>> the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

Apart from...

* Laptop with your favourite DAW

* iPad with GarageBand or Android Tablet with Caustic

* I would put Novation Circuit in similar category though depends on your definition of whole song

* Synthstorm Deluge

* Digitakt Elektron?

* Some of the Roland grooveboxes and systems

* Some of the Akai APC/MPC or Native Instruments Machine? Not fully familiar with either but I thought e.g. Akai Live lets you do a full production

* Bunch of other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting

I feel we are actually in a bonanza and cornucopia of portable music creation devices! And that's a good thing :). Heck even the Yamaha Reface is super portable, battery powered, real keyboard, lots of sounds, and you can hook it up to phone or a simple recorder/looper to make good stuff on the go. OP1 might be the smallest by some metrics, that may or may not be seen as a good thing.

Let's add the Nintendo Switch. I can get the KORG Gadget for 30£ and make some sweet tunes. Sure, to get the tunes out into something I can export sound from I'd need to get the KORG Gadget for iOS or Android, and from there to Ableton Live. But I've tried out the KORG Gadget on Switch and it's really fun to use.

Another vote for KORG Gadget. I’ve been more successful making music with the iPad app than anything else.

The app is simple and constrained and makes it easy to write down sketches.

* Volca if $SONG < 256

* Kastle while $SONG == $DRONE

* Model::Samples while $SONG in @SAMPLES && isNotOnFire($BATTERY)

* !$BUDGET && PO-33

Yamaha QY70. I remember reading something 20 years ago, maybe more, about artists using it to compose while traveling. Probably Björk.

http://www.synthmania.com/qy70.htm

* Korg Electribe

I guess you're not yet familiar with the Synthstrom Deluge:

https://synthstrom.com

Far better than the OP-1, by miles ..

See also the 1010music BlackBox:

https://1010music.com/product/blackbox

Easily set up on an airplane seat-table for production.

The Deluge is huge (size-wise) compared to the OP-1 and doesn't run off batteries, have wifi/bluetooth connectivity, sample editing, etc, etc.

It's a nice groovebox but I don't think it really compares.

$2k is a steep price but there's a lot going on here that's not immediately obvious to a lot of folks.

The Deluge does have a built-in rechargable battery and basic sample slicing. The new 4.0 firmware added wavetable synthesis, euclidean sequencing, MPE/polyphonic aftertouch, and tons of other stuff. Their venn diagrams overlap a lot but each one has _many_ features the other doesn't. Honestly it's a pretty insane device for half the price and would be my pick too.

No, it really isn't. The OP-1 is tiny and Deluge only has twice the surface area. Deluge also has an internal battery.

I can't even imagine how WiFi or Bluetooth would be useful or desirable.

You can do quite a bit with audio on Deluge, as well. Run audio clips of unlimited length. Assign audio samples to kits.

Sequence as many tracks as you want for as long as you want.

Deluge has far fewer limitations than OP-1.

My Deluge has a Wifi+SD card in it, I can mount its filesystem remotely, transfer samples and do backups over Wifi with great ease.

Deluge is a very, very fun device, very powerful and feature-rich, and far superior to the OP-1 in every single way. OP-1 is Ikea, Deluge is Henge.

Yep, Deluge is the one and only desert island groovebox IMO.

I ended up getting a Dirtywave M8, but the Deluge was a VERY close second. If I ever get tired of the M8, I still have my eye on a Deluge.

The latest OS update added a new synthesis method (wavetable) too, which is really fun and exciting for those of us with a huge wavetable archive to harvest.

Definitely a killer workstation.

> Why has no one else figured that out?

It is literally not the only piece of music gear you can bring on a airplane and write a whole song...

Just a recent example, the Syntakt is very capable for writing full songs. So is other gear in the Elektron lineup, namely Digitakt.

Otherwise you also have (cheaper) gear like the Novation Circuit Tracks that can also do the same.

I mean, a cursory search for "portable grooveboxes" should have revealed a ton of results for you, that are able to do the same job as the OP-1 but for even as low as 1/4 of the price (the Circuit Tracks)

The Syntakt is not battery powered. I guess one could buy a beefy battery pack and adapter cable, but… what’s the point?

The Tracks is nice, but the synth engines are not fully accessible in the hw interface. At least the params are labeled now, trying to change sounds on my original was quite frustrating.

True that the Syntakt is not battery powered, when needed I run it on a battery bank (allowed to bring on the airplane) + PD cable. The point is being able to use the same gear I use in the studio but for jams where electricity available is not great, or being able to bring it wherever I go, as I consider the device itself portable, especially considering its larger cousins (like the A4, AR or even Octatrack).

Yeah, not being able to 100% customize the synths on the Tracks is bothering me as well. Luckily, my workflow is usually two parts that I do separate. One for sound design (with the Tracks hooked up to the computer) and one for everything else. For that, it does just fine, although the UX could be better for editing the synths.

