First impressions of the OP-1

I recently purchased a Teenage Engineering OP-1, a device whose exact function I find it difficult to describe in a single sentence. Ostensibly, it is an electronic synthesizer, four-track recorder, sampler and midi controller, but that prosaic description fails to capture the potential of usage of the device for music-making. When explaining its features to those not in the know, I have found it most useful to describe it as a "music studio in a box", containing as it does enough functionality to write, record and (to some degree) master and produce complete records, from battery power.

If that sounds like an appealing mix, then here's the rub: at over £1,000, it is one of the most expensive musical gadgets in its class. The size of a small computer keyboard, with a tinny built-in speaker, a single 3.5 mm input, and an occasionally crackly audio output, it is not a high-fidelity device, nor one which is designed to integrate easily into your existing music production workflow.

So why have I become so captivated by it? Put simply - all of these limitations, coupled with its immense sense of fun, give the OP-1 its secret power - its awesome capability as a vector for creativity. Playing around with the device, recording loops, sampling from the built-in FM radio, using the analogue knobs to modulate its bundled digital synths, there is a sense of potential in it that feels more like picking up an acoustic guitar, or putting paintbrush to canvas, or sitting at a blank text editor with my Python interpreter at hand.

The sense of possibility, of the potential in chance or accident to produce something unexpected and wonderful, the dialogue that exists between a creator and their canvas, where the medium contributes as much as any intent, is something that I have never experienced when creating electronic music before. Certainly, sitting in front of Logic Pro on my iMac, with cables and keyboards plugged in around me, and a bewildering array of potential sounds and approaches possible, the phrase work-station feels apt. It is for this reason that I cannot agree with the description that I have seen some ascribe to the OP-1: a mobile digital audio workstation. Using it does not feel like work in the same way that using Logic does. The limitations it imposes on me provide a constraint that, in my opinion, provides greater possibilities for creativity.

At the time of writing, I have had the OP-1 for two weeks. Only time will tell whether its charms keep me entranced, or if they will fade over time, and the limitations become annoying. But, as of today, I feel more excited about making music than I have in years.