KORG Oasys PCI

[johnny h]

Anyone still have one of these in use / at the bottom of a drawer somewhere?

[n o i s e f l e ur]

No but . . . aren't Korg's patents on PhysMod due to expire any day now?

IIRC this was a major bottleneck on the tech advancing, in the absence of interest in same from Korg.

[johnny h]

Maybe Behringer will get round to copying it when they run out of old analogue synths and drum machines to "be inspired from".

So, nobody has used this card?

[Mixedup]

So, nobody has used this card?

Not for a couple of decades! Why?

(Still have my SW1000XG and some daughterboard cards knocking around somewhere though... they were far more useful!)

[johnny h]

So, nobody has used this card?

Not for a couple of decades! Why?

(Still have my SW1000XG and some daughterboard cards knocking around somewhere though... they were far more useful!)

You weren’t a fan of the Oasys PCI?

Suddenly developed a strong curiosity about it.

[Mixedup]

Not really. On the PC soundcard side of things ended up with a Yamaha SW1000XG around that time, and the DSP Factory. Later I added a Kenton Plugstation and a bunch of daughterboards. On the Korg side of things, I went for a Triton Rack with a few bits installed — memory, EXB-MOSS etc. Oh... and then I went on to Creamware stuff for a bit, which I loved. TBH, it's all beginning to fade in the memory somewhat now! Still miss the Yamaha PLG-150AN card, though... I used to love the sounds on that thing and the ease of editing... and never got round to replacing it with the An1x I had my eye on!

[Eddy Deegan]

I think it was ahead of its time and was never a great success due to the cost. Also, AFAIK it will only work in a Mac with a PowerPC CPU, or on a PC running Windows 95 or 98.

To install the latest drivers you need to have the original ones installed, though strangely the update appears to have been released in 2015 (either that or that's the date they were put on the Korg site) and is for Mac only.

SOS did a comprehensive review of the card back in April 2000, though it sits in the gap between the mu:zines archives and the historical articles here on SOS.

It is available on archive.org though:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150608012 ... goasys.htm

To be honest, the pain of getting an Oasys PCI card up and running seems quite high, especially as it had very limited polyphony and much if not all of the stuff it did is now trivially available in other products.

[johnny h]

To be honest, the pain of getting an Oasys PCI card up and running seems quite high, especially as it had very limited polyphony and much if not all of the stuff it did is now trivially available in other products.

I’m sure I could get an old computer together. I’m not interested in the analogue emulations. One of the designers ended up creating the Solaris synth I believe but I wasn’t impressed by the sound of that at all tbh.

More interested in the physical modelling aspects.

[n o i s e f l e ur]

More interested in the physical modelling aspects.

Indeed. I wonder how the OASYS PhysMod stacks up against say, Yamaha's implementation on some of their older hardware, or against AAS software (which is licensed as Ableton Live devices too, for those who aren't aware).

[Martin Walker]

(Still have my SW1000XG and some daughterboard cards knocking around somewhere though... they were far more useful!)

I still occasionally miss using my SW1000XG card - its combination of samples and effect options had just the right amount of flexibility to achieve your own sound, yet the combo was not complex enough to become overwhelming.

Martin

[Mixedup]

(Still have my SW1000XG and some daughterboard cards knocking around somewhere though... they were far more useful!)

I still occasionally miss using my SW1000XG card - its combination of samples and effect options had just the right amount of flexibility to achieve your own sound, yet the combo was not complex enough to become overwhelming.

Martin

Yeah, it was ace! I'd love Yamaha/Steinberg to release a plug-in version of the card and all the daughterboards, with a GUI that resembled XG Pad... #makexgcoolagain

[FrankD]

I have an Oasys PCI in my old Power Computing clone. Just fired it up and the card is recognized. I also have installation disks for versions 1, 1.0.1, 1.0.2 and 2, and a 500+ page Oasys PCI Dealer Training Guide in the form of a thick binder.

I haven't used it in ages, and would be happy to pop it out of the computer and let it go for a reasonable offer. Not sure where you are, johnny h. I'm in NY. Shipping may be high, but I'm sure we can work something out.

peace,
Frank D.

[3harmonic]

Hello Frank D. Is the PCI card still available? was researching the Oasys and found this thread , and just registered.

[FrankD]

Hello Frank D. Is the PCI card still available? was researching the Oasys and found this thread , and just registered.

Hello 3harmonic,

Yes, the card is still available. I made no further efforts to sell it after posting here.

