WARNING : Do not sell your Oasys !

[curvebender]

As some of you know, I've had my fair share of malfunctioning buttons and joysticks, all of which I had repaired last year for a great amount of money. 

Wasn't too happy about that.. (And now it seems as if one of the buttons I had replaced has started to be unreliable again.)

I never liked the tactile feel of the buttons on the Oasys, but that's personal taste I guess. For example, the buttons that Clavia uses are more to my liking. They're rather soft, but without that obvious "click" that makes you think: Ok, that was click number 257 out of 2000 in total before the plastic parts give in!

Oh well..

[Dany]

As some of you know, I've had my fair share of malfunctioning buttons and joysticks, all of which I had repaired last year for a great amount of money. 

Wasn't too happy about that.. (And now it seems as if one of the buttons I had replaced has started to be unreliable again.)

I never liked the tactile feel of the buttons on the Oasys, but that's personal taste I guess. For example, the buttons that Clavia uses are more to my liking. They're rather soft, but without that obvious "click" that makes you think: Ok, that was click number 257 out of 2000 in total before the plastic parts give in!

Oh well..

I have an OASYS-88 (purchased second-hand for a very low price) with a quiet low serial number, which must have been produced in the early phase of the production cycle and I have another OASYS-88 (purchased new for the crazy, exaggerated original price) which has a very high serial number, obviously from the last phase of the production cycle.

They are both in mint condition, but for some strange reason, the one with the higher serial number seems to be of a slightly lower build quality, than the one with the early serial number (which is the second-hand one ! ). For some unexplainable reason, the switch buttons on the earlier built OASYS are reacting without any signs of worsening, while on the later built OASYS some switches are already not reacting after the click noise, and you have to push them harder and harder to get a reaction. I guess it is just a question of time until they will fail comlpletely, as other users have experienced (I use the touch screen, wherever it is possible to avoid using the buttons on this model). But it is really strange, that the OASYS from the early phase of the production, which I use much more often than my other OASYS (I use it almost everyday for several hours), doesn't show any signs of weekness concerning the switch buttons or anything else. Even the feel of the Vector Joystick and especially the feel of the eight Pads is somewhat sturdier and better on the earlier produced machine than on the later one. Also the case colour is slightly different, if compared side by side in sunlight. And for some strange reason, though it is a fatar keyboard, even the keyboards have a slightly different feeling and both keyboards have been cleaned and lubricated by a KORG repairperson, because both had that well known spring noise problem on some keys, due to too little lubrication.

Everyone who has an OASYS with a low serial number, experiencing hardware problems with the switch buttons, etc., can of course instantly falsify my theory or speculation (based on my experience), that the early (pre economic crisis) OASYS models are of a slghtly better build quality than the later built models... I am just wondering...

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[maestrophillips]

Do not sell your Oasys ! ...

I will never ever sell even one of my two 88-OASYS'es. Kronos is nothing but an OASYS plus an outstanding Digital Piano (I am a synth player first and not a pianist) combined in a quite cheap and non durable hardware design. Kronos offers by far the best sound for the money on the current hardware synth market, but not the best hardware and not the best user interface for serious sound design, which is still unmatched on the OASYS... and the outstanding RH2 Keyboard of the OASYS-88 seems to be of a much higher quality than the cheaper, but still fine, RH3 keyboard from Kronos. I really prefer the RH2 feeling...It is just sad that the OASYS never received the EP-1, MDS Electric Piano, which does not depend on the new streaming technology from Kronos and would therefore run on the OASYS as well...

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This post made me .

The Oasys was made out of love the Kronos was made out of fear .
Love last's longer than fear .

Just look at your Oasys with it's beautiful huge touch screen , 8 huge real pad triggers and led lights all around and metal casing going across the whole frame . This is quality my friend . Some people don't know a good thing when they see it .

The problem with Kronos is that Korg didn't fix anything users have been asking them to fix for years .

Why on earth is the same horrible sequencer there on the Kronos ? The users of the Kronos will eventually get very frustrated with Korg once they find out that they have to copy and past every single effect to make a combi or to layer programs . At some point you have to ask yourself what's the point of having 9 synthesis engines if I can't access all of them at will .
At some point Kronos users are going to say wait a second you mean to tell me if I want to layer a sound from this engine with a sound from another engine I have to go back and copy every single effect just so it will sound the same way I demoed it in program mode . Instant inspiration killer

Imagine your doing a 16 part song or a song with 16 different instruments , do you know how long it's going to take you to copy the effects for all 16 instruments , by the time you do that you get frustrated with your new Kronos and say well s**t at least in my DAW the sounds are ready to go all the time .

