AUGUST 18, 2022 POSTED BY TOBIAS VON HOFSTEN
games on OP–Z?
OP–Z is not only a powerful musical sequencer. it's also capable of running unity 3D projects, called videopaks, for various graphical applications . there is a large community around creating these paks, called videolab creators . one such member is mysticalmonkeys , the creator of the space invaders videopak.
space invaders
this videopak brings a clone of the 1978 classic shoot 'em up arcade game space invaders to the OP–Z app.
how to install
first make sure you have downloaded and installed the official OP–Z app on one of your devices. then visit https://gum.co/bSqcA with the same device, and name your price to download the videopak. the pak is in the zpak format and will auto install if you open the zpak file with the OP–Z app on your device. start OP–Z and connect with the app. select motion and press the name of the active videopak. then scroll and tap to find and load space invaders. you're now ready to play the game! note: original space invaders sounds are included in the download as a bonus .aif file. drop this file on your OP–Z in the "samplepacks/4-fx/10" folder. while playing space invaders, select the last samplepack on the fx track of your active pattern (press track + fx + 0) then go back to the motion track (track + motion) and press 0 to toggle sound effects on and off.
how to play
use the green encoder on the motion track to move around and press any button to shoot. there are three different levels and the game will keep cycling through until you die. start - press any piano key move - green encoder fire - press any piano key glhf!
OP–Z SPACE INVADERS BY MYSTICALMONKEYS
explore OP–Z
explore videolab
JUNE 30, 2022 POSTED BY TOBIAS VON HOFSTEN
TX–6 firmware update 1.1.4 – out now!
two months after the release of TX–6 we have our first firmware update for you, and it's a doozy.
here's some of the update highlights:
how to update:
visit the downloads page and follow the steps to update your TX–6. the user guide has also been updated to cover the new functionality. (and in case you're wondering: no, the flash drive in the photo is not a product... yet!)
SEE THE UPDATE IN ACTION IN THIS VIDEO
TX–6 field mixer
accessories
JUNE 23, 2022 POSTED BY DANI ROSSI
built exclusively for swedish house mafia's 2022 coachella set and us/eu tour, the jumbo live performance deck, MOAD, or mother of all decks, is our latest custom design.
MOAD, MOTHER OF ALL DECKS
back in 2010, when we launched our very first product OP–1, we were approached by a group that was soon to shoot a music video for their first song. that group was swedish house mafia, and the song was "one", feat. pharell williams. and it was also the beginning of a long friendship. 10 years later, we've teamed up again on our first product collaboration, MOAD - mother of all decks.
LIVE AT COACHELLA WITH THE WEEKND
the live performance deck is 5 m x 1.2 m and breaks down into nine parts, to be set up or taken down in about 30 minutes, making it easy to tour with. when it finally came time to construct the deck, we worked with another longtime friend of ours, daniel araya.
INITIAL SKETCHES
the inside holds a computer, multiple mixers, dj decks, sequencer and samplers, effect processors, custom made light effects and mechanical tape reels. MOAD made it's debut at coachella 2022 and will travel with swedish house mafia on their us and eu tour.
CUSTOM DISPLAY AND CONTROLS
MAY 5, 2022 POSTED BY DANI ROSSI
to celebrate the release of TX–6, we thought we'd give you a look into the design and engineering process behind our portable mixer. here software developer and product owner marcus nilsson shares his experience working on TX–6 over the years. also, with the ability to travel again, we have some behind the scenes footage of our customized production process, filmed in our factory in malaysia.
MARCUS NILSSON - SOFTWARE DEVELOPER AND PRODUCT OWNER OF TX–6
hello marcus! can you tell us about what you do at teenage engineering? i'm the main software developer and product owner of the TX–6 field mixer. i joined teenage engineering ten years ago when we were only seven people working in a garage. at the time we only had OP–1, and since then i've been involved in many of our products along the way.
KNOB CALIBRATION JIG
so what's the story behind TX–6 and field? the idea behind field system is to let you make music or perform when you feel like it and wherever you are without the need for a computer or other bulky gear. the TX–6 mixer is part of that system and we felt that this was a missing piece of equipment on the market. i know i've been looking for a product like this! and on a personal note, when i was 12 years old i was given an electronics kit which just happened to be a mixer. i soldered and built it, using it to make mixtapes - so working on TX–6 feels like a childhood project coming full circle.
