Designed and manufactured by the Swedish company Teenage Engineering, the OP-1 is a digital synthesizer in a class of its own. Packing a synthesizer, sampler, and sequencer with multiple audio tools and effects onto a single, portable machine is no small feat. Doing so whilst maintaining an impressively uncluttered interface, however, is what truly puts the OP-1 in a class of its own. As legitimate music production becomes increasingly accessible to musicians and hobbyists, the OP-1 capitalizes on this trend without sacrificing user experience or craftsmanship. While at first glance, the aesthetic of the synthesizer seems to align with that of a child’s toy, closer inspection reveals the clever deceit. An all-aluminum body, brilliant OLED display, and impressive internal specs evoke the feel of nothing less than a premium production instrument. While most modern synthesizers offer complex and often distracting interfaces, perhaps it’s the obsessively streamlined interface of the OP-1 that makes it seem so strikingly unique but nonetheless elegant.
