teenage engineering: op 1 portable synthesizer

the ‘op-1’ portable synthesizer, designed by teenage engineering

‘op-1‘ is a portable synthesizer, designed by stockholm-based studio teenage engineering. measuring 282mm long by 102mm high and 13.5mm wide (11 x 4 x 0.5 inches), the device features four primary functions: synthesizer, loaded with eight  synthesizer engines; drum sampler; four-track tape recorder; and mixer.

the ‘op-1’ is preloaded with a range of drum kits, but new samples can be recorded from the microphone or line-in, or the device can be connected to a computer and any .aif file can be added immediately. the tape recorder permits the adjustment of tapespeed while recording, even permitting realtime backwards recording, with a recording time of about six minutes on normal speed. the four-channel mixer adds effects to each track individually or as a master control.

the ‘op-1’ contains a 3-axis motion sensor whose movement can be assigned to pitch or any synth, envelope, or effect parameter, for interactive sound control. a built-in FM radio permits the sampling and recording of radio feeds.

the colour-coded interface matches coloured buttons to the graphics on the OLED display, for more intuitive use.

video demo of device use

a 3-axis motion sensor lets synth and effect parameters be controlled in realtime by motion

keyboard layout

screenshots from OLED – (top from left): pulse synthesizer engine, drum sampler screen, tape recording screen, master EQ; (bottom from left): special mastering effects include ‘the punch’, envelops graphs, mixer screen, LFO modulator and record buttons

video demo of a simple multitrack beat session

video demo of sequencer and beat modifier