Oasys sounds coming to Korg Module?

[Paul Woodward]

I had a dream that someone mocked up a ‘Kronos’ app for the iPad as an April’s fool. Opened my iPad today and saw an Oasys Piano update for module and gadget….expected the worse given the date, but there it is.

I already have a few piano expansions, but would be interested to try this out and maybe grab it when it drops in price.

Now, this is only the Oasys German piano, but I would love to think this is the start of a new set of sounds. As some speculation has been that there might eventually be a Kronos app, it’s easy to forget the Oasys is a much older instruments and, like the Triton, more likely to get an app than the Kronos which, from a sound aspect, is still available in the Nautilus.

Let’s hope eh?

[DeltaJockey]

Agree, I think like a lot of people, I've been hoping in my heart that eventually Korg will produce an app for computer that will load Kronos sample libraries. My main attraction to keeping my Kronos is actually all the extra sound libraries I've bought over the years. I noticed that Kurt Ader has some of his libraries on Korg module, but in trying them out they are only a shadow of his full blown Kronos libraries. Was excited when I discovered them for Korg module, but was very disappointed when I tried them.

 

here's hoping.

[Paul Woodward]

Must admit to being a bit deflated that the app itself wasn't getting an upgrade. 2020 was the last 'feature' upgrade and even basic iPads can do so much more now than 112 notes and just two sounds at a time. I would pay for an upgrade that had Kronos sounds, drawbars for the organs, more poly, splits etc. it really could be the heart of a great setup paired with their own Keystage boards.

[CEB]

Oasys Pianos, Why?    😀

[Paul Woodward]

27 minutes ago, CEB said:

Oasys Pianos, Why?    😀

No idea, just hoping it’s a sign of things to come and we get more engines in Module. They sound decent enough, but it’s not something I have ever heard of being a ‘must have’. Might have been a joke if there wasn’t a £14.99 price tag.

[CEB]

They don’t suck. It’s what I use live but APs are not the strong point of the platform.  FWIW I love the EPs. 
 

 

[Paul Woodward]

Any thoughts on what engines from the Oasys would be of real benefit to Module

[ProfD]

Here is yet another example of a manufacturer milking a bull.🤣 

 

The OASYS engines and sounds were ported over to Kronos. 

 

The Kronos sounds showed up in the GrandStage as a digital piano. 

 

The Nautilus is a chopped Kronos.

 

Some genius reached way back to the OASYS piano to port to a module/app.

 

Build it, er, repackage and resell it and they will come.😁😎

[Paul Woodward]

But they do sound great, and the Grandstage scratched my itch to get a(nother) Kronos. Now, if they bundled the sounds of an Oasys or Kronos into a £30 app, I would happily buy it as a ‘sound module’. It will never happen of course, when they can sell the engines for £25 each. Essentially, your iPad becomes the ‘Kronos’ with you buying whichever parts of it you want. Take away the workstation features, and that is essentially what Module is (was) on a mobile platform, or it would be if it integrated those other apps like Gadget does.
Milking seems to be a common business plan for many companies who had successful products. Korg are doing it with just about every decent board produced for decades and it’s working reasonably well for them.

Triton/Trinity remains inevitable for IOS, as it’s already in the Korg Collection. Mono/poly, Polysix, MS20, ARP Odyssey, M1, Wavestation are already on both platforms. If people want the sound of, say, an M1 made as authentic as possible by the original manufacturer adding to their favourite board for £15, why not?

[jejefunkyman]

But do these OASYS APs ported to Module really sound like Kronos APs? I would be surprised. 

 

I quickly tested them by loading the demo in Module, and was not really overwhelmed or pleased. I think I'll keep on using the Ivory APs in Module rather than buying these OASYS APs...

[Still VanDerGraaf]

I see that the M1 app has now been made AUV3-compatible. Good news and hopefully others will follow in short order.

[AnotherScott]

5 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

Must admit to being a bit deflated that the app itself wasn't getting an upgrade. 2020 was the last 'feature' upgrade and even basic iPads can do so much more now than 112 notes and just two sounds at a time. 

Since polyphony estimates have always varied with model, I wonder if polyphony may naturally be higher on new devices even with no official software update.

 

I think the two-at-a-time limit is a marketing and/or interface based decision, rather than being tied to older hardware limitations. After all, I believe the same exact sounds have long already been playable up to 16 at a time, in Gadget, no?

 

Probably the best solution, if you need more than two Module sounds at a time, is to just load up multiple instances of Module into Keystage or whatever.

