teenage engineering op-z

Damn modey this is is is really nice! You can build a very good to fantastic album around several or your latest gear demos

thx m8! Yeah I'll probably do new takes/edits of those tracks and put an EP out, and maybe include the sysex files and samples I used..

Another new sound pack / OP-Z track.. This time I tried my hand at synthesising some drums for synthwave. It was a good challenge! I think the snares and kicks ended up sounding really great.

 

 

Sound pack here

I'm surprised no one mentioned the OP-Z's first expansion module ("oplab").

 

At 159€ it seems a little pricey but the sync options via jack are more than welcomed lol, I have a lot of troubles synchronizing my stuff with the OP-Z, especially my volca-fm !

Edited March 6, 2019 by StocKo

went out of stock by the time i went to buy it (saturday or something?) i performed with te in atlanta the day it launched. nice duds

does the opz do polyrythms?

Oplab was actually released in a different incarnation years ago.

 

I hate the TE market. Talentless tech bros who instabuy anything they put out so they can make ambient stranger things music. Their high lonely wages drive up the price so that the poor artists can’t afford it anymore.

  On 3/29/2019 at 12:46 PM, MIXL2 said:

does the opz do polyrythms?

very much yes

  On 3/29/2019 at 8:05 PM, juiceciuj said:

 

  On 3/29/2019 at 12:46 PM, MIXL2 said:

does the opz do polyrythms?

 

very much yes

fuck me, I think I'm sold...

  On 3/29/2019 at 5:21 PM, sheathe said:

I hate the TE market. Talentless tech bros who instabuy anything they put out so they can make ambient stranger things music. Their high lonely wages drive up the price so that the poor artists can’t afford it anymore.

I think you hate me lol.

 

That said, I cringe at pretty much everything they do except the POs.

  On 3/29/2019 at 5:21 PM, sheathe said:

Oplab was actually released in a different incarnation years ago.

 

I hate the TE market. Talentless tech bros who instabuy anything they put out so they can make ambient stranger things music. Their high lonely wages drive up the price so that the poor artists can’t afford it anymore.

I've capitalised on this by selling op-z sample packs. I've basically made back the money I spent on it.

  On 3/29/2019 at 5:21 PM, sheathe said:

 

I hate the TE market. Talentless tech bros who instabuy anything they put out so they can make ambient stranger things music. Their high lonely wages drive up the price so that the poor artists can’t afford it anymore.

I think you have us talentless tech bros to thank not just for TE but for pretty much the entire deluge of hardware that's around now. Cash strapped amateur artists and a handful of professionals aren't enough to keep Elektron, DSI and Korg afloat.

 

So: you're welcome.

 

;-)

  On 3/30/2019 at 10:50 AM, rhmilo said:

 

  On 3/29/2019 at 5:21 PM, sheathe said:

I hate the TE market. Talentless tech bros who instabuy anything they put out so they can make ambient stranger things music. Their high lonely wages drive up the price so that the poor artists can’t afford it anymore.

I think you have us talentless tech bros to thank not just for TE but for pretty much the entire deluge of hardware that's around now. Cash strapped amateur artists and a handful of professionals aren't enough to keep Elektron, DSI and Korg afloat.

 

So: you're welcome.

 

;-)

Yep. Hardware is excellent now, to the point that there's very little reason to buy vintage gear unless you're a collector. And you have us, the sea of talentless douches who'll probably never broadcast beyond YouTube or Soundcloud, to thank for that.

sorry that was a mean comment. what i really meant was i hate the elektronauts forum.

  On 3/30/2019 at 5:11 PM, sheathe said:

sorry that was a mean comment. what i really meant was i hate the elektronauts forum.

I can get behind that for the most part. You might like the lines (monome) forum a little better... or you might hate it even more.

I dunno. This is a pretty good music forum.

Gents, quick OP-Z question...

