Oasys vs. ...

[paugui]

Hi

I was thinking about getting a package of synths consisting on Access Virus, Korg Z1 (as I also have an expansion board for it) and Yamaha SY99.

But after thinking about the final price of these stuff, and the fact that I have a Korg 03R/W and a Korg SG-Rack, I was thinking that it would probably be a better deal to try to get a Korg Oasys instead and sell these two Korg racks and the Z1 expansion board as well.


What I was wanting to know is if the Korg Oasys would be a good replacement (preferably a better replacement ) for the stuff I was thinking about getting?

Can the Oasys do everything the Z1 is able?

I think I saw somewhere that it is able to load DX7 patches, is this true?
Is that the main reason why I wanted the SY99 (I have a SY77 which I had already decided to sell), was the fact that the library is really huge.
But also, can it use samples to FM, like on the SY?

About the VA part, is it good enough to compete with the Virus TI?
And about the extra digital stuff the Virus has, does the Oasys has any other trick that can help it shine compared to the Virus, or does the Virus has a lot of stuff the Oasys can't even get close too?
But the digital part isn't my main worry right now, as I'm also thinking about getting a John Bowen Solaris which seems to me that will cover most digital sounds, but still good all around capabilities would be great.

And can it do really good piano sounds, so I won't feel that I'm losing something when selling the SG-Rack?


I also have a Korg Triton Pro which I don't want to get rid of my Triton as I got it as a gift from my parents and so it has a lot of sentimental value and I also think it worths quite more than the prices they are going for nowadays.
I was wondering if the PCM part of the Oasys is very different from the Triton one, so that my Triton would still be useful?


Sorry for the huge amount of questions


Thanks in advance, best regards

Paugui

[franzlp]

I think the answer if simple... why not try it out at you local store? Words can't really describe the oasys. But be warned, this is not an instrument yo get because its the flavor of the month or you want the biggest or baddest instrument out there. The instrument has many nuances and can perform infinite number of sound. It required lots of dedication to the device and a lot of reading of the phone book size manual. So it takes patience. It also shines if you can master the instrument from a musician perspective. If you're looking for something that will not require you to input lots of time and effort then this is not the instrument for you and you might as well get a Alesis fusion. As for the sounds they are the best out there period. The former king of keyboards , kurzweil wishes the owned this gear.

[SCHWEATS]

The KARMA is one (big) facet the Oasys has over the gear you mentioned.
I personally don't believe in buying older gear (unless the price is unbelievably low) as I'd prefer going forward with newer technology.
Yes , You can load in DX7 type patches provided you have the FM-7 engine loaded into the Oasys.
My choice would be selling the older gear and getting the Oasys…
but , lastly, it all depends on the type of music you make leading you to the
proper tools to use. Having said that , I've never been sorry for even one day for my Oasys purchase.

HTH Schweats

[peter m. mahr]

Hi Paugui,

Can the Oasys do everything the Z1 is able?

No. OASYS is lacking the brass models. But STR-1 and AL-1, Polysix are far better then the tools you have in the Z1. Not to forget MOD-7 the optional FM synthesizer for the OASYS.

I think I saw somewhere that it is able to load DX7 patches, is this true?

Yes, this is true. Find here an example in which I imported more or less all DX sounds of my TX-"8"16 into OASYS:
http://blog.petermmahr.com/2007/10/02/tx816-vs-mod-7/ on the blog you can find some more MOD-7 demos, some classical FM pianos together with some of the factory sounds, eg: http://blog.petermmahr.com/2007/10/09/a ... od-7-demo/

About the VA part, is it good enough to compete with the Virus TI?
And about the extra digital stuff the Virus has, does the Oasys has any other trick that can help it shine compared to the Virus, or does the Virus has a lot of stuff the Oasys can't even get close too?

OASYS comes with some very good EFXs, has the Boost in the AMP section and lots of other things. I do not own a Virus, thus I cannot give you an answer to that question if it is good enough to replace the Virus. Personally I do not have the feeling that I am missing something here.

But the digital part isn't my main worry right now, as I'm also thinking about getting a John Bowen Solaris which seems to me that will cover most digital sounds, but still good all around capabilities would be great.

I was thinking of getting one of these as well.

And can it do really good piano sounds, so I won't feel that I'm losing something when selling the SG-Rack?

...hm.. this is a matter of taste. To me the EXs2 Pianos sound much better, but there are also new Piano sounds coming from Sharp and KARO. Sharp somewhere here added a link so that you can listen and get an idea. The KARO library I had the chance to listen to and these Pianos are excellent and the best I ever heard on a Korg instrument. But they are optional whereas EXs2 does come with your OASYS.

Hope that there was some valuable information in it. To me you cannot do anything wrong by buying an OASYS as there is much, much more it offers and we did not talk. KARMA is one of them!

best regards
peter

[Mike Conway]

I have the Yamaha SY99 and the MOD-7 engine has comparable features (and then some). You can feed samples into FM oscillators, plus the FM sounds super clean on the OASYS, just amazing. With MOD-7, I rarely turn on the SY, anymore.

As for the Virus comparison, I record my Virus TI into my OASYS. The TI has its own sound character, which I just love. See the video:

16 TRACKS OF VIRUS INTO OASYS RECORDER


If you work with MOD-7 and some of the OASYS VAs (PolySix, MS20, AL-1), you can mix and match different engines and come up with just about anything. The high end is very clean, unlike the Virus. But each engine, like the Virus, has its own sound. I would think that the Solaris would cover a lot of the TI's ground, as well.

