Teenage Engineering Op-xy Review: Extremely Fun, Extremely Powerful, Extremely Expensive

Teenage Engineering is simply a creation diligent arsenic overmuch arsenic it is simply a philharmonic instrumentality company. Its devices seldom look aliases behave point for illustration what you’d bargain from a Korg aliases a Moog. The champion distillation of its characteristic remains nan OP-1, a quirky groovebox that garnered arsenic overmuch attraction for its aesthetics arsenic its all-in-one euphony accumulation features. Effects are accompanied by nonsensical graphics, for illustration a mechanized cow, and it fundamentally forces you to perpetrate to a philharmonic thought by utilizing a virtual “tape” pinch intentionally constricted editing capabilities.

But each of Teenage Engineering’s instruments are a spot overseas and often polarizing successful their ain way. The OP-Z is simply a amazingly tin sequencer, but its screen-free creation and array of icons are bewildering. The Game & Watch-inspired Pocket Operators are highly elemental but are fundamentally disposable toys. And nan $1,999 OP-1 Field is its ain constituent entirely, eschewing MIDI sequencing successful favour of unrecorded recording.

The company’s latest portable instrument, nan $2,299 OP-XY, represents point of a apical hits circuit for Teenage Engineering. It’s a sequencer, for illustration nan OP-Z, but it too has nan performance-forward unrecorded effects of nan Pocket Operator series. And for illustration nan OP-1 Field it resembles, it’s a synthesizer and sampler (among different things) and comes pinch an astronomical worth tag.

The business for Teenage Engineering is uncovering nan equilibrium betwixt these things, and nan OP-XY mostly succeeds. Its blend of portability and philharmonic grade is unmatched. It’s powerful tin to beryllium information of a vanished song, yet mini tin to sketch retired demos successful a cafe, and approachable tin to conscionable casually jam connected nan couch. It feels suitably high-end, and astir importantly, it’s a batch of fun. Sure, location are immoderate overseas omissions, and nan worth is patently insane. But for personification looking for nan eventual philharmonic stepping companion, there’s a batch to like.

While it looks for illustration a acheronian mode OP-1 synth pinch a bunch overmuch buttons, nan XY is simply a sequencer astatine heart, for illustration nan OP-Z, and it starts pinch nan aforesaid workflow. This intends a full-featured four-bar measurement sequencer alternatively than nan intentionally constricted ones you find connected nan OP-1, which expects you to beryllium moving pinch recorded audio. Where nan OP-1’s vibe is playful, loose, and focused connected audio loops, nan OP-XY is buttoned up, connected point, and very… German.

Even pinch 64 steps, a elemental sequencer tin get awfully repetitive. Plenty of companies personification tried to reside this pinch devices that fto you alteration attributes different than nan notes. The OP-XY has automation and parameter locks — you tin clasp a measurement and move a knob to max retired nan reverb for 1 connection aliases slow unfastened up nan prime while unrecorded signaling to build powerfulness complete nan group of a style — but nan OP-Z’s (and, by extension, nan OP-XY’s) invention is measurement components.

These are akin to Trig Conditions connected an Elektron groovebox successful that they tin coming things for illustration probability, ratchets, aliases analyzable playback patterns. (Play this connection each 3rd clip through, for example.) But nan XY’s measurement components spell bully beyond elemental playback variability. They tin too beryllium utilized to trigger random explorations of a peculiar scale, clasp a measurement connected 1 track, aliases moreover powerfulness really often different measurement components are triggered. (For example, adhd a proscription crook but only each different done a pattern.)

Fortunately, nan OP-XY’s interface is overmuch clearer and overmuch intuitive than nan OP-Z’s, which ever felt cumbersome to me, contempt Teenage Engineering’s claims that it was built for unrecorded performance. The OP-Z’s buttons are minuscule, nan encoders for changing parameters are flush pinch nan assemblage (knobs are $19 extra), and you only personification LEDs for ocular feedback unless you nexus to nan companion app. The app does make it easier to use, but having to spot connected Bluetooth and your iPhone during a unrecorded capacity isn’t ideal. You don’t want to personification to liking astir an app crashing aliases a flaky wireless narration erstwhile playing for a room afloat of people.

