Only joking here but Nick is sorta like the dad listening to his kid (Gaz) talk about something he knows he doesn’t fully like, but wants to seem interested because his kid is so excited about it haha (:

Each to their own but I haven't had as much fun making music on a singular device in many years of collecting hardware. I can say without even a shred of doubt that I haven't been this prolific in a long time and I owe it to the OP-Z. After about 30 minutes of getting your head around the sequencer, you'll be off and running and you'll see that it is really as deep as you want it to be. That being said, to address some specific criticisms: - Is it cheap? No, it is not but compared to other modern, groove-type instruments (Elektron, Deluge, etc.) it's priced quite fair IMO - Is it overpriced? I really do not think so. Name a single other instrument that can do everything this machine can do. - Is the sequencer only 16 steps? No! This is the most common misconception I see. It defaults at 16 but all of the patterns can expand up to 8 bars and their chainable. Then with the various re-trigs, step components and parameter locking you can add, there can be significantly more variation than that making patterns seem to never truly repeat. IMO, there's a few tricks here that Elektron could stand to take note of (and I own a bunch of their gear too). - Do I have to own an iOS product? Absolutely not. Every action can be accomplished without one. Infact, I owned mine for months and made many satisfactory pieces without ever owning an iOS product. I got an iPad for christmas and have since enjoyed pairing them but it is far from necessary. - Is it hard to learn? That will depend on you. Personally I found it a bit cryptic out of the box but after watching about 30 minutes of tutorial, it all clicked in a big way. The shortcuts and button combos have a repeatable and logical way about them that if you understand one function, it becomes very intuitive to accomplish others. - Is it as good/worse than the OP-1? I've owned both and I for me personally, I much prefer using the very sequencer focused OP-Z over the OP-1 and its 4 track tape recorder based flow. I think they still both have their place though. - Does it sound good? That's entirely subjective. The sample engines sound like whatever you put into them but the synths have their own kind of thing. You'll either love it or hate it. I'm kind of on the fence on this one but again, I'm making a lot of music that I like and not spending a whole lot of time tweaking so it will depend on your interests. For me its one of those greater than the sum of its parts kind of things. - Is it for everyone? Definitely not but I do hope people get a chance to really spend some time with it before making a judgment call because there is actually quite a lot going on in there. The fact that it takes them over 40 minutes to cover it should be an indication that it's a deep machine. - Is this review fair? IMO, no. All due respect to Nick and Gaz but the content here was not very organized and kind of gave the impression of a very discombobulated kind of product. I suggest the Cuckoo review/tutorial of all of the features for a real understanding of it. It can get overwhelming if its not covered in an organized way and this video kind of shows that IMO. Anyways, just the impressions of an owner. I'm not trying to argue with anyone or be TE's holy defender but I do want to add some color to the conversation. Thanks.

The best hardware I’ve bought in years. I’ve barely touched the octatrack or digitakt since I bought it 3 months ago (until the OB public beta dropped), and I’m finishing more tracks than ever.

More of you two please!!! You both should just always do the reviews! How you complement eachother is pure joy to watch!

I'm 41yrs old and this thing stays with me. You do have to dig in and give it some time but once you do it's all you need. This has given my mpclive and deluge a strong run.

Love that Nick is completely miffed and Gaz clearly loves it. Not for me but I'm not gonna trash it.

Had mine a few weeks now. It’s tempting to dismiss it as limited and toy-like. Sometimes when I don’t use it for a few days I wonder if it’s any good. In isolation the factory sounds are a bit lame. But every time I turn it on (and that’s every few days) and anywhere I turn it on (which is varied, because I take it everywhere in my coat pocket), something unique, musical and exciting happens. It really is a quite wonderful way of staying in touch with your creativity.

I’ve owned one since November...and sold it yesterday! Good fun and very portable if you want to twiddle on the move. But very limited for studio use.

Don’t be put off, this thing is super intuitive , the lights really make sense. I get such a buzz every time I use it. Genuinely exciting to use.

Well done Gaz Big communication skills

I don’t find it expensive at all. Innovation, creativity and design cost money. People disregarding this are downgrading the value of it and expecting the price of a behringer synth clone made in China which is great value but it’s different. You can make full tracks with the op-z in a very fun way, which sound great and you can fit it in your pocket. To each their own. I’m totally blown away by the op-z, and I do own a lot of other gear.