> But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

Apart from the several other great options mentioned in other replies, there’s also the Dirtywave M8. It, and the other tracker-style devices like the Polyend, actually make it much easier to write proper songs than the OP-1’s finnicky and unforgiving tape-based recording interface. (I own all these devices and have used them extensively.)

But if you are really serious about writing music on a plane just use a laptop and a modern DAW.

Is the M8 obtainable? It seems like it's constantly backordered.

They do new production runs every so often. Gotta watch closely to be informed.

>But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song. Show me another way to write a song in an airplane, and you can have my money.

Assuming you mean without using a phone, computer, or a tablet:

Yamaha Reface DX ($400) + Korg SOS Recorder ($100) + TE PO-12 Rhythm ($60), and you not only have a portable studio, but a performer's rig.

I'm powering mine from a powerbank via a USB-to-12V adapter, it lasts forever on a charge.

I can busk with Reface DX alone (it's built-in speakers are loud enough for a quiet street). Throw in a mini-amp, and it's a band.

And it comes with an optional keytar strap too, so I cann sling it around my shoulder.

And it's the best FM synthesizer ever made. Worth it for the E-Piano patch and Final Countdown-like leads alone, but the real magic comes in realtime manipulation of sound (something you couldn't do with the clunky controls of DX-7).

Yeah, I don't know if it fits your "all-in-one" defitinion, but surely OP-1 doesn't fit mine: it's missing a proper keyboard (my main rig is Yamaha MX-88, and I still say that Reface DX's keyboard is great).

And with some creative application of electrical tape, the drum machine / field recorder just become upgrades for the Reface DX, giving yout the ultimate unit.

The Polyend tracker makes for a complete portable music-making tool as well.

https://polyend.com/tracker/

I'm sure there's others, but it's true that the OP-1 offers an impressive feature set for portable production.

There are a ton of replies with counter-examples, but all of those are not exactly like the OP-1: a fun, easy to use, ultraportable, immediate music creation sketchpad.

Many other grooveboxes are quite painful to use. Here I’d include the Korg Electribe which is terrible at inputting musical notes. Or the several trackers which look more like scientific calculators than musical instruments. My MPC live can run circles around most grooveboxes, the OP-1 included, but that’s because it’s a computer: quite a bit heavier, takes time to boot, requires you to manage projects and adjust many parameters.

The Model Cycles doesn’t have a battery. Can be powered by a portable one, but that makes it just a little bit awkward. Elektron did launch a handle battery but it tended to catch fire in rare circumstances :-) Elektron boxes are in general considered difficult to use, even if the results can be impressive.

The Novation Circuit doesn’t allow full editing of the synth parameters. The synth parts are more like preset editors. Expect having to manage them from a computer.

The Deluge has a cumbersome buying process, where one has to basically buy from the manufacturer (NZ I think). I actually can’t but it from my/any local store. In reviews I’ve read that the interface is not that user-friendly/immediate.

Then there’a the multi-device set-ups consisting of Volcas, Rolands, etc. These can be nice, but it requires wiring them up every time! If I had to wire together 3 devices before I could make music, I’d rather do something else personally.

And so on and so forth. The new OP-1 is overpriced though. Maybe at 1500€ this would make some sense, but at this price point most people would rather deal with the disadvantages of other devices or device combos.

Who cares how trackers look. That doesn't mean you can't have fun producing music with them.

I own a Model:Samples, the battery is just velcro attached to it. This is not awkward, it serves as a tilt stand which is actually nice.

The Deluge buying process involve adding to cart, pay. How different is it from anything else really?

We are talking about boarding a plane? How boot time of the MPC Live/One or a daw on a laptop is relevant?

The Deluge is simply an amazing device, and I can confirm it is definitely not difficult to purchase.

Also, quite a great company support experience too.

> but all of those are not exactly like the OP-1: a fun, easy to use, ultraportable, immediate music creation sketchpad.

BULLSHIT. There are tons of things the OP-1 DOES NOT DO that other devices listed here actually do. And frankly the OP-1 synth sound like crap, so it's not really inspiring for some of us musicians... when it comes to fun, that $2000 thing with a crappy sequencer is not fun to me.

It’s called Macbook with Logic Pro.

You can send your money directly to Apple.

You can even do it on an iPad!

That’s actually better because you have a virtual key bed. I’ve heard that Apple will release Logic for iOS later this year.

A $999 Macbook Air costs half as much and has all of the same production capabilities and then some.

I know it's not the same class, or what you mean, but gosh darn have I enjoyed making music with the $10 caustic android app.

There are many other options available - the groovebox market is booming right now. Even if you don't consider traditional grooveboxes like the Digitakt suitable for creating an actual "song", options like the Polyend Tracker are available and the modern MPC devices are basically a DAW-in-a-box now, complete with software synths.

The OP-1 is cool as hell, but realistically it's a £500 musical toy marked up to £2,000 simply because hipsters latched onto the design and marketing of it.

