Can anyone help

I think it is discontinued and no longer supported...
http://www.karma-lab.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=14642

Just like the G70...

(thought I'd get that in before someone beat me up with it! )

One of the most beautiful keyboards to play,but cost a lot.

Impuls.

I have one, so if there is anything specific you need to know just shout.

It is now discontinued, but far from unsupported. If you go to KORG Forums you can talk with the developers who actually built the OASYS. They hang out and help whenever they can.

The OASYS is magnificent but not just for what features it has, but for how well it sounds. It has a clarity that far exceeds everything else and this is something non-OASYS users just don't get.

I had to get one myself and live with it for a short time until the penny dropped. When sequencing you get super wide mixes that have a clarity that's hard to describe.

Everything just sounds fresh and clearly defined. The mix never sounds cluttered or tracks lost.

I've sold every keyboard I own except for the M3 at this point because of owning the OASYS. It just made everything else pointless for me as the sound is so good.

My M3 will be going up for sale in about 6 weeks too.

Regards
James


[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-03-2009).]

Double post... sorry.

[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-03-2009).]

So it sounds as if you like it.

I've never heard one, but you make it sound great!
DonM

Yeah, in all my years playing keyboards the OASYS has had the biggest impact on me and how I work. KORG haven't built the perfect workstation yet, but the OASYS it's pretty darn close.

Perfection for me would be to simply add the DBeat from Open Labs to my OASYS. I'd have everything I could ever want between the two of those.

Actually the DBeat would be a great companion for any arranger user looking for the best of both the hardware world and software world.

Regards
James

It's a shame, in a way, that the Korg isn't more 'open' in the MS and Neko sense. While it IS an all software driven keyboard, you can't add VSTi's to it to make it what you want it to be (only those that Korg have developed for it).

It would have, IMO, made the perfect 'open' keyboard. That is, one that, BEFORE you have to add in what else YOU want, is already one of the best sounding, best operating keyboards there are, and THEN you could put the icing on the cake and add in the VSTi's that you need for your specific area of music. Unlike some that allow all the VSTi's you want, but can't be bothered to make the thing an excellent keyboard to START with...

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 08-03-2009).]

Hi DonM
http://www.korg.com/oasys

Includes Demos

Bill

Just like the E 80
Bebop

Who knows...? Perhaps Korg might have one day developed an arranger interface/software for the Oasys if it had really taken off...

What do you think, James? Would you like an arranger front end, with all those great Oasys sounds doing the styles?

That would have been something to behold... and Lord knows, with all these players willing to drop $5000+ on an Audya, $8000+ on a Wersi, there might actually have been a market for it

An OASYS with a full arranger section ? lol... man that would be sweet.

I certainly expect to see Arranger keyboards going that way in the future, but I also think KORG learned that just because they “can” build it doesn't mean they should. The OASYS is the perfect example of that. It contains something like 10 years development and far exceeds anything they have ever made before. But the 8K price tag prevented it from ever being a major success.

So I think KORG will always push technology but they will do so more carefully now after the OASYS and the final ideal price tag will define just how much technology goes into the product.

If you really want to dream, if KORG simply turn around an implement a version of KARMA on their next Arranger keyboard you can pretty much kiss goodbye to the competition there and then. To understand why I'm saying that people need to understand what KARMA is. To give a tiny example, one could load a simple 8 Beat Style and then move a Karma slider 1 millimetre to turn the style into something completely new.

Basically KARMA can give you almost unlimited combinations of new notes based on the pattern you loaded. So it's sort of like a never ending supply of styles. You can even tell KARMA never to repeat a pattern and it will keep on generating new note under under restrictions that make it feel more like a real player than a pattern.

Regards
James.

[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-03-2009).]

Thing is, have we all just become cheap sons of b*tches? If you look at the price of an OB8, or Memorymoog, or Jupiter8 when they were new, and adjusted for the devaluation of the dollar, truth is, we WERE paying $8000 for our TOTL synths back then...

Thing is, for our 8 grand, we got something that WAS groundbreaking, that DID sound amazing, not some half finished clunker that only plays SOME of the guitar chords and can't be edited, or has to be voiced from scratch..!

Build it right, they WILL come

BTW, I think that the Karma is great, but it is a totally different level of sophistication to alter an arpeggio on the fly compared to making a REAL piano part, or guitar part change around constantly, and still remain musical and genre specific. We still have a ways to go before the 'rules' of real players playing (voice leading, syncopation, harmonic alteration, etc.) are icorporated into the more machine like rules of Karma, IMO.

