Teenage Engineering’s Portable Synth Gets a Thinner Body, More Power, and a Heartbreaking Price Tag

Teenage Engineering has lately been within the highlight for serving to Panic create its Playdate handheld, however the firm is greatest identified for its sensible OP-1 moveable synth and sequencer. It’s been a beloved digital instrument for musicians for 11 years now, so as a substitute of fully reinventing it, the corporate has as a substitute given it some main characteristic updates and a sleeker design with the new OP-1 field.

Although pill units have turn out to be highly effective music-making instruments due to apps that may recreate the sound and capabilities of traditional sequencers, drum machines, and synthesizers, Teenage Engineering’s units, together with the tiny Pocket Operators, stay a preferred selection amongst musicians for the straightforward purpose they characteristic bodily buttons and knobs that may make performing simpler and extra pleasurable than tapping a touchscreen.

Teenage Engineer’s lately introduced TX-6 handheld mixer is a superb instance of what the corporate does greatest. It’s as small as a Game Boy however filled with a great deal of options somebody mixing music would truly need, and regardless of the tiny dimension of its knobs and sliders, you’ll be able to’t assist however really feel the urge to fiddle with it for hours on finish.

Eleven years later, the brand new OP-1 area seems to be practically equivalent to the unique OP-1, which is a testomony to what Teenage Engineering’s designers pulled off the primary time round. There are some refined coloration modifications, and general it’s significantly thinner with a brand new aluminum housing, however anybody properly skilled with the unique OP-1 will instantly discover themselves comfy with the brand new model.

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The greatest modifications to the OP-1 area might be discovered inside, with Teenage Engineering boasting there are about 100 totally different enhancements to the machine together with an upgraded speaker for louder sound, 32-bit stereo audio all through, a USB-C port, Bluetooth MIDI, 24 hours of battery life per cost, an all-glass OLED display screen that now sits flush with the remainder of the interface, 160 minutes of recorded sampling storage, 4 types of tapes to document to, and an FM antenna permitting audio to be broadcast by a radio or radio stations to be recorded and sampled.

When the TX-6 moveable mixer was revealed with a $1,200 price ticket, it appeared like Teenage Engineering was shifting its focus from inexpensive audio toys to extra highly effective instruments for music creation, and that development continues with the OP-1 area. The authentic OP-1 is still available for $1,400, however the brand new model will get a price jump to $2,000 making it much less of an audio toy for novice musicians and extra of a severe piece of music-making gear for professionals.