25 key midi controller - Oxygen8 v2?

[twister]

After almost 5 years of brutal abuse of my original Oxygen 8, the USB connector on the back finally gave in Keys and everything else are still working, very impressive Now I'm looking for a replacement, possibly v2, and curious to find out if it has the same build quality as the original one? Visually it looks like a smaller footprint and they added transport control, but I'm more after the durability and don't care much about actual knobs and sliders. Original was build like a brick. Any comments from v2 users about it?

[twister]

Anybody?

[MelloProg]

this might sound stupid, but what does one with 25 keys? i have never understood why those things exist. i would not be able to play on it, you would have to constantly switch around octaves, and you cant even cosider playing with both hands. seriously, what is the point? even on my analog mono synth there are 3 octaves and they are not enough keys for me playing with one hand...

i dont want to say it is something bad, but i really would like to know what use it has.

[tboulette]

Limited use, but at least you can carry it on a plane along with your laptop -- which is certainly better than nothing.

[theviirus]

I use it for studio use and live use. In studio, I play solo lines into it. For live performance the knobs control the MDSP analog delay plug and, simultaneously, the keys are used to play a synth which is routed into MDA Talkbox.

Control-wise and utility-wise, it outruns the Roland pc300 I used to own.

I am not a V2 user, but if it is built like the axiom line, it would be money well spent.

[wavephonic]

I have the oxy 49, just got it, it has transport control, does that mean its v2, not sure,
didn't have much to spend but it seems to be built better than I thought, responsive keys and some weight to the thing, I'm a fairly heavy player..feels like it will handle it
I'm curious, when you say brutal abuse, Im wondering how the usb plug got screwed..so I can watch for that

thanks

[Armadillo]

this might sound stupid, but what does one with 25 keys? i have never understood why those things exist. i would not be able to play on it, you would have to constantly switch around octaves, and you cant even cosider playing with both hands. seriously, what is the point? even on my analog mono synth there are 3 octaves and they are not enough keys for me playing with one hand...

i dont want to say it is something bad, but i really would like to know what use it has.

I don't have one but I'm guessing 25 keys are good for genres like these: House, Trance, Pop, RnB, Hip Hop, Trip hop, Drum n' bass.
Obviosly Prog rock solo's that goes over 6 octaves won't be a thing you can do. Neither would I use it for Jazz or Classical music. But if you music mainly consists of bass lines, riffs, themes and beats I think you can get far with just 2 octaves.

[kisuw]

I'm curious, when you say brutal abuse, Im wondering how the usb plug got screwed..so I can watch for that

If you don't place your genitals anywhere near it you'll be fine.

[wavephonic]

I'm curious, when you say brutal abuse, Im wondering how the usb plug got screwed..so I can watch for that

If you don't place your genitals anywhere near it you'll be fine.

ya but I like to REALLY get plugged in

[twister]

I'm curious, when you say brutal abuse, Im wondering how the usb plug got screwed..so I can watch for that

If you don't place your genitals anywhere near it you'll be fine.

Damn! They should of put a warning sticker for that Thanks for telling me now

"brutal abuse" is based on me traveling with it, dropping numerous times (including on a side where USB connector is), and the most important one is my 2 year old playing with it or trying to drag it on a floor by the cord And, as it was pointed out before, its great for short dance/house/trance hooks and basslines, and also previewing different VSTi presets. I even used to map knobs to filter, etc. V2 supposed to have transport control and Enigma software for easy mapping of midi controls. M-Audio also bundles Live 5 Light edition with it. I guess its worth a shot for $119.

[MelloProg]

I don't have one but I'm guessing 25 keys are good for genres like these: House, Trance, Pop, RnB, Hip Hop, Trip hop, Drum n' bass.
Obviosly Prog rock solo's that goes over 6 octaves won't be a thing you can do. Neither would I use it for Jazz or Classical music. But if you music mainly consists of bass lines, riffs, themes and beats I think you can get far with just 2 octaves.

haha... how did you know i play prog rock and classical? both is dead on. LOL
ok. i admit, i also stay in the studio and don't take my equipment on the road. so bigger is better for me in almost any situation.