But the King of it all , that's really going to piss Kronos users off is when they start to find out what the Roland jupiter 80 really can do .

I luv my Oasys , sometime I just use it as a fuckin mixer with all the IO on the back plus adat and mic pre's I plug all kinda s**t in there it's great .
The pad triggers are the best because they help me learn and make up new chord progression easy with no hassle . To me having no pads on the Kronos kills the whole Oasys like experience , what the hell where they thinking , O I know the economy aka fear .

So I guess what I should have said at the beginning is the The Oasys was made out of love and the Kronos was made out of the economy .

Rocness,

Thank you for your perspective. I have been trying to process this transition for a while just like everyone else...and do so without feeling angry (which is hard to do in this case).

Your post has helped me deal with the realities of this situation a bit better. Sincerely, thank you.

[franzlp]

"The Oasys was made out of love the Kronos was made out of fear .
Love last's longer than fear . "


That is perfectly said. Nice quote!

[Rocness]

The original post still stands .

I think even more being how the Kronos has been plague with so many hardware and software problems . I mean if the Kronos has so many problems now what about 2 to 3 years from now and beyond .

I remember when Oasys owners where upset and new Kronos owners gave us a hard time about it.
I think now they know a small portion of how we felt , karma has come back (pun intended ! ).

I think this statement from Jerry still holds true, all these years later :

" You have a wonderful musical instrument with which to realize your personal expression, the finest we have ever developed. "

OASYS owners , you truly have an amazing instrument like Jerry said unlike any other so please be thankful .

[markuk]

Its nothing to do with the kronos really. If the oasys goes up in price it will be because there wasnt many made. I wonder if all of them still exist.
I just hope i end up with the last one.

[Dany]

...I think this statement from Jerry still holds true, all these years later :

" You have a wonderful musical instrument with which to realize your personal expression, the finest we have ever developed. "

OASYS owners , you truly have an amazing instrument like Jerry said unlike any other so please be thankful .

Did you realize?
The OASYS finally disappeared from www.korg.com
Now "she" definitely has become a legend and a part of the synthesizer history as a sought after and rare diamond in the synth universe...
OASYS was the last legacy from the great era of Tsutomu Katoh, the Korg founder, who left this planet on March 15, 2011.
Unfortunately the OASYS successor, with its low cost construction and cheap hardware inside and outside, does not belong to this great era.

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

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[Rocness]

...I think this statement from Jerry still holds true, all these years later :

" You have a wonderful musical instrument with which to realize your personal expression, the finest we have ever developed. "

OASYS owners , you truly have an amazing instrument like Jerry said unlike any other so please be thankful .

Did you realize?
The OASYS finally disappeared from www.korg.com
Now "she" definitely has become a legend and a part of the synthesizer history as a sought after and rare diamond in the synth universe...
OASYS was the last legacy from the great era of Tsutomu Katoh, the Korg founder, who left this planet on March 15, 2011.
Unfortunately the OASYS successor, with its low cost construction and cheap hardware inside and outside, does not belong to this great era.

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

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I 2nd that !

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

[michelkeijzers]

...I think this statement from Jerry still holds true, all these years later :

" You have a wonderful musical instrument with which to realize your personal expression, the finest we have ever developed. "

OASYS owners , you truly have an amazing instrument like Jerry said unlike any other so please be thankful .

Did you realize?
The OASYS finally disappeared from www.korg.com
Now "she" definitely has become a legend and a part of the synthesizer history as a sought after and rare diamond in the synth universe...
OASYS was the last legacy from the great era of Tsutomu Katoh, the Korg founder, who left this planet on March 15, 2011.
Unfortunately the OASYS successor, with its low cost construction and cheap hardware inside and outside, does not belong to this great era.

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

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I 2nd that !

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

Me too ... although I have to say I could not afford an Oasys.
I see the Oasys as the real game changer, the Kronos is the game changer for the 'mass'.

[cello]

...I think this statement from Jerry still holds true, all these years later :

" You have a wonderful musical instrument with which to realize your personal expression, the finest we have ever developed. "

OASYS owners , you truly have an amazing instrument like Jerry said unlike any other so please be thankful .

