Question about oasys

cello · Post by **cello** » Mon May 07, 2012 6:42 pm

X-Trade wrote:Has anyone tried buying a KRONOS and swapping out the internal components into the OASYS chassis? Not sure if it'd all work as the technology has moved on a lot but being based on the OASYS software, the hardware drivers for things like LEDs on the faders, may still be present. and the more solid case may improve the reliability concerns. Considering I think a lot of problems may be down to mis-seated RAM or such.
Or maybe I'm just crazy. Starting to sound like it. But that is one 'mod' I'd love.

Alternatively, korg should offer an OASYS class instrument identical in software to the Kronos, except perhaps a faster processor to allow higher polyphony. I do wonder what they could build today under the same budget and target market.

Wow, that's an interesting notion! Wish I could afford to buy a Kronos AND take the risk that I couldn't put my OASYS back together again...

And the famous non-functional Function button could be used for the Drum Track button on a Kronos PCB

I wonder if Korg will ever do an OASYS priced product again. I can't decide whether they always knew it was going to be a short run instrument, or decided to make a mass market version to recoup the R&D given they only sold 3,000 or so OASYS worldwide.

I would love it if Korg released a new, true flagship - ie top of the range, suitably expensive, loaded with all possible features (OS, sound and technology), new seq, with 15 engines, large screen, and built to Rolls Royce standards. Can't see it happening though to be honest. But would be fantastic - at least for me and the music I create.

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Mon May 07, 2012 9:21 pm

X-Trade wrote:Has anyone tried buying a KRONOS and swapping out the internal components into the OASYS chassis? ...Or maybe I'm just crazy. Starting to sound like it. But that is one 'mod' I'd love...

You are not alone, I had the same crazy thoughts.

But don't forget that all the new Kronos features, even the harddisc streaming, would work perfectly with the current OASYS hardware.

It's just a matter of software development (resp. transfer of already developed software to another hardware platform), for which the new management of Korg Inc. Japan is not willing to invest the necessary money.

I really despise them very much for this decision, because as a customer, I would be willing to pay a lot of money to Korg for those new OASYS developments....

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Mixingboard · Post by **Mixingboard** » Tue May 22, 2012 5:35 pm

I hate to be the negative comment in this thread. My Oasys had been flawless for 4 years until this last week when my touchscreen stopped responding to touch or stylus inputs. It still works as a controller keyboard but without any cursor control I am locked out of most of the menus and controls.

After contacting a barely helpful Korg tech support guy I was quickly referred to the parts is parts site. A replacement LCD screen from them is $800 just for the part. I have ordered a new Touchscreen for $80 from a guy in Hong Kong that I hope will fix the problem.

After taking a look around inside the Oasys I have ordered a new backup motherboard and hard drive. The Oasys appears to be a Pentium 4 PC with some modifications. I am now worried that without some backup parts I will have a broken down $5000 keyboard.

The Part is Parts sites barely has any Oasys parts and has to order most parts from Korg if they have them.

I hope the Oasys lasts for a while longer. I really like the keyboard, but when I see the PC parts inside I have to cross my fingers on how long this keyboard will last. I have taken extremely good care of my keyboard and it never leaves my studio. It has only been used on average about 2 days a week.

I am a little disappointed in the tech support considering the huge expense I paid for the keyboard. They had very few suggestions. Just take the unit to a repair facility. I won't spend this kind of money for a keyboard in the future.

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:35 pm

Mixingboard wrote:I hate to be the negative comment in this thread. My Oasys had been flawless for 4 years until this last week when my touchscreen stopped responding to touch or stylus inputs....
...I won't spend this kind of money for a keyboard in the future.

Some of the latest threads and posts in the OASYS section of this forum are alarming and quite similar to some alarming threads in the Kronos section. I think I have to correct my opinion about the OASYS beeing much more reliable than the Kronos...

Melting fader and knob caps, unexpected crashes, faulty touchscreens, ....what else do we have to expect in the future?

I will have to think twice, before I will ever purchase a Korg flagship product again.

I am still enjoying the OASYS, but who long will it last? Wasn't it a bad investment?

BTW: I've just spent some time with a Jupiter-80 today. Despite my former criticisms, I have to admit, that this would be a great and RELIABLE companion for the OASYS. And the Jupi-80 could work as a reliable backup for the OASYS, if it should ever crash during a performance...
....and the Jupi-80 is completely silent... no annoying fan noises! The Kronos sitting next to the Jupi-80 in the music shop, had a really bad fan noise.

