My Teenage Engineering OP-1 long term review / love story

[@jonathandeleon3991]

This is so relevant even all these years after the OP-1 initial release. I just picked one up secondhand after years of obsessing and love it. Thanks for giving me some ideas!

[@MikeTownsend617]

This review was so well thought out and the music was a huge added bonus, this is now on my list of things to buy as I've been looking to finally get into this space after all these years.

[@johnnygorillas]

Thank you 🙏

[@jacobclayton4828]

This is great, thank you! Your love for the OP-1 makes me very grateful that I purchased one secondhand a few days ago. I have wanted this synth/sampler/and so much more since I seriously got back into music making circa late 2018, but simply couldn’t afford until recently. I love T.E. gear, having a few P.O.’s and a OP-Z, and can’t wait to add the O.G. OP-1 to my sound!

[@alexanderlane]

loved this! I feel very similarly. It's always seemed to me like the only people calling it a "toy" have clearly never actually used it and are judging based on the aesthetics, "oh it's cute, it can't be serious" KZbin randomly recommended me this video, can't wait to check what else you've done!

[@SOROTARA]

Really enjoyed that, for once I literally finished a video about gear without pushing myself or feeling like it was filled with just dry info. Awesome stuff, enjoyable and I was able to fully get the gist of the OP-1 and how you use it. Thanks

[@garaughty]

Gorgeous tones... excellent review Johnny !

[@psychrockvinyl]

Great video man. Love seeing what people can do with the op1. I recently got the field and I’ve learned my way around. It was really cool to see some of the LFO tricks you did.

[@spectrumunit]

Very nice video! You re-sparked my interest to mess with my OP-1 again! Thanks!

[@heavysystemsinc.]

I miss my OP1. If you're out there, to whomever purchased it...I hope you didn't remove the MUSH MUSH sticker on the bottom! :)

[@pierremarty5056]

Great vidéo :) I've made a very unconventional move, sold the op-1 field and bought the OG 1 and fell in love with it's crisp sound. The built quality is also far superior in the OG and somehow the sound of it is much more timeless in my humble opinion ! Also the graphic are much more vibrant, and the overall experience of it is much more enjoyable.

[@johnnygorillas]

Wow, that’s interesting….have not heard that before.

[@MyNameJeff..]

Whaaaat???

[@joshua5887]

I totally get this

[@georgepeshkov2747]

Did the same thing.

[@lildave215]

You made me love my OP-1 again

[@KonorJames]

I discovered Bon Iver because I was looking to see if “real” artists use the OP-1 and stumbled across an article talking about it. I sat down and listened to the 22, A Million album completely blind beyond knowing the OP-1 was used. I wish I could experience that again

[@johnnygorillas]

Amazing album!

[@joshua5887]

I’ve watched thousands of reviews on the OP-1 and this has got to be my favorite

[@johnnygorillas]

Thank you 🙏

[@501Labsmusic]

Its an idea generator and jam machine. Its not a DAW. People who complain that it cannot do DAW things need to stop. Its meant for quick idea and inspiration sketches. The fact that it has some DAW like qualities is a plus.

[@Rookieathome]

Great Review ❤. Thank for sharing your love to the good old OP1 😊

[@scarecroweyes05]

Panda Bear from, Animal Collective , used this back on their Painting With LP and even used it live on the tour and I've been so inspired by it! ... He did mentioned tho that it was pretty challenging playing it and singing at the same tien. ..but ya if anyone wants to hear or watch how he used check out the LP Painting With

[@electrosonicnebula]

Yes, it's still the best two-octave keyboard portable instrument with loads of cool sounds. Since then the KO II and SmplTrk have provided some interesting new concepts in the portable arena. I want a sort of combination of all three for 900 euros or less. I don't care who makes it.

[@larrylynch8113]

Let’s face it ; its absolutely awesome but I reeeeaaaally want the field now

[@roakey8167]

pattern and endless are the only two sequencers that I use , If i am solely making music on the op-1. and what you haven't mentioned is that these are quantised.

