Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

What is Audiobus?Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

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Teenage Engineering OP-Z

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Comments

  • I know there's a ton of people with button issues and had power buttons break, but I'll be honest I was impressed with how solid it felt overall. I had the TE vinyl carry bag and tossed it in my backpack many times without really worrying about it. I think they maybe just had a bad initial batch or something?

  • @Tarekith said:
    I know there's a ton of people with button issues and had power buttons break, but I'll be honest I was impressed with how solid it felt overall. I had the TE vinyl carry bag and tossed it in my backpack many times without really worrying about it. I think they maybe just had a bad initial batch or something?

    Yeah i think so too. Just sucks that they basically told me i was SOL and wouldn’t do anything to resolve it.

  • Yeah, their customer support sounds weird. Elektron can be that way too, don't get me started on the CF card reader in my first OT and how they dropped the ball on that one.....

  • edited May 2020

    @echoopera said:
    Honestly when i bought the OP-Z i was in love with it but after about 12 months the frailty of its construction became apparent.

    I kept the unit in the TE protective case but my Volume/Power button broke.
    Then 3-5 of my lower scale keys are double and triple trigging whenever i press them once. I have to press the button at an odd angle to avoid a double or triple trigs when performing on the unit.

    The concept of the synth is a great one...but it won’t hold up to being played like a normal instrument over time the way you’d expect it to.

    My Circuit is over 3 years old and performs like a champ.

    I’m really disappointed in these first batch of units. I hope for the sake of others that TE have worked thru their quality issues because it is a very cool device. But i won’t buy it again after experiencing these issues after having it for little over a year.

    Word of advice, don’t ever buy a used OP-Z because you will experience these issues more than likely.

    Thank goodness for the MPC ONE and Drambo. Everything i had in the OP-Z can now be had in these two great pieces of gear.

    I had exact the same experiences. I returned 3 OP-Z's because of double triggering and encoders falling out. No OP-Z for me anymore. Happy with my iPad, MC-707, Steichfett and the Deluge :smile:

  • No hardware problems for me. I definitely don’t baby it either.

    I have more trouble with software glitches. Not the unit itself, although it does have the odd problem. It’s mostly the iOS app that causes trouble. Often it doesn’t show the waveform of samples for editing, for example, and there are almost always regressions to previously-fixed bugs in app updates.

    Also, the app design is absurd in some ways. You can’t drag and drop a sound plug into a slot on the OP-Z. You have to first scroll to the plug, and only then can you drag it.

    Likewise, if you want to set the value of an on-screen knob, you have to touch the knob, and then use a strip at the side of the screen to change the value. You can’t just directly move the knob. Except in the mixer screen, where you can directly manipulate the faders.

    Still, there’s nothing else like it, and the easy portability and battery mean I use it a lot.

  • To add my 2p, I have an original batch OPZ with the "different" icons and I have no problems with it. It is still the fastest way I have found to sketch out an idea.
    The only thing I don't like is how samples and projects can be broken but it is easy to work around. Reading between the lines, it seems like recent firmware updates have been around improving performance. So fingers crossed for some more, non-sample based instruments.

  • @kewtips said:
    To add my 2p, I have an original batch OPZ with the "different" icons and I have no problems with it. It is still the fastest way I have found to sketch out an idea.
    The only thing I don't like is how samples and projects can be broken but it is easy to work around. Reading between the lines, it seems like recent firmware updates have been around improving performance. So fingers crossed for some more, non-sample based instruments.

    what do you mean by broken?

  • @Pierre118 said:

    @Telstar5 said:
    Yeah.. SO many horror storys. I’d rather have a Squarp pyramid or a deluge . Customers really love Synthstromnand the constant updates are massive . Hate that grid though.

    I bought a Deluge after sending back the OP-Z's :smile:

    I thought about that too but that Deluge interface...Groan

  • @Telstar5 said:

    @Pierre118 said:

    @Telstar5 said:
    Yeah.. SO many horror storys. I’d rather have a Squarp pyramid or a deluge . Customers really love Synthstromnand the constant updates are massive . Hate that grid though.

    I bought a Deluge after sending back the OP-Z's :smile:

    I thought about that too but that Deluge interface...Groan

    The Deluge interface has haters and lovers, btw......I like it :smile:

  • edited May 2020

    @kobamoto said:

    @kewtips said:
    To add my 2p, I have an original batch OPZ with the "different" icons and I have no problems with it. It is still the fastest way I have found to sketch out an idea.
    The only thing I don't like is how samples and projects can be broken but it is easy to work around. Reading between the lines, it seems like recent firmware updates have been around improving performance. So fingers crossed for some more, non-sample based instruments.

    what do you mean by broken?

    "Broken" is a bit harsh. Bascailly there are the instrument/sample settings are global and set in 10 slots per track, each with 10 presets each. So if you change the instrument/sample in a slot, the project will play the new assignment, changing its sound.
    The work around is to save the instrument assigments alongside the project files when you back up the OPZ and restore them both when you want to retrieve them.

  • @Tarekith said:
    I know there's a ton of people with button issues and had power buttons break, but I'll be honest I was impressed with how solid it felt overall. I had the TE vinyl carry bag and tossed it in my backpack many times without really worrying about it. I think they maybe just had a bad initial batch or something?

    Does the carry bag from TE Provide any real protection or is it a design aesthetics over functionality kind of thing?

