Teenage Engineering: what is the field range?

They're the Swedish mischief-makers of the music tech world, the kind of company that looks at a standard audio workflow, laughs politely, and then builds something so beautifully strange it makes you rethink how music should be made. Known for turning industrial design into art, and sonic chaos into a product line, Teenage Engineering doesn’t just sell gear; they sell creative rebellion. From the iconic OP-1 that launched a thousand YouTube beats, to their collaborations with IKEA, they’ve built a cult following not by chasing trends, but by crafting gear that feels like it was sent back in time from a lo-fi utopia. Enter: the Field range.

This isn’t just an upgrade or a sequel. It’s Teenage Engineering’s love letter to portability, tactile design, and letting your creativity live anywhere but the traditional studio. The Field family, OP-1 Field, TP-7, TX-6, CM-15, aren't about brute-force specs or sterile feature lists. It’s about experience. Playfulness. Control that feels like chaos in disguise.

Everything’s battery-powered. Everything fits in a bag (a very well-padded, very niche bag), and everything dares you to abandon perfection in favour of personality. Think of it as a musical toolkit for the modern nomad. For the producer who makes beats on a train. For the songwriter recording vocals in a tent. For the podcaster who wants their recorder to click. For the rest of us just trying to remember why gear used to make us smile.

This is Teenage Engineering’s Field range, meticulously engineered, maddeningly beautiful, and made for people who still believe that music making should be weird, joyful, and just a little bit wild.

An all‑in‑one portable synthesizer, sampler, drum machine, and sequencer, the OP‑1 Field builds on decades of Teenage Engineering innovation. Housed in a compact, battery‑powered chassis, it features a built‑in speaker and microphone, FM radio sampling, Bluetooth MIDI, velocity‑sensitive keyboard, and multilayer effects. It’s aimed at musicians who want studio‑quality sound in a handheld, playful, and intuitive package.

Key Features:

• Built‑in speaker, mic, FM radio plus sampler/recorder
• Ten (or eleven) synthesis engines with onboard effects
• Velocity‑sensitive 24‑key keyboard
• Bluetooth MIDI and USB‑MIDI connectivity
• All‑in‑one battery‑powered workflow
• Intuitive OLED display and visual UX

Let’s talk about the Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field, a sleek little aluminium slab that's looking to reinvent music production by taking the DAW / Recording Software workflow and metaphorically stuffing it into a locker and throwing away the key.

This isn’t just some boutique synth/recorder/sampler, slicer/fidget toy hybrid. No, this is a full-on 1980s-style, tape-based recording wrapped in a minimalist, carefully engineered premium chassis (with mechanical clicky keys!) and powered by a workflow that makes you feel like you’re splicing analogue tape in a Cold War basement studio - and we mean that with a high compliment.

Here’s the thing: the OP-1 Field doesn’t care about your 200-track Ableton sessions or your obsession with quantising hi-hats to death. It’s not here to help you get your plugin chain just right. It’s here to teach you that making music can… and maybe should… feel like a slightly chaotic magic trick.

At the centre of this madness is its tape machine workflow. Four tracks. Linear. No undo button holding your hand. If you mess up, you either roll with it like a jazz piano player who dropped their sandwich on the keys or you start over. It's bold. It's brutal. It's refreshing.

Editing on the tape feels like performing surgery with oven mitts at first, but then, you get used to it. You learn to embrace imperfection. You punch in over old parts like it’s 1987. You bounce tracks until you forget what was originally recorded. You start thinking in takes, not clips. You stop looking at waveforms and start listening with your ears, remember those?

Here’s a fun fact: creativity loves boundaries. And the OP-1 Field is basically a beautifully designed set of creative speed bumps. Want to loop a section? Cool, now do it without gridlines. Want to overdub? Better be good on the timing, because this thing isn’t auto, snapping anything.

It’s a reminder that music doesn’t have to be a spreadsheet. Sometimes, you just need a loop, a mood, and a big fat bassline played slightly out of time, and suddenly, it sounds human. And in a world full of AI-generated musical wallpaper, that’s a spicy breath of fresh analogue air (We know it’s digital, but it’s the analogue vibe!)

The OP-1 Field is a very different cookie, but just like the Cookie Monster after a delicious batch of jammy dodgers, you’ll be asking for a hearty more, please. It’s an absolute powerhouse for creativity; it invites you to harness and embody imperfections. The OP-1 brute forces the human element into electronics. The size, build, legendary battery and quick setup really lends perfectly for getting down ideas whilst you’re off out on a quest, ready for you to use as is, or take further in your home studio. Welcome home, our crazy friends, let's take a seat and vibe.

