netbook for now. If they change the keyboard and drop the price $200… I'm in
It took 3 years to finally bring this thing to market.
How long will it take to fix when something goes wrong and you've got an $800 paperweight put together by some *genius* slackers?
Oh, and good Christ it STILL sounds like ASS. lol.
Build quality? Looks SUPERIOR. lol.
Lots of dorks on here lol. I am glad so many people think its a hipster toy or whatever. At the end of the day this is a futuristic instrument with features and an interface we've never seen before. I will enjoy the the hell out of this thing have fun and make dope sounds!
I bought one. I will always use Logic in my Mac, but like the Tenori-On, this OP-1 inspires me to want to think, and play, outside the box. The TO inspired a whole new project for me. The OP-q looks to do the same. If I get it and don't like it I'll sell for 1K before the second batch comes out. Don't hate. It's no Casio for sure. What Casio has 8 synthesis options you can edit and muck around with? FM radio? Sampler and drum sounds, editable FX… Sheesh. Keep saving your pennies, the price will come down after a while like it did with the TO.
….I almost bought an Ipad today…until I actually demoed it…. :-/
…..then I searched the http://WWW….and came across this ^^^
^^^^
^^^^^
…..just waiting for a candy colored clown to inform me……
yeah try to sequence drums, sample to a internal four track, and set a signal to gyroscope with your little phatty
No kidding
I got one. Turns out it's the best synth I've ever purchased, and I've managed to obtain a few.
Many of these OP-1 comments (hipster Casio) are amusing, if just for proving the fact that anything "different" always invokes hostility. I'd remind readers that "hype" can also be very justified.
I will say this, every synth loving friend I've demoed this thing for, without fail, has said they wanted one. And as much as I adore it, that sure didn't happen with my Voyager. At the end of the day, The OP-1, with all of it's quirkiness , sounds amazing and is damn fun to play.
Get your hands on one. You'll see.
Hate all you want, but there are very real reasons why this unit continues to sell out on every batch. My hunch is that has nothing to do with hipsters or cynicism.
Everybody always wants to judge new gear based on the past, instead of looking at it for what it is!
Damn it,I want one! No-one has mentioned the amazing oled screen.It”s the most appealing representation of tweaking I’ve ever seen. I almost wish I bought one instead of my LP.