TE attracted me to the op-1, the po's and the op-z because of it's playful interaction, super fun stuff.

Excellent well balanced review.... makes a change to blowing smoke up their arse and convincing everyone they must have this bit of kit

I have been documenting my learning of the OPZ with jams on my channel, loved the review guys!

The remote control slayed me!

Great introduction, thanks guys! As expected, the salt in the comments is exquisite as well 😂

This definitely slots somewhere between the glorious OP-1 and the disposable Pocket Lint series they make. If we put enjoying the look, feel and sound of our gear behind us and embrace intricate complexity, we should love it.

Wow! Nick is seriously unimpressed by the OPZ and it REALLY shows. How come neither of you mentioned the Novation Circuit? That's a (very effective) screenless, LED-based UI workstation/groovebox. Sonic Lab/State reviewed the Circuit and I believe you both liked it very much. I'm currently saving my paper round money up for an OPZ. It looks and sounds great. To all the dickheads flaming up the comments with "it's a hipster toy" fraff, I say this. The harmonica was considered a "toy." The melodica was considered a "toy." The ukulele was considered a "toy." The OPZ is defo not a toy. The Step Components open up worlds of possibilities that no other drum machine/groovebox even come close to. The price is too high (should be £300, imo) but until Korg or somebody buys Teenage Engineering, you're always gonna come up against the economy of scale issue.

Absolutely loving my op-z so far. Owned the op-1 and this is music as a creative game! Op-1 was great but the Z has been even more fun for me.

I like how Nick slowly starts to get a bit cranky cause he probably wishes he could do this review in one 30min video

Must say that all of you hating on this have not looked deep enough. I’ve owned hundreds of hardware synths over the years and this has easily been my absolute favorite... Even if the synth engines get old if you’re using them constantly, it’s sequencer is the deepest I’ve ever seen and it works like a charm with all of my other gear. Another misconception, the UI is developed so well that theirs absolutely no reason to need a screen. Took me a day or two to understand all the lights telling you what’s happening. I only use the app for projecting GIFs that have been chopped into a loop in my live gigs. I also bought some LED DMX lights that save with the music, with the lights, with the visuals all in sync on a per pattern bases. Sits in perfectly with my OB-6, Minitaur, Tempest, JP-08, Minilogue, DeepMind12, Monologue, Octatrack MkII & Digitakt. Yes, I prefer it to my Elektrons for external sequencing.

I absolutely need a sonic lab review for the volca drum, Nick make it happen please!

With the OP-Z it is more true than ever: you have to try it out for yourself. It may be for you, it may not be for you, but you will propably not grasp its benefits without using it for a bit of time. Watching videos doesn't get you to the point where you can fully understand it. I made a 1 hour set in 10 days on it (without an iOS display) and performed it live, but before laying my hands on it, even after watching cuckoos videos twice, it was a blur.

You can tell this device frustrates nick 😂

Looks great

I really like that they are doing The Video together.

The guy on the right just wanted the demo to end the whole time. Come on man! That’s why we’re here.

Crazy! Just looking at yall play with this makes my carpal tunnel syndrome flair up. Amazing sound from such a tiny device. Does it sample? How much time, and what available sample rates?

0:00 I thought you were going to say 'but we've got Gaz here, who is easy to see' haha!

Cheers chaps, interesting and confusing in equal parts so far, tea and biscuits before part2 me thinks. :)

Great review.

I'm luvin my OP-Z! Highly inspirational.

channelling Wallace and Gromit

This is one of your better reviews SS - nice to see Nick’s curmudgeon skepticism! 😂

As an op1 and pocket operator owner Nick nailed it on the head. This is a steep learning curve which requires a heck of a lot of time to get everything out of it. Myself I don't have that time available and also am an Android user so I can't justify the cost. Great video😁

The curious thing about this product is that it's target demographic (Da Yoof) won't be able to afford it...

So it feels like this is a smaller, neater for stylish version of the Circuit Tracks?

I can't wait to see the comments if they review Elektrons new machine.