The OP-XY feels downright expansive by comparison, pinch astir doubly arsenic galore buttons and an onboard screen. While immoderate of nan graphics are overmuch whimsical than useful, they do make nan instrumentality a batch easier to navigate.

You’ll still want to support nan manual useful while you’re uncovering your footing pinch nan OP-XY. And honestly, moreover pinch nan manual, definite things for illustration Step Components aren’t wholly clear. Part of that is down to easy avoidable inconsistencies — sadly, TE doesn’t ever put alternatively arsenic overmuch emotion and attraction into its manuals arsenic its merchandise design. For example, successful nan manual, nan parameter, component, and trig Step Components opportunity they will play each third, fourth, 5th step, etc., while connected nan device, it says it will skip each third, fourth, aliases 5th step. For nan record, nan manual is right.

Still, while this is simply a analyzable instrumentality pinch a batch of features beyond nan elemental “place connection here,” I was tin to fig retired astir of nan basics done proceedings and error. Unlike nan OP-Z, which almost instantly disappointment me, nan OP-XY is really fun.

Each of nan XY’s 8 tracks has its ain punch-in effects that you entree by holding down nan displacement fastener and pressing 1 of nan keys erstwhile you’re successful instrumentality mode. So if you want conscionable your bassline to concisely jump up an octave, to put a stuttering tremolo connected your lead, aliases springiness your drums a impermanent different perceive from a compressor, this is wherever you tin do that. There’s too a dedicated punch-in effects measurement erstwhile you’re successful auxiliary mode. That mode splits nan keyboard successful half; playing nan small octave only affects percussion, and nan precocious octave only affects melodic instruments.

These effects tin get a mini repetitive, but they relationship a batch overmuch possibilities than your mean deed repetition and prime sweep. It makes it beautiful easy to occurrence up a elemental loop and commencement jamming, muting tracks, transposing notes, and adding drum stutters. This level of interactivity and room for improvisation is not point you find successful each groovebox.

There’s too nan Brain, which is simply a benignant of intelligent transposer. This detects nan cardinal of a peculiar measurement aliases moreover your afloat opus and past allows you to displacement it unrecorded by playing nan keyboard aliases moreover sequencing nan changes.

The Tape looper adds different opportunity for unrecorded tweaking. It’s akin to nan DJFX looper recovered connected nan Roland SP-404 but pinch a mini overmuch flexibility. You usage nan encoders to dial successful a desired velocity and magnitude of a loop and past trigger it by pressing nan keys, which, alternatively of repeating steps, plays a chunk of nan existent audio. While it’s champion astatine elemental beat-repeat style effects, it tin beryllium utilized to do immoderate highly sloppy pseudo-chopping of your loops.

All these capacity and sequencing features wouldn’t really matter excessively overmuch if nan OP-XY sounded terrible. Thankfully nan built-in synth engines are solid. While nan scope of sounds is comparatively constricted and sound creation features moreover overmuch so, they surface nan basics, and astir of nan presets are excellent. It focuses mostly connected nan benignant of classical sounds you’d find successful ’70s Krautrock for illustration Kraftwerk aliases ’80s electro. Just don’t expect to beryllium down and meticulously create your dream bass patch. This is overmuch of a “pick a preset and tweak it” benignant of machine, for illustration Ableton’s caller Move groovebox.

If there’s a sound you want but you can’t find among nan presets aliases re-create pinch nan 8 onboard synth engines, there’s ever nan sampler. You tin sample from nan 1/8-inch line-in jack, complete USB-C, aliases utilizing nan amazingly fantabulous built-in microphone.

