OASYS_Introductory_Tour
OASYS_Introductory_Tour
OASYS_Introductory_Tour
Our goal here is to get you comfortable working with the user interface and control surface, and to give you a
“sneak peek” at some of the many incredibly-musical things that you can do with OASYS!
After you’ve finished this tour, you can learn more about this great instrument by working with the OASYS
Operation and Parameter Guides. And you’ll find new OASYS tutorials, tips and tricks, and support materials
by visiting www.korg.com/oasys and www.karma-labs.com/oasys on a regular basis!
1. Press the DISK button > Select the FACTORY folder on the internal hard drive, and then press Open >
Select the file PRELOAD.PCG, and then press Load > Check the boxes next to PRELOAD.SNG and
PRELOAD.KSC, and then press OK. This will load the factory sounds, demo songs and samples.
2. Press the SEQ button, and then press the SEQ START/STOP button to play the first demo song,
“Sinfonia Russe” > Press the SEQ START/STOP button again when finished listening to this song, and
then press the pop-up arrow left of the song name, select and playback the other demo songs. Here’s a
listing, with some notes about each demo song:
Great orchestral demo using 16 OASYS MIDI tracks, plus 8 tracks of real orchestral
S000: Sinfonia Russe instruments – a beautiful piece to show off the power of OASYS as a MIDI/Audio Workstation.
Vocals on audio tracks 1, 2 and 5 – Horns on audio tracks 3-4. The MIDI tracks use a
S001: Love Embraces All combination of HD-1 and AL-1 Programs. Be sure to check out the cool Wavesequence
Program on MIDI track 12, and a great piano solo further into the song.
Most of the tracks in this demo were created using AL-1 Programs. It takes a little time to
S002:TEKNOSIS
build, so be patient – it’s worth the wait!
This demo is all about HD audio tracks! All 16 audio tracks are being used, as well as all 16
S003: Night On The Town
effect processors! Go to MIDI track 1 to play along using a CX-3 organ Program.
This demo uses mainly HD-1 Programs. Some RAM samples as well (conga loop and electric
S004: Primitive
guitar) Try going right to measure 60 to hear the samples loud and clear.
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
The control surface serves numerous functions, such as CX-3 Organ drawbar control from the sliders, massive KARMA multi-
module control, audio and MIDI mixing with full channel strip control, powerful Tone Adjust sound tweaking of every
timbre/track/synth engine, plus an external mode that allows the OASYS control surface to operate MIDI soft synths, DAWS
and more!
1. From any mode you are currently in, press the HELP button.
2. Press the INDEX button at the bottom of the display, and then press Quick Start. Here, you have instant
access to Setup, Playing Programs and Combinations and Listening to the demo songs.
3. Try selecting Listening to the demo songs. All the information you need to load the factory demos is
right before your eyes, thanks to that big beautiful TouchView User Interface!
4. Now press the Contents button at the bottom of the display, and you’ll see a listing of every area in
OASYS you may need to access for help!
2. To assign a different drum sound (note/chord) to a PAD, press the CHORD ASSIGN button (located on
the upper left of the top panel, just under the KARMA logo) > Play a note on the keyboard, and then press
the PAD to which you want to assign the note. Up to eight notes can be assigned to a single PAD - each
note with its own velocity! > Press the Basic/Vector tab in the lower left of the display, and then press
the Pads tab. Assignments and edits can be made here as well.
Note: To change the PADS from velocity sensitive to a fixed velocity, press the PAD MODE button to the right of the
PADS. You’ll see when selecting sounds, that this setting is programmable for each sound.
3. Press the EXIT button (or press the Play tab) to return to the main Program Play page.
2
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
Take a close-up view of the organ drawbars and try your hand at some of the controllers:
1. In the display, press the image of the Upper Drawbars, and as you play, make (and view) adjustments to
the sliders to change the drawbar settings, thanks to the Tone Adjust mode.
2. Press the EXIT button (or Play tab) to return to the main screen > Press the Control Surface tab in the
display, and check out all of the control you have over the Drawbar Organ parameters.
