I know… a bit ridiculous to make a thread about this, but who has seen both in real life and which do you prefer?
It’s hard to figure out how light or dark the grey/gray one is…seeing how the OP-1 always looks white in videos although it really isn’t.
Probably will end up buying a grey one anyway as they are usually cheaper, but still wanted to ask.
Get one of each 
This is easy. Do you want to be able to clearly see the labels/decals for the controls on the panel or not really? Go black or I’m painting my old grey faceplate, but I’m going glossy black. But yeah, the grey, which is what I have, the decals are a lighter grey which was a poor contrast in my opinion. Sure you’ll eventually have muscle memory, but it’s not fun straining to tell over a blatant different color as it should be.
Hey it’s you!
I have the grey version (choices limited here) but I’m actually really digging it. It’s got a smooth finish, easy to clean and wipe off dust.
Black is sexy too, though I read somewhere that it was kinda faster (just because of the darker finish) in terms of collecting marks / dust.
Edit: Also, I really like that on the black version, Elektron have decided to let go of the word “elektron” on the upper right area and decided to just put the logo mark. The mark on its own is unmistakable. Nice move, aesthetically.
Unedited photo and very immediately taken by my iPhone, if it helps:
Hey yeah, thanks!
Judging by the picture the visibility of the labels seems alright, maybe not great for low light, but I am not too concerned about that.
The grey does have a certain WW2 “Charme” to it.
Don’t get me wrong, I also lust for the black when I see it in use but overall, I’m just stoked just to have the OT, regardless the color 
Haha…that’s what I am worrying about 
Are there any people with a black OT lusting after the gray though?
Gray goes well with everything. It can look aggressive if you have harsh noise machines around it, but it looks soft next to an Ultranova. It’s the greyest of greys. To me, it feels friendly after the black mk1.
(FWIW: Mitakon 0.95 wide open on a Canon M6. Great way to kill off any Noctilux gearlust you might have and free up budget for audio gear)
No. I have a severe and irrational disdain for the colour grey.
I got an OT when Elektrons came in two colours, Black, or Silver. And that is the way it should have stayed.
You know how to talk someone into it!
Nice pictures, and you’re right. Grey goes with everything.
I got a grey one two years before the black ones came out. I would get a black one today but selling my OT just for a color swap would be ridiculous lol.
I have a Digitakt, Digitone, Heat Mk2, and A4 MK2 Black and the Octatrack is the one thing that isn’t in line with the uniformity. A4 and Rytm in black are definitely better than the Grey variants, which were a lighter tone than the Grey Octatrack.
Black
While I am 50/50 on the OT grey, I fully agree on the A4 and Rytm grey…don’t like it
I have AR Mk2 grey and A4 Mk2 black. I only got the black A4 because I couldn’t get the grey. I like the A4 in black but prefer the look of my grey Rytm, also the Rytm never shows up dirt like the way the A4 Mk2 does. There’s no right or wrong answer here, just different strokes for different folks.
On the subject of gear showing up dirt…easiest way I’ve found to clean studio gear is with a paintbrush and small handheld hoover.
It’s of course a matter of preference, but I’d go with grey all the way. I personally don’t like black gear. It’s too “aggressive industrial techno” for me, not as if that’s a bad association, but I prefer more ambiguous aesthetics. Grey is that. It can be whatever you want it to be.
So there are quite a few fans of the grey here…I am starting to feel less and less bad about not having the money for a black mk2
PS: Wife’s old make-up brushes work wonders too
Haha, great tip!
PS: reminds me of German proverb. “At night all cats are grey”.
Same proverb can be found in many languages. I think it was Roman
I’ve had both, black was way nicer to match with my digitakt. Same size and looks. But it did get messy a bit quicker, I keep a Swiffer close though so nothing that should make that influence your choice.
