OP-XY/Z User Thread

The Lounge Other Gear
489

Everyone having any issues or seeing bugs should also email Support@teenageengineering.com. They might not be aware of some bugs or issues and the more people that contact them with problems the faster these bugs should get fixed.

I’ve also emailed them asking about export options. To be honest this is the biggest deal breaker for me at the moment. I don’t want to have to waste my time muting a recording each track out to something. We should have the option like the M8 to render a bundle where the stems are stored. With options to keep or remove effects and also store the MIDI data from each track too.

Their support acknowledged via email that many other users have asked for the same thing. I did ask if this feature was ever coming but didn’t expect a reply and I didn’t get one. Again, a company with open communications with it’s user base is going to inspire more confidence and drive more sales. If people are worried or feel a company is hiding, they won’t buy from them.

They more people contact them about feature requests the better.

490

Agreed. It does look like an issue with the deadzone or something like that.

491

I’ve been making a list of bugs/suggestions, and have been happy to find that many of them were solved with tips from this thread already. A couple that stand out, though:

  • the tiny font, especially on the LFOs and FX pages, is simply bad design – literally user unfriendly. The delay FX control is pretty uninformative and fussy. It could use shift+ jumps to musical (tempo based) delay values, like on Elektron boxes.

  • there is no “save project AS” concept, as far as I can tell. If you rename a project and save it, in an attempt to start a new child, it just renames the current project and all the junk history is retained. If you don’t create a new project and name it immediately, you are sunk. I think the auto-generate idea mentioned before is a great idea. It’s good fun on the m8 and figure.

  • It would be nice to set a global preference /default for the number of bars and timebase you prefer when starting a new track. At least I find myself entering 4 bars x 2x timescale every time, to get my favourite 8 bar pardigm. It’s easier to subtract them when needed, rather than add them every time.

  • I suppose it’s no use complaining that the LFOs are still cutesy, limited affairs from the original OP-1 design. I think OP-XY is more clearly aimed at power users, and would really benefit from a second page of LFO controls, more destinations.

  • I;m not sure, but I find that recording per-track punch in effects, using the record + shift combo when in an instrument track, is a bit iffy. I’ve had several takes that didn’t get recorded. Also, I’m not sure – is there a way to delete automation for per-track punch ins? As opposed to going to aux track 2 and deleting?

  • I’d love a simple way to add per-track volume automation, inside a pattern. Maybe I’m being dense and the mixer moves are recorded with the pattern? I find the old opz way much simpler to understand. Just p-lock the volume.

Thanks so much to everyone on this list, the tips have been really valuable!!

8 Likes
492

Just on the LFOs, would be really cool to allow an input for an external LFO like from the Korg NTS2, or Eurorack gear, etc. I wish the multi function port allowed this and then to route it to the existing synth/fx params. Two LFO modulation options would be :ok_hand:.

493

I have the same problem midi out via midi/sync port is not working.
Did anything fix your problem?

494

@te-david can you please respond about this pitch bend issue? I don’t want to open my unit when it arrives until I hear something about this from Teenage Engineering. I’ll return this and eat shipping costs if I get no response and have to constantly worry about this stupid issue.

1 Like
495

I can say my pitch bend (which doesn’t work properly, confirmed in person by TE) physically feels different when pushing it on either side. It feels like a mechanical issue on mine and not just a calibration issue…

3 Likes
496

:grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:

I was hoping it was a simple software fix type thing, but if TE confirmed your unit had a hardware problem and this becomes a bigger issue, that’s not good.

Glad I held off buying one tbh…

2 Likes
497

Agreed. Would love to see some official statement from TE on this. Given the OG-Z pitchbend issues and now that users are experiencing this on their newly launched device. TE saying something would be better than silence.

498

I’m so annoyed this issue exists considering the cost of the unit.

1 Like
499

To be clear- TE looked at my unit in person and said the pitch bend is not working correctly and that I should RMA the unit. It’s my own opinion that the pad feels physically different when I push each side… The side that pitches down correctly feels more smooshy than the side that pitches up that doesn’t work.

500

I wonder which YouTuber will be first out the gate with their video slamming TE on “BENDGATE” !!!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

501

When TE first announced OP-XY I though, phew I don’t need this one! Then I started to read about it (uh-ooh), read the manual and holy shit, I can actually sequence my gear with this thing. But it seemed to be only one midi instrument on AUX 3, then I read some more and it seemed I could use the regular instrument tracks as midi tracks. Ooh, this just got interesting.

THEN I learned, I can perform external synth with the punch-in FX, the absolute best feature of the EP-133 (never tried OP-Z). And by this point… OK, I’ll try it, if it doesn’t work out I’ll just send it back. Sold my Squarp Hapax (hated the pads, and the two screens was not really the best UX) the same night I placed an order, big gamble.

I got it last night and started testing the midi features, obviously without checking with the manual, so it was confusing at first. I hooked up XY to Pulsar-23 and Cascadia and started testing. And as with all TE gear, it’s far greater than the sum of its parts. The sequencer obviously has room for improvement. Copy/past, shift steps etc. but I hope that’s in the pipeline. Velocity is a bit cumbersome to program. In the case of Pulsar-23, the kick drum needs vel. 127 to work properly and programming a sequence is, interesting. Pushing the kick key and then select a step produces a lower velocity compared to selecting the step and then pressing the kick key which produces vel. 127.

I haven’t even started automating midi CC yet.

Anyways, here’s a 16 step loop with Pulsar-23 and Cascadia playing a simple pattern, trying out the punch-in FX.

And besides being able to sequence my other gear, I’ll have a few extra instruments over for multi/sampling and using the internal synths. I’d argue that XY is a great value for its money. And in a small battery powered package.

I’m not seeing myself getting rid of the XY anytime soon. The same is true for my OG OP-1, EP-133 and OP-1 field.

Ps. Pitch bend works fine on my unit.

12 Likes
502

Given your satisfaction with the other TE gear, I’m curious why not? Personally, I couldn’t hang with OP-Z’s toy-like sonic quality. I’m always impressed with the things I see people doing with it in demos, but the sound itself, not so much. I did love playing with it, though.

503

It never appealed to me. To me it seemed like over engineered software in under engineered hardware. No screen (In my opinion, TE has the best graphics and UI, big miss for me), a lot of buttons on all sides of the device. The sound quality wasn’t there. The buttons are not something I instinctively want to press. Sub-par tactile feel overall, based on images and videos. I didn’t really pay attention to the punch-in FX until EP-133, great promise but I filled those 64MB in the first track I made, and then I felt stuck. I’ll probably try to incorporate EP-133 as a drum machine more.

3 Likes
504

I can appreciate the XY as a Z on steroids as I’ve seen people say, but I’d still be into adding on a Z MKII that addresses all those things while still keeping the price below $1000. You can’t beat the Z’s ultra-portability. I’m stuffing the XY into a coat pocket (protected by a soft case), but that won’t be an option in warm weather.

3 Likes
505

I’ve just spent the last hour trying to work out how to monitor the incoming audio. I can sample audio just fine, but I can’t monitor it before sampling.

What am I missing?

506

You need to go to AUX 5, and press the first encoder to activate the signal path. It’s off by default. Took me a good while to figure that one out :smiley:

4 Likes
507

Thanks!

I tried that and the audio still wasn’t getting coming to my headphones. But if I plug something into the input jack, then I can monitor from the built-in mic. Weird. A bug perhaps. Anyone else see this? If so, I will report it.

508

The first/default option is the mic in, if you scroll the first encoder to the jack in symbol, doesn’t that work?