I’m always surprised to read people considering the OP-1 as a synth, I’ve always thought its synthesis capabilities are the least interesting features of the machine. The amazing battery life, the all-in-the-box approach and the absence of MIDI DIN i/o always made me feel like it was intended as a high-end portable sketchbook for musical ideas with cool sampling capabilities, but definitely not a piece of gear for the studio. I maybe need to spend more time with the synth machines offered by the OP-1…
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For me, the appeal of the OP-1’s synthesis is the unique sound, and how it forces the user to program with their ears and eyes (graphic feedback) instead of adopting a more traditional programming approach.
It’s refreshing, and it yields unique results.
But you have to be willing to surrender to it.
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OP-1 covers Synth explorer needs for years. iam talking every day use years.
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So after long deliberation on the next piece to add to my modest setup (AR, AKeys, Minitaur) I’ve ordered the OP-1. Never played one but I have a feeling I’ll be one of the majority in finding it a real boon to creativity and having fun making music. I guess you don’t know for sure until you get your hands on it!
I’ve gotta wait a few weeks though as they’re not in stock. Any suggestions of great videos to watch/materials to read to make the wait more fun and productive? I have watched most of the TE videos and Cuckoo’s great long one. Downloaded the PDF manual and signed up on the OP-1 forum.
Excited!!
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Dig around at www.operator-1.com
Real good community over there with lots of tips.
That’s where I figured out how to jump around the tape timeline and that alone made OP-1 so much more useful for me.
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Ahh, perfect - thanks!
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OP1 + OT is a dream combo for me. The OT bypasses all of the annoying limitations of the OP1 like not being able to save sequences, lack of good reverb, and the tape thing (not a big fan), and the OP1 acts as a fantastic all-in-one sound source, including radio and poly sampling. They fill each others’ gaps amazingly well.
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Yeah I can see how that’d work, especially after watching Cuckoo’s videos.
It is a really great synth, all of the engines are very unique and powerful, yet lofi at the same time. Unfortunately the lack of DIN-MIDI connectivity ended up ultimately being a dealbreaker for me, as I wasn’t really keen on getting yet another box as a USB host…
Yeah it’s a shame indeed, especially since midi via minijack has become commonplace now. But I’ve embraced the fact that it’s an island - you play it, it makes sound. I think being able to sequence it from the OT would open up a tangly avenue of potential that might not be all that fun. Would be cool to have tempo sync for the onboard sequencers, but hey ho.
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Yeah, sussing the ease of it’s connectivity to other gear is another aspect of this machine that I just won’t know how it’ll flow until it’s in my hands. But playing live is not a concern of mine at this point, so again, evidence points to this working perfectly for me. I look forward to the easy USB integration and pulling things in aand out of Live.
I’m realizing that the manual is a bit odd. Not that well written or organized. Not nearly as good as elektron and some would say that’s not saying much 
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Interesting, I thought the manual was pretty straightforward. All you really need is an outline of how the buttons work, and then from there it’s basically a playground for you to use in any way you like.
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Couldn’t agree more with that. I loved the OP-1 from the start but it took me a really long time to embrace it fully - until I learned to just stop thinking and start playing 
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There is a lot info (videos, forum…) and a great community around the OP-1 - but still some of its secrets remain hidden. The manual just covers the basics really - it’s useful, but not in a conventional way for sure. I once bought this little book on Amazon and I have to say so far it’s the only “printed” resource I’ve found that does a great job in nailing some of the not-so-obvious details.
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have you implemented it into a daw for making tracks ? im thinking about investing
I use op1 in to Daw all the time. I don’t use midi sync but i manual sync Op1 patterns (drums and synths/samples) in to Daw a lot. And use the OP1 synths too. Fast workflow that leads to OTish unforseen stuff.
sounds good… i couldnt handle a machine of that price not being able to midi sync but it sure looks interesting
They’ve went up £100 in the shops I was watching for stock. Everything shooting up in price. Stupid brexit
With some long travels ahead i bought a second hand OP-1 to bring it along. Have a great time since. Very nice how to copy/past samples across the synth/drum sampler and tape etc! Reminds me of good old 4 track tape days 
But also a downside. With my big studio headphone (BeyerDynamic) it sounds great. But with small in-ear Sennheisers there’s a lot of noise. Maybe because the small ones have a low impedance (16ohm)?
Anyone has a tip for good sounding small in-ear headphones in combination with the OP-1?
It can midi sync (dunno how solid etc), it’s just not something I’ve been doing with it.
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