When cutting the battery wires, you should cut them at different lengths - for example first one 3 cm long, second one 5cm long (and do the opposite for the wires you are soldering on) . . . doing this means your not going to accidentally touch them together during soldering, and once soldered even a split or slipped heat shrink tube (5 years down the line) won't short them.
Also means any bulk added by the solder and heat shrink joint is staggered - in tight spaces enclosures can make a difference not having both joints next to each other.
@@tonydotnottingham Yep! Also that, a bulky solder job + heat shrink and your wires start to look like they have knees, so yeah, offsetting the cuts really help here too.
"Fair condition".....ha ha ha. *sigh* It always cracks me up when people sell synths with missing keys, broken knobs, and residue from their friend Steve's beer all over the circuit board as "fair" or "good" condition. Very nice video. Really enjoy seeing you work on this little instrument. I've brought several "fair condition" instruments back from the brink and its always a rewarding process.
so much synth based content doesn't factor in or even consider price. i love your channel because you almost always talk about the most affordable way to get a sound or instrument that is usually gatekept by price, the op-1 being one of the worst cases of this. as a destitute musician it's great to have a budget conscious synth content creator :3 i've been watching since the deepmind days and your channel keeps getting better! i always look forward to your videos.
I had a similar situation when I bought one last year on reverb, seller had said the battery was replaced and that was the only issue it had ever had. When I got the op1, the battery still was not functioning properly and 2 of the keys weren't working, so i had reverb cover the costs of repair and the only authorized op1 repair shop in north america happened to be nearby so i brought it there and they replaced everything (battery and connector parts, and keyboard) and it ended up costing about 250 which i didnt have to pay for anyways thanks to reverbs policy. Worked out well.
As somebody with minimal technical skill and somebody who's interested in the OP-1 but not "$1300-interested," I enjoyed this video and appreciated the edited down version. Anyways, there were too many comments to skim so somebody else may have recommended a similar option for additional/extended content but... A prop-making channel I follow has an "extra credit club" where they post BTS content that's only accessible to "club" members. It's basically a secondary channel for Patreon members or people who pay a small subscription fee to be in the "club." Might be an option for the more specialized audience.
Sometimes I buy low cost little phatty or JP-8000 that need repairs like key replacement, recap, new lcd backlight, encoder or potentiometer replacement etc. But I never pay more than one third of the average price on Reverb otherwise it’s really unlikely I will make any money. At $700 for the OP-1 and the parts, you will be lucky to get your money back especially with those knobs that are not original. When it comes to plastic parts, these are the most expensive parts to replace so I generally stay away when more than a couple of keys are broken or when the plastic shell has more than a few scruffs.
Perhaps you could put up the unedited footage unlisted with a link in this video? That way, you still get the digestible version, you don't run afoul of the RU-vid algorithm and you can serve the audience that would enjoy seeing the full process.
When soldering wire you can use the hook method where you form the two ends into hooks and "hook" them together, then twist them. You could also use the NASA standard in which push the two frayed ends of the wires into each other and then twist them so the frayed ends lock together. The NASA way I think works better with larger wires though. And the hook method is more pre-tin friendly.
I paid about 8 even for a mint condition OP-1 and didn't have to spend the time to fix it. While bringing synths back to life is really important in my view there isn't much profit in it, and considering you don't have all original parts like the knobs the value you're going to get vs a mint OP-1 is going to be significantly less as well. Good video from a technical standpoint though. The trick to getting synths cheap is patience.
so theres the nice guy seller who gives a lot of transparent honest info straight up in his posting, replies quickly, and is available for post-shipment convo, so happy customers refer u and come back. or the jackass who gives people the joy of gambling for a broken thing they bought expensive, leading them on. luckily ive had almost only good experiences, except the ones "sold as shown" type or the "i dont know whatthis is and i didnt check if the powering up works" type 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Death_By_Media sure can be. i wouldnt doubt it at all 🤣🤣 i once got lucky tho, dude sold his deseased grandpas huge early 80ies tascam tape mixer, and didnt know what it was nor how to check. it did and is still workig fine :). it had the original label stickers of grandpas 70ies foto slideshow for audiodub 🤣🤣
DON'T FEEL BAD OH NO LOL. Providing specific caps is totally a service, my issue was not realizing I needed 5. Your prices are fair (plus you were really helpful), only drop was i should've done my research in advance to factor it in. 🙏🙏
Man, some musicians are hard on their gear. It can be a real boon for people who can fix stuff. I got a micro brute for $60 that needed power connector work.