INSIDE OUT
take us through the design process, how did it develop? what were the main priorities for this product? we usually start with a physical design without much functionality specified. it kind of evolves and grows during the whole project. there are always a lot of ideas but we can't have it all. we need to find the right balance between a rich feature set and usability.
a lot of effort has been put into the user interface. we wanted to squeeze in many features but still make it intuitive and not too complicated. some functionality was removed or simplified because of this. the goal has been to make a product that is easy to understand and that feels playful but still professional. the timeline during a project like this is very dependant on the production schedule and some features just wasn't ready in time for launch. but we have many ideas for future updates.
MARCH 3, 2022 POSTED BY DANI ROSSI
love hultén is an audiovisual artist based in gothenburg, sweden. working at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and modern tech, he began by tearing apart electronic toys - eventually professionalizing this interest by attending HDK academy of art and design. this is where his passion for woodwork began. from there, the natural progression was obviously to combine his woodcraft skills with electronics, making tactile synthesizers, game consoles and other audiovisual contraptions. a frequent user of teenage engineering products, he recently created TE-LAB, a wooden "sound machine based on modules from teenage engineering, holograms microcosm and a custom-built sequencer inspired by lomond campbell's turntable". a unique instrument, we were curious to know more and thought you might be too - so here he is to do just that.
LOVE HULTÉN
tell us love, what do you do, and how did you end up here? the aesthetics of electronic products often mirror where we are today in terms of technical possibilities, that's just the nature of tech. what is affecting product design negatively today, in my opinion, is the industry itself and the throwaway excess products it keeps churning out to consumers - frightened by expiration dates and desperately craving the latest iPhone model. my work is a reaction to that i guess. i'm quite inspired by mid-20th century concepts, when we had a different view on tactility, quality and craftsmanship. i aim to create products that will breathe through time, rather than get suffocated by it - unique products that sparkle and live on through generations. it's hard work being a one-man-studio, but it's also hard to complain. i'm very fortunate to be able to do what i love, and i will continue doing so as long as my ambitions allow for it.
TE-LAB
take us through your design process - how do you start your designs? do they always end up as you imagine in the beginning? i'm very torn between conflicting takes on design actually: dieter rams "less is more" approach where form follows function and the complete opposite - form before function, where a visual idea is in control and purpose/function becomes slave. my designs are usually based on something i've come across recently - anything that sparks my imagination. i then scour my mind for a function, a purpose that could connect with my visual idea in an interesting way. when i find a satisfactory mix between usability and aesthetics, it's a go! i play a lot with values and standards, suggesting a different perspective on how to relate and interact with objects. i give objects new functions, new values. the smashed-up references in my work have a triggering effect on the viewer/customer i guess. i want my audience to be enlightened – not just feel nostalgic. nostalgia is involved to a certain extent, yes, but it's not looking backwards. it's taking steps in different directions simultaneously by using fragments from both the past and today, creating unique and balanced objects. today we are caught between two worlds, one physical and one digital. our digital world is expanding, and to keep one foot in the real world we need physical interaction with real objects. for example, touch screens are great for some forms of interaction, but the instant physical feedback we get when we press a button gives us a completely different sense of control.
POM-400 MODULES
what triggered the idea for TE-LAB? was it one module in particular that got you thinking or did you have something in mind before? both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. i wanted to take the basic concept of the POM-400 and expand from there, so i basically used the modules from that kit (plus some additional ones) and arranged them in my flavor. i knew i wanted to add a bit of depth and atmosphere for a more organic sound and experience. the granular microcosm from hologram electronics seemed to be an interesting fit. aesthetically i wanted to create something resembling test- /laboratory equipment combined with a playful approach, and that playfulness inspired me to make a circular sequencer to complete the setup. to illustrate the POM-400 expansion i ended up using the very same color - bright yellow.
4-CHANNEL PROGRAMMABLE ROTARY GATE SEQUENCER
on that note, please explain the turntable! how does the 'needle' read, interpret and emit sound? the turntable is a 4-channel programmable rotary gate sequencer, inspired by a project by lomond campbell. the device is sending out triggers based on the placement of neodymium magnets (32 steps). the "needle" has 4 reed switches mounted below that picks up trigger signals for each channel. these signals are then being sent to the POM modules via CV/gate. the turntable is mounted on top of a stepper motor with speed control (arduino). then the real-time spectrum monitor takes outputs from the POM modules and displays the waveforms, simple as that.