James,

I was also knocked out by the OASYS when I played it in the music store. Clean as a whistle with absolutely authentic sounding simulations of all the orchestral sounds.

Here's the thing. I called Korg the next day to inquire about it and they told me the M3 is a "scaled-down" version of the OASYS, with the same (or a similar) sound engine.

I did play the M3 months later and was VERY impressed with that also, but nothing like the OASYS.

What's your opinion on the two units. I could see me buying an M3 as a supplemental keyboard to an arranger.

Lucky

I think you answered your own question, Lucky... "...nothing like the Oasys"

Just because PARTS of an OS or voice generation system get trickled down to lower price level keyboards doesn't necessarily mean that the magic will come with it...

Hi Lucky2Bhere.



Technically that's stretching it a bit but I can see why they would say that. Under the hood they look very similar but at the heart they are two completely different engines that sound nothing alike. The OASYS can shape sounds in ways the M3 can't and overall the clarity is far superior due to it's abilities and the fact that it also runs off of uncompressed samples unlike the M3.

The effect engine in the OASYS is also way more advanced and it can run 11 Insert effects at the same time where the M3 can run 5. Also the OASYS has effects the M3 doesn't like the OVerb effect which is just pure silk.

The OASYS also has quite a number of different types of Synth Engines. It can even load Yamaha DX7 SysEX patches straight from the real DX7.



You really can't compare them. The OASYS simply does everything better and faster than the M3 in every way imaginable. So if you have the cash and need for an OASYS you can't go wrong there.

If not, then the alternative is pretty great too.

The M3 on it's own is a fantastic product that offers excellent value for money and comes jam packed with well over 600+MB of PCM data. You will have more sounds than you will know what to do with. It's an OASYS wannabe for sure so all in all it's a tidy and excellent product.

Regards
James

James,

Thanks for your explanation here. I sometimes don’t get really “clear” answers to my questions from Korg about their keyboards. I read what you wrote about the M3, so I’m still just as enthused about it, but, bottom line, I’m mega-enthusiastic about the Oasys. After reading this whole page, I can see it wasn’t my imagination when I thought it sounded better than anything on the market. Plus, it’s one beautiful instrument!
http://www.eastcoastmusic.com/dptkey.htm http://www.korg.com/oasys

Unfortunately, I then read these messages here that knocked me for a loop. Yes, you can still buy them, but I guess you‘ll be stuck for support!
http://www.karma-lab.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=14642

P.S. I Googled the Oasys and found this among many others.

$1500???? http://www.adoos.in/post/6698548/sell_brand_new_korg_oasys_88_88key_workstation
http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/korg/?gclid=CM6BreKTjpwCFU1M5Qodq19jaA

Lucky

This really IS a wonderful instrument. Listen to those guitar sounds and the clarity on that flute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAp6iilofDc

"Korg Pa2XPro 76-key Arranger Keyboard.................$650.00 USD" ???????


There's something fishy here......

Shame we couldn't meet up because I could give you a demo of both that would show you just how good the M3 is, but also why the OASYS is in a completely different class altogether.

Both are positive experiences, but obviously the OASYS experience is vastly different. You end up going beyond things like does a piano sound like a piano and into another world of clarity.



Every OASYS user on KORG forums will tell you the exact same thing. KORG have even been saying it themselves since they OASYS was first announced. The problem is trying to let people who haven't played the OASYS to try understand all this. Your lucky because you have, but even at that you still really don't know who far it goes. You need to hear all the other Engines and actually sit down and sequence a song, or play with the COMBI sounds.

Here's a little something I sequenced a while back and I think it partly demonstrates how you can run many tracks at the same time and still have super clean separation and clarity in your mix.
http://www.irishacts.com/mp3/OASYS-Forest-Gump.mp3

Bear in mind though that you will not be able to hear the true sound of the OASYS from an Mp3. In case your wondering what the tune is I sequenced, its the Feather Theme to Forrest Gump the movie.



Discontinued simply means that no new features will be implemented. KORG will continue to support it like they do all their products. Even if someone finds a bug 1 year from now, KORG will fix it and release a new OS.

This has always been their way. Just look at KORG forums and you will see what I mean. There's a number of KORG Tech guys hanging out there. Even the guys who built the OASYS.

Regards
James

James....yes, we're probably about 3,000 miles apart, but I sure would have loved to hear you demo the two units for me.

I listened to your Feather Theme. That’s a really pretty song…particularly the way you put it together on the OASYS...very smooth...very melodic. I also listened to a few more Youtube OASYS players. My God, that really is the instrument to end all instruments. The others now sound like toys next to it!