[WoJ]

never used an older oxygen/m-audio keyboard before but i bought an oxygen 8 v2 the other month and so far its great the enigma software works great for quick conifiguration etc and the transport controls are just set to cc's which you can use for whatever you want.

build quality is great too. well...as much as anything can be if its molded plastic but no loose parts, keys are nice and responsive, and the ports are solid too - how much did you drop your oxygen for the usb port to break!?

and 25 keys is plenty for solo lines and even chordal music so long as you know your chord voicings and its great for just shoving into a bag with a laptop for live use...i'd like to see someone do that with an 88 key keyboard! pah.

one problem i did have however was getting the drivers to work. man that was a headache! windows kept seeing the keyboard in device manager as 'Oxygen 8 v2' but with a yellow exlamation mark and then it would always switch to 'USB Audio Device'. I got round it eventualy worked by reinstalling drivers many times and choosing the 'install specific drivers' or 'choose drivers/device from list' option in the device manager or something like that.

For about £50 + p&p its a bargain.

[WoJ]

oh, and it comes with Live Lite 6

[aciddose]

it might be a lot cheaper to buy a soldering iron, flux and some rosin solder and spend two minutes opening it up and fixing the broken solder joints on the usb connector. that'll run you $25 or so. everybody should have a soldering iron anyway. dont get conned with the more expensive "solder station" ones, get a cheap weller iron with modular tips.

i rarely break stuff and i find myself using my electronics gear at least once per week fixing something, stuff from people i know or even my own gear. it'll be a good thing to have around even if you cant fix the usb connector - but i bet you can no problem.

!!! - AVOID lead-free solder.

very simple process:

tools:
toothbrush or small wire brush, flux can, low percentage rosin core solder, soldering iron, small flat head screwdriver, needle-nose pliers, damp rag/towel.

process:
1) let the iron heat up and dip your solder tip into the flux to pick up a tiny amount. heat the solder tip on the iron tip so that the tip becomes tinned. wipe away excess with the damp towel quickly, you want to avoid smoke if possible.

2) rub down the area you're going to work in with the damp towel to get it clean, oil and dust are very bad. take a small dab of flux paste and rub it over the solder joints on the usb connector then heat it with the iron so that it flows over the solder. heat each joint one by one until it melts and forms a smooth surface - if the solder becomes 'sticky' and doesnt flow, apply another dab of flux or increase the iron's heat.

3) rub off the excess flux after you can see it solidify - do not rub while still hot since you'll smudge the solder if it hasnt hardened yet. take your brush after the joints are cooled (30 seconds) and clean away the rest of the flux, then rub with the damp towel to clean the area again.

4) you're done! test it out. actually, every time you use the solder tip, repeat the rub/flux-tinning/rub process to clean it off. never allow any grime or corrosion to remain on the tip. if the tip isnt tinned at all times it will decrease the life of the tip. if you use an untinned or unclean tip, you'll have very poor performance from it. while you're at it, clean your rag/towel out with some cleaner like mr.clean or something to get the stains out too.

also, if the usb connector itself is broken, those are still only a couple dollars at most, a lot cheaper than a new board.

[bobsled]

it might be a lot cheaper to buy a soldering iron, flux and some rosin solder and spend two minutes opening it up and fixing the broken solder joints on the usb connector. that'll run you $25 or so. everybody should have a soldering iron anyway. dont get conned with the more expensive "solder station" ones, get a cheap weller iron with modular tips.

twister, related reading at http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=185372 especially

Here's a picture list of available tips, from the manufacturer.

http://www.iso-tip.com/html/iso_tip_accessories.htm

[edit] Whoa, the e-z change version takes standard, removable cells... that's better even than the quick-charge, you can keep extras charged and ready to go.

I'm no expert, obviously. Just part of the KVR hive mind's ever-expanding neural net.