 

 

1 hour ago, Paul Woodward said:

Any thoughts on what engines from the Oasys would be of real benefit to Module

Although Korg talks about different engines in Module, I think they are largely talking about different interfaces into what is basically a single sample engine underlying everything... up until when they introduced the synth engine Hybrid, which I think may be the only component of Module that is not strictly sample-based. I'm hesitant to assume anything about the viability of bringing OASYS (Kronos/Nautilus) engines to the iPhonei/Pad processor and OS. But who knows. Though opsix/wavestate/modwave show they are not inherently averse to offering software versions of something they sell in current hardware.

 

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

Here is yet another example of a manufacturer milking a bull.

We're a tiny market, and I think success depends in a large part on getting as much mileage out of everything as you can. I mean, can't you say much the same about Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Nord?

 

4 minutes ago, jejefunkyman said:

But do these OASYS APs ported to Module really sound like Kronos APs? I would be surprised. 

I'm not sure the OASYS piano was even in the Kronos. The Kronos introduced a new piano engine of its own, with much larger sample sets.

 

[ProfD]

15 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

We're a tiny market, and I think success depends in a large part on getting as much mileage out of everything as you can. I mean, can't you say much the same about Roland, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Nord?

 

I'm not sure the OASYS piano was even in the Kronos. The Kronos introduced a new piano engine of its own, with much larger sample sets.

Surely, all of the manufacturers are recycling the same sounds across multiple products and platforms.  They have every right to do so as long as the tiny market demands it.  

 

The M1 piano became a staple of 1990s dance music. I do not recall the OASYS piano enjoying similar usage/popularity at any point in time.🤣😎

[Paul Woodward]

1 hour ago, jejefunkyman said:

But do these OASYS APs ported to Module really sound like Kronos APs? I would be surprised. 

 

I quickly tested them by loading the demo in Module, and was not really overwhelmed or pleased. I think I'll keep on using the Ivory APs in Module rather than buying these OASYS APs...

Proof, as ever, that pianos are very personal. I bought the ivory expansion, but never really preferred it to the inbuilt pianos in Module. I fired up the Oasys piano demo and found it very playable for my style. It’s quite bottom heavy, but a fuller sound suiting rock piano playing IMO. I layered it with some other sounds and can see how it would cut through nicely in a mix.

I love the Grandstage pianos which are from the Kronos. These were likely developed from the Oasys German piano which is probably why I took to it. There is a  sort of ‘GS’ sound and response to it that I can’t explain, but I feel it.

£15 is a bit much for one piano sound from an almost 20 year old keyboard, especially when there is a 50% sale on Korg apps (is this really not discounted, or £30 full price?). Will see what else is released, but I could certainly make use of it. Interestingly, the original was 504mb of sample memory which exceeded the available 1gb RAM if loaded with the other PCM sounds, so it was an optional expansion (EXs2) and the Module extension is exactly the same size.

[Paul Woodward]

1 hour ago, Still VanDerGraaf said:

I see that the M1 app has now been made AUV3-compatible. Good news and hopefully others will follow in short order.

How hard is it to allow their own apps to be loaded into Module Pro and leave basic Module as a preset machine? It works like that in Gadget, and it’s not going to lose them money as you still buy the individual apps. It’s better than the ‘doctored’ expansion approach (yes, looking at you Triton) that they take with these optional sound sets.

Wouldn't need to have a full interface to edit the sounds within Module, you could just load up the sounds from the app like you choose an engine now. If you needed to tweak them, open the app and save. Simples.

[Paul Woodward]

1 hour ago, AnotherScott said:

Probably the best solution, if you need more than two Module sounds at a time, is to just load up multiple instances of Module into Keystage or whatever.

I had to think about that for a moment, tried to work out how you can load Module twice on an iPad with a Korg Keystage 😉

[CEB]

For playing solo, especially in the comfort of home … I love Ivory.    The pianos are beautifully voiced.  
 

For playing in a loud cluttered mix I have no luck with it.  Maybe if I did not specialize in playing loud shit it would work.  Live I rather take my chances with Triple Strike.  

[David Emm]

I politely smirk at all of this, because as a Korg lover, I'm covered up in that systemic voice. If you haven't amply sampled your Tritons, etc. like I have, just go for Korg's mega-Triton plug. It includes all of the old library cards, which are impressive. Its like Roland's Jupiter Xm: quite a full house. If you gotta have the higher sampling rates in the Trinity, okay, but Korg's DNA is spread pretty broadly. Take on a few of the better examples and you're well-covered. Arguing over how much OASYS made it into a Nautilus is like howling at the Moon. C'mon, that's your dog's job.

