Check this clip of Teenage Engineering’s upcoming synth project – The OP1. A peek at the onscreen display reveals a jet black OLED screen with high contrast graphics. It gives off a ‘neon ceiling decor from an 80′s nightclub’ vibe; and the GUI is pure get-the-hell-out genius. For anyone who’s fumbled with analog tape recorders will appreciate the nostalgic nod to ye old reel-to-reel. Far removed from Native Instrument’s pixel heavy softsynths, TE seems to have taken their design cues from a Texas instrument calculator (and can you blame them) and early Frog Design Mac prototypes. Maybe this is the first sign that we’re getting over emulation and going back to real? Either way, I gotta get a paper route again, ‘real’ is spendy.
