Hi guys,
Some months ago I sold my OP-1 even if I really liked the workflow.
I got tired of the heavily digital sounding synth engines and it had some problems, but the mostly criticized tape recorder was a very liked thing for me.
After that I’ve tried many other units: model:cycles, novation circuit tracks, organelle and some other new grooveboxes indie made.
I am not a professional artist whose main thing is to get rich with music streaming, i just really like to sit with this things and have fun while recording some things.
What else should I try? I am tempted to save and go back to op-1 but the price of the field is too much and i am still afraid of build issues/short durability.
I don’t think the tracker world would fit me, and it’s the same for all the samplers. So this applies limits in what i am searching.
thanks, budget is no more than 1000 but that is already a lot
That was one of the ideas but I would keep that at home. Smallest setup that came to my mind so far is 201 pocket piano + 5 moons. but i still would need a powerbank and some kind of effects.
what about menu diving, I have seen videos and it seems quite hard, also i didn’t understand the thing regarding synths/samples and roland cloud subscription but I may be totally wrong and it’s regarding another synth.
Maybe, but it’s bound to sound like greased wheels and opression.
You could consider trying something in the sonicware line, they’re inexpensive to get in and out of and have some elektron-like sequencer features (parameter locking for example). Mostly 4 tracks like the op1 you’ve sold (or maybe a seq and 3 looper).
The sequencer resolution isn’t very good though, so if you’re into microtiming or real time recording for out of sync pacing that won’t work, but you could really buy 4 of them on your budget so trying one at a time if you like the workflow is probably fine.
Otherwise, if polyphony isn’t that important to you and you just want one decent device, a secondhand syntakt would be a good way to blow most of your money, or maybe a sh4d if you like the roland form factor better.
It’s funny, because the Apollo guidance system that put man on the moon had 4KB of RAM and a 32KB disk and we sit here and complain about the limited specs of a Digitakt :))
I tried a lot. In my opinion Deluge is the best when it is about producing (and arranging!) whole tracks with one device only.
it’s also very good as a sequencer for external gear (I say this while also owning a Hapax).
I never had any device which motivated me so much to really finish songs instead of only jamming with 4 bars for hours (which oft course is also fun sometimes)
You should get a used one for under 1000 bucks.
Yeah, It can be little menu-divey. The flip side is that there really isn’t groovebox currently on the market that offers such a nice/wide variety of sounds like either the MC-101 and MC-707. As far as the Roland Cloud thing, I don’t think you have to use it if you don’t want to. It comes loaded with a lot of classic drum and synth sounds. I think the cloud thing is just for adding extras.
Since you aren’t interested in samplers, I would suggest focusing on grooveboxes that offer the best synth engines. Roland offers some nice ones, as mentioned above. The Yamaha Seqtrak might also be of interest, as it looks like it has some good sounds from Yamaha libraries, although it is new, and I don’t know much about it yet. Another one might be the Korg Electribe, as it has some decent sounds in it.
unfortunately where i lieve it’s impossible. used are at least 1100 and tehy even got the old screen wich is a big big pain for the eyes imo.
pretty cool machine tho, i’ve seen videos on the workflow, wow.
thanks! i made this account because I am desperately in search of something ahahah. do you think that putting this in the op-1 forum will result spammy?
J-6 is amazing for portability, but impossibile to get a full sketch going on. Ror the used syntakt, I was thinking bout that a couple months ago, I will let you know because if i find something else less chonky and that does not require the powerbank i’ll go for that
yeah, you got my point. many of the grooveboxes around have sequencers, op-1 stands out with that tape thing, which is not for everyone for sure. I love and prefer real time recording so that’s a bit of a problem. But after the op-z, circuit tracks etc, I sort of accepted the sequencer thing, but i wouldn’t spend the whole thousand on something with a sequencer. at that point i would probably make the stretch and try with another op-1
I don’t know the OP-1 forum, but I think this thread is a great place to discuss it.
And regarding your request for suggested grooveboxes: I would look into the Octatrack and see if it fits the bill. It’s different from the tape workflow, but it has 8 independent recording buffers that are super powerful. You might find a used mk2 for €/$1000 and definitely a mk1 for less
As I understand it the key thing about the OP-1 (I don’t have one) is the workflow that’s very much about “playing it in”, “happy accidents”, “not endlessly tweaking” just going with what you’ve got sketching and building on top.
Something like an MC-101 or Syntakt is super powerful, but I wonder if coming from the OP-1 it will just feel like maths homework.
As a result I think an SP-404 might be a good shout, or maybe even a KO MKII
You could pair it with something like a Roland S-1 for some sound design.
knowing they get compared sometimes, i will say whati think about novation circuit tracks, it didn’t feel at all like math homeworks, very intuitive and quick, howewer song building is quite difficult because there is no real song mode and the synth engine is powerful only if you connect it to a computer.
about the last part, so you would say to use one of the two samplers for the drums and sample in the synth?