I had another 30 minute conversation with a Korg techie a few days back about the Oasys and the M3. I take back what I said, those guys are OK over there. And very knowledgeable when you get the right "specialist." He explained to me the history of the OASYS and the technology behind it and he stressed the fact that Korg pulled out all the stops to produce an instrument that was way ahead of it’s time and well aware of the (pre-recession) cost factor. They also reassured me as to their undying support for years to come. I came away from the conversation absolutely convinced of the superior sound qualities of that keyboard and the sound investment it would make. Like, even coming across computer desktop speakers those demo's are fantastic. Plus, I still remember my reaction when I first played it at the music store.

Unfortunately, like the top of the line arrangers, I can’t find one in any of the stores to try out again. So I'm going to let my thoughts percolate over this situation. But not too long because my feeling is that now that they're not in production any longer what's left at the dealers will go fast, especially if the price starts to come down!

Lucky

James, I wonder if I might ask a favour?
Could you give me your opinion of the keybed of the Oasys 76 compared to the PA2xpro one?
Thanks
Dennis

Hi miden.
I have the 88 key edition myself so I will have to compare against my past experiences to explain the difference.

The Pa2X uses a FATAR key bed and the OASYS 76 uses a Yamaha bed, the exact same Yamaha bed that KORG use on their Triton Classic, Studio and Extreme keyboards. The Yamaha bed is very light and soft to the touch compared to the Pa2X which is a heavier weighted key. The feel of the key is different and with the yamaha bed there is glassy / polish finish to the keys where the FATAR has a dull finish with an almost grain like feel to the black keys. The Yamaha keys are also rounded more on the corners so when your playing chords spread out, the feel of the neighbouring keys tipping off the side of your finger tips is more pleasing.

They also produce a different sound when played. The FATAR has a nice soft sound almost like playing on keys backed by a fine thick felt stopper, where the Yamaha beds can have more of a thin felt meeting a metal stop sound to them when in their fully down position. The Yamaha beds can also get very noisy over their lifespan because of how the mechanism works in them and how the key is stopped when in it's fully down position.

That said, I sill personally prefer the Yamaha beds regardless of the noise they can make as they get older. The FATAR bed is nice to play too, but there's just something about it that feels “floppy” if you know what I mean.

Hope that helps a little.
James.

Thanks James, yep that does help

Dennis

The posts on this thread have certainly opened my eyes.

I am a long time Technics fan, who has bought a Tyros3 as insurance against my KN7000 dying on me and have been struggling to make my music sound as good on the T3 as it does on the Technics. As a result, I have made a few postings on various sites, expressing my opinion about the T3 - mainly that, apart from a few voices, I like the Technics sounds better - even prefer Technics styles too and I believe that I've made myself a little unpopular with these statements.

After reading of the Oasis, I went in search of some demo's and actually found demo's of the Korg M3 first.

What an eye opener - I never knew such quality sounds existed on any keyboard and find it hard to imagine how the M3's sounds can be beaten by the Oasis but I take your word for it.

I am aware that there is a big difference between an arranger and a synth/workstation but the bottom line is - after comparing Technics & Yamaha sound-wise, it turns out that they both sound like sh*t after hearing the M3.

Why then, don't Korg incorporate these sounds in their arranger keyboards - I for one, would be willing to pay the asking price for a board with this quality of sound.
Tony, Sheffield

Interesting letter, Tony. I, also, am not crazy about the Tyros....it sounds too one-dimensional to me. But that's the way I hear it. Others will rave about the keyboard.

I spoke to Korg about the sounds of the M3 and the PA2XPro in the same conversation. And, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I'm confused again about the differences. I'll have to call them again.

I DID like the strings on the M3. That's about as much as I can remember after playing it. But I do remember being very impressed with it, enough to keep it in mind as a supplement to a main arranger.

Reference the Technics...I'm really curious about what that sounds like. If I'm correct, it's viewed the same as the Casio was in it's embryonic days.

My own attitude is that if you're a good enough player, then you don't need a lot of fancy styles and fill-ins, etc on your keyboard. Your playing is what people will listen to. Easier to build a song "up" from a basic sound, than to have to tear away layers of musical complexity in an intricate style to tame it to a level where it's not attacking your audience.

I've been viewing these OASYS and PA2xPro demos on Youtube. Sure these instruments are incredible and the players knock your socks off, but I'll listen to it only 1-2x. Then I'll go back repeatedly to raw, blood and guts music like Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) playing "I'm Going Home!" Pure, electrifying guitar licks and runs with very few effects needed."

Alvin Lee never needed a "high-end" guitar to make himself sound good!

