Why Korg Oasys?

[swanusa]

How would you compare Oasys with Korg M3?

[Gribs]

Oasys is discontinued, M3 is not.

 

Oasys was a very cool idea for a workstation, but I think it was just a little too big for its britches. I think that the high price point scared many hobbyists and semi-pros who were able to reach it away since much of the functionality could be achieved using interchangeable hardware an/or software components, albeit components not as smoothly integrated in a single box. In other words the Oasys software was "open" but you were still locked to one big expensive piece of hardware.

[CfNorENa]

Yeah, too expensive for the home hobbyist, and not enough of the early development went into the workstation half of the thing. The emphasis from the beginning was on the quality of the sounds (and that amazing touch screen), and less on (for example) the sequencer, which has been superseded even by the budget M50.

 

But the sounds are out of this world. I had four opportunities to play the Oasys, and on each occasion, the conditions were ideal: empty room, no hassle from store workers, and really nice headphones. Without question the best sounding synthesizer I've ever heard. Not just better, but WAY better than the M3/M50.

[terrellmiller]

 

Yeah, too expensive for the home hobbyist, and not enough of the early development went into the workstation half of the thing. The emphasis from the beginning was on the quality of the sounds (and that amazing touch screen), and less on (for example) the sequencer, which has been superseded even by the budget M50. But the sounds are out of this world. I had four opportunities to play the Oasys, and on each occasion, the conditions were ideal: empty room, no hassle from store workers, and really nice headphones. Without question the best sounding synthesizer I've ever heard. Not just better, but WAY better than the M3/M50.

 

 

 

dunno about that. I always resisted the urge to play one at GC since no way was I ever going to buy one, so I don't have any hands-on experience.

 

But Tony Banks used one extensively for the TIOA tour a couple years ago, and I was totally underwhelmed by the results. Everything sounded thin like a cheap VA, like what I'd expect from an X50, not an $8000 workstation.

[Tomkeen]

But Tony Banks used one extensively for the TIOA tour a couple years ago, and I was totally underwhelmed by the results. Everything sounded thin like a cheap VA, like what I'd expect from an X50, not an $8000 workstation.

 

I thought it sounded really good when I saw them live

[seamonkey]

 

But Tony Banks used one extensively for the TIOA tour a couple years ago, and I was totally underwhelmed by the results. Everything sounded thin like a cheap VA, like what I'd expect from an X50, not an $8000 workstation.

 

I saw that tour as well and it didn't sound like a cheap VA!

I was happy to see the old Wavestation was still being kicked about.

 

Things to be considered when judging an instrument's sound in a live setting, are such things as THE MIX and room acoustics.

Also, even if a musician is sitting in front of a synthesizer it is difficult to tell if they are actually playing the sounds from that synth(unless you recognize the preset), it may be they are playing that one sound from a sound module in a rack for that song.

[carbon111]

There's really no comparison between the two other than the fact they share basically the same KARMA implementation...

 

The OASYS has a number of synth engines the M3 doesn't have. There are 3 completely different VA synths, an extremely deep FM/PhaseMod synth, A plucked-string Physical Modeling synth and a Tonewheel modeller.

 

Also the Sampler in the OASYS uses uncompressed samples and can have 2 gigs of samples live in memory at one time without loading.

[Goofball Jones]

 

Also the Sampler in the OASYS uses uncompressed samples and can have 2 gigs of samples live in memory at one time without loading.

 

 

I always wondered why other boards don't do this. I mean, memory prices are pretty cheap now, so why don't see see 2gig or more ROM samples?

[CfNorENa]

 

There are 3 completely different VA synths

 

 

When I wrote that the Oasys was the best synthesizer I've ever heard, I probably should have specified that it's the best digital synthesizer I've ever heard. And when I played it, I hadn't yet discovered the joys of true analog. I'm curious, then, to know how the VAs on the Oasys, esp. the AL-1, stack up against real analogs. Any thoughts?

[CfNorENa]

 

I'm curious, then, to know how the VAs on the Oasys, esp. the AL-1, stack up against real analogs. Any thoughts?

 

 

Wait, wait, wait: hold the horses. This question is bound to trigger a fruitless debate. Let me rephrase: how do the VAs on the Oasys stack up against top-shelf, dedicated VAs such as the Access Virus?

[Citizen Klaus]

 

With ever declining prices of used ones, expect the OASYS to fall to $3,000 in the months ahead. ... In contrast to the OASYS the M3 is a general purchase workstation whose price puts it within reach of any capable hobbyist or professional musician. The M3 will be discontinued when newer technologies make the M3 an outmoded synth.

 

 

That's a rather bleak appraisal of the OASYS. A bit inconsistent, too, when paired up with your comment on the M3.

 

Based on your prediction, and assuming I have my math right with respect to current M3 prices on the used market:

 

Used OASYS-76: $3000

 

Used M3-73: $1800

EXB-M256: $100

EXB-RADIAS: $300

Total: $2200

 

That extra $800 would, as carbon111 noted, buy you two more VA engines (one of which, the MS-20EX, offers modular-style patching between all synthesis parameters), a six-operator FM engine that reads DX-7 patches, the STR-1 plucked-string synth, a virtual CX-3, 16-track digital audio recording, a built-in CD-R drive, and that glorious 10" LCD touchscreen.