3. Use the 8 REALTIME KNOBS to make adjustments to Program parameters such as Amp Gain, Key-On
click level, and EQ.
4. Use the Upper and Lower rows of Control Surface Buttons (below the knobs) to control parameters such
as Percussion on/off (Button 5 – upper row) and Wheel Brake on/off (Button 6 – lower row).
Notice how the controls are all laid out in their familiar locations, just like a real tonewheel
organ!
5. Now push the 4-way Joystick (above the Ribbon Controller) up to control the Rotary Speaker – push the
4-way Joystick down to split the keyboard. Wow!
NOTE! More on the CX-3 Tonewheel Organ coming up – for now, continue the tour…
TIMBRE/TRACK - lets you adjust volume, pan and send levels for Oscillators 1 and 2, along with Program EQ
R.TIME/ KARMA - lets you modulate sounds and effects with the knobs, and control KARMA with the sliders and switches
TONE ADJUST - gives you access to more detailed sound editing using the sliders, knobs and switches
Tip: Holding the RESET button and pressing the TONE ADJUST button will reset ALL slider values to their original
programmed values. Holding the RESET button and moving one or more sliders will reset only those sliders to
their originally-programmed values! And remember, for “instant” information on the RESET button….hold the
HELP button the press the RESET button!
3
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
The following section will give you an overview and tour or each synth…
Dual multi-mode resonant filters (low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, band-reject), a Drive parameter for adding analog “grit”,
three LFO’s per-voice plus a common LFO, a 3-band EQ and three super-fast, detailed Envelope Generators are just part of
this new advanced voice architecture. A second EXs ROM, the EXs-2 503 MB Concert Grand Piano is also provided on the
hard drive. Instructions for loading this 4-way velocity-switched and every-note-sampled Piano are included at the end of
this section. Don’t jump ahead now!
INT-E000: OASYS Piano-Damper EXs1 Damper Pedal brings in OSC2 Piano Damper sample
INT-A016: Real Suit E.Piano Turn KARMA on for a cool riff – KARMA ON/OFF button
INT-A007: Scat Voices Male Vocals on OSC1 – Female on OSC2
Notice the captured nuances at higher velocities - SW1 brings in OSC2 Ride
INT-A006: Acoustic Bass 1 SW1
Cymbal – Ribbon assigned to pitch
INT-A019: String Quartet Press SW1 for Pizzicato
INT-A010: Vibrato Flute Press 4-way joystick down (-Y) for flutter effect
INT-E004: Studio Standard Kit EXs1 Use the PADS to trigger the drum sounds!
INT-A002: Orchestra & Timpani Hard velocity to bring in Timpani – Vector Joystick for part blends
INT-A090: PianBassVibe&Flugal VJS Try the Vector Joystick for instrument blends and all that Jazz
INT-A024: Dark Ritual Bass in lower key range, breathy sound in mid, Nay in upper range
INT-A031: Pod Doors are Opening Try the Joystick, Vector and SW1/2 – Nice evolving sound
INT-C010: ProgRockOrganMania! EXs1 Rock out man! Try the KARMA SCENES (switches below the knobs)
4
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
Load, and play the incredible (and huge) OASYS EXs-2 Concert Grand Piano:
1. Press the GLOBAL button, and then press the Popup^ in the upper right corner of the display > Select
Expansion Sample setup > Uncheck the box next to EXs-1 ROM Expansion, check the box next to EXs-
2, and then press OK. OASYS must be rebooted for the changes to take effect. Press OK again, wait
about 10 seconds, and power-off, then on, to reboot OASYS.
2. Press the PROGRAM mode button, select bank USER A. The first 8 PROGRAMS (USER A000 - 007) in this
bank are using the EXs-2 Piano samples.
3. To reload the EXs-1 ROM again, just repeat the above procedure, but this time check the EXs-1 box and
uncheck the EXs-2 box before rebooting.
NOTE: As new EXi Instruments, EXs Sample libraries and EXf Effects are introduced, they can be incorporated
into OASYS, providing you with a solid platform on which to grow!
