return to menu
your OP-1 has a built in tape feature with 6 minutes of recording time (in normal tape speed and 44.1 kHz/16 bits). it has 4 individual tracks. to enter the tape mode press the tape key with the orange tape symbol on it.
this mode changes the function of T1-T4 which now become track 1-4.
the sound selection keys change into tape tricks 1-8:
1. select the sound which you want to record. 2. then press the tape key to enter tape mode.
3. select a track to record to by pressing any of the track keys T1-T4.
4. set recording level with the orange encoder. (this is also the main level for synthesizer and drum sounds).
5. press rec + play to start recording.
6. play the musical keyboard.
7. press stop when done.
8. press rewind (left arrow) to rewind the tape.
9. press play to listen to your recording.
the tape always overdubs if there’s recorded material on the same track. to avoid overdubbing, lift any pre-recorded takes out from the tape location.
use the arrow keys to rewind and fast-forward the playback of the tape.
press stop + left arrow key to jump to the very beginning of the tape.
press stop + right arrow to jump to the end of the last take on the tape.
option 1: press shift + play.
option 2: press the reverse tape tricks key when the tape is rolling.
turn the orange encoder to set the recording level.
first select the track you want to edit. recorded material shows up as gray lines and is referred to as takes. when an active track has recorded material, the lines turn orange. to edit a take, use scrub, rewind, ff or press stop to center it under the tape head. a take turns blue when it’s in position and ready for editing or moving.
scrub – use blue encoder to scrub though the tape.
slide – use shift + blue encoder to slide a take. you may slide a take until either of its start or end point interferes with another take.
lift – press the lift key (arrow up) to lift a take. the take is now in the memory. to undo press the drop key to place it at the center of the tape head. you may repeatedly press the drop key to paste multiple takes. the tape moves each time to the end of a dropped take. lift is also used as a way to delete a take.
drop – press the drop key. use this as way to place the last take stored in memory.
split – this splits a take.
lift all – hold down shift + lift to lift all tracks into memory.
join – press shift + split to join takes. this function joins the next closest take on either side of the active one. you may repeatedly use join to join multiple takes.
region lift – use the loop in and out points to define the part you want to lift.
besides recording, the tape can also be used as a sketchpad for creating layered sounds.
using the tape this way let’s you build up a sound layer by layer on all four tracks and lift it (use lift all to lift all tracks) and then drop it in either the synthesizer sampler or drum sampler.
you may also save a sound to tape by pressing lift in any of the synthesizer or drum sounds and then select tape mode and press drop. this creates a data recording of all parameters and/or samples on the active tape track.
to recall the sound, lift it from tape and drop it back into any sound from 1-8. for this function to work, the take has to be exactly the same and an isolated take as it was when it was dropped.
you may change the speed of the tape whenever you want, even during recording. to do this, turn the white encoder.
if you hold down shift and turn the white encoder the tape speed is changed in fixed steps. the sound quality changes in the same way as a real tape when changing speed – the faster the tape speed, the higher the quality of the recording.
a quite special recording technique is to put the tape in rec arm mode and control the speed manually. to do this press shift + rec. you are now recording but the reels are still.
to move the tape back and forth, turn the blue encoder. depending on how quick you turn the encoder the pitch of the recording will vary.
another great recording trick is to turn the out-to-in function on, found under the mic key. this let’s you record everything you hear to a selected track. this also works as a bounce recording function.
a nice option for additional recording control is using the OP-1 accessory crank. this will give you music-box-style control over your tape recording. read more about crank here .
when in tape (or mixer mode) the sound selection keys 1-8 turns into tape tricks keys. the tape tricks are shown under numbers 1-8.
tape tricks are a collection of functions made to interfere with the tape or the mixer in different ways. they are implemented to open up for live tweaks and quick key mixing effects.
loop in – sets the loop in point of the tape.
loop out – this sets the loop out point.
loop toggle – toggles loop on and off. shift + loop – loop current take.
break – stops the tape. if a loop is active it will continue in the background to keep the break in time.
reverse – change direction of the tape.
chop – a tempo locked repeat type of effect.
memo 1 – memorize any parameters for instant momentary recall while in tape or mixer mode. to memorize: press mixer, press T1-T4, hold M1 and turn any encoders. release M1 when done. press M1 again to verify and instant recall stored parameters. to recall: press and hold M1 while on the tape or mixer screens.
memo 2 – memorize any parameters for instant momentary recall while in tape or mixer mode. pro-tip: memorizing is great for quickly switching between different eq settings or to turn up the effect level while the tape is running. pro-tip: press M1 and M2 together for a mix between the two memorized states.
to completely erase the tape and all recorded material, press shift + tape key.
you have to press all T1-T4 keys to start the erasing process. once all keys are pressed there’s no way back. your tape will be wiped forever.
note: connect your OP-1 to your computer and transfer the tape if you want a backup or need to free up space.
to backup your tape, connect your OP-1 to your computer and press shift + com. select disk mode. the OP-1 will show up on your desktop as a disk.
locate the folder named “tape” and copy the files named “track_1.aif”, “track_2.aif”, “track_3.aif”, “track_4.aif”. drag all track files to your computer’s desktop.
you have now made a backup of the tape as four individual audio tracks.
note: no mix, eq, master effects or drive will be applied to individual tracks when exported. to make a final mix of your tape, record to album and backup the album file. the album file will be located in album, “sideA.aif” or “sideB.aif”
when beat match is selected in master tempo, you’ll notice bar markers just above the tape tracks. one bar is 4 beats / 16 steps which means if you enter 16 steps in the endless step sequencer and set it to 1/16 and record it, it will fit exactly in one bar on the tape.
to jump from bar to bar, press shift + rewind (<) or shift + ff (>) .
pro-tip: while the tape is playing and loop is engaged you can use shift + rewind (<) or shift + ff (>) to shift looped sections, allowing you to play different tape sections in sequence. this is very handy during live performance.
previous chapter
next chapter