OB–4 TAPE REEL
and the idea for incorporating OB–4? the OB–4 is being used as speaker out for the TE-LAB, but also delivers some fun sound manipulation using the motorized "tape reel". discover more of love's work here , and see TE-LAB in action:
FEBRUARY 24, 2022 POSTED BY DANI ROSSI
welcome to our textile department. heidi is what we call our textile category manager, but really, she's way more than that. handling all the product design for our apparel and accessories, her day-to-day involves everything from contacting suppliers in multiple timezones, to research, design and quality control. now at the tail-end of the production of our new textile series, here she shares a little about what drives her and what she's looking forward to this year.
TEST STATION
''it's fun to be nerdy and this happens to be my element. this is my way of expressing my creativity and how i envision things - i see it through garments, creating a feeling and mood through them, that's what i'm excited about.''
SAMPLE DELIVERY
''i love that we have a different mind set here, we look at things from a non-traditional standpoint. we might use fabrics from the car industry or implement knowledge from the hardware side to our bag trims and buckles... you can have a very engineer focussed point of view on textiles and that's where our worlds meet.''
RESEARCH AND PROTOTYPING
''i'm very solution oriented and technical about what i do. and here i get to be really practical about things, especially when some of our products are so small. that's a huge challenge from a construction and design perspective when it comes to bags and cases.''
INTERNATIONAL SOUVENIRS
''we actually design stuff so that the users of our products can protect and carry them in a good way, and with that comes solving different problems. with a design philosophy of using as little material as possible, as close to the synth as possible, sometimes the bag feels too small or the product is an unusual shape and we want to fit other things as well. so how do we make something that works for our products but also everyday life? that's super interesting and different from anything i've done before. here i actually get end-use and end-purpose which is very targeted.''
TEXTILE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, BETTY
''i'm super excited for our new series to come out and for the whole team to see their efforts come to life after two years.''
THE NEW OB–4 MESH BAG
the latest products to come out of heidi's department are the new mesh bags for OB–4, available in black, green and red .
FEBRUARY 10, 2022 POSTED BY TOBIAS VON HOFSTEN
modular experiments to mark the release of the individual POM modules, we've put together three diy projects for your inspiration. each one uses separate modules from the POM range in very different setups. a playful lego mechanical lfo, a sturdy jamaican inspired dub siren, and a portable usb-powered business modular.
SQUARE BOX
strictly business this project is using all the modules from the POM-400 kit, together with the eurorack front panels from oddvolt mentioned in an earlier blog post . the case chosen is an auer esd euro case with an added handle . the eurorack frame is from clicks & clocks , cut to size in our workshop. for power we opted to go with a portable usb solution using the dedicated usb power cable from myvolts , connected directly to the psu , and powered by a powerful anker powerbank. the power distro is used to distribute the power to all the modules. here are some links to the external parts used.
esd case
handle
frame
usb power
DUB SIREN
dub siren from space inspired by a little aluminum siren effect box that was lying around the office, we decided to build our own enhanced version, with an lfo , a square module and a psu . we then added a line-level output, a 9V battery and a guitar pedal power jack. the green knobs select between different pre-patched connections that you can override by inserting something into the jacks. there's some more info on the build process over on speedbjorns instagram .
MECHANICAL LFO
mechanical lfo need an extra, sine-shaped lfo? of course you do. here we built a lego robot using a lego motor, gearbox and rod to control the tune knob of any wave generator. here the sine wave oscillator is used. very handy!
individual modules for your projects we hope this can spark your imagination and encourage you to explore and share your own modular projects. all individual modules are available in our webstore . mount them in your existing eurorack, using external panels, or create something fully custom and one of a kind. enjoy!
JANUARY 27, 2022 POSTED BY DEV TEAM
a new module for OP–Z our work with OP–Z is ongoing and here's a behind the scenes dev update. as you know, the OP–Z functionality can be expanded with hardware modules. in the past we've released the oplab and rumble modules and finally we can officially reveal that we have a new module in the pipeline. it is called the line module and will be accompanied with an OP–Z firmware update.
