It is literally not the only piece of music gear you can bring on a airplane and write a whole song...
Just a recent example, the Syntakt is very capable for writing full songs. So is other gear in the Elektron lineup, namely Digitakt.
Otherwise you also have (cheaper) gear like the Novation Circuit Tracks that can also do the same.
I mean, a cursory search for "portable grooveboxes" should have revealed a ton of results for you, that are able to do the same job as the OP-1 but for even as low as 1/4 of the price (the Circuit Tracks)
The Syntakt is not battery powered. I guess one could buy a beefy battery pack and adapter cable, but… what’s the point?
The Tracks is nice, but the synth engines are not fully accessible in the hw interface. At least the params are labeled now, trying to change sounds on my original was quite frustrating.
True that the Syntakt is not battery powered, when needed I run it on a battery bank (allowed to bring on the airplane) + PD cable. The point is being able to use the same gear I use in the studio but for jams where electricity available is not great, or being able to bring it wherever I go, as I consider the device itself portable, especially considering its larger cousins (like the A4, AR or even Octatrack).
Yeah, not being able to 100% customize the synths on the Tracks is bothering me as well. Luckily, my workflow is usually two parts that I do separate. One for sound design (with the Tracks hooked up to the computer) and one for everything else. For that, it does just fine, although the UX could be better for editing the synths.
It is literally not the only piece of music gear you can bring on a airplane and write a whole song...
Just a recent example, the Syntakt is very capable for writing full songs. So is other gear in the Elektron lineup, namely Digitakt.
Otherwise you also have (cheaper) gear like the Novation Circuit Tracks that can also do the same.
I mean, a cursory search for "portable grooveboxes" should have revealed a ton of results for you, that are able to do the same job as the OP-1 but for even as low as 1/4 of the price (the Circuit Tracks)