Sonic Lab: Teenage Engineering OP-Z Part 1

We have a look at the Teenage Engineering OP-Z, the tiny wireless 16 track synthesizer/sequencer. In the first part we take a look at the structure of the device.

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[chaselearkendall]

Only joking here but Nick is sorta like the dad listening to his kid (Gaz) talk about something he knows he doesn’t fully like, but wants to seem interested because his kid is so excited about it haha (:

[MattGreerMusic]

Each to their own but I haven't had as much fun making music on a singular device in many years of collecting hardware. I can say without even a shred of doubt that I haven't been this prolific in a long time and I owe it to the OP-Z. After about 30 minutes of getting your head around the sequencer, you'll be off and running and you'll see that it is really as deep as you want it to be. That being said, to address some specific criticisms:

- Is it cheap? No, it is not but compared to other modern, groove-type instruments (Elektron, Deluge, etc.) it's priced quite fair IMO

- Is it overpriced? I really do not think so. Name a single other instrument that can do everything this machine can do.

- Is the sequencer only 16 steps? No! This is the most common misconception I see. It defaults at 16 but all of the patterns can expand up to 8 bars and their chainable. Then with the various re-trigs, step components and parameter locking you can add, there can be significantly more variation than that making patterns seem to never truly repeat. IMO, there's a few tricks here that Elektron could stand to take note of (and I own a bunch of their gear too).

- Do I have to own an iOS product? Absolutely not. Every action can be accomplished without one. Infact, I owned mine for months and made many satisfactory pieces without ever owning an iOS product. I got an iPad for christmas and have since enjoyed pairing them but it is far from necessary.

- Is it hard to learn? That will depend on you. Personally I found it a bit cryptic out of the box but after watching about 30 minutes of tutorial, it all clicked in a big way. The shortcuts and button combos have a repeatable and logical way about them that if you understand one function, it becomes very intuitive to accomplish others.

- Is it as good/worse than the OP-1? I've owned both and I for me personally, I much prefer using the very sequencer focused OP-Z over the OP-1 and its 4 track tape recorder based flow. I think they still both have their place though.

- Does it sound good? That's entirely subjective. The sample engines sound like whatever you put into them but the synths have their own kind of thing. You'll either love it or hate it. I'm kind of on the fence on this one but again, I'm making a lot of music that I like and not spending a whole lot of time tweaking so it will depend on your interests. For me its one of those greater than the sum of its parts kind of things.

- Is it for everyone? Definitely not but I do hope people get a chance to really spend some time with it before making a judgment call because there is actually quite a lot going on in there. The fact that it takes them over 40 minutes to cover it should be an indication that it's a deep machine.

- Is this review fair? IMO, no. All due respect to Nick and Gaz but the content here was not very organized and kind of gave the impression of a very discombobulated kind of product. I suggest the Cuckoo review/tutorial of all of the features for a real understanding of it. It can get overwhelming if its not covered in an organized way and this video kind of shows that IMO.

Anyways, just the impressions of an owner. I'm not trying to argue with anyone or be TE's holy defender but I do want to add some color to the conversation. Thanks.

[yodabe]

The best hardware I’ve bought in years. I’ve barely touched the octatrack or digitakt since I bought it 3 months ago (until the OB public beta dropped), and I’m finishing more tracks than ever.

[nexuzeb]

More of you two please!!! You both should just always do the reviews! How you complement eachother is pure joy to watch!

[ILLUDIUM_Q_]

I'm 41yrs old and this thing stays with me. You do have to dig in and give it some time but once you do it's all you need. This has given my mpclive and deluge a strong run.

[klong]

Love that Nick is completely miffed and Gaz clearly loves it. Not for me but I'm not gonna trash it.

[gleannmhuire]

Well done Gaz Big communication skills

[TimH]

Had mine a few weeks now. It’s tempting to dismiss it as limited and toy-like. Sometimes when I don’t use it for a few days I wonder if it’s any good. In isolation the factory sounds are a bit lame. But every time I turn it on (and that’s every few days) and anywhere I turn it on (which is varied, because I take it everywhere in my coat pocket), something unique, musical and exciting happens. It really is a quite wonderful way of staying in touch with your creativity.

[HNDCRAFTED]

Don’t be put off, this thing is super intuitive, the lights really make sense. I get such a buzz every time I use it. Genuinely exciting to use.

[TBCfhjvhhhnbb]

I’ve owned one since November...and sold it yesterday! Good fun and very portable if you want to twiddle on the move. But very limited for studio use.

[howardanderson]

TE attracted me to the op-1, the po's and the op-z because of it's playful interaction, super fun stuff.

[MrKrisstain]

I like how Nick slowly starts to get a bit cranky cause he probably wishes he could do this review in one 30min video

[sauce_aux]

You can tell this device frustrates nick 😂

[ib]

Excellent well balanced review.... makes a change to blowing smoke up their arse and convincing everyone they must have this bit of kit

[XanderEwald]

Great introduction, thanks guys! As expected, the salt in the comments is exquisite as well 😂

[Rgdonaire_]

I don’t find it expensive at all. Innovation, creativity and design cost money. People disregarding this are downgrading the value of it and expecting the price of a behringer synth clone made in China which is great value but it’s different. You can make full tracks with the op-z in a very fun way, which sound great and you can fit it in your pocket. To each their own. I’m totally blown away by the op-z, and I do own a lot of other gear.

[AABattery]

With the OP-Z it is more true than ever: you have to try it out for yourself. It may be for you, it may not be for you, but you will propably not grasp its benefits without using it for a bit of time. Watching videos doesn't get you to the point where you can fully understand it. I made a 1 hour set in 10 days on it (without an iOS display) and performed it live, but before laying my hands on it, even after watching cuckoos videos twice, it was a blur.

[dinogoldie]

Wow! Nick is seriously unimpressed by the OPZ and it REALLY shows. How come neither of you mentioned the Novation Circuit? That's a (very effective) screenless, LED-based UI workstation/groovebox. Sonic Lab/State reviewed the Circuit and I believe you both liked it very much. I'm currently saving my paper round money up for an OPZ. It looks and sounds great.  To all the dickheads flaming up the comments with "it's a hipster toy" fraff, I say this. The harmonica was considered a "toy." The melodica was considered a "toy." The ukulele was considered a "toy." The OPZ is defo not a toy. The Step Components open up worlds of possibilities that no other drum machine/groovebox even come close to.  The price is too high (should be £300, imo) but until Korg or somebody buys Teenage Engineering, you're always gonna come up against the economy of scale issue.

[nozaihaus]

Absolutely loving my op-z so far. Owned the op-1 and this is music as a creative game! Op-1 was great but the Z has been even more fun for me.

[Digiphex]

This definitely slots somewhere between the glorious OP-1 and the disposable Pocket Lint series they make. If we put enjoying the look, feel and sound of our gear behind us and embrace intricate complexity, we should love it.