Teenage Engineering releases OP-XY firmware 1.2.0 with a new drum synth

Teenage Engineering released version 1.2.0 of the firmware for its OP-XY synthesizer on 15 October, adding multichannel audio over USB-C, a new drum synth and a dynamic filter. According to Gearnews, it is the biggest update for the instrument so far, and it is a free download from the company's website.

Over USB the OP-XY can now send eight channels to a DAW at once, alongside two stereo modes. Users choose which tracks are sent and can assign aux tracks, with four preset configurations and four user memory slots.

The new drum synth, Drumline, has 10 modes, each with four adjustable parameters plus sub-parameters. It brings a percussion-focused envelope, a funk parameter for rhythmic variation and per-note random variations. The dynamic filter pairs high-pass and low-pass filters with compression and overdrive, and also works on the other sound engines. CDM adds that the update includes detune and was presented at the company's new retail store in New York City.

A day earlier, the Swiss distributor Om Sound Distribution had previewed the update on Instagram, then mentioning nine voices for Drumline. Gearnews lists the OP-XY at Thomann for $1,933, £1,769 or 2,055€, with a free carrying case and the company's M-1 headset for purchases before 29 October 2026. The previous version, 1.1.15, released in July, raised the number of patterns per track from 9 to 16.

Teenage Engineering is a Swedish company. In October mbuzz reported that its founder, Jesper Kouthoofd, had reportedly told his team the firm would stop making synthesizers, according to the German magazine Groove.