2. Press the Play tab in the display > Press the Filter image in the display (above the LFOs) > Press the
Multi Filter tab. Here, Knob 5 is used to crossfade between the two filters (Manual 1 and High Pass) >
Turn Knob 5 to hear this > In the center of the display, press the Popup^ next to AMS (Knob Mod. 5
(CC#17) > Try using the LFOs (LFO 1-4) or the Step Sequencer as a modulation source by selecting them
here.
Press the PROGRAM button, and work with the controllers on these great AL-1 sounds:
USER-F068: Tearing Sync JS-Y SW1/SW2 for cool Step Seq. / LFO action – Try Joystick down (-Y)
INT-F009: Bounce Shot SW1 stops the ‘bounce’ – Try both SW1 and SW2
USER-F086: Watchamacallit SW1 stops the pulsing OSC2 – try the joystick down (-Y) w/ SW1 ON
USER-F091: The Air Dance Use the Vector Joystick and Joystick (-Y) for cool mixing of this one!
INT-F003: Super Saw Brass Pull the joystick down (-Y) for some filter modulation and resonance
5
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
1. Press the PROGRAM button, and select Program USER-F000: Felix’sDaKat, and then press OK.
2. In the display, press the image of the Upper Drawbars for a close-up view of them. Make adjustments to
the Drawbars by using the nine SLIDERS > Press the EXIT button (or Play tab) to return to the main
page > Press the Control Surface tab in the display, and take a look at all the control you have over the
Drawbar Organ parameters!
3. Just like you learned to do on page 3, in the “Take a close-up view of the organ drawbars” section, use the
8 REALTIME KNOBS to make adjustments to Program parameters such as Amp Gain, Key-On click level,
and EQ > Use the Upper and Lower rows of Control Surface Buttons (below the knobs) to control
parameters such as Percussion on/off (Button 5 – upper row) and Wheel Brake on/off (Button 6
– lower row). Check out the other control surface buttons too! > Now push the 4-way Joystick up,
to control the Rotary Speaker > Push the 4-way Joystick down to split the keyboard.
4. Two CX-3 organs (or a CX-3 and an AL-1 synth) can be combined in a single Program! Try this:
Select USER-F014: Mega Organ SW1, and check out this great feature!
More support and tutorials on new synth engines including the STR-1 and LAC-1 are available on
korg.com – for now, let’s continue with the Introductory Tour and explore some of OASYS’ finest
features…
Both technologies have been significantly advanced over their previous incarnations. For example, OASYS now provides the
ability to wavesequence using stereo waves, either from ROM or your own RAM samples.
1. Press the COMBI button, and select INT-C052: Collective Moving EXs1 > Press the
EQ/Vector/Control tab > Press Vector Envelope tab. Now hold a chord on the keyboard, and listen to
the sound evolve > Uncheck the Vector Envelope On box in the upper left of the display to turn it off.
Now play the same chord. You can continue to use the Vector Joystick to manually ‘morph’ the sound.
Now to edit the Vector Envelope (in the lower half of the display:
2. In the Vector Envelope section at the bottom of the display, press the Point 0 radio button, and then
position the Vector Joystick all the way to the left > Select the second point (point 1) and position it
hard-right > Pick new positions for points 2-5 >Turn the Vector Envelope on by checking the box, and
listen to your new envelope take effect when you play and hold a chord!
Make sure to work with the Vector Joystick (and other controllers) while playing the following Programs
and Combinations:
Programs Combinations
INT-D033: Trashman Groove INT-C052: Collective Moving EXs-1
INT-D017: The Changeling INT-B049: Pianophonix
6
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
1. Press PROGRAM and select INT-D036: Acoustic Pop Kit > Play a note on the keyboard, and raise the
first SLIDER to adjust the Swing parameter > raise the second SLIDER to vary the pattern > try KARMA
SCENE buttons 1-3 (top row of buttons above the Sliders) to change scenes > Try KARMA SWITCHES
1-3 (lower row of buttons above Sliders) to add/remove drum elements.
