Let's Create: Dark (Minimal) Techno with the Teenage Engineering OP-1 (full Track)

Heyja everyone. It's been a while. Had to get away from an Inspiration Blackhole - and made it! With the help of a friend! ;-) So today i wanna show you how i did a Dark (Minimal) Techno Track with the Teenage Engineering OP-1. This Video shows the various Steps involved and my Workflow with that - and at the end you get to hear the final Track!
It's a longer Video again, so if you just wanna hear the Track: Skip to 27:00. This is where it starts ;-)
You can get this Track:
→ by becoming a Patron over at Patreon and supporting my work: / umonox
→ on Bandcamp as a Download for a little one time fee: umonox.bandcam...
I hope you like this Video and if so: Dont forget to leave that like! And if you dont want to miss whats coming next: Hit that Subscribe Button.
All the best,
umonox

[@umonox]

Hello everyone. In case you might wonder: There's a little "click" to be heard, every 4 Bars or so, which accentuates the Kick at that position. I assume this comes from a not so perfectly recorded Loop of that very Bassdrum :-) Sorry for that. I will take more care about this next time!

[@LaurentOliveri]

Too cool by the way ! - this "kindOfFlamGlitch" is very good to my hears. Nice track.

[@umonox]

hehe, thank you mate! glad you like it!

[@MarkVanVasey]

Laurent OI. agreed.

[@BB-pn2mm]

Ohw? So you're a perfectionist now? Exept on video editing then

[@rodrigolaporte274]

Incredible. I always thought of the op-1 as a complementary synth only, I didn't know you could produce a whole track on it. Amazing track by the way!

[@umonox]

thanks mate. yep, its possible and its a hell of a lot of fun. but make sure you somehow keep track of your loops, because you can easily get lost, as everything looks the same after a while :-D i like it anyway! should've bought this thing years ago already. never knew what i actually missed :-)

[@machinemonkey8795]

This should be an official OP1 demo, literally EPIC is all I can call your piece

[@drewshannon]

Love the trick of dropping a drum hit into the synth sampler to make it more musical

[@op-1g.s]

You know how to work with that OP-1. Respect 👍🏽

[@umonox]

thanks mate! glad you like it. was sadly the best i got so far :-/ but things may change, who knows 😎

[@josemarquez950]

i learned so much just from 20 minutes of your workflow!

[@AndreasDelleske]

Yes, a sort of subtitle where he explains what he’s putting where would be awesome.

[@johnghadimi]

This was great. Loved two things: how you do parts, then sample them back and treat them, and record them again. Super cool workflow. And of course the chaining with the Tremolo LFO was money. :)

[@umonox]

thank you! :-) Glad you enjoyed it.

[@bwest6275]

I genuinely applauded when you got your OP-1 unstuck. I know that sucky feeling when something so dear looks like it is broken!

[@umonox]

yeah, that was a shitty moment. you are into something and suddenly the lights go out :-) but i wasnt too surprised after all. read in forums about these things happening every here and there. this calmed me down again, since i knew that its most likely just a software issue and not a hardware defect.

[@cawashka]

I know I'm late to the party but did it break while recording the video (the software)? If so, what was the problem?

[@cawashka]

nevermind, got to that bit in the video

[@grantfloering]

This is inspiring as hell man! Been trying to find other creative ways to use this beast and I always forget about the various sequencing modes! Great track bro

[@nozaihaus7053]

Yay op-1!! I'm so in love with mine. Nice track man.

[@umonox]

thanks!

[@balazstorok9265]

that's the real thing, not to going through sound banks :D nice job, you have a new subscriber, bro!

[@umonox]

thank you mate! and welcome onboard ;-)

[@fr4ctl]

What a brilliant tutorial!! Absolutely amazing!

[@DanTheMiddleagedMan]

Learned a ton of stuff from this, keep it up dude!

[@umonox]

your welcome!

[@dynasoar1829]

My favorite moment is missing : Hello My Friends, It's Umonox !! :(

[@umonox]

😭😭😭

[@dynasoar1829]

But as usual, it's quality content!

[@umonox]

😍😍😍 ;-) thanks man.

[@MrJackal43]

Alright alright im ordering an Op-1 this week

[@jacobmacdonald4999]

this sounded like a deadmau5 song! really good stuff, the production was clean af, respect

[@umonox]

wohoo - thanks mate! i remember deadmau5 for its progressive trance stuff. this right here is definitely NO progressive trance ;-) but i dunno what he does today, so ... thanks man!

[@nicomirabello3069]

Ten Walls !

[@roakey182]

brilliant stuff Learnt so much from you thanks

[@turfoid7899]

so cool how u dedicated this to a friend. I make techno and stuff as well.

[@HouseMusicLover4life]

Fantastico!!!!!!

