The op1 has had terrible problems and the modular power supplies… Not bending but just as bad… I don’t put TE stuff in the same category as Elektron… Love Elektron!! TE feels more like curiosities then actual instruments though… But like i said, my opz swings much better and more natural… I wouldn’t want to lose either, they work well together.
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A month ago or so…
Opz is the only plastic i have in the studio and i never felt it was particularly fragile… I used to have a su10 pocket sampler back in the day and this seems like a modern version of that…but it doesn’t feel less durable… Maybe the volume knob but I’m pretty careful not to catch it on something.
Thing is I don’t wanna fix my encoders with plumber tape after paying more than 500€ for a machine. Even my Volcas or Monotrons are still in one piece years later.
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Mine still hasn’t shipped. Last year I ordered one straight from Sweden and it got here quicker than this. This is why I keep telling myself not to order anything that has to be shipped. Do I listen to my own advice? Obviously no. In the meantime, I have plenty to keep me busy. If you can’t already tell, I’m an instant gratification type that enjoys retail therapy.
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I cancelled my order.
I understand the sentiment, but it literally takes 5 min to do and is probably one of the lowest-risk “repairs” that I’ve ever had to do on a piece of gear.
The thing that bugs the shit out of me is that my op-lab module doesn’t get pushed in enough by the back case, and so it doesn’t work about half the time. I had to put a plastic shim in so that the back plate actually pushes it in enough.
They use a dab of silicon adhesive to keep the encoders in, they don’t use a really strong adhesive because then you could never get them out without hurting something… Really not an issue… A tube of it is $5 and will last a lifetime… Lots of electronics use it, that is nothing new.
That really sucks about your oplab… That thing is way too expensive to have problems like that… Thinnest really sucks… TE gear is so finicky…
Did you Try adding 3m plastic feet on the backside?
Put on foot in each corner and two in the middle where the oplab module sits. That should push the backplate in when it’s resting on a flat surface atleast. It helped for some atleast
So I’ve been on a failed groovebox quest for the last year. I’ve tried the MPC One, Digitakt, MC 101 and the BlackBox, all of which have their pros and cons, but never really gelled with any of them.
I never even considered the OP-Z and never really understand what it was. Bu I was looking for a small, portable music-making thing and sort of stumbled upon the OP-Z in my local modular/ synth shop yesterday and bought it.
Long story short, I think the OP-Z is my holy grail of grooveboxes, or synth/sampler/sequencers or musical sketchpads.
I’ve been reading about the hardware issues, but one day in and I’ve already made better, more more interesting music than I ever did with any of the other devices and I’m feeling way more inspired and excited about what’s to come.
But I am a little confused about the microphone’s function before the firmware update that added sampling. I thought that it might be possible to live record audio into the sampler and use the sample track to trigger the sample, sort of like a looper. This is something that I’ve done on the Digitakt, but on the OP-Z, monitoring only seems to function as a way to set the gain level. It would be so amazing to be able to record some vocals or other instruments along to the pattern, but I’m not seeing anything about that in the manual.
Am I missing something? Seems odd to include a microphone without the ability to record the audio, but I’m guessing the hardware was ready before the software was.
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You can use the mic live—and with FX—but it can’t be recorded. You can sample yourself though, and trigger it like you say, but that gives just 12 secs.
You might also need to manipulate the sample after recording. The drum samplers will chop it into slices, but the synth sampler won’t. One workaround is to add trigs on all the steps, one for each slice of the drum sample.
Or just connect the OP-Z to an OP-1 via USB cable, sync, and use the OP-1 to sample!
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I’ve recorded a little vocal phrase on a sample track, but the timing was off because I couldn’t find a way to record with the pattern playing. If I could do that, I would be very happy.
I don’t think it’s possible to sample during playback. One option is a midi-capable looper pedal. OP-Z’s midi is rock solid, in my experience.
Edit; just to add, I’ve done exactly this, with an H9 pedal and my guitar.
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That’s exactly how i feel!! And i never had a problem with the hardware… I have took it everywhere and it is still perfect… I’m hoping they create a new module for the type of functionality your describing…they said they are working on a new module so keep your fingers crossed!! Btw… Get the rumble!! It is awesome!!
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This just came. I cancelled with B&H because they were taking too long. Perfect Circuit got it to me in a day. Looks like a got a straight one with no stuck keys and the module went in just fine. I love these things when they’re working. Exciting.
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That would be very cool, but I’ve thought of a couple possible workarounds using my ipad.
I think what really makes this right for me are the limitations. No endless auditioning of kit sounds, for example. Use what you have and adjust to taste. And the samples and instruments are curated really well to give you just enough variety to work with.
And a really, really important thing is the one-page sequencer. I don’t think I realized how much easier things are when you don’t have to keep track of things happening on another page.
Edit: wrote this a couple days ago and just noticed hadn’t hit reply. Doing that now.
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I’m actually really hoping they implement a zoom function on the sequencer, so that multiple pages is an option.
- That said, it is pretty remarkable how much variation you can create using step components.
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No one asked, but I thought I’d let you guys know that I recently bought the TE soft case for my OP-Z. I had been carrying it around with me (everywhere) in the original box for far too long, so this is a pretty substantial upgrade. Has a nice lil divider thing that fits some essentials.
Was pretty psyched to see the knobs I bought a long time ago and forgot about actually fit in the case without issue, and thus I’ve been using them a lot. The encoders are great and a smart design, but sometimes a knob is what you want. (Insert laughter in British accent here)
Anyway, I’m happy to finally have a proper case for my OP-Z. I fixed two of my encoders with plumbers tape. It was easy. Not ideal to have to do that obviously, but not really a big deal at all. I’ve had it for a year now and that has been my only issue with it. It’s a pretty inspiring instrument, which is what really matters, for me.
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PSA I could not find the pinout for the OP-Z TRRS audio jack, so I figured it out, handy if you want to make a line in/line out interface for sampling, anyway here is the pinout:
If you want to sample line level into the mic input you will need to build a little voltage divider circuit to attenuate the line level down to mic level, a dc blocking capacitor might be a good idea too if using hot/eurorack signals.
Edit: Corrected, wrong image before.
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