You don't understand their pricing because you don't understand what they are actually selling. They don't sell musical devices, they sell status symbols.
You buy an OP-1 to look cool, not to actually make music with it. It's a bit like with the iPhone, but on a whole different level.
Some buy fancy sneakers, others buy fancy pens and Moleskine, others buy an OP-1.
And you can't have a cheap status symbol.
This is also why they look so clean and minimalistic, like a MacBook, to the point of sacrificing ergonomy, since the aesthetic is what they are selling, so they can't look gnarly, black and full of ports and cables like an actual musical device.
This is simply not true. I own a lot of synths, and the OP-1 is a very capable (and extremely portable) 4 track studio. I sketch a lot of music on it, and it sees regular use in the studio.
There will always be a collector class with any category of designer product. Established manufacturers (Nike, Monte Blanc, Omega) are aware of this and directly cater to those customers. I don't think this was TE's intent when they launched their synthesizer.
The OP-1 is an incredibly well designed product that stands on its own as an instrument. The device has taken on the life of a status symbol somewhat in 10 years, but is that due to TE or due to the quality of the product? Synthesizers have their own collector class after all, but I don't think you can accuse TE of intentionally catering to those folks when they made the OP-1. People like good design for many reasons. The OP-1 has an undeniable aesthetic quality but it's a versatile and flexible (and portable) instrument under all that.
That's a very bad hole to dig with "most people buy it because" nonsense. Why do YOU care what others buy or don't buy? Were you ever going to get one? Even at $400-$600? It smacks of "I don't want this, therefore NO one should want this...and if they do they are only getting it because blah blah blah".
Let people like/use/play what they want and stop judging others for their choices just because they're not YOUR choices. I, btw, don't own anything by Teenage Engineering, but it absolutely doesn't affect my world one iota if someone else does.
Do me a favor and go on YouTube or Instagram or Facebook and look up the million videos of people making music with it. You don’t know what you’re talking about here. I don’t know a single person who flashes their OP-1. By your argument, owning a guitar and only knowing a couple chords is “status symbol” purchase.
You know what I see in 20% of instagram pictures tagged OP-1? Cassettes. Are you telling me there is no hipster aesthetic that a lot of these posters aspire too?
If you don’t like some particular piece of music, just say so, but you’re pigeonholing a lot of people, and it makes you look like you’re saying “they’re wearing bellbottoms! This isn’t art!”
The first time I saw an OP-1 was the MoMa design store. It took me a few minutes to realize that expensive synthesizers are the new unplayed, high-end electric guitars that boomers like to buy.
Modulars and multifunctional devices like the OP-1 or Octatrack seem to be what "the kids" are interested in, if they buy new hardware - there is just more "bang for the buck" when you go with those options. Vintage synths are fun curiosities, but with prices skyrocketing, most everyone turns to the very accurate software reproductions to actually use the sounds.
It's a very rapid divergence between collectors and users.
There are plenty of musicians using classic hardware, not just collectors. Same with guitars.
OP-1 and Octatrack provide a different workflow but the classic stuff provides a truly special sound. While the software reproductions of vintage analog synths get you 90% of the way there, musicians want 100% of the sound. If that weren’t the case then you would see prices of classic instruments go down.
I am not a pro musician however, I just want to noodle every so often for fun.
In my experience the collectors and 'gear junkie' crowd are the people buying the vintage stuff now (and obsessing which of the dozens of 303 clones sounds most like the original) while the pro's just make music with whatever equipment they have and like...
I didn't say they have to be, just that the vast majority are, maybe because they get a lot of usage and black is a good color for hiding dirt, maybe because they stand out less.
> "they look so clean...sacrificing ergonomy, since the aesthetic is what they are selling, so they can't look gnarly, black...like an actual musical device."
You're arguing that because they are a status symbol and have to look "clean and minimalist" they can't look black like an actual music device looks like. Of which I think your main point in that statement is that OP-1 != "actual music device".
You buy an OP-1 to look cool, not to actually make music with it. It's a bit like with the iPhone, but on a whole different level.
Some buy fancy sneakers, others buy fancy pens and Moleskine, others buy an OP-1.
And you can't have a cheap status symbol.
This is also why they look so clean and minimalistic, like a MacBook, to the point of sacrificing ergonomy, since the aesthetic is what they are selling, so they can't look gnarly, black and full of ports and cables like an actual musical device.