Teenage Engineering OP-Z Portable Synthesizer and Sequencer

Following the widely popular OP-1, the OP-Z pushes the boundaries of this iconic synth even further. Coming in at about half the size, with even more DSP than the OP-1, the OP-Z consumes less energy than its older brother, allowing you the ability to sequence songs across 16 tracks, just about anywhere you want to take it without the risk of running out of power. One of the most notable differences between the two is the OP-Z has traded its onboard display, instead, it can connect wirelessly to your ios device and the OP-Z app for more behind the scene control parameters.

Still, OP-Z is about a lot more than just composing music. The Z stands for the third dimension, the depth, the creativity involved in making music. Imagine animated art and videos that accompany your live show, or sequenced lighting, all the way down to composing your own interactive software. Some people would call a device like this a dream machine. Teenage Engineering calls it the OP-Z. The next generation of portable instrumentsOP–Z is an advanced fully portable 16-track sequencer and synthesizer, with a range of both sample based and synthesis based sounds.

It's the world's first stand-alone sequencer of its kind, that lets you sequence music, visuals, lights and more. OP–Z can be used completely standalone and comes with an intuitive led lit interface. When you want next level real-time visual feedback, you can use the screen on your ios device. Hardware features include a USB-c host and device, wireless communication over, 4-pin 3.5 mm stereo headphone and line-out, accelerometer, user replaceable battery and built-in microphone. Component-based step sequencingOne of the basic concepts of the OP–Z is its ability to run each track totally independent from one another.

Tracks can run at various speeds, have different lengths and loop points. Separate tracks can even jump-cut back and forth irregularly and randomly if you want. Using this you can make a short sequence sound more or less different each time it is repeated in your composition. A composition is divided into tracks and each track is built from sequencer steps – just as you are used to, but on top of that, Teenage Engineering has added something truly unique which they call step components that add an extra dimension of instructions for each step.

This new tool makes composing a track much more dynamic, deep and rich – a long needed addition to traditional sequencing. The tracks on the OP–Z is polymetric. Meaning that each track has dynamic track length from 1 up to 144 steps. Making it possible to work in high or low track resolution. You can choose to go completely off-grid or stay 100% quantized. Thanks to the OP–Z real-time melodic analysis you can at any time automatically transpose whole sequences in different scales across six octaves. Bring your own screenConnect your OP–Z wirelessly to an iOS device.

Thanks to the extremely energy efficient Bluetooth technology your OP–Z will run and sync to your screen for hours and hours, without you having to charge the unit. With the OP–Z app you see the numbers and graphs behind the music you create in real time. At a glance, you know how your instruments are balanced in the mixer or just how much effect is applied to each instrument. The screen adds another dimension to your interaction with the OP–Z. Unlocking multi-touch features, you can adjust multiple mixer sliders at once or use the smooth touchpad to adjust effects or filters.

Perfect when performing live. Pitch bend and microphoneOn the front of the OP–Z you find the pitch bend in the form of a soft, pressure-sensitive, thumb button. The pitch bend adds an analog touch to any instrument – perfect for that solo break. Lift the OP–Z to your mouth, and the accelerometer activated microphone will turn on. Hold the function buttons to change the settings for the microphone. Built for live performanceOn the back of your OP–Z you find the project, mixer, tempo and the screen buttons. While holding