The idea of a portable 'groove box' allowing me to come with ideas on the fly then taking the projects to my hardware and expanding on them really interests me....however I cant seem to find a definite answer anywhere if you can transfer the MIDI from your created projects out of the OP-Z? I'm guessing with the USB-C you could record each track individually into ableton, but that sounds like a bit of a pain (but i'd take it if it was the only option!)

Also, in terms of the master transpose/chord mode feature - does anyone know if the op-z outputs this info in MIDI, or is it just an internal algorithm? So it wouldn't output the correct chord in MIDI, just simply the root notes?

Can anyone clarify all this for me, plzzz?

  On 5/2/2019 at 1:23 AM, TRiP said:

I cant seem to find a definite answer anywhere if you can transfer the MIDI from your created projects out of the OP-Z?

There's no "MIDI export" function if that's what you mean.. you'd have to record the MIDI into your DAW.

  On 5/2/2019 at 1:39 AM, modey said:

There's no "MIDI export" function if that's what you mean.. you'd have to record the MIDI into your DAW.

Dang, and have you tried doing such yourself?

The main thing i'm concerned about is the 'chord' track, or if you make chord progressions would this output in MIDI also?...or just root notes?

 

I haven't really had the need to do it; everything I make on the OP-Z stays on it, basically. I can understand why people would use that feature though.

Regarding the chord track, it's properly polyphonic, so any notes you enter will be sent via MIDI. Not sure about the master track transposition, but I assume it changes the outgoing MIDI as well, since the OP-Z is partly designed to sequence external devices as well.

  On 5/2/2019 at 1:54 AM, modey said:

I haven't really had the need to do it; everything I make on the OP-Z stays on it, basically. I can understand why people would use that feature though.

Regarding the chord track, it's properly polyphonic, so any notes you enter will be sent via MIDI. Not sure about the master track transposition, but I assume it changes the outgoing MIDI as well, since the OP-Z is partly designed to sequence external devices as well.

Thanking you for the help, master Modey!

Think I may just take the plunge and get it off Thomann...can always return after 30 days

Should I get digitone or opz?

Edited May 5, 2019 by sheatheman

  On 5/5/2019 at 5:12 AM, sheatheman said:

Should I get digitone or opz?

Modey has both iirc so he might be the one best suited to help you.

OP-Z unlike Digitone has no "real" synthesis on board (you'll be quickly limited by the available presets) but if you have other machines / software you want to control via MIDI you can get rid of that limitation and still use the OP-Z sequencer which is awesome and fun to use.

Very different use cases for both imo. 

OP-Z's main advantage by far is the portability, for sure. The synthesis isn't deep at all, but it's one of those "greater than the sum of its parts" machines, where you can kinda blur things together, either in the tape track, or using the compressor/overdrive/send distortion. It has one of the best sequencers I've ever used, at least from a step sequencer perspective. The step components are a genius idea, and amazing for semi-generative music. It's a tad fiddly though, and can get a bit frustrating due to the occasionally double-triggering buttons, but it doesn't bother me as much as I expect.

Digitone is definitely capable of getting way more lush, especially with the very pretty built-in reverb. It's a typical Elektron box in that it's built like a tank, and the trig keys feel great and are satisfying to press. The sequencer is a bit more limited than the OP-Z but it's still great. Synthesis-wise, it wins over the Z though, obviously  you can go all the way from subtle bell tones, through to subtractive synthesis, and LP5-era Autechre sound design. It almost sounds like a Nord Lead at times, due to the pairing of FM and resonant filters. The downsides though, are that there is no portamento (yet), no arpeggiator on the MIDI tracks (yet), and playing the same note twice cuts the previous one off instead of routing it to another available voice (most noticeable with long attack/release sounds). All three have been talked about on Elektronauts though, so I'm sure they'll be fixed at some point in the future.

They're both amazing machines though, and I'm sure you'll be happy with either one.

Get the QY700 instead imo. 

the sounds are dated and the sequencer is not fast or easy to use but it sure is nice to look at and say "Squarepusher" out loud to yourself. 

Edited May 6, 2019 by bitchroast