OP XY is a complete music production system in a small, neat package. This is a beautifully made device that is pure pleasure to play with. It has a well-developed operating system, navigation is very effective and fast. At the same time, it is so complex that many functions and applications can be discovered for weeks. However, there is no way to do it without the manual and I spent two days learning the device.
The capabilities of the on-board synthesizers are truly impressive, but some types of sounds, e.g. aggressive modulated drum'n'bass sounds, are difficult to obtain. Liquid drum'n'bass is different - here OP XY can be the king. Generally speaking, basses, pads and leads sound warm, fleshy and simply nice. But, for example, the model of the electric piano leaves much to be desired, but various sampled variations of this instrument sound interesting. Speaking of sampling, compared to previous OP-1 models we have much greater possibilities - now we can save up to 24 20-second loops within drum kits. On the other hand, copying samples from a computer and then searching for and loading them can be time-consuming. Their tempo is not automatically adjusted to the tempo of the project, as is the case in larger grooveboxes such as AKAI or Maschine+. On the one hand, many ideas can be implemented, but on the other hand, it requires performing many individual operations manually.
But it must be admitted that the sequencer's capabilities are impressive. On each of the 8 tracks, we can place a different synthesizer, a sampled instrument or a set of samples/loops. Theoretically, if we use only the drum module, we can have 24 samples/loops on each of them. We just have to stay within the 24-voice polyphony limit. Each of the 99 sequences that can be programmed within the project for a given track can have a different length and playback speed, and even use a different preset. Each of them can have a different combination of Punch-In effects, which significantly expands the possibilities of differentiation.
00:00 Over 2000 USD groovebox?
01:06 Listening to factory demo tracks
02:34 keyboard and connections
02:58 OP XY with a midi keyboard
03:35 browsing presets
05:19 example solo patch
06:32 synth engines
10:27 copying samples from computer
11:30 learning curve
12:20 exploring sequencer
18:49 XY Brain
20:46 Virtual tape
22:46 recording with a midi keyboard
33:06 using one-shots and loops
37:52 final thoughts