OP-1 Field: Feature Review & the problem with Teenage Engineering

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0:00 Intro
4:45 Feature Review
17:25 Closing Thoughts

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[uhldev]

I appreciate this level headed take. I remember people complaining about the Moog One prices and how they would never be able to afford it. But I can assure you Moog knows exactly their audience and how to sell to them. Moog isn’t selling to some redditor they are selling to professional producers and people that write off thousands of dollars on pro audio setups. For them the price of the Moog one is negligible. TE knows their market, knows where they fit. All this negative press just keeps them even more relevant in my eyes.

[Marinersballboy]

I think you make a great point about the fact they don’t owe anyone anything. They make what they want to make at the price they want to make it at. Honestly I viewed it as a great opportunity. By creating an updated version they inadvertently lowered the price of the OP1. I just picked up the original for $750 on the used market.

[spaceman]

I don’t own TE. I own an OP-Z among six PO’s and I wish their costumer services worked or the hardware wasn”t crap. I’ve got a OP-Z that started to bend and the potwheel came loose. Good luck with your OP-1 field and the service and warranty of TE.

[felipefs]

What I've found interesting is that in 10 years, nobody asked for more audio tracks or some kind of midi sequencer ?

[valley_robot]

The zoom arq 48 had an accelerometer, it was also affordable, when it hit the fire sale it was 99.00 uk, it can store multiple projects, it can sample and has a 3 Oscillator synth engine, it was also 16 part/ track per pattern, this is just for rich kids isn’t it

[harveytherobot]

The best and most important thing you said in this video that I think people should take away from it is “not everybody’s me”. Thank you.

[JoshIsMakingMusic]

Great video! You're quick to the draw, I haven't even finished the script for my "OP-1 Field Thoughts" video yet... 😅
You give a really good, measured take on the feature set, and your point early on about TE being more of a design company than a synth manufacturer was really great. The OP-1 (and probably the Field as well) are built more around the experience than beating out the functionality, versatility, or price (sadly) of its competitors.

[jimsface]

I’ve been looking to buy the OP-1 for the past week or so, going back and forth on taking the plunge due to the price. With this suddenly releasing, I think I’m just going to save up for the OP-1 field. The price is prohibitive now, but my want for this thing makes it worth patiently saving for.

[synthseeker]

I owned TWO OP-1s over a few years. Initially I loved its quirky/retro workflow, it felt like overdubbing in the old Tascam Portastudio…but small annoyances and lust for newer things led me to sell it after a year or so. But eventually while working with other mobile music tools and remembering how easy it was to tote the OP-1 around I revisited it, buying one again. But as before, the having was not as good as the wanting…so I let it go again. The “field” version once again triggers some GAS. I do love the design, but this time…no. I know myself well enough to not go for the triple. Excellent and even-keeled video! Carry on!

[allnz]

Superb analysis of entitlement and commercial risk - beautifully done

[boxed-sound]

I'm definitely into it, but I don't know if it's enough to make me sell my OP-1. Now if it was a more durable and updated OP-Z... I'd pre-order in a second.

[northwest]

This video is the first I heard of OP-1 field. As always, you are on top of things. Price point is the biggest obstacle to their OP-1 getting the love. It appears that a $1000 Sintakt blows away a $1300 OP-1 at almost every turn besides portability and sampling. Still, there will be people lusting for a $2000 device even if it is unreasonably out of reach during a global economic slowdown. It would be great to see your comparison of it with Elektron's gear once you get one.

[stjohnmantle]

this review is almost positive - thanks...very refreshing

[gaigeevans]

I purchased this with my Credit card before even seeing the price. 😭 the OG op-1 is the only thing I’ve found that lets you record live vocals and electronic elements without any external mic or even headphones. The ULTIMATE song sketch device. And now I can record piano samples in So excited. Hopefully I’ll get used to the new colors cause right now they weird for sure lol. But prolly just cause I’m used to the old ones.

[lemonrain]

I am one of those who loves TE.

I think the OP-1 Field is too expensive… for me. It may be too expensive for what you get as well. It is hard for me to know really.

I think it is likely that this is how much it costs for them to design and produce one. I doubt they are price gauging, creating a product that costs very little to make and then charging an exorbitant amount to get rich. I think they made it without putting too much thought into how the price was ballooning. I think that is where the criticism could be placed, that they should have made other choices with it to reduce the price. But I also think they just made the OP-1 of their dreams, damn the price. And likely they also reasoned that there is a sufficient market for it. It does suck in a way that I am outside that market, but they have plenty of other devices that I can afford.