[@williammindreaders1029]

Very nice video tutorial for OP-1 user ! i really like your whole process and way to get things DONE ;) Nice share Umonox ! Can't wait to see an OP-1 + RYTM + DIGITAKT + ANALOG HEAT : Ensemble Tutorial with one good track like this deconstructed. it's very interesting.

[@umonox]

thanks William! Im thinking about stuff like this; already have some OP-1/Digitakt plans. Lets see where this leads to ;-)

[@samplikprost]

wow! Your sound is amazing) I love it

[@umonox]

thank you! :-)

[@Calicolive]

Awesome job keep it up!

[@umonox]

thank you!

[@WannaBeCanadians]

Great, please do more like this!

[@GOOFYFILMER]

I was listining to song that i could tell the producer lowered the other instruments volume to fake baseline intensity and now i low key feel genius because i dont produce mysic and knew thats what they were doing also this video is dope i dream about the op 1

[@JamesLavinTheOnly]

If you're talking about what I think, that's what the OP was talking about when he mentioned using an LFO to fake Sidechain compression. Sidechain compression is a technique often used to lower other instruments' volume when a kick drum hits. Very common in house/dance. Good spot!

[@johnvdl]

Another great video, thank you umonox! I'm new to the OP-1 family, I just received mine a few days ago and I was wondering how it could be that when I load the same kick (BRONZE at 0:55) I get a completely different sound. The kick is not as fat as yours and sounds as if it has a delay or long release. I have no effects or LFO turned on and I did not change any other settings (that I'm aware of). When I sequence 2 bars it sounds like I some of the kicks are double or not on the beat... weird. Probably I do something wrong, I wish I knew what:-) A geuss I have a lot to learn. Thanks again for your videos, hope you keep them coming!!! [EDIT] I just found out that the cow was on in the master channel, turning it off solved the problem:-)

[@umonox]

dont mess with the cow, eh?! :-D another thing to mention is: i have the masterchain active when the track starts. Ozone doing its thing, you know ;) this makes a big difference as well. enjoy your OP-1 time mate. i had to sell mine quite some time ago already, but i never regret the hours i spent with it! its an amazing little box, for sure!

[@Left-All-Rights]

Mega gut! You´ve done in less than an hour... very very nice... umonox, i´d like to start making music - do you think the op1 makes a good start?

[@umonox]

Danke ;-) Depends i think. If you know what Overdubbing means and what Loops in correct Measures are (like: 1, 2, 3 or 4 Bars) you could easily start with the OP-1. It takes you away from much of the technical stuff and allows you to focus on your creativity. If you wanna dig deeper though; if you wanna get into Synthesis in general, if you wanna get into MIDI and how a Track is structured and arranged in a DAW - the OP1 will probably not fit as you dont really learn much of the essentials while working with it. No ultimate answer here; it really depends on what you have in mind for the future.

[@Beatz-Pocket]

A lot of work. Dope result 👍🏽

[@umonox]

Thank you!

[@sauce25]

This is a great track

[@justcama]

hey, I like red means recording and this is kinda like how he does his op-1 videos. so I this.

[@umonox]

thanks mate! Jeremy is indeed my inspiration at times. I love his skill on the OP-1, he's truly talented!

[@GreatistheWorld]

Oh shit, didn’t know you could just lift & drop drum sounds into synth mode like that. Oh man. Oh.

[@naylasadaoui793]

I didn’t find BRONZE

[@1696Nick]

Hi, I'm trying to follow along with this video but I'm on the OP-1 Field so it's a bit confusing, the names of the kits are different. So I'm trying to get that same first kick you use from the Bronze Drum Kit but am unable and unsure how :(

[@dingdong7562]

Take any other Kick, they all Sounds crappy 🤪

[@evolutionrhythm4416]

Being able to load Pure Data patches into this would be innovative (awesome,cool etc).

[@demolaishonwow]

I got my OP-1 two days ago basically because of this video. Really nice work man. Any chance you could upload some live performance? I love the DAW aspect of OP-1 but I am interested in finding creative ideas to make it shine as a live instrument too. Thanks so much for taking the time to put up this content.

[@umonox]

thank you mate! didnt expect that someone buys an OP-1 just because of this video! :-D its the linear Workflow that makes the OP-1 so great - imho. You have limited performance features too (like: using the Tape as a Loop Player and switching Loops on the fly for example) however: it shines most when you focus on creating a track from start to finish i think. But i see what i can do ;) Stay tuned.