I think a lot of people looking solely at its musical capabilities are misinterpreting the value of this device. It is not just a musical instrument alone and it's multimedia capabilities in tandem with its musical capabilities make it a very worthwhile device. especially if you are in the realm of creating and manipulating sounds and videos in creative and expressive ways.

No demo can do the OP-Z justice, you have to use one for about a month to really grasp it. The OPZ allows the creator to blend sound like a paint brush, as your working with it, you are teaching yourself synthesis and also learning how to notice fine details you want to achieve and how the different instruments fit together. THE killer feature is about the synthesis and making beats while your walking, sitting, standing and anywhere else. I waited two years for this and after using it for about 1 month and a half I can tell you that they are just getting started with this thing (and then the modulars came out? whoa) I'm waiting for IKEA to make turntables that sync with the colored knobs (and the mystery red robot that appeared for about a week) with futuristic motors will dance to your beats with leds embedded in the skeleton of the bot synced to your beats with a projector behind playing custom visuals and then remixing your beats with the on fly effects, it's like a new art form in the making.

Hahaha Gaz is awesome. The OP-Z , I guess its cool for some.

More Gaz Williams please 😀

Why cut the playing at the end? might as well let it go for a few minutes ay?

re: @15:25 "an age thing" - I'm 57 (and 11/12ths) years old 😆- and I think the OP-Z is amazing, I clicked with it immediately. As Matt Greer Music said in a previous comment, I have had more fun and created more music with this device in the last few months than in the last 10 years with all my other gear. I personally found initially learning how to use it *without* the app/screen was better for me as I quickly became more familiar with the button combos and LED parameter/page cues through experience. The app is great for drilling down deeper into some functions, but certainly not a necessity for making music.

It is like the Rolls Royce of Casio keyboards.

The OPZ in amazing.

I LOVE hairy guy's enthusiasm!!

Kept getting the feeling I was watching Antiques Roadshow

LMAO i love how Nick just gets more and more frustrated at this device, everytime he's like "right so you have this" and then Gaz goes: "not quite you can go even deeper" Nick in his mind goes: "i'm never gonna go home"

seems to be they started from a no screen calculator u.i buttons as a 'concept' and then asked the users to memorise what each thing can do from a pdf manual....idiots!... or get a jd-xi with actual keys, buttons and knobs...plus a screen and 4 bar seqences...

This review would have been better if it was just Gaz or just Nick. They have a really awkward chemistry, Nick's constantly interrupting Gaz just as he's about to explain something really interesting, and doesn't seem to be able to predict where Gaz is going (like when Gaz is about to say "once you mess it up, restore", and Nick cuts him off by saying the exact opposite).

All the naysayers did the same when the op-1 dropped. Same hipster toy comments and everything. By the time you all started seeing it in your favorite musicians rigs it was Out Of Production and you were making lowball offers on ebay for them.

If this could talk via open sound control for realtime tweaking (havent finished vidy) you could take use it with the AKAI force and never regret your desert island decision.

I also don’t get it, but I have seen people making cool sounds on Instagram with it

I wish I had the OPZ engine in my Toraiz SP16, with it's touch screen and gorgeous pads and playability.

Nick, I am on the Grumpy Old Git side also.

I am not the target audience.

Love the OP-Z, but I am way cooler than my kids think I am.

Love this but can't shake the feeling that's its grizzly Adams teaching Sgt bilko lol

I have been thinking of getting this to get into synthesizers and sequencing but now im convince this is not for me. This is more of a hindrance to creativity becaue rather than focusing on the music you focus on remembering how to do things with it. And its expensive. I want things to help me work on creating music rather than i work for it to make music. I think most people, not saying all, who says this is a great product is like me convincing myself that my american fender tele is better than a mexican tele cause i paid more for it. I think there are much cheaper and more streamlined machines out there. Do you have any suggestions?

I can see people who are into the T.E. eco system sequencing their T.E. modular system with this. Well played T.E. i'd say.

I love how people just call gear "shit" cause they don't see the need for it for themselves haha. I can see lots of people who spend time on the go like myself, use this as a creative starting point for ideas, rather than the end all sort of product that can spit out a master track that sounds pretty good, like the OP1. Some people do like to get out of the bedroom and play elsewhere as well

Superbly done. Now I get it. Intrigued enough to want one contrary to my state of mind prior to watching. But essentially two middle aged men breaking it down slowly seems to work for me lol

Had mine about a month. I'm 54. So far I can check the battery life lol.