When they say it is for pro musicians, I don’t think they necessarily mean that this one device will be used by pros to create entire albums. I think it is more that professional musicians would have one to sketch songs on the go, as an additional instrument in the studio or to use live. That is how many more well known musicians and bands use the OG.

A lot of people put down anyone who would buy one by saying it is for hipsters and trust fund kids. Trust fund kids can buy whatever they please, good for them. But that doesn’t mean it is only for trust fund kids. The way I feel about the OG, and yes I do have one, though it was much cheaper, I bought mine for I think 750 during a Boxing Day sale at TE . Com in 2012.

It is what it says: an all in one. That is why I wanted it back then. I had no synths or synth knowledge. So having a rather uncomplicated device that could do everything I could have wanted in one device that I could carry anywhere, it enticed me to buy one, though it broke my bank. It helped me learn about electronic music, but it also helped me write songs on my guitar and just experiment. Some people point out all the boxes you could buy, like 3 or 4 different things for the same price, and that is a good point. A lot of people who are saying this though have several devices and know how to use them. But if you don’t, maybe the thought of collecting 4 devices is overwhelming, with all the different menus systems and connectors etc. But to have one device that can do everything (even though not as good as a whole home studio) is the point. That is what you are paying for. Not for everyone, but that kind of portability and self containment is what costs so much.

An alternative to buying the OP-1 Field: other portable devices + a smart phone. Perhaps an OP-Z and a smartphone. A smartphone app, even just free GarageBand, has a wonderful track recorder (32 tracks). You can just record into that. There are plenty of cheaper alternatives that will work better for most people including myself.

But I still think the OP-1 Field is worth it for some people out there. Not me, but some people. And I think the price is likely what it actually is worth, it just isn’t worth it for me.

Anyway, that’s my take on it, but again, I am one of those people who loves TE, because I use their products everyday, so the value of what I have purchased from them is proven. I totally respect that for someone else, they will not receive the same value.

✌️

[robertsyrett]

Consumer entitlement is the byproduct of unmet consumer demand. Yes, it's unpleasant and unproductive but people are still waiting for something like a daw in a box, with a fun/easy interface, for less than a grand. From this lens, this release is just a price hike for basically the same functionality. I suppose there is an "art object" lens that makes this a reasonable purchase (this seems like a lifetime purchase that accrues in value), but this is not the device people were hoping for.

[bwest]

OG OP-1 clickable encoders allow sub-controls, such as more granular control over parameters and so forth.

[crnova]

I own a second hand OP-1 for a week and on the train it's the best thing I ever bought. This is the first time I learn and understand synthesizers by doing it without going through 1000 factory patches. And with the radio and line in I can create new stuff everyday. It's great with noice cancelling and you don't need a laptop.

And about the price? I own a 200 bugs Unihertz phone when others spend more than 1000 without doing anything more on it :)

[visisydandthevoid]

Outrageous price. I love the sounds the device is capable of and would love to have one I could take to work and create with in free time, .. but not happening for 2k.

[heavysystemsinc.]

I had the original OP1. It was okay for what it was, it was overpriced back then and this one (and the re-release of the original) have shown they're all about that Apple style marketing used to justify inflated pricing. I'm not a fan of the idea that talking up something that's merely average or barely unique allows one to give the product a 200% price hike to what it probably should retail for and still rake in a healthy profit. I'm against it when companies do it with TShirts that have some 'designer logo' on it and I'm against it when an electronics company does it with computers or music gadgets.

As much as the feature list makes me want to snag one, the price will always keep me away. With that money, I could buy 3 dedicated machines toward sequencing, synthesizing and sampling and a pair of monitors and probably still have a five left over to grab a cup of coffee to drink while I hook it all up. I do understand that others will find the value and be happy to pay the 2 large bills to own the OP1 Field, but nothing on the feature list could ever justify that price to me. I think they could have *maybe* justified it if it came with a collection of high quality samples or celebrity-made synth patch collections, etc., you know some of what justifies the price tag on other synths (you're not just paying for the manufacturing and software development, you're paying for the sounds themselves as well!) when they have things like a 2 gigabyte grand piano performance patch, etc. Instead, it's just 'lifestyle' type marketing hype used to justify the price and I'm just gonna take a hard pass. I am interested to see what the sales are compared to the original. I commented on another video about the op1field and someone responded that the build quality is junk for the original op1 and couldn't disagree more, it's built well. But is it built 1200$ well? Or even 2000$ well for this one? Naw.