[@demolaishonwow]

Haha its not JUST because of it. Its the drop that overflowed the glass. (La gota que revalso el vaso, in spanish). I've been obsessing about this machine for quite some time and I had the money but was not so sure about it. Then I came across this video and our musical tastes are aligned so watching you produce was very satisfying and encouraging. I work as a developer so when I get home the last thing I want to do is look at my computer. When I go in to music, the last thing I want to touch is my laptop. OP-1 gives me this, and this video proves that I can do the type of music that I love with no problems. I love how the constraints of the OP-1 stimulate creativity.

[@umonox]

yeah, absolutely! limitations force you to be creative - and that matters most i think! glad i could help you finding out that the OP-1 will suit your needs! It delivers for quite a lot of music genres, thats for sure! dont forget to also check out Jeremy Blakes fantastic Tracks he did with the OP-1. His Channel is called "Red Means Recording". He has inspired me to get an OP-1 btw ;-)

[@marekbartunek1]

Sorry for the English. But fuck man, you are good.

[@umonox]

No Problem ;-) Thank you!

[@morgenrode_music]

Very nice! I like it

[@mickgatz214]

hey, how come it is limited to 6 minute recording????. Can this be extenced by the size of Micro SD card if available........

[@AndreasDelleske]

No, because the builtin chip must have everything in RAM memory. Hoewever, you can pull all the results over to a computer and master there. Repeat until you have multiples of 6 minutes. Live playing can extend these 6 minutes if you have repeating parts (loops) in the comping and / or you can fumble around with the tape and play it half speed, then you have 12 minutes if I’m not mistaken.

[@breakthestrain]

I have an OP1 but I didn’t find the drum patch you have? Where can I get the patch that has bronze in it?

[@julienchrist]

Waw !

[@chrish.3739]

Nice one mate! Respect!

[@tiodosmemes6436]

27:00

[@boomboxtv4082]

Hello, In your experience do you think it's possible to create Aggrotech/Industrial beats with an OP-1?

[@vileguile4]

Damn it, don't make me want this!!

[@umonox]

i do my best to convince you ;-)

[@ifaber68]

Super!!! 👍

[@ARADG15]

I have a question, I'm getting my op1 tomorrow and wanted to know if I record a sound or something am I able to use that single sound as a midi instruments or say a preset in the op1? How do you go about getting different sounds?

[@JustpadL]

Hey, i‘m wondering if this Device is still worth the Money. I would buy it for Livesets. If someone could tell me :D I have a Electribe 2 but it is very limited in choices and patterns

[@monatooo]

4:14 pleasurekraft - tarantula? :))

[@aquaexperiment]

Hey umonox! Very nice and inspiring track, i am really curious about how you can manage to fit more than 4 different sounds into the whole arrangement? It seems op-1 allows only 4 channels of recording so is there any chance to overdub with different sounds in the same channel? Or after you are full with all 4 do you need to resample separate channels into 1 to free up space? Whats the work around for that?

[@umonox]

You can always overdub on each Track, thats right. So the four tracks are rather for organizing and making life easier for you than they are for recording several sounds.

[@aquaexperiment]

umonox can we overdub with different synth engine in the same track?

[@umonox]

You can overdub everything. Synth, Drums - doesnt make a difference.

[@romichjordan]

where i can download this track, please!)

[@hemdvonlidl2613]

Du sprichst deutsch? Der Spielausschnitt am Ende lässt es vermuten. Also, ich hatte vor Jahren einen OP-1, noch für 500€ statt 1000€ gekauft und damals gab es nur diese von dir gezeigte Aufnahmefunktion und keinen Step-Sequenzer außer den Affen. Für mich als verpeilten Typen echt ungünstig, ich brauche so etwas wie einen Arranger. Wurde das mal geupdatet? Und wie sieht es mit den zum Teil clickigen Amplituden mittlerweile aus, habe in erinnerung, dass viele Sounds zu Beginn knacksten.

[@BUGHAKARASTA]

sweet!

[@umonox]

:-) thank you!

[@MrSahincene]

I am not a minimal techno guy but you Are doing good staff there

[@ricorusso9458]

Hello, how do you sync your Op1 via midi with other Equipment? Btw. nice work... got you a new subscriber ;).

[@umonox]

thanks mate. you need a USB Midi Host to make this work. Things like the "Kenton MIDI USB Host" should do. Cheers

[@RetroPlus]

These videos make want an op-1 but sadly they're far out of my price range

[@frsncescoromanucci6089]

Top!!!

[@KuznecovVictor]

Nice work, suprised you didn`t loose any piece of the tracks in working process. I am useless, can`t go far then 4 bars (

[@umonox]

needs practice i think. i was switching back and forth between various tracks to see where i am :-) those loops really look identical after a while. keep trying. if i got it, you will get it too! :-)

[@KuznecovVictor]

It would be nice to make a short video LOL. I deleted so many interesting beginning. By mistake as the Op1 has no UNDO or Back To Original.