My hope is, that Korg will release the OASYS as an iApp for the iPad-X of the future...

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cello · Post by **cello** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:48 pm

I think we have to be careful what we are comparing here!

The Kronos is what... between 12/18 months old? The OASYS is 7 years old.

I think the OASYS has delivered on its flagship status. I have to be honest and can't say the same of the Kronos. Just my view.

Sticky slider knobs are easy to fix - a defective keybed is not.

Ultimately things are going to fail on the OASYS (that pains me just writing it!) - but that doesn't mean it was a failure in itself. Yes, the screen is a horrid failure to have but thankfully there seem to be parts available for replacement.

Have a look on eBay - there are still Deltas, LP10s, MS20s, etc still working away (admittedly some have needed servicing) BUT, none of them could be described as flagships.

Ultimately - we (the OASYS community) need to look after our Os now. And for some of us that may mean replacing sliders, or screens, or switches, etc. But hey - we'll still have the mother of all Korg flagships

@Dany - you'll be amazed at what the JP-80 can do (and so easily!)...

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Tue May 22, 2012 11:40 pm

cello wrote:I think we have to be careful what we are comparing here!

The Kronos is what... between 12/18 months old? The OASYS is 7 years old.

I think the OASYS has delivered on its flagship status. I have to be honest and can't say the same of the Kronos. Just my view.

Sticky slider knobs are easy to fix - a defective keybed is not.

Ultimately things are going to fail on the OASYS (that pains me just writing it!) - but that doesn't mean it was a failure in itself. Yes, the screen is a horrid failure to have but thankfully there seem to be parts available for replacement.

Have a look on eBay - there are still Deltas, LP10s, MS20s, etc still working away (admittedly some have needed servicing) BUT, none of them could be described as flagships.

Ultimately - we (the OASYS community) need to look after our Os now. And for some of us that may mean replacing sliders, or screens, or switches, etc. But hey - we'll still have the mother of all Korg flagships

@cello - As I tend to consciously dramatize (and polarize) on the forum to get to the point and to reactions from other members, your thoughts are really putting things into the right perspective! Thanks!
And I am quite confident, that a least one of my two OASYS-88 will last until my last days...and they are hopefully still very far away...

cello wrote:@Dany - you'll be amazed at what the JP-80 can do (and so easily!)...

I am already amazed about this! Despite the very restricted programming possibilities, the JP-80 has a great fun factor instead. It invites to instantly create inspiring sound palettes for instant arrangements, improvisation and song creation..The supernatural sounds are very expressive, but I fear, I will begin to hate them after a while and they force me to sound exactly the same as every other JP-80 user, because you can't really edit the SN-Acoustic-Sounds to make them your own sounds...but please convince me of the opposite! I am really very close to get one...

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SCHWEATS · Post by **SCHWEATS** » Wed May 23, 2012 1:17 am

I took Sina's advice, bought the radio shack lubricant and all the buttons
on my O-88 work perfectly !! Quite a job though to get the circuit boards
removed then replaced …

HTH - Schweats

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Wed May 23, 2012 10:38 am

cello wrote:...Sticky slider knobs are easy to fix - a defective keybed is not.

Indeed....I just received an E-Mail from the Swiss Korg distributor today and the replacement fader and knop caps are already on their way for my second OASYS-88 with the sticky caps.

I am not a rich guy and I don't make a lot of money in the small Swiss market, so for me it was a huge investment to buy two OASYS-88 in 2008 and I hope everybody understands, that the psychological pressure on me is therefore quite high.

The price for a new OASYS-88 in the summer of 2008 was four times the current price of the Kronos here in Switzerland! So I have plenty of reasons to be a bit more touchy towards Korg, than the average user...

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Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Wed May 23, 2012 11:01 am

Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Wed May 23, 2012 11:20 am

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Wed May 23, 2012 11:32 am

Hello Sina

What about further developments of your project to fund Korg R&D in order to implement the new Kronos feautures on the OASYS?

I quote you from the Kronos section:

Sina172 wrote:
Dany wrote:
Sina172 wrote: And with the kind of money I have, I'd have NO problem taking matters into my own hands to get the Korg team to implement these updates, by providing R&D funding. I've never said this before but it sounds like this is the only way we're gonna get the updates we're asking for....

