Oasys Tips and Tricks

[Daz]

This thread is a dedicated spot where Oasys users can share tips and tricks with other Oasys users.

Please do not post questions/comment here, this thread is home to the tips and tricks only.

Instead post your questions/comments in the thread entitled "Oasys Tips and Tricks - comments/questions" ... you can jump to it by clicking the following link :

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=13996

Daz.

[Daz]

So ... looks like I'll be the first

This tip is for those interested in sound programming. The Oasys AL-1 and HD-1 engines both support Retriggerable envelopes ... a very cool and useful feature. Normally an envelope starts running when you hit a key (or a MIDI note command is received) and then can't be restarted from the attack phase without a new key/note trigger.

When you're on any of the EG pages in program mode you'll see a field on the left hand side of the envelope graphic called "EG Reset". From the menu to the right of that field you can select what will cause the EG reset to occur ... including the EG itself, no less !

This is most useful in the AL-1 where you have the step sequencers. Resetting a program's envelopes using an LFO or the step sequencer itself will create the effect of hearing individually played notes even though you only played the key once. All the fun of something like a Dave Smith Evolver

In the HD-1, there is still fun to be had even if Step Sequencers are not available in that engine For example each step of a wavesequence is able to generate two AMS values ... these two guys might be used to control pitch and reset the EG(s) on each step. That's a very cool function of the new implementation of wavesequencing. Another more bizarre idea in HD-1 land is to use an EG (such as the Pitch EG) that you're not using, as an extra LFO. Simply set the Pitch EG to reset itself It will then loop.

Use the following parameters for the Pitch EG for example :

Level : Start=0 Attack=-99 Break=+99
Time : Attack=30 Decay=30

Set the EG Reset parameter to Pitch EG and the Threshold to 99.

This creates a key synced LFO whose shape you can change using the Curve parameters and whose speed/symmetry you can control using the Attack and Decay times.

Daz.

[Daz]

The box the Oasys comes in is enormous and a bit of a storage nightmare. Or so I thought at first In fact the box is so big that you can just put a bunch of other equipment boxes inside it ... that really helps if you're short on space.

Daz.

[Daz]

One of the things myself and many fellow Karma workstation users learned from the work of Paul Osborn, creator of many fine Combis for the Karma and now the Oasys, was not to constrict yourself to using KARMA GE's for the purpose that they were originally intended to be used for.

When selecting a GE, obviously try those from the category that best suits what you're trying to achieve, but also have a little experiment with GEs from other categories ... you never what you might find.

Whilst creating a combi this evening, I had this in mind :

http://daz.korgforums.com/mp3/oasys_country_strum.mp3

... the chordy synth part in this snippet of resampled combi is actually being driven by a GE from the Strumming Category, called Country Strum. It certainly doesn't sound like Country music

Daz.

[Daz]

That was a trick from the Karma "lore" and here is one from the Triton Classic "lore" ... albeit with far more creative opportunities courtesy of the resampling and KARMA features available on the Oasys.

Like the Oasys, the Triton Classic OS 2.x had the ability in Sampling mode to Time Slice a drum beat or other rhythmic sample and then create a Program with the generated slices assigned across a range of keys. Someone had the great idea of triggering those slices using the Triton's arpeggiator, rather than simply playing the slices in their original order, to create new patterns from the original material.

With the Oasys this idea can be extended considerably. Here is just one example of how you can combine and apply Oasys technologies to this technique.

1) In Program mode, select a drum Program and a suitably inspiring Drum GE. Tweak the KARMA Realtime Controls to taste.

2) With KARMA enabled Resample a couple of bars of the drum beat with the aid of the Resample Program Play option of Auto Sampling Setup.

3) In Sampling Mode Time Slice the material you created above. Use the option to automatically create a Program from the sliced material.

4) Go into Program mode and pull up the Program created in the previous step. Identify the range of keys that the slices have been assigned to, by playing from C2 upwards (in semitone steps)

5) Turn on KARMA and select a GE, maybe one of chromatic arps to start with. Using a GE with CL1 RTC Model you will probably want to set the following parameters first :

a) SW1 - Force Mono - turn this on to ensure only one slice is played at a time, unless you want to walk on the wild side a little
b) Fader 5 - Note Range - constrain the note range of the KARMA generated notes so that all the generated notes fall in the range of the slices in the multisample.

6) Tweak the GE Parameters and try triggering KARMA with different key combinations to find new and interesting variations of the material. Depending on your taste, you may wish to sanitize things by turning off some of the KARMA generated effects outside of pure note/phrase generation by visiting the Transmit area of the MIDI Filter page (P7) and unchecking some of the options.