It's not a music software replacement. It's a creative detour. A boutique lo-fi wormhole. A reminder that sometimes, fewer features and more friction are exactly what your music needs.

TP‑7 is a beautifully designed, battery‑powered field recorder engineered for high‑quality audio capture on the go. With internal mic, speaker, memo‑button instant record, and three versatile 3.5 mm TRRS jacks that double as input/output, TP‑7 lets you record, edit, cue‑mark and multitrack up to 128 GB internal storage. It also functions as a USB‑C audio interface and links seamlessly with the TX‑6 mixer for portable workflows.

Key Features:

• Internal mic, speaker, instant‑memo one‑button recording
• Three TRRS jacks supporting dual‑direction stereo I/O
• 128 GB internal (non‑expandable) storage
• Native 24‑bit/96 kHz USB‑C audio interface
• Cue/edit tools, markers, loop, and companion iOS app
• ~7 hour battery life, Bluetooth file sync/transcription features

Ah, the Teenage Engineering TP-7. A pocket-sized audio recorder that looks like it fell out of the coat pocket of a time-travelling journalist from a cyberpunk noir film, only to be discovered by a Swedish design team with a flair for chaos and stainless steel.

What is it? A field recorder? A lo-fi production tool? A fidget spinner for audio nerds? Yes. All of the above. And somehow, none of it.

The TP-7 doesn’t care what your Zoom H6 thinks. It’s here to make you question your entire relationship with recording audio, then spin a motorized wheel at you while you try to figure out what just happened.

At first glance, it looks like a tiny reel-to-reel machine that wandered off from a Wes Anderson set. At second glance, you're still confused, but now you're holding it, and the wheel is spinning like it's trying to hypnotise you.

That spinning disc? It's not just a party trick, it’s a functional transport wheel. Stop, start, scrub, fast-forward like it's 1983 and you're late for your radio show. It even clicks. And yes, you will become addicted to that click.

In a world where every other audio recorder has the charm of a microwave oven’s user manual, the TP-7 says: "Let’s bring some joy back to the act of pressing record."

Remember Dictaphones? No? Doesn’t matter—the TP-7 does. It takes that old-school journalistic vibe, adds a rechargeable battery, high-end mics, USB-C, Bluetooth, and a touchscreen the size of a postage stamp, and dares you to make sense of it.

You don’t record projects with the TP-7; you record moments, interviews, ideas, and sonic daydreams. It’s like carrying around a hi-fi diary for your ears. Spontaneous voice notes become sound art. Ambient textures become songs in waiting.

Is it a DAW? Nope. Is it an audio interface? Technically yes. Is it also a tape recorder, looper, MIDI controller, and existential conversation starter at your next synth meetup? Absolutely.

If you're the kind of person who records five voice memos a day just to remember what your soul sounds like, congrats, you’re the target audience. Podcasters, journalists, songwriters, live-looping nutters, and anyone who's ever screamed "Why can’t gear just be fun?"—this one's for you.

If, on the other hand, your idea of creative bliss is staring at waveforms in 4K until your coffee curdles, maybe keep walking. The TP-7 doesn’t do precision. It does personality.

Like its sibling the OP-1 Field, the TP-7 thrives on creative constraint. No endless menu diving. No sterile multitrack mic array UI. Just big tactile buttons, a satisfying scroll wheel, and enough quirky design choices to make an Apple engineer weep into their latte.

And yet, it works. You think more before hitting record. You listen more after. You start to appreciate sound for what it is, not what you can edit it into later. It's a tool that demands presence, not perfection. And maybe that’s what we've been missing.

The TX‑6 is a super‑compact, battery‑powered 6‑channel stereo mixer and multi‑channel USB‑C audio interface. It includes EQ, compressor, filters, aux send, cue mix, tempo sync, an internal synth/sequencer, and a built‑in tuner. With MFi/iOS support and a high‑contrast OLED screen, TX‑6 is a mobile production hub built from milled aluminium. With firmware updates, it supports multitrack recording and expanded sequencer control.

Key Features:

• Six stereo inputs / twelve mono‑track USB outputs at 24‑bit/48 kHz
• Per‑channel three‑band EQ, compression, filter, effects
• Built‑in sequencer/synth engine plus tuner
• MFi‑certified iOS support, USB‑C audio/MIDI interface
• Rechargeable ~7–8h battery with auto‑sleep display
• Compact CNC aluminium build, OLED screen, Bluetooth BLE MIDI

The TX-6 is what happens when a boutique audio mixer stumbles into a science fiction novel, takes one look around, and says, “I belong here.”