I can't keep this a secret anymore....It needs to be done......

Whatever they need, I'll fund it.

Sina
Great Sina! It's really great and incredible that a multimillionaire like you, is really willing to spend his money for a good cause like that. It's incredible!

But please don't forget us OASYS owners!

So please can't you also provide some R&D funding to implement the new Kronos features into the OASYS. Don't forget that all the new Kronos features, even the harddisc streaming, would work perfectly with the current OASYS hardware.

It's just a matter of software development (resp. transfer of already developed software to another hardware platform), for which the new management of Korg Inc. Japan urgently needs your money!

Praise be to Sina! Blessed and exalted be Sina, if this would really become true!
Trust me, as an OASYS owner, everything that's on my wishlist will get implemented.....And KRONOS will be kind of like a scaled down version of it, so to speak...

I'm gonna implement all this within the next couple of months....Just getting the funds together to do it....

Sina

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Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Wed May 23, 2012 5:43 pm

razzaq1 · Post by **razzaq1** » Thu May 24, 2012 1:22 pm

Maybe preserve the OSAYS sequencer as-is, or the folks will have nothing to gripe about

How do you envision the FUNCTION key being used?

Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Thu May 24, 2012 3:52 pm

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:54 pm

Sina172 wrote:
razzaq1 wrote:Maybe preserve the OSAYS sequencer as-is, or the folks will have nothing to gripe about

How do you envision the FUNCTION key being used?
FUNCTION will depend on what mode your on, and will provide additional features based on that.

Here's a prime example:

Your in Sequencer Mode and you want to access Program Mode, WHILE in Sequencer Mode. Hit FUNCTION + PROG and your there. The difference here would be (if I can implement this) that Programs for Sequences would be a separate thing. ANY Program edits you do in Sequencer Mode be it Tone Adjust or Program Mode will be non-destructive. So in essence you'll have TWICE the Program Slots with the ability to Import Programs and Combis beyond what you currently see.

More than double the Effects as well. Think of it this way: Each Track will have 8 Inserts! And you will be able to use the Control surface to create "scenes" of your Effects Settings for every effect! Just go to the Effect Page, hit FUNCTION + SW1 on the Control Surface (not above the Joystick) and you'll be able to access the scenes.

Here's another example:

Hit FUNCTION + Combi when your in Combi Mode and you'll get a whole slew of options:

Controller, Velocity and Aftertouch Settings beyond what you see in Global Mode or SEQ Mode on the per-track basis that we currently see and these will be Graphic Editors.

Additional Control Surface Settings that will allow you to automate certain parameters, Track Meter Settings, with Volume and Velocity. Effects Meters. Each effect will have its own set of Meters on the Control Surface so you can see what's assigned to what, beyond whats in the Control View Page.

By the way, all of the above will work in Program Mode as well.

Since the OASYS doesn't have a Drum Track Button, hit FUNCTION + KARMA in any mode your in and BAM! Now you have Arpeggios, KARMA, and Drum Track

Graphical GE Editors complete with Drum Programming, Piano Roll, RTC Model Editing, CC Editors, etc.

There's SO much to that FUNCTION button that's possible. But once I get done designing the OASYS into what I envision it to be, it'll be FAR beyond what ANY workstation has ever seen.

Even more than that: Faster Quad Core Processor, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD for the System Drive with User Sample Streaming, and at least 1TB of HDD Storage at 7200 RPM.

Again, this a 2-year project I'm gonna do with Korg and I wanna take control of things to lead them FAR beyond the company they are right now.

I'm getting ready to put down millions of dollars in R&D money to get Korg to implement all this and more.

I want Stephen Kay to be be DEEPLY involved with me as well on this, along with Jerry K, Rich F, John Lehmkuhl and a few others I have in mind.

I'll keep you guys posted as I get closer to implementing all this.

Sina

Dear Sina, may I quote Dr. Wernher von Braun, speaking in Huntsville, Alabama:

"I would like to finish up with a very fitting word once spoken by Osa Johnson. He said "After you have built castles in the air your work need not be lost. Just put the foundation under them"."

Audio: http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/media/castles.wav

Sina, let's hope you'll be able to put the foundation under them!

BTW: If you'll be contractually bound to Korg in the future, you may not be allowed to talk anymore about Korg's internal business affairs and posting informations about the development of your project freely on this forum? Isn't it?

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