Feed it to the Matrixbrute!

MPC live gives me what I wanted. OP1 had nice sounds but a limited sequencer or should I say tape recorder. This looks like another limited UI device.

Crazy money for that toy....Nick, you seem to be very perplex no?

Disappointed with this. Seems like it could have been a lot better if the connectivity & features were more sorted. Was hoping it was going to be cheaper as well - it's $999 here in Aus!! Seems ridiculously pricey for what it is. I could get a brand new Moog Grandmother for a few hundred dollars more. Saying that, I love TE's product line. They are like the Nintendo of music technology. I'm sure the OP-Z will evolve over time. But the price also has to drop. Dramatically! At $499 (AUS) this would be a hard sell I think.

A paper remote control?! Just what I needed.

What I don’t get it’s the delayed release on this, over 2 years from the date projected I think... Lots of teases as this would be some game changer but at the end it’s all very disappointing I think. Anyways...

You either love or hate it. I enjoy making beats on the train to work with my OP-Z.

I was waiting for Nick to toss it in the bin

that remote control for the new telly has probably better build quality.

Never never and never

Exclusive picture of the OP-ZX prototype, the followup to the OP-Z: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Shuffle#/media/File:5G_IPod_Shuffle.svg

I mean look at this thing. I'd have to buy it to believe it.

Camera b is Reaaaallly out of focus guys 🤨

Quite tricky, like all TE devices. I confess I feel much more comfortable with my modular synths... I need a global view on the sound and control flow chart, probably due to my 69 yrs old bunch of neurons...

If you are a musician who excels at sequencing and programming beats than this might be a fun creative piece of gear. If you are musician who prefers to really play instruments this is probably not for you. If you are both a programmer and a player then it’s really a toss up. I think you would be better off with an op-1 but they are conveniently out of production. If you want a teenage Engineering groove box this is what is available. I’ll stick with my op-1 that I should play more anyway.

Being colour blind, this is not for me. Seems like a complex device with a steep learning curve, but could be great fun once mastered. Great vid thanks guys.

I'm the operator of my pocket calculator Beep boop .... brrrŕrrrr

this is so funny,,it looks like nick is about to head butt him ..

Nick really looks like he wants to hurl that thing out a window.

It is Cuckoos Father

I watched both videos and read the comments...I have other synths like the Casio XWP1 which I have invested years of time in, also a Casio WK7600 with equal time. Why would I spend so much time on cheap keyboards?....because I am poor and it is all I can afford. So instead of money I invested in deep learning and today have produced sound un-equal to others with these instruments (synth folks don't forget synth is half/effects and processing is the other half of great sound). As I seriously watched these videos I determined less time investment in the TE OS than my Casio's. So who is the market??... please comment and let me know. The market seems to be travelers who want to make music from an airplane seat, which is better than humming your ideas into a recording device.

I love the sound and the underlying tools, but the interface kills me. Pure shift button hell.

Nick, I feel for you.

I think it has merit as it is an interesting device, but it's not for me.

Seems too convoluted for a screen-less device... now the Circuit looks very tempting...

Thanks for the review. I was very curious about this thing, but the video has convinced me this is not the droid I’m looking for. I’m with Nick - I’m the grumpy curmudgeon shaking my head at this overpriced toy.

8:22 S. Express Remix

Why do they aim for the toy end of the market? Imagine what they could do if they made it a decent size, put a screen on it, more controls and more I/O. They could put up a stiff competition for elektron

This thing is kinda neat. It's dimensions are L 212.5 mm H 57.5 mm D 10 mm. At $600 it's a bargain. I can't think of anything else I'd like to buy for $600 besides this. Weeeeee!!!

No Android app at present kills it for me. What were they thinking?

For five hundred bucks they better turn damn well!!!

Gas is the caffeine overlord

For the Imusician

sequencing should be, and actually is, simpler than this. This looks like a super clever idea to reinvent the wheel

£530? Looking forward to a Synthstrom Deluge review.

nunca pense q jim carrey me iba a enseñar cosas sobre el opz :O