The Note Map can be used to remap drum kits, substitute different drums sounds within a kit, remove certain
pitches from melodic output or constrain pitches to various scales and more.
3. Press the Popup next to Note Map table (Currently set to Custom) > Play a note on the keyboard to start
KARMA, and then try selecting different tables from the list. Custom tables can also be created and saved
with a Program.
Press the KARMA ON/OFF button to turn the KARMA function on. Now watch the Vector display and
listen as you hold a note on the keyboard…
INT-A037: Drumz & Hitz’ Try the KARMA Scenes and knobs (and turn on the strobe lights)
INT-B019: Hook Me Up SW1,2 JS-Y Vector Joystick for filter effects, SW1/SW2 and Joystick – cool stuff!
INT-A099 Breakbeat Vector Jam! Use the Vector Joystick and Ribbon controller
INT-A069 Tangerine Skies Let this one evolve! Super cool stuff happening! Try the scenes.
INT-A047 Planet Vector Turn KARMA ON - KARMA is controlling the Vector Envelope
INT-B040 Sleep Deprivation Try KARMA SCENES 1-8 to build the song. Try the Vector Joystick
Be sure to visit Stephen Kay’s OASYS /KARMA website at www.karma-lab.com for more information and
support on KARMA features and functions in OASYS!
1. Select the COMBI (or Program) that you want to record > While holding down the ENTER button, press
the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button > Press OK > Press the SEQUENCER START/STOP button and
begin playing to record after 2 measure count in. Your playing gets recorded along with the KARMA edits
you make in realtime as well – make sure to try the SCENE buttons and SLIDERS while you record!
7
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
When finished recording, press the SEQ START/STOP button to stop recording, and press it again to
playback.
1. Press the SEQ button. This is the main page of the sequencer. Here you can view the 16 MIDI tracks
(mixer) at the same time, thanks to the large new display > Press the Audio Track tab to view the mixer
page for the 16 audio tracks > While on the Audio Track Page look at the Rec Source pop-up to see all the
possible inputs and busses that you can record audio from!
2. Press the EQ/Vector/Control tab then press the MIDI Track EQ tab to view the EQ for the 16 MIDI
tracks > Press the Popup^ in the upper right of the display and select Show EQ Graphic to see a graphic
of each EQ knob. Press some of the EQ knobs in the display. If you want to close the EQ Graphic window,
press Close in the EQ Graphic window.
3. Press the Track Edit tab to view the Track Data Map. This screen displays performance data and indicates
edit ranges. The currently selected track will be highlighted in blue > Look at the Popup^ in the upper
right of the display to see the many possible edit commands.
4. Explore other pages of the sequencer by pressing the appropriate tabs in the bottom of the display.
Resampling to disk…
IMPORTANT! If a file already exists on the hard drive with the name “TAKENO00.WAV”, it must be renamed
(or deleted) before going through the following steps. You can do this from the Utility tab and
Popup menu in DISK mode.
1. Press the COMBI button, and then select INT-A:017 Dreaming withoutSleeping > Press the Audio
In/Sampling tab > press the Popup^ in the upper right of the display, and then select Auto Sampling
Setup > Select Resample Combination Play, and then select DISK as the save to: destination > Press
OK.
2. Press the SAMPLING REC button, and then press the SAMPLING START/STOP button > Press a note on
the keyboard, or use one of the PADS to begin recording > Press the SAMPLING START/STOP button
when finished, and then press the KARMA ON/OFF button to stop KARMA playback.
8
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
3. Press the DISK button, and in the root directory / first level on the internal hard disk (not within any
folders), locate the file TAKENO00.WAV. This is the new file you’ve just created by resampling > Playback
this wav file by selecting it and then pressing the Play button in the display (or use the SAMPLING
STOP/START button).
NOTE! You’ll love the fact that OASYS OS software updates are already in motion – and coming soon!
Just one new feature that you’ll appreciate: An additional 1 GB DIMM can be installed for a
total of 2 GB of RAM! (Note that with the current OASYS Operating System, you can choose not
to load the EXs-1 ROM, giving you an additional 313 MB of sampling memory).