Lucky

Quote Lucky2Bhere:
"My own attitude is that if you're a good enough player, then you don't need a lot of fancy styles and fill-ins, etc on your keyboard. Your playing is what people will listen to. Easier to build a song "up" from a basic sound, than to have to tear away layers of musical complexity in an intricate style to tame it to a level where it's not attacking your audience"

Hi Lucky,
I fully agree with your comments - a good musician will shine whatever instrument they play. However, I don't have immense faith in my own abilities as I taught myself to play and to read music and one can always tell the difference between someone like me and someone who has had a few years of music lessons with a good teacher. I played organ in Pubs & Clubs for many years and always managed to fill the places up somehow but still lack the confidence which proper training would have brought.

As I am almost 70, my pub days are over and in the last 5 years I have only played for seniors at a sheltered accomodation complex where my Mum lives. They love to hear my Technics & Solton MS40 and I would be happy to stay with the Technics but am afraid it may give up the ghost so I want to be ready with my next board for when that time comes.
Thought the T3 would do it but still unconvinced although I must admit I'm rather a perfectionist and take some pleasing.
On the strength of the M3 demos, I would probably go for it if it were an arranger but have spent too many years playing with arranger backings to manage without them now.
Tony

Hi Tony...there are many, many musicians who are NOT schooled, yet they still pack them in like yourself. But.....I DO know how something like that could override your "packed house" and play on you, especially if you're a perfectionist.

I really envy you having played in the Pubs & Clubs for so long. It doesn't matter how good you are there......those places are for one thing only....having fun! For both you AND the patrons. I'd give anything to be back there doing that.

The M3 I would only buy as a supplement to an arranger. And I'm having a hard time with what's on the market now. I'm keeping all my options open, including the OASYS.

Lucky

Dear james,

I was just wondering, as with both an Oasys and a DBeat, you would still not have an arranger in your setup

I personally think that the development of the Oasys will pay of in the future...

As many things developed for the Oasys will slowly find their way to their workstations and arrangers over the next few years.

(Keep in mind that everything is just software and easilly to re-use.) Oasys was a good idea to earn some money back from their research and probably was never meant to be a big selling success, but instead is more of a marketing gimmick and a tool for building an even better brandname.

For those that don't know, Oasys is discontinued because some of the 3rd party hardware parts weren't available anymore...

Best things of the Oasys are probably
-Sound Quallity
-Karma
-Sound engine

Still its an awesome instrument and its even less then a Wersi

Korg OASYS (76 Notes) €6999

Wersi Ikarus (76 Notes) €4990 (Discontinued, so last known price)

Wersi Abacus (61 Notes) €5450

Wersi Pegasus Wing (76 Notes) €3990

Hi Bachus

Yeah, auto accompaniment is just not fluid like sequencing is, so I wouldn't have any need for auto accompaniment in my work.

Regards
James

It already has.

The OASYS was first seen in 1994 and only a few prototypes where made. Due to the price it would have cost if it went into production, it was never released as it stood. Instead it was released in an array of products.

All the following items exsist because of the original OASYS project.

Prophecy
Z1
Trinity
WaveDrum
MOSS
OASYS of today.

Regards
James.

Have a read of this.

This is where OASYS started long long time ago.
http://www.vanille-media.de/site/index.php/musician/korg-oasys/



[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-19-2009).]

James,

Thinking to purchase an Oasys, Know a place where I can get the Oasys 88 for US$4000.00 or the Oasys 76 for US$3000.00.

Question:

1-It will be a good keyboard for a Church?
2- Some body say to me that when using KARMA, you can se it up that the melody can follow you chords, like an arrenger (PA2x). True ?

The Normal price would be something like $6000 for the 88 and $5000 for the 76.

I expect these prices to rise soon, as it is still the best sounding hardware workstation and its in high demand while the numbers for sale are really low.
When people realise that there is nothing comparable to an Oasys for the next few years the prices will start rising despite the crisis.
The only thing coming close are the VST based instruments, but they are not yet on the professional level of the Oasys... atleast untill Openlabs presents then GEN6 instruments including KARMA and with 76 or 88 keys, which will not be anytime soon...

Synthoid just replied to you over on KORG Forums.

Regards
James

Personally, I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole for a church use. You have to understand that this is a VERY complex, VERY powerful WS, and while perhaps you yourself might have the technical knowledge to run it, the majority of people that play in church bands wouldn't. So, if for some reason, you couldn't make the service, nobody else would be able to sit down at it and make it do what they want easily.

