It’s something that won’t be in production until long after I’m dead…or something that I won’t be able to afford until long after I’m dead.
I think you’re forgetting the magic radio - I took mine on a Bufo retreat in Peru, even the guru was impressed with its zen like design, the whole group - a really diverse bunch of “the right people” and myself were transported on a journey to the infinite, with an exquisite sonic back drop thanks to the magic radio, it was unfortunate that the battery ran out right around the time that Alastair and Aurelia Allegra started convulsing from “too much toad” but overall the experience was very positive, that aside.
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A bit of everything, really.
they sure abide by the principle of “there is no such thing as bad publicity”
though the first thing that comes to mind as i watch this is “what wankers”
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not really surprising that TE have been backing Trent Reznor/NIN this whole time…
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I have to admit I did like the design of the OB-4 speaker they put out. The price is a sick joke though.
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L M A O ! Definitely forgot the radio. But, you know, listening to it with the right people… wow. Hard to describe that feeling… with just the right amount of toad.
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I think this is a really astute take, and there’s plenty of this sort of gear aesthetic decadence in the Elektron world (there is no device more over-mystified than the Octatrack). But like you said, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it can result in inspiring products built with a clear vision.
But: it seems like we just keep getting further and further from another truly inspiring product from TE, meanwhile their head goes further and further up their ass. I’m in their target market and even I don’t want their stuff anymore.
Part of the appeal of the OP-1 was that, in addition to being fun and inviting, it was (ostensibly) powerful, well-engineered and well-built. They built a fanciful device, but they took it seriously.
The OP-Z has some of this magic, but it’s awkward to use and it’s not well-built at all. The fucking wheels fall off. The PO’s are fun but also awkward and not super interesting. I didn’t use the modular but it looked janky. The rest is speakers and plastic bags.
All that said, I am looking forward to the Playdate.
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It is very janky, the power supply craps out if you use batteries with it, it literally blows, there are some plain dumb design decisions, the tuning of the VCO’s is an exercise in pure frustration.
However it does sound very nice indeed and can be fun to use, but like the OP-Z and Pocket Operators it is extremely fiddly, almost but not quite, to the point of being unusable.
The OP-Z, PO’s, and PO Modular are probably the most fiddly and awkward electronic musical instruments I have ever used*, in this sense they are design failures, form over function. The frustration for me is that they (TE) are capable of great design and innovation, but it seems lately that quality control and user experience are not important to them any more.
IMHO.
Edit: *Although the OP1 is a triumph in both design and UI IMHO. If a little chintzy in a retro nostalgia kind of way, but I don’t mind that.
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PO-33 is awesome, an absolutely wonderful and most capable sampler for a stellar price. To each his own but I’d consider that PO to be far away from a design flaw. Minus the incredibly frustrating pots of course.
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Making well-designed synths is cool and mystical, but not profitable. What if we are a synth company that doesn’t make many synths, just lifestyle accessories that attempt to communicate the essence of well-designed synths? Profit (apparently)
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Yeah, but would be much better with decent pots, better buttons, a little bigger, and more informative display instead of the game&watch knockoff display.
I have 9 PO’s, but I still think they could be much better.
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Agreed, though there goes that $90 price tag.
I saw one guy add all arcade buttons to his PO, I think about doing it, rehousing in a big box, but too much work I think. Would be nice if they added a row of PCB contacts, one for each button and the pots, on the back for modders, would not add to cost and make modding much easier.
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I owned one for about a week. Thought it was really cool for the first 2 hours, then once the shine wore off, I came to the realization of how gimmicky the whole thing is. The synth engines are so-so, sampling is all right but nothing new. The worst was the whole recording proces on digital reel-to-reels. Again, cool for a few moments, but quickly became annoying, as it took me back to my cassette days, which the OP1 reminded me of how much I loathed working with tapes. The fact that it doesn’t play nice with any other instrument, and the high price tag, made me seek to trade it off quick. The one good thing was that a lot of people still have a fascination about it, so it was probably one of the easiest things to trade off. As you said, it is a plinky plonky making device that cost the same as much more capable work stations.
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To me this looks like a OP-1 prototype, only way less portable and with modular capability. But I’ve no idea why they would put so much effort in to make a prototype so vastly different from the final product.
Whatever it is it looks so badass that it’s frustrating we’ll probably never see it.
Some people do that?
I have no words…
If you are making music for a living most chances are indeed that you don’t have the money to surround with musician tools as much as the one who has a somewhat regular job
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Wasn’t this a prop for a DJ’s show or something? Was hooked up to a pair of hidden technics and a mixer if I remember right.
I didn’t see that event, but it makes sense as a prop with nothing being labelled
As an engineer working in the automotive industry/transport this is 1k% true…
What Jobs seems to entail though is that engineers and manufacturers are negative nancies, it’s more like Designers being hippies.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen design proposals that are totally unrealistic. Like say covering up the grill area. Sure it will look great with people being boiled in our truck in the Sahara or it will look great on the side of the road broken down.
They’re literally fighting wind mills but In this instance it’s physics…
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