 

Seems to me that would be an even better general-purpose workstation.

 

As much as I love my M3, I'd flip it in a heartbeat if someone offered me a $3000 OASYS.

[c+t in b]

hows the synth on the oasys. i was looking at a dedicated synth like the alesis andromeda. was the oasys digital or va? these are going fairly cheap on ebay so they might be worth it if the synths are there

[Citizen Klaus]

 

hows the synth on the oasys. i was looking at a dedicated synth like the alesis andromeda. was the oasys digital or va? these are going fairly cheap on ebay so they might be worth it if the synths are there

 

 

The OASYS does pretty much everything, though it's 100% digital. It's got a sample-based S&S engine, three VA engines, an FM synthesis engine, and more. For what you're looking to do, it's serious overkill.

[c+t in b]

well i like everything it can do. i dont need a daw at all though. id rather have an analog synth

[Citizen Klaus]

 

well i like everything it can do. i dont need a daw at all though. id rather have an analog synth

 

 

Then get an analog. The OASYS's big draw is that it integrates all that synthesis power within a self-contained DAW environment. If you don't want a DAW, you wouldn't be getting the most out of an OASYS.

[elsongs]

Why Korg Oasys?

 

 

Because you got the money.

[flat earth]

 

Which Korg synth has the following physical models: Reed Model Bowed String Model Electric Piano Model Brass Model Clue: not OASYS, M3, or Radias. So while it's great and all to talk about the different models the OASYS contains, it is quite mistaken to think that it compasses all of the capability of the others.

 

 

Does it sound like Zed Wun?

[flat earth]

A more elegant weapon from a more civilized age, says Obi-Zed-Wun.

 

'Not as clumsy or random as a modern workstation'

[Citizen Klaus]

 

Which Korg synth has the following physical models: Reed Model Bowed String Model Electric Piano Model Brass Model Clue: not OASYS, M3, or Radias. So while it's great and all to talk about the different models the OASYS contains, it is quite mistaken to think that it compasses all of the capability of the others.

 

 

Who knows? A few years after the economy rights itself, maybe we'll see an OASYS 2 with the rest of the Z1's bag of tricks.

[flat earth]

Who knows? A few years after the economy rights itself, maybe we'll see an OASYS 2 with the rest of the Z1's bag of tricks.

 

I'll drink to that

[Mike Conway]

Okay, for my 1000th post, I'll make this a doozy!

 

 

not enough of the early development went into the workstation half of the thing. The emphasis from the beginning was on the quality of the sounds (and that amazing touch screen), and less on (for example) the sequencer, which has been superseded even by the budget M50.

 

 

 

The perception of the sequencer has been skewed by the lack of intuitive design, the resolution (192 ppqn - half of the M3's) no Cue List function and the exclusion of some basic editing jobs like percentage gate and velocity adjustment, though they can be edited individually or in realtime, using Tone Adjust. (Realtime Tone Adjust recording is a very expressive feature.)

 

What you probably don't know is how powerful the sequencer can be. A lot of this is because of the best bus routing system I have ever seen on any synth, along with 16 FX processors and computer fast disk loading of songs, samples and generally large amounts of data.

 

You can record 20 tracks (16 MIDI & 4 Audio) in a single pass! Any song wave file can be opened up in the sampler, so you could conceivably play 172 audio tracks at once! You can sing into one input, while music is playing and record your voice to 4 tracks at a time, each with a different set of effects - dry track, reverb track, pitch shifted track, etc. You can even run your voice to 16 simultaneous inputs, by routing through programs, which are then routed to any of the 14 configurable FX processors and 2 Total processors.

 

Every audio track can be post-routed to effects, as well as initially record them. I just ran my voice through 12 (COUNT EM!) pitch shifters, plus a couple of reverbs and recorded to audio tracks (through Record Busses 1/2) while listening to another synth and other tracks through L/R channels. Isolation of multiple sources is possible, with each going to their own track. All faders, pans, many synth parameters (for each synth) are all recordable for automated mixing.

 

I do things with this sequencer that the Fantom G and Roland MV8800 just can't do. Granted, it takes some serious patience to get familiar, but the rewards are many.

 

For my last project, I ran a Virus TI into stereo inputs and kept it all internal to the OASYS. When my song was done, I mixed down to a wave file, pulled out the thumb drive and dropped the audio into my editing program. No external mixer was needed.

[carbon111]

Hi Mike!

I gotta see Exile!

BTW, the first K is the toughest.

 

I had a loaded K2600s some years ago...not the "audio elite edition" though. $20000. Wow.

...the 2600 was good for 3.5K but jeez.

[flat earth]

Post of the week award goes to Sir Mike Conway

 

 

 

BTW chaps, how refreshing to see a Korg OASYS thread running in such a calm and civilised way.

[OFM]

What I always wondered about the Oasys is that apparently there is a

cover on the back of it that can be removed and supposely there is a VGA port

to hook up an external monitor, it also seemed that a mouse could be hooked up to the USB port ... does this currently works? Or was it planned in the future?

 

OFM.