My Experience with the OP1

Everyone in the music production world knows, or is at least curious about the OP1. It surprises me every time I pick it up. For those of you who are still on the fence about its’ capabilities, just Google “Artists who use the OP1”. SO MANY huge names pop up, and they’re not specific to any specific genre either; anyone from Bon Iver to Beck, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182, DIPLO!? The list goes on and, I mean, if it’s good enough for them…

I’ve made a bunch of OP1 content, including a Youtube tutorial/demo type series about my experiences with the instrument, going deep into each of its performance functions. I made a point of forcing myself to create a track using each function individually, sometimes almost exclusively. I can say that the instrument has literally changed the way that I think as a producer. Am I an OP1 master aka OP1 kenobi ? Definitely not, there is still so much to be discovered.

My Youtube Playlist of the OP1 Performance Function Series

I’ll go into how the OP1 has changed my world as a producer.

I use my DAW (Logic Pro X) almost exclusively to produce/compose music, and in that sense, i’m sort of locked into it. It’s not a bad thing at all, it’s just a different workflow really. There are SO MANY ground breaking VSTs (software instruments) and plug ins out there who’s quality is advancing every year, every MONTH. In my opinion, software has become the most powerful tool for creating music, there’s just no way around it; but it doesn’t’ have to be the only part of the process. Sometimes I find that stepping away from my DAW enhances my creativity. The OP1 has pulled, no, ripped me away from my DAW. I find myself using it to compose full tracks; drums, bass, synth pads, samples and leads. I’m so much more limited and that just forces me to simplify and be more creative with what I have. Are my OP1 tracks as polished and complete as they are on my DAW? Definitely not, but that workflow shift has really opened me up. Besides, who says that creating a track with the OP1 has to be the last step of the process anyway? Your DAW is there to “dress it up”.

That being said, I think that the best combo would be to team OP1 with your DAW. For example, compose just the drums with the OP1 and then bounce that into your DAW. Then move onto the next element, maybe synth? Bounce THAT into your DAW, and so on. This way, you’ll still have classic OP1 sonic characteristics on all of your parts. From there, commence operation “pump it up” with all of that amazing music software that I mentioned before.

If you’ve composed a riff in your DAW and want to add some flavour to it, any of the OP1’s synth engines are a great way go to, each with completely different qualities. I’m getting familiar enough now that I can basically scope them out of modern popular music. I hear them all over Spotify and on indie/experimental ambient music as well.

To wrap this up, a few more kind words about the OP1, followed by a negative. I monitor the instrument on Instagram and other social medias through hashtags/trending accounts and am super excited to track its’ growth in popularity across the spectrum. On the other hand, it’s clear that Teenage Engineering is aware of the growing hype/popularity over the OP1, which is why they’re charging us up the ying yang for it. A brand new OP1 is hard on the wallet but depending on where you are as a producer, it’s WELL worth it in my opinion! Hey if DIPLO digs it! Right???