Did you think Teenage Engineering would go another entire year without dropping something both ? Think again. The company just announced the long-rumored OP-XY groovebox. It looks like an OP-1 Field, but plays like the relatively-ancient OP-Z. It also costs $2,300.
The OP-XY is described by the company as an “all-in-one powerful synthesizer and composer with deep, direct sequencing capabilities.” That sounds about right. The primary workflow here is sequencing, as opposed to the faux tape recording found with its OP-1 siblings. The groovebox features a shrunken-down keyboard and a strip of 16 LED-equipped buttons to control the sequencer.
There’s a multisampler inside the box, in addition to some great-sounding synth engines, drum kits and a bevy of useful effects, including the punch-in effects . As for specs, this little beast ships with 512GB of RAM, a dual CPU system that’s “capable of ultrafast processing power and efficiency” and 8GB of internal storage.
Teenage Engineering boasts about the groovebox’s “brain chord progression.” This lets players program chord sequences by “letting your hands do the talking.” We don’t exactly know what that means, as hands are typically involved when programming any chord sequence. We’ll have to wait for a hands-on experience to get the gist. It does allow for live recording, which is nice.
Just like the OP-Z, there’s a built-in gyroscope that allows players to adjust parameters by simply moving the device around. As for connectivity, there’s a USB-C port, a 3.5mm stereo input, MIDI in, MIDI sync and a new multi-output port that can send MIDI, CV, gate or sync data. It even has Bluetooth MIDI.
It’s also an absolute head-turner in the looks department. This thing is a stunner, dropping the toy-like OP-Z aesthetic for something that eerily resembles the OP-1 Field, albeit with a color swap to matte black. There’s a bright OLED display and many of the same multi-function buttons and knobs found with the original OP-1 and the Field. It looks very cool and I want it.
As previously mentioned, there’s a rub. The OP-XY costs $2,300. You read that right. That’s $300 more than the OP-1 Field. Heck. You could buy a brand new standard OP-1 and an OP-Z and still have some money leftover to buy cables and other accessories. Despite the price, I’m cautiously optimistic about this one. I absolutely love the OP-1 Field and I don’t care who knows it.
This is really the first ultra-expensive instrument the company has released since the aforementioned OP-1 Field. Last year’s and its both cost $300. The OP-XY is available right now.