I could live with just the OASYS, but I like having the TI, which is different enough.

As mentioned, the OASYS is lacking the Brass and Wind models of the Z1, but damn - MOD-7 is so powerful, it could produce just about anything.

The PCM of the OASYS does cover a lot of Triton sounds - Pole, Cricket Spectrum, Detuned Saw, Mega Drum hit and many faves are in there, but because of the lossless compression, they sound much better! I just did this orchestral song on the OASYS, using stock sounds, EXs3 Brass/Woodwinds and some Karo string samples:

ORCHESTRAL SONG

I also have a ton of OASYS MP3s, on this thread, which may help you:

MP3s THREAD

[paugui]

Hi

Thank you all for your replies


I saw that some sound engines for the Oasys are paid.
Where can I get the info of which ones are paid and at which price?
Also which is the typical price for a used Oasys 88?
And is the Oasys power supply an universal one?


I also forgot to say I have an Alesis Fusion 8HD too, which I think I would still keep, as it seems worth more than it's price right now, and is also an incredible machine with a really nice 88 keyboard.

Would the Oasys still be a good choice considering I have the Fusion and the Triton?
Would it still be able to give me more stuff than the alternative equipment I put on the first post?


Also, are there any more synth engines in the make to be available soon, so that it will cover the whole Z1 sound spectrum?
And since the Fusion has Wind and Brass models, would those be good enough comparing to the Z1 ones?


I was hearing Peter's MOD-7 demos and they really seem to rock and can do nice emulations of the DX7, which was one of the main reasons for me to want the SY99 (that huge sound library may be quite useful ). Thanks for giving the link

And thanks to Mike for his demos too

Those demos really make me think this is the way to go


I saw at least that for Progressive Rock it seems great (at least Jordan Rudess uses one as his main keyboard for Dream Theater, and Tony Banks used one on Genesis last tour), but is it good for ambiental electronic stuff, like Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, too?


Best regards and thanks in advance

Paugui

[franzlp]

Honestly , don't take our word for it because this may or may not be the instrument for you since it is quite complex and you may want something that gets you the sound you want in a quicker manner. The only thing that matters is that you test drive it and play and even try the programming a bit. Just because it's used in prog rock doesn't mean this is for you. Please listen to the device hands on.

[franzlp]

BY the way if you already have a an Alesis Fusion HD and other keyboards then the the Oasys is overkill for you. Most people in the forum may agree that once you have an Oasys you usually put all you other equipment away in storage since the OAsys does it all. Jordan Rudress even sold or got rid of his Kurzweils once he got the Oasys and really doesn't use much of anything else.

[paugui]

The big problem is that here in Portugal I don't know any store that has any to sell... :S
So to try it out isn't unfortunately something easy to do.
But I'll try to search for one and try it out.

[franzlp]

For an expense of this type and the new technology involved I REALLY suggest you try it out first somehow. This is definitely the kind of thing you need to try out first before you buy. When I bought mine I had no idea of how it really was until I went in the store and tried it out. There are many people in the forum that have taken your approach and when they realize the complexity they get suprised about not being what they expected. For others its has been satisfying but for others not.

[MrT-Man]

While "trying before you buy" is always good advice, in the case of the Oasys I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a leap of faith, either. paugui sounds like he's serious about his synths & music, so I don't think there's much risk of the Oasys being overkill in his case. There are some features of the Oasys that are probably overkill for most of us (I hardly use the hard-disk recorder for mixing in external instruments/audio, for example, and I'm not into sampling), but I don't care because it performs so well with respect to the features that I do use.

My advice would be to spend a lot of time checking out the Oasys manuals & the virtual UI, read the message forums & post questions as needed, and I think it's reasonably safe to make a decision based on that... given that there isn't an Oasys readily available to try first-hand. One thing that isn't readily apparent from the manuals & spec sheets is just how good it sounds. The sound really has a pristine, clear quality and fullness to it that I just haven't heard from other workstations or software synths etc.

Obviously not everyone who bought an Oasys is happy that they did so -- if that were the case, we wouldn't be seeing any of them on eBay (I'm assuming that some of the sales are legit, and not scams!). But when that happens, I would guess it's mostly someone thinking "it's a great synth, but I really shouldn't have spent that much money on it given the state of my personal finances" rather than "this synth really disappointed me" or "I should have used the money to buy 3-4 other synths instead".

I have an SY99 (I love it, & it sits on top of my Oasys!), so regarding the SY99 vs Mod7 -- I'd say one advantage the SY99 has is that there is a sizeable library out there of SY99-specific patches, and there are many good ones. That's important because FM programming is really tough and not something that I'm into, so when it comes to FM I care more about what sounds others have made rather than what sounds I can make on my own. But the SY99 has all the drawbacks associated with a 17-year old synth -- i.e. risk of the LCD backlight, disk-drive, or other components failing; slow load times; small amount of memory; mediocre internal effects (if that matters); etc. etc. I would assume that a DX7 patch imported into Mod7 would sound a heck of a lot more clean & clear & crisp on the Oasys than the SY99, although I haven't done a direct shoot out.