what it does the line module is designed to bring external audio signals in and out of your OP–Z. it adds a stereo line input and an additional stereo line output to the unit, as well as input and output for midi, trig and po sync, similar to oplab. use line in to add external audio signals to your mix and use line out as a second stereo output available within OP–Z. you can route individual tracks to the module output instead of to the main mix to separate and process the individual tracks, or make effect loops with your favorite effect pedals. depending on your needs, you can easily switch between mono and stereo signals. the output can also be used for headphone cueing of your tracks before bringing them out to the main mix. with this you can turn your OP–Z into a live performance dream machine. available spring 2022 we've been hinting at this module for a while and we're finally ready to officially reveal it. it will still be some time before it's available to buy so make sure to stay in the loop and we'll post again as soon as it is ready. thanks for your support! - dev team out
explore modules
JANUARY 5, 2022 POSTED BY TOBIAS VON HOFSTEN
celebrating creativity a new year is here and hopefully you've had a relaxing holiday. for more and more people, january has become synonymous with #jamuary. it's the perfect time to get creative with all your instruments, to overcome any challenge that may be holding you back and to share your music, no matter what. to celebrate creativity we are honoring #jamuary2022 in a special way. we've teamed up with cuckoo since a few years now, our good friend cuckoo has been taking the lead on #jamuary when it comes to electronic music. this year we're supporting this work by teaming up and giving away some late holiday gifts. cuckoo has issued a four-part giveaway challenge, with one winner per week, so this is your chance to collect your reward. how to participate every friday a new challenge will be announced over on cuckoo's instagram where you'll learn about all the details on how to participate. basically, there will be a new theme every week, and to participate you upload and tag your creations. the winners will be announced on mondays the following weeks, on the 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st of january. good luck! what you can win the prices for these challenges will also be revealed by cuckoo but we can hint at teenage engineering merch, cases, synths and maybe even a magic radio. happy #jamuary!
CUCKOO #JAMUARY2022 CHALLENGE - GOOD LUCK!
bonus: #jamuary22together to add a little extra to your jamuary contributions you might want to consider an option initiated by aabattery . with the tag #jamuary22together he suggests using video layers to create an evolving collaborative musical piece. everything is explained in this post . have fun and good luck jamming!
MOTHER OF ALL DECKS
to celebrate the release of TX–6, we thought we'd give you a look into the design and engineering process behind our first portable mixer. here software developer and product owner marcus nilsson shares his experience working on TX–6 over the years. also, with the ability to travel again, we have some exclusive behind the scenes footage of our customized production process, filmed in our factory in malaysia.
MARCUS NILSSON SOFTWARE DEVELOPER AND PRODUCT OWNER OF TX–6
take us through the design process, how did it develop? what were the main priorities for this product? we usually start with a physical design without much functionality specified. it kind of evolves and grows during the whole project. there are always a lot of ideas but we can't have it all. we need to find the right balance between a rich feature set and usability. a lot of effort has been put into the user interface. we wanted to squeeze in many features but still make it intuitive and not too complicated. some functionality was removed or simplified because of this. the goal has been to make a product that is easy to understand and that feels playful but still professional. the timeline during a project like this is very dependant on the production schedule and some features just wasn't ready in time for launch. but we have many ideas for future updates.
love hultén is an audiovisual artist based in gothenburg, sweden. working at the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and modern tech, he began by tearing apart electronic toys, eventually ending up HDK academy of art and design where he discovered his passion for woodwork. from there, the natural progression was obviously to combine his woodcraft skills with electronics, making tactile synthesizers, game consoles and other audiovisual contraptions. a frequent user of teenage engineering products, he recently created TE-LAB, a wooden "sound machine based on modules from teenage engineering, holograms microcosm and a custom-built sequencer inspired by lomond campbell's turntable". a unique instrument, we were curious to know more and thought you might be too - so here he is to do just that.
TEXTILES DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT, BETTY
strictly business this project is using all the modules from the POM-400 kit , together with the eurorack front panels from oddvolt mentioned in an earlier blog post . the case chosen is an auer esd euro case with an added handle . the eurorack frame is from clicks & clocks , cut to size in our workshop. for power we opted to go with a portable usb solution using the dedicated usb power cable from myvolts , connected directly to the psu , and powered by a powerful anker powerbank. the power distro is used to distribute the power to all the modules. here are some links to the external parts used.
dub siren from space inspired by a little aluminium siren effect box that was lying around the office, we decided to build our own enhanced version, with an lfo , a square module and a psu . we then added a line-level output, a 9V battery and a guitar pedal power jack. the green knobs select between different pre-patched connections that you can override by inserting something into the jacks. there's a little more info on the build process over on speedbjorns instagram .
a new module for OP–Z our work with OP–Z is ongoing and here's a little behind the scenes dev update. as you know, the OP–Z functionality can be expanded with hardware modules. in the past we've released the oplab and rumble modules and finally we can officially reveal that we have a new module in the pipeline. it is called the line module and will be accompanied with an OP–Z firmware update.