Nah, it is not hipsters, they are just doing what Apple is doing.

Not everyone who likes Teenage Engineering / OP-1 is a hipster, that's true. But I think Teenage Engineering / OP-1 is the only music making company/music equipment I frequently see designer friends post on Instagram/Twitter about even if those same friends never made music of their own.

Depends on how you define "a whole song", but I'd say theres plenty of other options. In fact I'd go so far as to say the polyend tracker is even better than the op-1 for that purpose. Even better than that, a standard laptop with a standard DAW. Or even an ipad for that matter, which has a great selection of its own software.

There are many things the OP-1 does that nothing else can do quite the same, but I wouldnt say thats one of them.

>Show me another way to write a song in an airplane, and you can have my money.

Pencil and staff paper.

My email address is in my profile if you would genuinely like to send me your money.

You just need a pencil and paper to write a song on an airplane! Also, why would you want to do that? Can't think of a less inspiring environment.

> But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

This is just false, the Korg Electribe 2/ Sampler, the AKAI MPC 500, the Roland SP404, the Roland MC101, the Novation Circuit and many other devices allow the creation of whole songs and can easily be brought into a plane because they run on internal battery.

> Why has no one else figured that out? With all these groove boxes etc, why has no other music gear taken the step of being portable and all-in-one.

These devices I listed might not do everything the OP-1 does, but the OP-1 doesn't do everything these devices do either. The OP-1 is hardly an all-in-one music device and certainly not the first portable groovebox that runs off battery power.

A Electribe 2/Sampler costs $300, not $2000.

> Show me another way to write a song in an airplane, and you can have my money.

Answer my comment and I'll share with you my email for payment details. Put your money where your mouth is.

> But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

I have zero music talent or experience, so let me ask: Would there be something missing with a quality soft synth on iPad with GarageBand?

The hardware buttons, sure, but is it possible to write a "serious" song with such a setup (iPad, paid synth app)?

Yes. There are channels recreating popular songs in garageband on iphone (with no additional paid plugins).

Physical knobs and buttons feel good, OP-1 also forces you to commit to specific audio and puts some limitations on yuu which may help with creativity.

You can create something amazing using just your phone. But to get skill to be able to do that, you likely need toys that keep you inspired and make you want to play all day.

The iPad will work alone, and if you're just starting out it's fine. But it's best to add a tiny MIDI keyboard to the iPad. For extreme compactness, the Korg Nanokey 2 works well for me. It has nontraditional "button" keys, but so does the OP-1.

The iPad's touch screen is usable, but its velocity sensitivity isn't nearly as good as a hardware keyboard.

> But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song

I could take a pen and some paper and write a whole song. Or take my laptop and write, record & mix a whole song. Or an iPad. Or the MPC as others have said, the Synthstrom Deluge... It's a fun toy, but not unique in that regard.

Cheaper way is to use Caustic 3 on old Android phone while commuting by bus. Been there, done that! :-D

Of course - it's all in software solution but it's pretty powerful actually. But it's more like a DAW or tracker style of things.

Another example: Sunvox, runs on about everything. Extremely versatile for something that originally targeted Windows CE and Palm Pilot.

I don't make much music, but I've been having a blast tinkering with it.

> Show me another way to write a song in an airplane, and you can have my money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E54uAhMBA1A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q_d-rfzZPM

Note that the 1st video is from 2010.

What’s lovely about this post is that it follows the rule of bold claims producing interesting counters. Here’s my hat in the ring: I have had a really good time with the Elektron Model: Samples. It’s among the cheapest grooveboxes and comes with all the effects, parameter locks, and preloaded samples you need to do some great things.

I like others think I want an OP-1 even though I don't know exactly what it does. Reminds me of a great ad for an electronic measurement bench product with the headline "I want it. What does it do?"

I have been looking at the Roland TR-6S or T-8 to go with a portable DJ kit like the Reloop Ready.

I'm having a hard time imagining boarding an airplane for a 6hr flight, whipping out the TE and headphones and then spending the entire flight composing a quality song. Really, who does that? There is just too much noise from the plane and I'd feel like seeking attention.

You can bring MPC live 2 on an airplane. It’s way more capable thing if you compare with the OP1.

> OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

Laptops exist too. And also who is writing whole songs on the OP-1? A song needs to be bounced, mastered and uploaded which is gonna require another device.

> But the OP-1 is literally the only piece of music gear you can bring on an airplane and write a whole song.

An iPad running Korg Gadget is much, much more capable, though arguably not as hip and cool.

Polyend tracker, any MPC any Elektron groove box, The Roland MC-X0X series, Native Instruments Maschine +, Synthstorm Deluge, etc.

yep... There's quiet a few :)

Proper first world drama here; not only must one be able to make music on a plane, one must do it with a $2,000 toy!

Why, anything else just can’t be done! It’s uncivilized!