 

I can see amping up your Kronos for live work, but otherwise, never mind acoustic pianos in big synths. If you're that kind of serious, go for Pianoteq or Ivory. There are also excellent models to be had from Soundpaint, SampleScience and other such smaller houses. I know how personal a piano or Hammond are to focused players thereof, but we're in the age of mix-&-match. You can easily gather a healthy basketful of instruments that are good for specialty moments.   

Module doesn't fit any of my needs, but more importantly, companies will only go so far in bulking up their smaller forms. They want to nudge you up the line as a buyer. I'd love to know how many people have ultimately moved from Module to the Triton plug. I know they're in different arenas, but if you itch for more "power," that delivers. Buy both, Korg love you long time!

[Mighty Motif Max]

10 hours ago, CEB said:

For playing solo, especially in the comfort of home … I love Ivory.    The pianos are beautifully voiced.  
 

For playing in a loud cluttered mix I have no luck with it.  Maybe if I did not specialize in playing loud shit it would work.  Live I rather take my chances with Triple Strike.  

I’m not sure how either the full Ivory or the Korg Module version stack up, but my go-to piano sound set on my MODX is the Synthogy American Grand, which is also based on the samples used in one of the Ivory models. It’s great for louder rock stuff as well as more moderate pop stuff. It’s my default for live use, over anything else I’ve tried.

[TJ Cornish]

The OASYS piano is definitely in the Kronos, and I just got the email from Korg announcing that the OASYS piano is now available for Korg Module. Lots of opportunities to play it if you want your 2005 piano nostalgia.

[Paul Woodward]

32 minutes ago, TJ Cornish said:

The OASYS piano is definitely in the Kronos, and I just got the email from Korg announcing that the OASYS piano is now available for Korg Module. Lots of opportunities to play it if you want your 2005 piano nostalgia.

I like it, but £30? There is a 50% sale so can only assume that's the full price if it's on sale at £14.99. That is expensive for one quite old piano sample.

[TomKittel]

On 4/1/2024 at 8:48 PM, CEB said:

For playing solo, especially in the comfort of home … I love Ivory.    The pianos are beautifully voiced.  
 

For playing in a loud cluttered mix I have no luck with it.  Maybe if I did not specialize in playing loud shit it would work.  Live I rather take my chances with Triple Strike.  

 

I added the Oasys piano to my KM library and I really dig it. Compared with Ivory and AmD it’s not the most sophisticated piano sample but it has a certain quality of it’s own. It reminds me on the good old Triple Strike. 15 bucks well spent. 

[The Piano Man]

On 4/1/2024 at 7:48 PM, CEB said:

For playing solo, especially in the comfort of home … I love Ivory.    The pianos are beautifully voiced.  
 

For playing in a loud cluttered mix I have no luck with it.  Maybe if I did not specialize in playing loud shit it would work.  Live I rather take my chances with Triple Strike.  

I have never done a gig with the Triple Strike where I have had any issues in terms of cut, playability and sitting nicely in the mix. Such a classic base sound with both body and bite. 
 

I like the version in the PC3 best but I still use the older version in a SP76 which still works live! Nice keybed on that SP76 too. And a purple keyboard is a nice change from all the red ones kicking about! 
 

I actually once played live with a Nord Stage 2 ex and circled round loads of their piano samples. All got lost. Bandmates felt it was all muffled. I eventually plugged in a Micropiano and it was sorted. Genuinely, a bandmate said “Ah, that’s a nice piano patch you have now, it’s cutting through nicely” or words to that effect. I then had to come clean and admit it was an ancient Kurzweil sample. (Disclaimer: I wasn’t using high end monitors and I did not have a talented sound guy with us. I know that the Nord is a far more sophisticated sample!!)

[TJ Cornish]

I played the OASYS for 9 years as my only board. I have a lot of miles on that piano sound. I moved to the German Grand in the Kronos when I moved on from the OASYS (it died), and now the CFX piano in the Montage M. 

 

I find it interesting that the Montage M has the felt piano, which to me sounds like mud, but apparently it’s the latest rage - I argue about this with a young friend of mine who thinks pianos that have sound above 3KHz are too bright. Not sure I want to go back to the OASYS piano which has a lot of attack and not much in the middle, but I am not a fan of mush either.