Making music on OP-XY is so much fun.
12 Likes
Great article
5 Likes
Not sure about the Deluge alternative…Deluge feels like very old tech compared to the OP-XY
The article ignores the tech inside this thing…I mean being able to assign various tracks from the OP-XY into external pedals and back into the OP-XY without feedback etc - its so cool…Deluge your just stuck inside its eco system of FX
And if you want to achieve something similar - you would need to fork out for a laptop, DAW, bulky mixer, bulky interface, wires, VST’s, maybe an Ableton push controller, midi keyboard - all these things cost money too…OP-XY does all this in 1
3 Likes
Or an OP-Z (with the Line module).
3 Likes
People feel they deserve it, but they can’t afford it.
yes, this is the crux: people who are aware of synthesizers and music production feel they deserve to be a part of “the culture” because it is a niche industry that cultivates a niche customer. people in niche’s feel that the mental/emotional effort they expended to “break off” from mainstream cultural artifacts, the personal transformation they underwent to “find their niche,” authorizes them in advance to possess whatever in the niche they want. TE creates a very desirable product: almost anyone “in the niche” wants whatever it is they put out, because they understand the type of person attracted to this niche very well, probably because many of their executives, managers, and engineers are part of that niche themselves. All this leads to an entitled mindset: “who are these suits to move in on MY niche, driving MY expenses up? i found the niche! i’m entitled to all within it.”
4 Likes
Anyone obviously can assemble a setup that at least closely duplicates the functionality of the XY for cheaper. I did so for years with the T-1 as my sequencer controlling synth/samplers (that each had their own sequencers). Ultimately it all felt very disconnected and cobbled together workflow wise. For me, the value of the XY comes down to having all that functionality in one box, making it a tight, unified workflow. Whether or not XY’s price tag is worth that kind of workflow is completely subjective. It’s worth it to me.
11 Likes
Well you could do that with an MPC for a lot less.
But I think the article was actually defending the price in terms of component and manufacturing costs, R&D, software development and distribution costs.
1 Like
I find the MPC more linear tho…You get out what you put in…
But yeah - ultimately you are buying into the TE workflow - some of us pay a premium for that…Its no different from buying into Universal Audio etc
Space Echo
I grew up lusting after $2k single channel EQs and compressors, I couldn’t afford them at the time, but I never held it against the company. Not everything has to be aiming for the low end of the market, and we have WAY WAY more tools at lower price points these days than ever before anyway.
I find it so weird that people get angry that a flagship boutique groove box that’s basically a complete studio in a box might be out of their budget. 95% of the stuff I wanted when I got into music making was out of my budget. You eat your ramen, you save your money, and one day you can get it that much more appreciative of the purchase.
People are so entitled these days, I don’t get it.
34 Likes
I think it triggers their belief system, like buying into a status quo of tech (usual suspects - Roland, Korg etc)…And thats being questioned by a bunch of Swedes with an emphasis on design…tribal warfare
1 Like
Can someone explain the differences between the op-1f and xy tape modes?
I’m thinking of selling my torso s-4 which I use mostly as a 4 track looper and I’m hoping I can do something similar with the xy.
I’m pretty familiar with the op-1 tape system but a bit confused about the xy
It’s not really a looper with overdub sadly. It’s more like a chop and slice effect using 1 bar of audio. You can speed up or slow the sound down, and if you automate that it sounds a bit like a tape. But I think the tape name is a bit misleading actually. As far as I understand, would love to know if I’m wrong
not sure if this will help clarify it for you, depends if you’ve used one before: tape track on OP-XY is like a flex track on octatrack, playing back the internal record buffer, in slice mode, with a pre-defined slice grid.
however, what makes it a little different is that the tape track has a mix fader tied to its input tracks. so if i input tracks 1 & 2 to the tape track, i can set mix to 50 to hear half of the record buffer and half of the live playback from tracks 1 & 2, but, only during tape track playback; otherwise you always hear the input tracks.
5 Likes
This was one of the features that kinda blew my mind on Saturday, that there’s a streamlined OT in there with just enough options to easily use it.
3 Likes
Probably a testament to the intensity of the desire for the object.
Right now it is people complaining about the price… so a couple years out before they finally get one and then start complaining about the lack of features they just expected to be there but could have learned with just a bit of research 
4 Likes
the only thing missing imo is an envelope. rolling the attack and a gentle looping fadeout release would help prevent a lot of pops when sending tape to reverb. but not all, because some are caused by the record buffer resetting.
It’s understandable that many are upset, and TE runs the risk of new machines coming out with similar or even better features at a lower price, now that other manufacturers have an eye on what people want. TE can start to price themselves out of this category.
Just have to look at Behringer’s business model. Don’t be surprised if a B-OXY model will be available soon.
2 Likes
That’s something I have been wondering about for a long time…
The OP-1 has been out for ages. Its price has always been high and it has always been sought after. Surely there has been enough time for other companies to copy it or make an equivalent, yet no one has done it.
So maybe it’s not as easy as people think to release a device with all these features, at this size, with the same beautiful design…and also make it as cheap as people want it to be.
Yamaha has tried to approximate a teenage engineering device with the Seqtrack. How long did that hype last?
Behringer…they also teased an MPC clone about 4 years ago. If they haven’t teased an OP-XY clone, we’re not gonna see it for the next 10 years.
11 Likes