It's a 6-channel stereo mixer, yes, but also a synth, audio interface, FX box, and USB-C Extension for the TP-7 Recorder. This is the ultimate in teeny tiny portable mixers.

Don’t let the size fool you. This thing has serious routing options, onboard effects, internal sequencing, and it doubles as a class-compliant audio interface. It’s a marvel of design and miniaturization.

Each fader is about the length of your thumbnail but somehow everything is perfectly tactile. You don’t mix on the TX-6, you perform surgery on your signal chain and it feels weirdly empowering.

Want a high-pass filter? It's there. Want to run live FX on a drum machine, guitar, and synth all at once? Go for it. Want to DJ a vinyl set through a device the size of a deck of cards? Be our guest.

But don’t expect plug-and-play comfort. Like all TE devices, the TX-6 makes you think different. It hides power behind a deceptively minimalist interface and asks you to meet it halfway.

The reward? A mixer that inspires. Not just a utility box, but a playable instrument that can sit at the heart of your set.

The CM‑15 is a studio‑quality, large‑diaphragm condenser microphone built for field use. Equipped with a 1‑inch capsule, onboard professional preamp, battery operation, USB‑C interface, and a 48 V phantom‑powered mini XLR output plus dual mono 3.5 mm jack, it supports simultaneous analogue and digital output. It delivers low noise, high SPL headroom, and versatile connectivity in an ultra‑portable, tripod‑mountable package.

Key Features:

• 1‑inch large‑diaphragm capsule with supercardioid pattern
• Internal battery plus USB‑C & pseudo‑balanced mini‑XLR output
• Dual mono 3.5 mm jack line output (usable simultaneously)
• 48 V phantom support, ESS Sabre ADC at 96 kHz, 14 dBA noise floor
• Built‑in preamp with high SPL headroom (~138 dB THD)
• Compact (~132 g), tripod mountable and robust field-ready

Say hello to the CM-15, Teenage Engineering's take on the humble condenser microphone, except it's not humble at all. It’s a high-end studio mic that shrank itself, joined the Field family, and decided to become the most charming overachiever in your audio setup.

At first glance, the CM-15 looks like a modern art pencil case from the future. At second glance, you realise it's got a 1-inch large-diaphragm capsule inside that wants to capture your soul (or at least your vocals) with shocking fidelity.

This isn’t just a mic. It’s a mic with phantom power, USB-C, 3.5mm output, and a built-in preamp. It's the kind of gear that whispers to your expensive studio setup, “You mad?”

Most condenser mics don’t enjoy movement, despise batteries, and will audibly sulk if you dare record outside of a treated room. The CM-15, however, shows up with a fully charged battery and asks, “Where are we recording today, boss?”

Stick it on a desk, clip it to a bag, hold it like a retro camcorder mic from the '80s, it doesn’t care. It’s ready to track vocals in a mountaintop cabin or record your podcast in a city café surrounded by noisy espresso machines.

If you're chasing pristine audio and still want to travel light, the CM-15 is your new best friend. Singer-songwriters, field recordists, vloggers with high standards, this is your mic. You’re buying sonic trust in a pocket-sized rectangle.

With a lineup of exquisitely designed tools that don't just help you make music, they inspire you to. The Field range isn’t a collection of spec sheets in shiny boxes. It’s a philosophy. A commitment to joyfully overthinking the details, so you can joyfully underthink the process of creating.

Yes, they are expensive. Let’s not tiptoe around it.

But here’s the truth: these aren’t just devices, they’re investments in how you make music. You're not paying for raw power, you’re paying for feeling. For the way the TP-7's wheel spins under your thumb. For the quiet satisfaction of recording vocals on the CM-15 in the middle of nowhere and realizing it sounds… pristine. For the moment when the OP-1 Field’s tape machine glitches in just the right way and you keep it because it’s better than what you planned. You’re paying for a system that turns friction into freedom. That turns limitations into lightning bolts. That doesn’t just enable creativity, it dares you to chase it somewhere new.

And if you're the kind of person who values tools that do more than function, tools that delight, challenge, and surprise you, then yes, the Field range is worth every single cent. Because here’s the thing: making music shouldn’t always feel like work. Sometimes, it should feel like falling in love with sound all over again.

Teenage Engineering didn’t build the Field system to compete with anyone. They built it for people like you, the ones who still get excited opening a box, pressing record, and seeing what happens next. So go ahead: hit play. Spin the wheel. Turn up the volume. And make something beautifully imperfect. Welcome to the Field. Welcome to Teenage Engineering.

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