Do you have any advice about these damn flex cables connecting the keyboard to the motherboard? So frustrating. They keep getting loose, causing the keyboard to malfunction. The black nibs on each side of the Zero Insertion Force connection seems to be of no help fighting the tension of the cable bend itself, ultimately resulting in the ribbon getting loose. Thanks
Mine won’t go into Boot-mode so I can’t update update the firmware…EVER… I attempted to contact TE to see if I can purchase a new DSP board…they told me to contact my local supplier of parts but they never replied back to me. Would love to have updated to use audio over midi but, alas, no dice. Apparently this is a common problem with no discernible way to fix as the DSP boards don’t appear to be readily available anywhere (especially in Australia).
It’s crazy that after all that is still am like “damn he snagged one for so cheap!” I am pretty handy so I hope to one day find a mad deal on a basket case to resuscitate, it seems the only way I will ever be able to afford one, sadly. Even with the new OP-1F dropping prices a bit.
I got my self a broken OP-1 with a few broken keys and dysfunctional microphone. They keys i managed to fix, but would you know if it's possible to fix the microphone without replacing the whole IO board?
Great work! I recently picked up an OP-1 from ebay with no visible damage, but arrived with a broken line-in port. Long story short they refunded me and I still have the unit. Haven't tried it yet, but any tricks on removing the door on the bottom door without damaging the finish? I have noticed some degraded battery performance even though it's a newer Rev.2, so I might need to try your battery trick as well.
I'm looking for a battery for my OP-1 and I've found a 055070 battery 3.7v, but not with 1800mAh but 2300mAh. Having in account that 055070 stands for the measures, it could be possible to use this battery? Or it's better to search for a 1800mAh battery? Thanks!
this might be a dumb question but, "why didnt you just un-solder wires directly from the battery and then solder the other wires directly to the battery? seems like youre doing almost another 30 min of unnescesarry work, but maybe im missing something?
@@JorbLovesGear no.....Im saying why didnt you just solder connections directly to the battery terminal itself rather than a wire extension in esscence.
“If you can read this your warranty is gone, sorry” - as you wish Teenage engineering, you are now blacklisted from any of my future purchases. And I've been thinking of the OP-1. Not anymore. I won't support these anti-consumer practices and I'll be happy to steer any friends away from you as well. Sorry, but I'm not sorry.
Which company allows you to open up the device and keep the warranty? Lol. Companies can’t be responsible for people fucking around with the electronics and shorting the circuit board or any of the number of things that could happen. If you’re getting to a point where the OP-1 looks like this it’s probably not under warranty anyways.
@@ChumpyDumps Actually, laws in some legal jurisdictions prohibit such anti-consumer warranty terms. In these countries, the manufacturer may refuse to repair a device under warranty only if the owner caused the very damage they want repaired under warranty. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against 'you broke it we won't repair it under warranty' policy. That is absolutely fine by me. However, merely opening up the device does not brick the device, does it? And not all people are clumsy nitwits who try to service their device when they're not competent to do so.
@@ChumpyDumps Literally every product sold in America and in the EU? I'm not familiar with the specific EU law, but in the USA, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act outlawed voiding a consumer's warranty based on doing their own repairs, and sourcing third-party parts for them, UNLESS the company can prove the repairs actually caused the damage that prompted the warranty claim.
@@JorbLovesGear I didn't mean yours! I meant when the seller replied with a counter-offer detailing the costs of repairing the device, he forgot the costs of labor! Another reason for you to get a discount on the price you payed. Even when you do it yourself.. somebody has to go through the risk of getting all the parts and actually undergoing the repair. If not the seller could have easily done it himself and sell it at a higher price. There's a reason he chooses not to and that should be accounted in the price of such horribly mistreated articles.
The price of those parts is 6x the actual part cost ! That's INSANE ! Teenage Engineering really 💩 me ! You really need to leave your camera on auto focus 😩
@@JorbLovesGear sure the tinkering and learning and content that it generated I'm sure was worth it for you, I think generally tho my takeaway is to not do this because it's not worth it, do you have a final cost list? You spent 600ish on the unit and 200ish on parts, so what you can spend an extra 200 and get a brand new one
@@axioms22 Got the partial refund today, that takes me to 715 total, after tax and shipping. 505 for the unit after refund, 110 for key caps, 80 for the board + og knobs, round up 20 for the battery. Cheapest used on reverb now is 925 + ship + tax, let alone 1300 for a new one. Plus I know my I/O board is fresh, plus I know my battery is fresh.