[@umonox]

yeah, its annoying. if i wanted to add something new to whats already there, i lifted the section and pasted it back in. that way i had a copy in memory and if something goes wrong, i can hit paste again and have my previous take back. thats basically the undo function of the OP-1 ;-)

[@apollojan]

This sounds like tarantula by Pleasurekraft

[@badasspuppy]

Juicy

[@meikelneumann7075]

👍🏻

[@pdtrv]

osomeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@umonox]

😁 😇 😁

[@Anu8ius]

Cool video, but one tip: add another light from above or move the current one higher up to where the camera is. Right now its very glossy and (especially on the table and knobs) the light is reflecting quite a bit, making everything look plastic-y. Other than that, great track!

[@umonox]

thanks man. cannot move the light; tried it in higher position, it then threw the shadow from my camera onto everything ;-) currently it has to be like this im afraid. i use cardboxes as improvised camera and light stands, due to "no money for something serious". i know its nasty, but its edited quite heavily already - so that you can see at least something ;-)

[@paultnl]

Well track is ok and it seems nice to play with that synth but it all sounds thin (drums and synth) or slightly distorded (kick), stereo separation is not that good, lack of reverb, lack of mids, overall it sounds more like a digital track using presets without eq or comp

[@breakthestrain]

What were you doing at 2:15-18?

[@spidos1000]

Which synth would you recommend for a beginner in synthesis? This or the Elektron A4? I want to make techno and house music. Cheers.

[@umonox]

If you dont know anything about subtractive Synthesis and if you wanna learn how it works, grab the A4 first. Its more "traditional". If you dont care and simply wanna have fun creating sounds; not worrying about the synthesis methods used to create them - grab the OP-1 ;-)

[@spidos1000]

Thanks man!

[@LostStylus]

How is this dark? Sounds mellow

[@yannwnnd]

i realy like it, but you cant produce a dark techno track in major

[@HankTVsux]

That’s false

[@LittleDinkens]

did everything/all the sounds came straight out of a stock OP-1 ?? or is it just controlling abelton or something

[@umonox]

all the Sounds come straight out of the OP-1. I've used a few Samples from the Flannel-Kits which are available for free from Teenage Engineering's Soundcloud Page. But 90% of the Track is made entirely from the OP-1's stock Sounds.

[@LittleDinkens]

nice!

[@rabevier8071]

very inspiring! got one of these few months back...love it !

[@sequen-cielscientific]

I have the misery to believe that this synth is worth at this price which and very expensive! $,$$$,00 !

[@xXspiellionXx]

Niiice! :D

[@umonox]

thx! :-)

[@thenvisible]

Awsome :) is there a single dl for the track?

[@umonox]

Thank you! :-) The Track itself is available on my Bandcamp Page here: umonox.bandcamp.com/track/op-techno-01-dark-minimal-techno-with-the-op-1 Cheers.

[@eraybuzz]

Great composition! How did you create the string sound at 25:34?

[@umonox]

thanks man. think i did it with the String machine if i remember right. and i most definitely adjusted the envelope as well ;-) cheers

[@HelicopterDown]

Still wish this thing wasn't $800 I've wanted one forever but they're sooo expensive.

[@umonox]

$800? thats really cheap man! i payed 950 € - thats $1116, based on current exchange rate ^^

[@HelicopterDown]

umonox Haha to a rich man, but me, I bought a $300 Novation Mininova a couple years ago which I regret buying because the OP-1 has drum samples you can make, $300 for me is quite a lot, $800 is far out of my budget lol.

[@Bilzo599]

Could be a lost Plastikman recording.. Impressive.

[@umonox]

Thank you! Its interesting ... You're not the first one telling me that my Music shares similarities with the stuff Richie Hawtin does. Should i listen to some of his tunes to make sure i dont run into Copyright issues?? :-D

[@thlee3]

Easy money

[@Wickedstickyflowers]

What’s that called and how much I want for my daughter

[@meijboomm]

Teenage Engineering OP-1, about 1000 dollars

[@Wickedstickyflowers]

Well , I figured it was not cheap and I know nothing about music gear ... thanks

[@imakemusic623]

trading my ti snow for an op1 if u know anyone interested

[@witamtuwojtlo]

i got lost 2 minutes in

[@boliviatefard3334]

I ain't got no money

[@umonox]

youre not alone ;-)

[@vlklast5966]

Volca bass or this shit?

[@angelicalopezramirez5695]

A kik a snare and an hit hat.....woooooowwwwwww

[@umonox]

Yeah, thats all it takes, doesnt it?! 😎

[@MasleyVystupoe]

Mono?!

[@MasleyVystupoe]

Horrible background noise. Unbelievable. CASIO quality for 1000 bux. Really.

[@vincyboiat419]

27:00