Effects Galore
Quality and quantity! You get serious effect processing power with OASYS: 12 insert effects, 2 Master effects and 2 Total
effects are onboard, and ready for you to use in any performance mode! That’s 16 effects at once! There are 185 effect
algorithms, including REMS modeling effects from Korg’s award winning ToneWorks and Digital Recording products, plus
many new algorithms and returning favorites like the awesome O-Verb from the OASYS PCI card! And for your external
processing needs, OASYS can even function as a 6-in / 10-out processor!
This demo song contains 16 audio tracks, and all of the effect processors are also being used! While the
sequencer plays, make sure to select and explore the effect pages!
2. Press the IFX tab > press the Insert FX tab. Here, you’ll see the 11 insert effects being used on this
song’s individual tracks, for dynamics such as EQ, compressors and limiters. Try turning them all off by
pressing the red ON button next to each IFX processor.
3. Press the MFX/TFX tab to explore the Master and Total Effects pages. To get to the edit pages for the
Master and Total effects, press their corresponding tabs.
¾ OASYS is based on Korg proprietary software running on top on Linux underpinnings. This means that all
the available power of the processor is being used to create the highest quality synths, effects and music
making tools, rather than running an OS “bloated” with features and functions not needed for your
musical purposes. Because of this design we get much more functional power from the chip as compared
to a “normal" PC configuration!
¾ The synthesis and effects processing of OASYS is based on software, not on fixed-purpose, dedicated
hardware. This is the reason why OASYS can dynamically allocate between all of its synth models
(currently the HD-1, AL-1, STR-1, LAC-1 and CX-3), and if desired - use all of the system’s power to play
a particular model – unlike expansion-board-based systems, which typically offer a fixed, limited
number of voices for each synthesizer type. Because all of the synths and effects in OASYS are software-
based, Korg will be able to expand these capabilities via software – without adding any additional
hardware. This means that future EXi instruments, EXs sample libraries and EXf effects will keep OASYS
sounding fresh and cutting-edge for many years to come!
¾ The HD-1 uses Korg’s new, proprietary sample-playback engine, available for the first time in the OASYS.
Its main feature is extremely high-quality interpolation, which minimizes aliasing noise and delivers
9
KORG OASYS Introductory Tour
crystal-clear high frequencies. We’re very proud of this; it may be the best realtime interpolation available
today. It’s also many times more complex, and significantly better sounding, than even the “high-quality”
settings on most software samplers. And unlike many hardware sample-playback instruments, OASYS
uses only linear samples, without data compression.
Here are just a few benefits that OASYS can bring to your computer-based
production studio and live performance applications:
¾ OASYS provides premium synthesis algorithms and unparalleled sound design. Plug-ins can be a
cool addition to your system, but nothing sounds like OASYS!
¾ OASYS give you incredible performance power. Up to 172 voices are onboard, that don’t take any
CPU or DSP processing power away from your DAW.
¾ OASYS is a KORG instrument, and of course that means you can count on its reliability, on
stage and in the studio.
¾ In addition to being a fantastic synth and sequencing powerhouse, OASYS is a luxurious controller
keyboard. It provides a great control surface of knobs, sliders and switches, drum pads, ribbon, two
joysticks and more, not to mention the best keyboard action money can buy!
¾ OASYS gives you integrated physical controls and sound design. Over a thousand internal sounds
designed and voiced by the best programmers in the world - to take maximum advantage of its incredible
control surface - for virtuoso performance and maximum expression.
¾ And last, but not least: Come on…you’ve got to admit it…OASYS will look fantastic in your
control room!
¾ www.korg.com/oasys - KORG’s OASYS home page! Be sure to check out the Zoom Tool, the
Virtual Graphical User Interface (thanks to Stephen Kay for its development!), the many audio
and video clips and much more.
¾ www.karma-lab.com/oasys - Stephen Kay’s OASYS home page with many good KARMA-centric
examples and more.
http://www.karma-lab.com/forum/
http://www.oasyshaven.com/
10