Did you realize?
The OASYS finally disappeared from www.korg.com
Now "she" definitely has become a legend and a part of the synthesizer history as a sought after and rare diamond in the synth universe...
OASYS was the last legacy from the great era of Tsutomu Katoh, the Korg founder, who left this planet on March 15, 2011.
Unfortunately the OASYS successor, with its low cost construction and cheap hardware inside and outside, does not belong to this great era.

Thank you so much for the OASYS Mr. Katoh...

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Me too...

Not wishing to go over old ground - but that post is very well observed!

[Davidb]

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This post made me .

The Oasys was made out of love the Kronos was made out of fear .
Love last's longer than fear .

... The problem with Kronos is that Korg didn't fix anything users have been asking them to fix for years .

Yes, tue.
To an extent, I think I´m agree with this.

[markuk]

I believe this is a perfect example of an OASYS and KRONOS.
The new mclaren is more advanced but cant even compare to the original F1.

Here is the oasys
[/img]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:McLaren_F1_LM.jpg[img]

And the kronos
[/img]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car ... w.html[img]
sorry i dont know how to get the images on

[michelkeijzers]

I believe this is a perfect example of an OASYS and KRONOS.
The new mclaren is more advanced but cant even compare to the original F1.

Here is the oasys
[/img]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:McLaren_F1_LM.jpg[img]

And the kronos
[/img]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car ... w.html[img]
sorry i dont know how to get the images on

You almost did it right with pics: the slash should be at the end ... but it''s easier to select the image text (from http: ... .html) and then select the Img button.

[Mike Conway]

Yes, your tags were reversed. Also, RIGHT CLICK on the picture and select PROPERTIES to get the .jpg link.

I believe this is a perfect example of an OASYS and KRONOS.
The new mclaren is more advanced but cant even compare to the original F1.

Here is the oasys




And the kronos

[Mike Conway]

BTW, I agree with markuk's point. Yesterday, after several months of it being out, I played the Kronos for the first time. There were 2 units, a 61 key and an 88 - one right above the other, so I played both for more than an hour.

OS - wise, very impressive. I recorded a 24bit audio track (option select in preferences), loved the Set List feature, (I believe there were 127 Set List slots!), liked the 8 way Velocity crossfades (also on the drum kits) and appreciated the new sounds - Tam tams, more Timpanis, tape Strings, FX sounds, including some really cool piano sounds, where someone opened it up and scraped the strings from inside (something I used to do as a kid).

With the disk streaming, upcoming libraries and a whole new row of program banks (available in the 1.5 OS), it is an attractive system.

However,........the 88 key model had many of the build problems that have been bitched about in the Kronos forum. The Vector stick handle was broke off. A very thin metal base stick remained. I used the wheel to scroll quickly (so I could check through all the programs) and it came loose, near the end of my audition! I didn't know what the guys in the other forum were talking about when they mentioned "Key Spacers." Well, the 88's keys were all over the place - many of them were rubbing together so hard that I had trouble playing intervals and chords, while others had a huge gap between the keys. The 61 synth key version had a decent keybed.

Operationally, the buttons and sliders seemed fine. They are much smaller, but felt good. An 8" screen is nice and big on a 61 key unit, yet I was surprised at how much smaller all the tabs were, such as onscreen Solo, Play, Mute, Rec buttons and all the arrows. The fact that there are now 8 way velocity splits makes those graphics appear smaller and more crowded. The way the keyboards were mounted on the wall, I really did have to hunch over to read the screen. (Man, did I appreciate the size and tilt ability of the O's screen after seeing this!) Granted, I started getting used to the screen after a while. I would angle the whole keyboard, if I got one.

There's a new tab called Performance Meters, which shows note stealing and polyphony percentage in real time. Very handy for showing just how much poly a Combi is eating up.

My conclusion is that the OASYS is not only more elegant, but much easier and faster to work with. I think that one would do more with the O, not because it has more OS features, but for the fact that what is there onscreen is larger and more obvious, as well as a larger physical interface. A new Kronos user will most likely miss a lot of what is there, unless using the computer editor, which is still not released.

I do hope to get a Kronos someday, so that I will have a backup and successor for all the work I've done on the O, since 2005. Comparatively, the OASYS is so well built that I may not need to get a Kronos for a few more years.