[@lifeofnacchi]

Hi man, I'm happy to have found your channel! I used one of your tracks (I think) in my last video

[@johnnygorillas]

hey, that's cool. Thanks for using my music 🙏

[@johnnygorillas]

hey, that's cool. Thanks for using my music 🙏

[@mongooon6931]

🔥 always good to hear people's thoughts about fun gear. where is the filming location at 0:17?

[@johnnygorillas]

That’s Lagos Portugal 😍

[@bungalowfeuhler1541]

I’ve been periodically checking this thing out. I had finally decided to pull the trigger on an OP-Z. So I’ve been watching the used market for about two weeks. I saw a listing for an OP-Z for $200. Pretty good deal. But, for some reason, the included photo was an OP-1. It was missing a knob and looked like its owner was a heavy smoker, but I have a knack for repairs and intensive cleaning of gadgets. I had never heard of the website, and it seemed too good to be true. But I looked into them and they are actually a very established used gear shop with TONS of physical stores. There’s actually one down the road from me. I was willing to chance it. Best case, I get a 200 dollar OP-1. Good case, I get the OP-Z that I wanted anyway. Worst case, I’m out 200 bucks and I settle my nerves by finally just splurging on a Field. It showed up today. I have an OP-1 for 200 bucks. I cannot stop playing with it. It’s such a perfect mix of hugely-powerful and yet restrictive enough to keep me focused on composing instead of tweaking settings.

[@johnnygorillas]

Love this story. Enjoy your op1!!

[@turbotambourine]

😂 Your explanation of FM is like me trying to explain it. It is complicated to explain for sure cause you’re not sure where really to start! My guess though is that if there’s 4 variables there it’s a 4 op fm. And FM generally works in the way of having one oscillator fm another oscillator. With FM synths though, you may have them working in different formats of how they feed into each other or algorithms. And that’s about where my explanation stops haha. I get the core idea of carrier waves etc but how that influences the note and you end up with glassy or harsh tones, I would have to study more. I do however love a lot of FM tones. I have a Bastl Pizza oscillator and I love that I can dial in some great tones very easily. That being said, it’s only a 2 operator oscillator. I guess I have some more experimentation to go. Really cool seeing an explanation of a piece of gear you’ve spent lots of time with. You’re right though, I think the OP-1 is excellent and that’s without playing with one. Seems to have a great balance of playability, visualization, exploration, and inspiring sounds and sound design. Who would have known on launch eh?

[@johnnygorillas]

yes FM sounds cool but I never actually tried to understand how it works. I currently have an old DX7 in the studio but am only using presets to be honest.

[@turbotambourine]

@@johnnygorillas that’s most people with a DX7. Cuckoo went through programming a DX7 at some point and that’s worth a watch! Something like Pizza or like the Digitone are great new approaches to have fm accessible and usable in more of a timbre shaping type of mode instead of presets though.

[@borisgans]

Toller Kanal! Weiter so! 🙏

[@martingrieco]

❤ awesome music!

[@TheIsolatedGamerz]

I got the OP-1 field, I regret selling the OG OP-1.

[@louisgtoth]

why lol? its worse in every way.

[@TheIsolatedGamerz]

@@louisgtoth a - both devices I could not finish tracks. Expensive sketch pad. Og wins in terms of price B - I prefer the lofi sound e.g. 12 bit, like po 33 , again the OG wins C- the OG connectivity of mini usb c works on my Mac and any device tbh. Filed seems like a faff. That's just my opinion. Each to their own ;)

[@kierenmoore3236]

Uh-oh … TE … OP-1 … 😬 Catch up with you later, lol …

[@CarsonStrassman]

mine broke :(

[@johnnygorillas]

Sorry to hear that.

[@scottk3292]

Do we really need all this gear to make great music, he asks while holding a device slightly larger than a pocket calculator, which costs more than a laptop computer. 😂

[@ljasminmin]

tw

[@tiouip]

Cool toy, but when the battery dies, you’re fncked.

[@MyReasonToPlay]

It's easily replaceable

[@dachugadakelley650]

Just charge it, I’ve used it for weeks without a charge and it was still kicking. I maybe have only charged it like 10 times since owning it (4-5 years)

[@dachugadakelley650]

Just charge it, I’ve used it for weeks without a charge and it was still kicking. I maybe have only charged it like 10 times since owning it (4-5 years)