$700 for a busted toy, Bro wtf. I don't even know why I'm watching this. Must be a morbid curiosity because it boggles my mind someone would buy this thing.
If any of you guys need knob replacements for stuff like this, I make and sell custom 3D printed knob sets that look really cool. Reach out to me on instagram and I'd be glad to work with you! instagram.com/nunu.knobs/
I like your process. And yes it is frustrating when you can't do it cheaper. Especially when it's just a piece of plastic that can surely not cost much to make. In my own experience of fixing various things electrical, I've found that taking time to search is well worth while, and being patient, hard as it is, always seems to save money. As for plastic parts, could 3d printing be cheaper?
@@JorbLovesGear Even a cheap resin printer will be high enough resolution . . . I've got both a resin and an FDM and to be honest I'll often print my knobs/buttons (etc) on the FDM, I won't even bother breaking out the Resin, you'd be surprised at how detailed even a decent FDM can print . . . as for strength, with small parts good ol' regular everyday PLA is more than strong enough, I have a Behringer VC340 (not by any means light) sitting on two wall brackets I printed in PLA.
PSA for all used OP-1 buyers: COM mode is your friend in these repairs- Hold COM when powering up and you can get to a test mode (also to update the firmware) where you test all major functionality. ALSO: Contacting Teenage Engineering directly can be easier than trying to scope used parts or through the perpetually out-of-stock iFixit. Sincerely, someone who had to buy a whole keyboard module because two key switches went bad just so I could sell mine.
Awesome video, love your channel Jorb!! I bought a used OP1 with two keys that don't work. The caps are on, they just don't do anything. Any idea why independent keys wouldn't work and if that would be fixable? Thanks for all you are doing here!
Cheers, appreciate that. I haven't heard of that on an OP1, but lots of membrane key keybeds can have issues with contacts getting worn out, wear on the thin traces that pass those signals, etc. There are tons of general resources for working on those. I'm not sure if there's a good way get to the underside of the membranes on the op1, though....worst case scenario a totally new keybed is absolutely an option, only might be tough to find and relatively expensive. Good luck!
Nice work brother! I'm a dyed in the wool DIYer and have bought and fixed a ton of broken gear over the years. I have also bitten off more than I could chew in the past, and had to throw in the towel on certain gear before it ate my wallet and my time, which is always a bummer. Glad this piece didn't turn out that way! Have fun at Super Booth! Gonna be a nice flight with that little op-1 to make music with on the way.
Cool video. You're brave for buying used gear that's known to be broken. I recently bought an OP-1 new. I thought about buying one broken and repairing it myself. The biggest concern was trusting that the seller had the knowledge to know what was wrong with their device. It's also kind of hard to assign value to something that's broken. You have to take into account the risk (the seller probably doesn't know fully what's wrong), the hassle to find replacements (there seems to be a shortage of everything right now), and the time it takes to research and repair. Buying used, but working was also an option, but those go around $1000. At that price point, I'm more comfortable spending more and having a warranty.
I found one today at a flea market and I got a very clean piece with all the buttons and knobs, no damaged to the body or screen for it for around for 55 usd with a case and charging wire, now the issue is it doesn't turn on or even charge.... where do I start from ? - should I keep it on charge for couple of days or should I look at order a battery and replace it or something else to check first
Great tear down video and price breakdown for repairing it. ❤️ those replacement knobs where did you buy them? Very interesting condition it was in good job on fixing it.
Love how you restored this thing. This is the first video i've seen of yours and i really like the content and your soothing voice. I love my OP-1 and i hope it gives you much joy!
Not hating on the OP-1 at all, but I find it really funny when I hear "Tennage Engineering manufactured every single part", and then you see that with the screen they used, half of it is covered by the keyboard. With all the designing and cost surrounding this, they couldn't have sourced a screen that fit, or designed it with the screen dimensions in mind?
@@JorbLovesGear Oh I didn't know that, thank you! Do you know if there is there a way to tell if one is using the new screen without removing the keyboard?
jesus, who the fuck owned this thing, they destroyed it. Who spends $1200 on something and then trashes it? Did the person ever give you a refund for not saying the IO board was bad?
Yeah at the price they sell those at if anything anything went wrong with that unit should be an automatic replacement because they’ve already charge six or seven times more than what it’s worth.
