End of Support? End of Life? Synchronicity?

September 1, 2024 11:22 PM

Why are so many Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizers showing up on the secondary market all of a sudden?
posted by infinitewindow to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Hah, I don't have one, but as someone who is regularly tempted by cool audio gear: There is often a large gap between the excited aspiration of "I'm gonna make so much cool music with this" and the reality of "I never actually use this thing at all." Teenage Engineering gear is very cool, and very expensive, which I think leads to an elevated rate of once-excited purchasers realizing they're not ever going to make sick beats with the OP-1, and trying to recoup their costs by reselling.
posted by flod at 11:52 PM on September 1 [5 favorites]

What do you consider "a lot?" On the Bay Area craigslist, there's been at least 2-3 up for sale more or less nonstop for years. Interestingly, they hold their value pretty well (people have been asking $800 for the OP-1, $1800-$2k for the OP-1 Field).

Agree with everything flod writes, which is why I've never bought one of them despite looking often enough to share this observation.
posted by Alterscape at 1:59 AM on September 2 [1 favorite]

Teenage Engineering products tend to be intentionally limited in capability, which might not work for everybody. Also, the original OP-1 is now discontinued, so some owners might be upgrading to the new OP-1 Field.
posted by strangecargo at 5:54 AM on September 2