What sets nan OP-XY isolated from astir different instruments (save modern MPCs and nan 1010music Nanobox Tangerine) is that, successful summation to a basal sampler, location is simply a multisampling engine. This allows you to spot different samples crossed nan keyboard, alternatively than conscionable speeding up aliases slowing down a azygous note, for overmuch overmuch natural-sounding patches. You tin personification a maximum of 24 samples here, truthful you could theoretically grounds each connection crossed 2 octaves, aliases instrumentality to 3 aliases 4 notes per octave and still get beautiful convincing-sounding re-creations. I recorded my kids’ artifact soft utilizing nan onboard mic, and nan results were excellent.

Unfortunately, there’s nary measurement to do owed sample chopping connected nan existent firmware. And somewhat surprisingly, location is nary DJ-style prime that lets you lowpass aliases highpass your afloat measurement for buildups and breakdowns. There is simply a three-band EQ that tin get close, but it’s not alternatively arsenic smooth.

Honestly, nan encoders aren’t awesome for unrecorded tweaking anyway. Trying to alteration nan velocity aliases magnitude of nan Tape connected nan alert tin beryllium frustrating. Often, it would respond slower than I wanted, and past I’d compensate by turning it faster, only to overshoot my target.

Another somewhat annoying limitation of nan OP-XY erstwhile it comes to unrecorded capacity is that nan launching of patterns isn’t quantized. If you alteration from style 1 to style 4 connected your drums, it happens immediately. That mightiness beryllium what you want successful immoderate situations, but it’s overmuch apt successful a unrecorded mounting that you’d want to queue up nan adjacent style past move to nan punch-in effects to soft nan transition.

Hopefully these are things Teenage Engineering will adhd successful early firmware updates if it’s superior astir nan OP-XY arsenic a capacity tool. Right now, though, nan institution seems focused connected squashing bugs. That’s decidedly a bully constituent since location are alternatively a few. The institution has already issued 4 firmware updates and fixed immoderate issues, including a superior 1 that caused a clang during boot-up.

Aside from a fistful of bugs and a less overseas omissions, for illustration sample chopping and a DJ-style filter, it’s difficult to footwear astir nan OP-XY excessively overmuch — isolated from for nan price. You could build a beautiful well-equipped location workplace for nan $2,299 that Teenage Engineering is asking. If you tin woody pinch nan cramped and constricted UI aliases don’t mind having to spot connected your phone’s screen, nan OP-Z will get you galore of nan aforesaid sequencing features for a 4th of nan price. You could usage nan leftover money to bargain a less different instruments to powerfulness pinch nan OP-Z, for illustration a Roland P-6, which is an affordable and fantabulous sampler that too happens to beryllium a amazingly decent granular synth and effects processor. (You’ll petition nan $69 oplab module aliases $149 statement module to nexus it to nan OP-Z.) And you’d still personification tin money to get a bully audio interface aliases conception recorder. And if portability isn’t a facet astatine all, you could get immoderate a Digitakt II and a Digitone II, affirmative a money audio interface, which mightiness beryllium each nan euphony cogwheel you’d petition for life.

But arsenic awesome arsenic those setups mightiness be, they deficiency nan all-in-one simplicity and seductive creation of nan OP-XY. The worth of its sounds, nan powerfulness of its sequencer, and its unrecorded capacity features are impressive. Even overmuch truthful erstwhile you admit they’re crammed incorrect point that easy fits successful each but nan smallest of bags (and mightiness moreover tuck neatly incorrect nan largest of cargo pockets).

It tin look easy to dislike connected Teenage Engineering astatine times. Many of its products are costly — sometimes it moreover seems for illustration they’re actively trolling people. (See nan $1,599 folding array aliases $79 information dispenser.) The attraction connected creation and irreverence tin lead to overseas interface choices that mightiness frustrate some, too. But there’s a logic nan institution has legions of fans. Using a well-designed gadget is enjoyable. People splurge for luxury items each nan time, and that’s what nan OP-XY is: a luxury item. If money is nary entity and you for illustration beautiful euphony toys, past spell for it: nan OP-XY is awesome and awesome fun.

Photography by Terrence O’Brien. Videos by Owen Grove.