Good info! I enjoyed watching the repair. I can't be the only one who thinks your replacement knobs look better than the originals. Other than the cuteness factor, I'm trying to understand what you can do with an OP-1 that you couldn't do with a cell phone app? It just seems like an overpriced gimmick to me, but I'll look forward to your review. Take care on your trip!
I guess $580 is a deal for this thing, I've been seeing broken OP-1's getting bid up over $800 on ebay. I ended up scoring a perfectly good used one for around $900.
Where are you finding parts for this? That website is all out of stock on everything. I need a new keyboard and an IO port and thats probably the issue that I've got. I know it needs a new battery but I feel like thats negligible since it turns on.
Always neat to see those teensy tiny interconnects with little locking flaps. Many of them used on laptops and phones are even smaller. With that said, I find it insane the seller still wanted 500+ for it when it needs that much work and is in such condition. I've had mine for at least two years now and it's still mint. Mind you I haven't really taken it outside much but I do take really good care of it.
I ended up replacing the battery on mine a while ago but im having issues with the storage after reassembly. I factory reset it and I go and plug it into the computer to copy over the newest version os but my computer says there's not enough storage, like 14 mb or somthing. I went over things and didn't see any damage on any of the components so im at a loss. I can't seem to find anyone else with a similar issue. I miss my op1. If anyone knows of anything I can do to fix this issue, I'd very much appreciate any input.
A $1200+ synth that dies in less than 10 years. Proof is in the pudding that these things are way overpriced pieces of shit that should be sold for the price of a Volca. Oldest synth I ever bought was a 30 year old Yamaha CS-10. It cost me $550 shipped from Japan and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I’ve had mine 9 years and the only issue I’ve had is the lower “F” key falling off. I know that’s not everyone’s experience but it works great for me. I didn’t even have a case for 5 years and it still looks 100x better than the one he bought. Idk what they must have been doing
Hey Jorb, great video! It is probably gonna help several people fixing their OP's. I'm also scandalized about how much you had to pay for keys... and that the seller was not truthful. Happened to me , too. I'm really looking forward to seeing your video on the OP - I value your opinion. I'm also fixing up old gear, just haven't had the time to make a vid about it. btw: you mentioned going to Germany - if you head up to Hamburg I'd love to have a chat and a beer with you...but anyway: have fun over here! Viel Spaß, Thomas
Never used or seen one of these in person before. Thanks for the full run down! I'll know what to expect if I ever get one in Previous owner was quite a dick ;) "that's the way it came from TE" LOLOL BS
If I see you at superbooth I would like to have a look at that lovely repaired unit :) Also how the hell do you loose the keycaps? Do they break that easily? Or that dodgy seller sold them seperately 😆
It's a little concerning watching this, and wondering how many people are selling used OP-1s that look like this inside.. I wouldn't be happy if I bought a used one for $900-$1000+, and then realized that the inside looked like that. Even with the new battery, I don't want hillbilly engineering in my equipment. I would still value it for around the same price that you paid for it, $700 tops. I hope you don't try to sell it for the premium resale price, and not tell anyone about the novice work. I don't mean this to be an insult to your work, but I would want a used OP-1 that was refurbished, to have work done at factory specs. This is still a good educational video for people who can't afford to pay for a repair, and have the skills to do the repairs. I agree that it's insane that Teenage Engineering doesn't make a more affordable key set. They must be some kind of high end military space grade plastic. haha.. If someone has the means to make an aftermarket key set, then they could probably start a business making OP-1 keys. I wouldn't doubt if China makes them for 10 cents a key for Teenage Engineering. I would guess a dollar tops.
Soldering it myself isn't hillbilly engineering. It's not like I made the battery in a bathtub, I just connected a few wires. 😂 I always disclose repairs.
It's been 7 months since I requested a new keyboard set, as my Shift key is completely dead. Customer services is really polite but they are not manufacturing those parts, and I have my unit gathering dust in some corner at home. If this situation gets to one year, I'll throw a party and every single one of you is invited. There will be sledgehammers and Teenage Engineering gear.
Oh jeez, that's a real long time. Check around Facebook groups you might have some luck! I was under the impression that iFixit was where they pointed any out of warranty work.
You inspired me to keep hope and find a used OP-1 in need of some love, and I found one in my budget that I was able to fix!! I just finished my first OP-1 session tonight. Thank you, Jorb!!! Wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for you and Son Wu saving these zombie OP-1s!
