The slider starts at $1400, which is the already the retail price of this device, so I don't understand the "pay what you want" concept. They are basically asking for donations? The cult behind this company being what it is though I can definitely see people forking over thousands more and patting themselves on the back for it.
That is incorrect. The retail price of this device is 2,000$ and has been since it was released. For a while, the original op1 was sold at 1400$, but never the field. This is a 600$ discount, with a very weird thinly veiled and very stupid marketing gimmick on top, for the maybe one weirdo who thinks it’s funny to pay more than you have to.
Like the other commenter said, their retail price is $2000. In the used market, they are going for about $1400-1500 based on reverb.com stats. So at least compared to those prices, $1400 new is a decent deal. And for what it's worth, they sold out pretty quickly today (or so their online store says).
Of course, $1400 is still a hefty price tag, I won't argue about that (and there's not much anything new to say about that topic, considering it's like 80% of online discourse about TE).
Spoiler: Lowest I could go is €1399, which is still three times as much as I would consider paying (especially considering I have the OG).
Without getting into the weeds, the value I see anyone getting from an OP-1 (of any generation) is still the all-in-one musical notepad angle, and I just don't see that being anywhere above the price of an iPad (which trounces the OP-1 in terms of music features if you install AUM and the Audiokit Pro synths - no DAWs involved).
ipad right now is insane value. not only it has enough CPU for even serious music making, the price of software is amazing. There are some vendors that keep price parity with desktop, but most audio software is many times cheaper.
I/O story is a bit sad (one usb-c), but for most purposes it can be worked around. ipad, a few midi controllers, pair of monitors, 5€/month Logic Pro, FabFilter maybe, some intrument AUv3s — I am scared to imagine price of an equal setup, say, 15 years ago.
But surly that isn't the point of the OP-1? Some folks really do just get pure joy from that little box, myself included. It's really only 10% about the music, it's about the experience of making the music, and TE stuff is just a really great experience (at least, to me! :)) And iPad physically FEELS like an iPad, hard, metal and glass and stuff, I feel nothing making music with it, and I like to feel stuff (touch) to make my music.
Is the joy some people get, at least in part, derived from knowing the price? Let's try to be honest — if this thing sold for 40$, everyone would be making fun of it. You cannot afford Push or MPC, you fiddle with the kiddy synth.
The high price is one of the most important reasons for their success.
I have not even touched one, as most people without €1000 impulse purchase budget, instead having fun with Drambo and Aum on my ipad. I do, however, read what people who use OP-1 write about it or how they speak in the videos. It is a very familiar tone, the same you hear from owners of Leica, Porsche, Astell-Kern etc.
The device itself can be designed (and most likely is designed) in the most fabulous way imaginable — by pricing it this way they make conscious decision to position themselves as a lifestyle, luxury goods, just for the target audience of people who make music.
Have you seen many people telling you how happy using SunVox (5$) makes them in comparable way?
I wonder if it's...er, an autism thing? the feel of the buttons, the tension of the knobs, the plastic they selected, just how it feels literally, it really makes me inspired to play with music, something I'm bad at but get joy from. I HATE how expensive it is, I'm cheap as fuck, but I get so much joy from it that I wouldn't no have one. I've been buying their stuff since they started and I accepted the price because they're small team making physical stuff, I don't know if that is true or not.
I own an original, directly purchased OP-1 (https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2021/04/17/1610) so I think I can judge the value of it quite well, thank you… even at the time I questioned my sanity and already had the KORG.
As a non-musician I had defended TE in the past just because I think their shit looks really cool and fun. But this is egregious. This is marketing only a communications major could love, and even then, god damn
Teenage Engineering has some really obnoxious marketing, but it seems to work. I mean, we're talking about then. Roland or Korg never make hacker news.