Secondly, while there is a DEGREE of arranger similarity with Karma, it truly is a totally different beast. An arranger is going to have a large selection of styles that are appropriate for church use, the Oasys is going to have a large number of Karma patterns more appropriate for a rave!

An arranger is DESIGNED to be simple to use, simple to operate live, and simple to make great sounding music on it. The Oasys is NOT. It is one of the best sounding pieces of gear out there, but it isn't something you'd want to sit down at a service and play on if you weren't intimately familiar with how it operates.

If you need something like an arranger for your church, I'd say... go get an arranger!

Hi Diki.




From what I gather the focus doesn't seem to be on Arranger Functions because of the fact that he will be playing with a drummer and guitarist. It's more about the rhythmic pads, soundscapes, the sequencer and the option to be able to run patterns if need be.




Rave ?.
Feck, I didn't get anything like that with my OASYS See page 106 for the KARMA GE List. It's well balanced for all styles of music.
http://korg.com/uploads/Support/OASYS_VNL_v1_2_EJ3_633659387964450000.pdf

James

[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-21-2009).]

Sorry, but I don't see that information anywhere in his post. He simply asked if it worked like an arranger, and whether you could use it for church. I would be willing to bet that the majority of arrangers used in churches are being used as full arrangers...

But seriously, you know the Oasys well... would you HONESTLY recommend it for a church gig..? You know what kind of players they usually have, and the kind of preparation time they (seldom!) get. You know what and how many GE's you get that you would honestly use in a church? And you know the kind of learning curve required to master this beast? I just took a look at the GE list of the Oasys. You would seriously put this in front of an average church keyboard player, and expect him to make sense of it?

Now, no offense to Machetero... he may indeed be a VERY highly skilled, highly technical keyboard player. But maybe he isn't (and maybe anybody else playing at the church isn't, either)... Is the Oasys STILL what you would recommend under the circumstances?

You wouldn't recommend an MS to someone that wasn't EXTREMELY technical, and capable of creating their own styles from scratch, You wouldn't recommend a Neko to someone that knew little about computers or VSTis, especially to do a church gig. I think you need to get a LOT more information from Machetero before recommending the most expensive solution to his query, James.

I LOVE my G70 (both of them, actually! ). But I don't recommend it to everyone regardless of what they NEED

An M3, M50, even an older Karma might serve him just as well if he wants pulsing pads and evolving soundscapes (and that doesn't sound like much church music I've ever heard!), and save the church a fortune. And THAT'S doing God's work, IMO...

Hi Diki.

There are a lot of questions in your post so forgive me that I don't quote you and reply to each one.



He posted on KORG Forums and expanded on his needs. A KORG M3 was also mentioned twice as an alternative and he seems clear in his needs and intentions for use. The OASYS will serve him well and function beautifully if he gets one.

While I can answer his questions, outside that it's his job to justify the cost and to know what his own limitations are when it comes to advanced technology. Sure there are other keyboards for far less that would do, but he is the one who is focused on the OASYS.

For his needs, there are only two keyboard that can produce the type of sounds he wants and that's the OASYS and the M3. As I mentioned above, the M3 was mentioned to him twice already.

So it's his job to find the justification in the price and the need to buy the ultimate workstation for the job.

Regards
James

[This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 08-21-2009).]

OK, sorry, James. Obviously, I was not aware of what is going on and talked about on the Korg forums! I only had what was said here as my guide...

If he is buying it personally, then I say have at it! Sky's the limit . But I have also had some experience in seeing how people become when the church that they play at tells them 'go and get what you need', unaware that sometimes, players will use this as an opportunity to get something that FAR exceeds their needs, simply because they want the best and don't have to pay for it or justify it themselves. The church is rarely knowledgeable enough to make those kinds of calls...

Now, once again, don't get me wrong... Machetero may indeed be looking at the Oasys as a legitimate need for a church, and Lord knows, some of them can afford it! But without the context of the Korgforums discussion, it is easy to make the mistake of seeing someone making a newbie kind of inquiry (the post itself was pretty barebones), and I always counsel fiscal responsibility and practicality when talking about a church's congregational offerings, when so many perhaps more important needs exist...

Hi Diki.

No worries.

I'd actually post a quick little demo of the OASYS doing rhythmic pads to let you hear a different side of KARMA but I can't right now. My wife is having a party in the Studio tonight with her friends and the last thing I would dare do is try to get into the control room when there's a lot of giddy drunk women in the main room They would eat me a live.

Mmmm that actually might be nice

James

Oh my God James, That sounds like fun...Can I come over!????

Lee S.

Yeah... do the girls need a tape op?