I don't see a way to send a DM on this forum. Will try including an email address...

rhythm4_4 AT yahoo DOTCOM
(obscured email address to reduce chances of misuse by web scrapers - ED)

Thanks for your interest!
Frank

[Eddy Deegan]

I don't see a way to send a DM on this forum. Will try including an email address...

Access to private messages is limited to 'read only' for all newly registered users as the service was historically abused by spammers which caused some disruption.

Once a user has had 3 posts approved by the moderators, full use of PMs automatically becomes available.

Hopefully the email address provided above will facilitate the necessary communication but if not, and there is a need to put you both in direct contact with each other, post back here and let us know

[Nites]

No but . . . aren't Korg's patents on PhysMod due to expire any day now?

IIRC this was a major bottleneck on the tech advancing, in the absence of interest in same from Korg.

Are you saying Korg has patents for physical modelling that stifled innovation?

There have been lots of physical modelling synths on the market such PA3 Derailer, AAS Tassman, Yamaha VL 1, Logic Sculpture etc etc

[OneWorld]

(Still have my SW1000XG and some daughterboard cards knocking around somewhere though... they were far more useful!)

I still occasionally miss using my SW1000XG card - its combination of samples and effect options had just the right amount of flexibility to achieve your own sound, yet the combo was not complex enough to become overwhelming.

Martin

I sold mine a long time ago, when it became clear the drivers woudn't work post XP then I got one recently on eBay £25! I did re-install it just for the MIDI Synth part of the card but then realised what's the point as I use a MOX keyboard, so it went back on eBay where the prices are generally about £100 I think the concept was very appealing, a MIDI Synth plus audio tracks along with the extra cards

[FrankD]

Hopefully the email address provided above will facilitate the necessary communication but if not, and there is a need to put you both in direct contact with each other, post back here and let us know

Thank you, Eddy,

Much appreciated!

peace,
Frank Dickinson
90 East Productions
our "lockdown" sessions

[3harmonic]

Reply sent! Thanks for the explanation Eddie.
Never thought I'd register at the SOS forum but have been an avid reader of the print magazine for years.

[jarzantarzan]

Hi,

A bit late to the party but I am also interested in buying an Oasys PCI if someone wants to get rid of it...

[FrankD]

Thanks to all who inquired!

My Oasys PCI card has been sold and has found a new home in the San Francisco area. I hope the new owner makes some great music with it!

peace,
Frank Dickinson
90 East Productions
our "lockdown" sessions

[Rustles and Waves]

I have 2 Oasys PCI cards, on in use and one spare. It is installed in an ancient sawtooth Power Mac, which just seems to keep going. I now only use it occasionally for the synths. It still does some stuff that even the Kronos doesn't do. The low polyphony is not a problem, and never was for me. It was always easy to convert synth tracks to audio when needed.

On a Power Mac it has always been reliable and great to use. The fact that I used it on an old Mac was also fine. No updates to get in the way of music making. It was not connected to the internet, so no updates required.

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Sounds like a nice rig! I'd love to hear what you're getting out of it. Ya the Kronos does not use the Sondius models found in the Oasys. It's entirely different code.

I've just got a Triton Rack with MOSS board, that's got the same models but without the graphics of the PCI card. It's a great sound, logically laid out. Would be nice to have the graphical interface though! I tried the SoundQuest but it has some flaws, not least of which is there's no dropdown to change the oscillator model They've laid it out in some strange order, you don't visually see the structure of source to output like you do on the mixer page in the Korg itself.

[FrankD]

Before I sold my Oasys PCI, it was in a Power Computing Mac clone. Remember those?

That machine also still works. I power it up occasionally to run Motu Unisyn (whenever my K2000 decides to dump the user banks...

I have 2 Oasys PCI cards, on in use and one spare. It is installed in an ancient sawtooth Power Mac, which just seems to keep going. I now only use it occasionally for the synths. It still does some stuff that even the Kronos doesn't do. The low polyphony is not a problem, and never was for me. It was always easy to convert synth tracks to audio when needed.

On a Power Mac it has always been reliable and great to use. The fact that I used it on an old Mac was also fine. No updates to get in the way of music making. It was not connected to the internet, so no updates required.

peace,
Frank Dickinson
90 East Productions
our "lockdown" videos

[BJG145]

I've just got a Triton Rack with MOSS board, that's got the same models but without the graphics of the PCI card.

...ah, in the Triton years that was the card I wanted. I was disappointed that the VST has all the library cards, but not that one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rti3919B9QU