teenage engineering released the OP-1 Field 1.5 firmware with a new terminal bit-crusher FX and track-bouncing functionality.
The OP-1 Field is the successor to the modern white legend OP-1. The release caused heated discussions. A synth that polarizes the synth community. Also more than one year after its release. Many people call it an expensive hipster thing, while others say it’s an indispensable synth and creative tool for both the studio and live stage.
This break in the community opinions made me curious. I bought an OP-1 Field at a good price a few months ago. The reasons are simple: curiosity and I needed a flexible, portable synth/sampler with which I could also travel very easily. After three months, I must say that the OP-1 Field will never leave my setup again. The device is simply fun and inspiring.
For Christmas, teenage Engineering has just dropped the new OP-1 Field 1.5 firmware with two major new features.
teenage Engineering OP-1 Field 1.5
The new OP-1 Field 1.5 firmware is free and is only for the Field, not the original OP-1.
First up is Terminal, a new FX processor that combines a bit-crusher with a filter that creates anti-aliasing effects. It offers four parameters: frequency, bits, model (filter), and dry/wet mix.
It is visualized using a vintage computer. When audio comes in, the computer shows this in a green data stream. The notes you play are also visualized on the computer keyboard at the same time. Lovely representation. The effects add a crunchy, LoFi character to your sounds.
Besides this new FX, the new 1.5 firmware also introduces the merge drop functionality. It’s basically a track bouncer that reduces several tracks to the currently active track with a simple keyboard command (shift + drop). It’s a neat function to free up these tracks again.
This function will certainly be very helpful if you are creating more complex tracks with many sounds. Further, the new firmware also fixes bugs from previous firmware.
First Impression
I installed the firmware straight away. It’s a great-sounding bit-crusher/lo-fi effect that shreds all possible sound sources. I’ll have to look closer at the new merge drop function when I get more time to make music during the holidays. I’m glad to see that the development continues.
The new teenage engineering OP-1 Field 1.5 firmware is available now as a free download on the official website.
More information here: teenage engineering
Available at my partner
Did they add Undo yet? Is there a way around get it right the first time or keep redoing the whole track? Is there a punch in function for the tape like the old cassette four tracks?
no undo, but you can cut of your unwanted part and replace it with something different. Different workflow which I can get along with even after a short time
What you can do is “lift” or copy the section you want to work on, and paste it back were it was. Then you will have an untouched version of the existing track in your”clipboard”, meaning that if your take isn’t perfect you can paste over it with the untouched version.
Thanks! I hope to try one out someday. Until then my KOII will have to suffice.