As you find various satisfactory results use the 8 Scenes and 8 Pads to 'capture' the GE settings and trigger key combinations for later replay, or alternately capture the found grooves by resampling them for use on later on.

Daz.

[Daz]

I just spotted a great little feature. On the EQ pages of both Combi and Sequencer mode there is a very hand visual aid available. In the Page Menu of the EQ related pages in both modes you'll see there is an option called 'Show Graphic EQ'. Selecting this option displays a small 'floating' window with a graphic representation of the EQ curve for the selected track or timbre. Rather neatly, as you change track or timbre the display moves of out the way to let you get to the EQ controls.

Here are two screenshots (pdf format) showing this feature in action and the menu option used to display them :

Sequencer mode : http://www.korgforums.com/misc/OasysSeq ... raphic.pdf
Combi mode : http://www.korgforums.com/misc/OasysCmb ... raphic.pdf

Daz.

Screenshots courtesy of Stephen Kay and Rob Van Damme's Oasys Virtual GUI

[ldascanio]

Thanks Daz!

This feature for the Graphic EQ is also explained in the Paramater Guide Manual (E1 Version).
PG E1 > Combination Mode > Page Menu Commands > Show EQ Graphic (Page 312)

Rgds.

[Lou]

Hi Daz

I finally got around to this and it's great! Thanks for making me aware. My head is not always buried in The "O" bible.

[Tokke]

Hi all,

I might be repeating something that has been said before, but I think this might be useful for live gigging people.

I've found a workaround to switch between four sounds without having the unused sounds eating up voices. It is as simple as this:

The only condition is that Karma is not used in your setup.
- Start from an initialised combi.
- Activate Karma.
- Uncheck all 'Run' Checkboxes on 0-5 (Play->Karma GE)
- Go to 7-5 (Karma->Perf. RTP)
- In Group, select Key Zones.
- In Parameter, select Thru Inside Zone.
- Check 'A'.
- In Assign, select SW1.
- Repeat this 3 more times, for every next line take the next checkbox (B,C,D) and the next SW (SW2,3,4)
- With the Control Surface on Karma, select the first scene and activate SW1.
- For the next 3 scenes, activate the correspondig Switches.

Now you have 4 scenes, each selecting the programs using midi channel 1,2,3 or 4. This way you can select which program belongs to which scene by setting the correct midi channel of the program. Actually, you can extend this with more scenes if you want layer together two or more groups of programs simply by activating the right switches under the scene you want to have it.
Like I said, this way the muted sounds are not being triggered at all so there is no polyphony wasted. Furthermore, a note still sounding prior to switching to another scene is not suddenly broken off, but will continue until you release the note.

Hope this can be useful

[Daz]

Thanks T

[danatkorg]

As long as you just want to select single Programs, there's an easier way:

Use Sequencer mode.
On the Control Surface page Track mixer tab, enable Link Rec Track to Control Surface.
Now, when CONTROL ASSIGN = TIMBRE/TRACK, the Control Surface SELECT buttons select tracks directly. No additional polyphony is used, and note releases continue after you switch to a different track. This gives you 8 Programs to switch between, plus another 8 under the TIMBRE/TRACK button.

- Dan

[Tokke]

An advantage of using the Karma way, is that once you have done all the programming, you can copy the Karma module afterwards into new combis that require the sound switching. So this work needs to be done only once

[danatkorg]

An advantage of using the Karma way, is that once you have done all the programming, you can copy the Karma module afterwards into new combis that require the sound switching. So this work needs to be done only once

Not sure that I understand this, since the advantage of the Sequencer way is that there's no work to do at all!

Don't get me wrong - the KARMA method is clever. It also allows layering of Programs, which the Sequencer method does not. But, if all you want to do is to switch between Programs, it's considerably more complicated.

- Dan

[Tokke]

Dan,

You are right in the sense that it does not take much effort to set it up the way you described. However this confines you to the realm of the sequencer, having you to convert the combis to sequences, while the method I described is useable in both modes...
Either way has its advantages, though.

[jg::]

The Karma method also has the advantage that you can sustain notes over the switch. Even use the sustain pedal without restriction. With the Sequencer Track method, you cannot have a note held down at the time of the switch, which may not be so convenient for live work.

Tokke, there's one little step to add: When you start setting up Scenes, you must turn off the "Run" button for the first Karma module. Unless you'd like to use Karma for something else, of course.

Thanks to both of you for both tips - Dan, this little sequencer feature is easily lost, and will be handy for lots of other reasons.


jg::