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I have always been passionate about music and the art of creating it. I might not be a Jean-Michel Jarre or Kebu but I have always striven to use instruments that are truly creative. If you watch my YouTube channel (The Music Tech Guy UK) you will know I own an Korg OASYS, KRONOS, T1 and M1. All of which I find very creative platforms.
Why did I buy the Korg OASYS give that I owned the others. Well as a synthesiser/keyboard collector the OASYS represented a significant shift in the synthesiser market. It moved from a hardware orientated format where the synthesiser logic and tones were held on a custom board designed for the synthesiser to a software driven format where software drives the synthesis. In Korg speak 'the Engine'. And the sounds and settings are held on recordable media, in the case of the OASYS a hard drive.
Korg OASYS Concept
OASYS actually stands for Open Architecture SYnthesis Studio. The idea being able to expand the platform by just released a new program that the users loaded via the inbuilt CD. Sadly this part of the concept never really caught on with this instrument. But it became the standard pattern for all the high end synthesisers and workstations that followed.
Acquisition
Personally I never through that I would own a Korg OASYS. I remember when it was released and playing it in Turnkey in Charring Cross Road, London. Being blown away by the experience. Then looking at the £8,000 price tag and being equally blown away. I think the most I had ever spent on a keyboard to that point was £1,500 on a Yamaha Clavinova.
Then about 8 years ago I saw an entry on e-bay for a Korg OASYS starting at £200. These were at the time were being listed for £2,000 plus and still do. So I started bidding and over the course of 10 days was the highest bid at £1,100. And then in the last 10 mins of bidding the price shot up to £2,200. Way above my budget at the time. Big sigh. So close but so far. Forget about it and move on!
Then about a week later I get a message from the vendor saying that the two bidders that bid up to the selling price had both dropped out and as I was the 3rd highest bid did I want the OASYS for my last bid. You betcha! Paid him with in 10 minutes. Not letting it get away a second time.
A trip to Milton Keynes
As it happens the transaction occurred on a Friday and on the Saturday morning I drove from my old based in North Hampshire up to just north of Milton Keynes to pick the OASYS up.
While the Korg OASYS was fully working, I tested it on pick up, it was still at base release (V1.1.0). There are a number of videos on my YouTube channel showing how I got from 1.1.0 to 1.3.3a, loaded in the missing engines and performed a few other maintenance tasks. So if you are interested go check them out. (YouTube Link)
And that's the story re the Korg OASYS
So there you have it the story of how I acquired my Korg OASYS 88-Key, at a reasonable price. My only regret was that the same guy had a Korg M3 also for sale which I could have bought at the same time, but I just didn't have another £800 surplus at the time. Can't win them all.
Acquiring my Korg OASYS was a game-changer for me as a musician. It opened up a world of possibilities and allowed me to take my music to new heights. And even though I have spend many evening scrachting my head trying to work this instrument out, I am grateful to have it in my arsenal.
About the Author
Jon describes himself as a frustrated musician with a passion for the electronic instruments that help him and other musicians be creative. He started playing keyboards in his late teens and re-ignited his passion and built a new studio following his seperation.
About the Blog
The Music Tech Guy UK's Blog, Website and YouTube channel were started to share Jon's experiences and views on the industry at large and how these effect the small musician. Plus technical tips how to configure and maintain the equipment he owns.
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