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by lazzlazzlazz 1133 days ago
It's beautiful and sparks joy. But a Zoom F3 is a strictly superior device in all dimensions and costs $350. This recorder doesn't even support microSD cards or replaceable batteries. It's fundamentally unserious.
9 comments

After reading that I expected it to cost like $700 but it costs fucking $1500

TE have perfected milking hipsters to perfection

45+ burned out tech managers, but yes.
Hey now that's not fair. Some of us burned out tech managers with more money than sense are still in our 30s.
And some of us at 45+ are top-end techs who will continue to avoid managing (and burning out) like the plague.
Truly beautiful design, but you can also pick up vintage gear for cheap at a thrift store or garage sale, would be close enough.
Yea, and the F3 has 32-bit recording which means you don't really have to worry about gain and clipping. It's a big miss that this doesn't have 32-bit audio especially given that the OP-1 Field's audio pipeline is all 32-bit.
32-bit recording is so superior to 24-bit recording that no sound system is modern without it. The TP-7 is outdated on release.
It's a drab gray asymmetrical block with pastel colors, I do not understand people who think that teenage engineering possesses any aesthetic sensibilities whatsoever. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.
I personally find their products beautiful, they remind me a lot of Dieter Rams.

Which designs would you consider aesthetically pleasing?

It looks like an off-brand 90s gaming console to me.

As for a design I personally consider timeless… how about the Lamy 2000 fountain pen?

Gorgeous bauhaus design, and completely user disassembleable by hand with 0 tools. The body is made from Makrolon, which is fiberglass infused lexan. Feels great in the hand, with a slight warmth and texture, and practically indestructable.

Writes like a dream, too. Been in continuous production for over 60 years.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/v2YAAOSwQr9hMHAN/s-l1600.jpg

Video of dissasembly https://youtu.be/x7DQSJHSaHE

I don't think Teeneage Engineering's looks is that different from Bauhaus, excluding maintainability.

Lamy 2000 is built with pure Bauhaus ideals and it nailed every one of them on the head. I have many and use them constantly. I think Lamy 2000 is the only "Objectively good" fountain I have ever seen and used, and it hides its properties so well, too. It's a very understated masterpiece of design and engineering.

There are three changes I’d make to it from a pragmatic standpoint, but it really is damn close to perfect

Those three are: engrave the nib size somewhere visible on the nib; make it in colors besides dark grey on a regular basis; and make the ink window out of a clearer plastic. If you could actually see the ink color that’s be nice.

People are talking about the beauty of the design of the TP-7 and I think that is a big part of the appeal, I don't know anything about either of these tools, I am totally ready to believe the Zoom F3 is superior BUT when I look at the TP-7 I have some immediate understandings of how to use it (wheel requires a couple seconds) when I look at the Zoom F3 I don't get that feeling.

That said based on the Zoom F3 site I do want one and it is also affordable for me, whereas the TP-7 is way too much for me to afford.

I generally write with bottom of the barrel Lamy Safari or Faber Castell Grip pens, however sometimes I reach for something much more expensive to spend some quality time with my thoughts or write a letter.

I think this strictly falls into second category, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Basically yes but I do somewhat appreciate the haptic interfaces (not enough to buy it) and I also deeply respect that it is a 4 channel recorder (also not enough to buy it).

It gets my goat that these systems are so stingy on channels. Add a couple more. It costs so so little. The attempts to price differentiate self-sabotage this market for me.

I hope we can see some good tactile peripherals emerge. Not full products, but like, a USB spinning disk one can also scrub on, as like this.

Every oral historian podcast that I listen to (Marc Maron WTF, Joe Pug Working Songwriter, I'm sure others) has lost incredibly valuable recordings on account of not pressing the button. I think the physical affordance of the spinning wheel is invaluable, along with the simple VU meter. The extravagance of the wheel is closer to the importance of a gun safety in that context.
It's not clear to me bit does the F3 have a built in mic or does it only use the XLR inputs?
it doesn't have the same $1500 aesthetic though..