  • I wouldnt say there's a ton of impact protection, but it is pretty thick vinyl and it's folded around the Z 2-3 times. The overlap on each end does something to protect the power switch too, but it's no hard case.

    Like I said I would toss mine in my backpack when I went mountain biking and I never really worried about it much. The case itself is pretty durable IMO, and the buttons aren't very high either. The only real area you need to watch out for is the power switch which sticks out a bit on the end. I had heard about people breaking them while researching to buy my Z, and when it arrived the switch was actually more robust than I was expecting. I can definitely see how it could be broken being so exposed, but it wasn't super fragile either like I had assumed it was. At least on the batch I had.

    The only real let down for me in terms of build quality were the rubber feet. You need to grip then with finger nails to get the base off, which is where the modules and phone holder are stored. They are very soft plastic, and even after just two times taking the back off a couple of mine were already a bit chewed up. They still worked and you never saw them on the bottom anyway, but I was a little surprised the plastic/rubber was so soft for something you had to grip so tightly to loosen.

    Overall I thought the OP-Z was more portable and durable than I was even expecting. I definitely kind of miss it.

  • @kewtips said:

    @kobamoto said:

    @kewtips said:
    To add my 2p, I have an original batch OPZ with the "different" icons and I have no problems with it. It is still the fastest way I have found to sketch out an idea.
    The only thing I don't like is how samples and projects can be broken but it is easy to work around. Reading between the lines, it seems like recent firmware updates have been around improving performance. So fingers crossed for some more, non-sample based instruments.

    what do you mean by broken?

    "Broken" is a bit harsh. Bascailly there are the instrument/sample settings are global and set in 10 slots per track, each with 10 presets each. So if you change the instrument/sample in a slot, the project will play the new assignment, changing its sound.
    The work around is to save the instrument assigments alongside the project files when you back up the OPZ and restore them both when you want to retrieve them.

    Ok, thanks

  • Anybody using one of these still? I just snagged one And Plan on returning it until I get a good unit

  • @Gaia.Tree said:
    Anybody using one of these still? I just snagged one And Plan on returning it until I get a good unit

    I’m still using mine. It’s got a great feature set — step components and the fill capabilities have ruined me for other sequencers. Definitely wish they used more robust components though; my buttons are SUPER unreliable and it’s developed quite a bend.

  • edited September 2020

    @jrjulius said:

    @Gaia.Tree said:
    Anybody using one of these still? I just snagged one And Plan on returning it until I get a good unit

    I’m still using mine. It’s got a great feature set — step components and the fill capabilities have ruined me for other sequencers. Definitely wish they used more robust components though; my buttons are SUPER unreliable and it’s developed quite a bend.

    Yeah I’m hoping I get a decent unit. Otherwise I’ll just keep
    Fixing it. The sequencer looks so kush

  • I bought another OP-Z, it is very nice to have it back in the studio again. :blush:

  • edited March 2021

    Oh little Zed how I’ve truly forgotten how magical you are 😬

  • Does the OPZ feel redundant with Drambo or the iPad in general? My fear is that it would be a little sandbox of cool beats that never leave its diminutive overdesigned package! But I just came into a windfall and am looking for a thing to reward myself for a shitty year, and this is near the top of the list!

  • edited March 2021

    Hrmm. No i don’t think so. It’s a hardware sequencer and a Groovebox so it has multiple uses.
    I recently stumbled upon this guys Channel and it rekindled my fondness for this little box of magickal goodness.

    Check out his playlist:

  • I just bought another OP-Z again myself a couple weeks ago after missing it post-sale. Brilliant little bit of gear.

  • edited March 2021

    FWIW, if you buy one make sure it’s new and with a warranty. I have one of the first batches and get double trigs on a couple buttons from time to time.

  • Both the one I had previously and this one seem to be free from the double-trig issue, I was definitely looking out for that. Knock on wood!

  • edited March 2021

    @ExAsperis99 said:
    ......I just came into a windfall......

    Those dulcet words in combination...

  • @Tarekith said:
    Both the one I had previously and this one seem to be free from the double-trig issue, I was definitely looking out for that. Knock on wood!

    Yeah. I imagine they worked out the bugs in QA after the first batches.

  • my first copy from the first batch had this double triggering problem.
    but the TE company replaced it for me with a new device for free.
    the new one did not have this problem, but its case slightly deformed over time.
    for myself, I know for sure that even if the op-z breaks down,
    then I will definitely buy it again. it is a magical device.

  • I am convinced! FYI, the prices are the same everywhere, but at BH Photo they also bundle in a Rick and Morty Pocket Operator for free.
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1313652-REG/teenage_engineering_op_z_portable_synthesizer.html

  • If you're into sampling you definitely need to get one of those Line In adapters from https://digdugdiy.com/devices/
    It's a very nifty little box. I was fortunate enough to have an "ok" one.

    It is a little bent, but I have no popping encoders and no double triggers so far.

    I really wish they update it with threshold sampling or some sort of hands free sampling method. I really wanna sample my guitar chops into it

  • Thanks for the suggestion, @alecsbuga but I have NO idea what I'm looking at on the DigDugDIY page. But I do love the aesthetic.

  • edited March 2021

    Maybe he means one of these mixers:
    https://digdugdiy.com/tanooki-suit/

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