I think the XY and M8 are rightfully comparable in terms of sound design, portability, and sequencing. I would say that the OP-XY wins in terms of playability and polyphony, and that is very much acknowledged here.
So which one do you see as Moog One in terms of sound design and sequencing? I don’t have both, but based on what I’ve read so far, I think the M8 would be the Moog.
I do hope to see more entries to this thread, it’s a good resource spot for those who are considering purchasing either one of these devices.
M8 has live mode too, live mode is like ableton live clips. with launch quantization, and you can launch clips with novation launchpad pro mk3 like APC or Push.
you can modify anything live with a midi controller. you can even put master FX commands in a phrase or table with no instrument and trigger the clip just to do mixer and FX automation. it’s all open ended
I’d appreciate more thoughts/inputs from the OP-XY owners regarding the display/animation. What would I be missing out if I opt for the M8? Do the animations inspire or contribute to your creative process? (I’m not sure what metric would be appropriate for what the OP-XY’s display/animation brings. I’ve read/heard that the meticulous software work done in OP-XY’s display animation contributes to its price.) How great does the display/animation work for you is what I’m asking, I suppose?
Tbh the different animations for the synth params, etc. look good; but that being said I don’t really care about them. I know that most of the symths show the value for each param and say what it is, fm, noise, etc. In short, no the animations don’t inspire or contribute to my creative process.
The M8 is a very utilitarian device, its design heritage from the super resource limited lsdj. It shows you everything you need to know, but it’s kind of harder to get into and navigate for the most part (until you learn it). I do find it harder to dial in nice patches on the M8 though (but this is my issue). The XY synth engines are pretty nice out of the box and I find it easier to get something going quickly.
Seeing the filter and amp shapes move in real time with parameter locks is useful and pretty. The animations are eye candy but surprisingly not as visually informative as even the synced LED-lit “graphics” of the KO II.
Man just here to say your m8 track is absolutely sick !! really inspiring downtempo / ambient. Sounds crazy organic. I second what you say, only limit to m8 sound is user’s skills
I honestly think the “poor man’s OP-XY” would be a M8 with a Roland S-1 attached for the keyboard. You’d get very, very far with just this combination.
I’m three days in with the OP-XY and it’s quite a nice package overall, but compared to the OP-Z I find the UI lacking behind. I mastered the M8 within the first two hours, I think - not quite that fast with the OP-XY. Overall the visual feedback of the OP is a bit behind, but hopefully they will bend their will on their design choices just a tad so they can fix this (ie. fix the colours in the UI).
Overall I like the M8 for it’s precision and creativity (the tables and commands really open up for lots and lots of happy accidents), but I like the OP (so far) for it’s immediacy and lack of a preconceived idea, so to speak.
