Teenage Engineering's OP-1 is a stone-cold classic, a quirky, lo-fi sampler and synthesizer beloved by its owners. And after a decade at the top, it finally has a successor.
How to Update Your OP-1 Field by Teenage Engineering
The new OP-1 Field tweaks almost every aspect of the original, including its already high price, while changing almost nothing. The update should keep the OP-1 going for at least another 10 years, and that’s because its mojo is in its design and UI, which will never get old.
“I’ve always felt that the OP-1 is one of the most inspiring music gadgets, but also one of the worst sounding, and for whatever reason, I’m happy about that,” said electronic musician and OG OP-1 fan Bemo in a forum thread he did over on My Lifewire. “I love the OP-1, but more as a piece of art to inspire than as a quality sounding instrument.”
First, let’s look at why the original OP-1 is so revered. Its features are mundane, but comprehensive. It has a sampler, several weird synthesizers, a handful of even weirder audio effects, and an FM radio (yes, the kind for listening to radio stations). And a virtual four-track tape recorder. But the magic is in the way it all fits together.
