Midiman Oxygen 8

USB does not work... makes it pretty hard to use.

MIDI ports DO work. Changing MIDI channels, octave transpose, etc is very easy. Other MIDI implementation is a little more difficult.

You can still use USB to power the keyboard, but it wont talk the computer. Essentially, half of its functionality is gone.

Control knobs and data slider will send MIDI controller data. You have to set these values. Kind of tricky to set up. Read the manual http://media.zzounds.com/media/Oxygen8_manual-1aed02ad1362ea835b903edf2b6e4fe1.pdf

Do not rely on this unit.

If somebody gives you one then take it. Can be used via MIDI to control sound modules or rack synths or whatever.



> If you have one and have solved the USB issue please post details here. Thanks.

Easy to setup.. seriously easy. Couple minutes for drivers. It's a midi controller, so there isn't much setup on the actual device, you'll be doing all your acoustics in the software ie. reason, ableton live, logic etc

Key are cheap and modwheel slides against plastic casing making an awful sound. It can use a pedal (1/4" jack) and it's got usb, and 2 midi ports. BUS powered when using MIDI.

Not much to say here, again, it's a midi controller.

CANNOT DEPEND ON THIS. I have been using it for a year now, and the USB port has died. OS X will no longer detect it as a midi device, I have not tried using the midi ports, as I do not have a midibox for this computer.
Totally sucks, there's no documentation on this, and no one seems to know what to do about it. My warranty is up.

Basically told me to %$#@ off.

I'm going to get a synth. Midi controllers keep sucking worse and worse.

well....

in theory its seems to be piece of cake

slight prob,its not working!!!

so much features ! you can say they just "flowing out" the keyboard!

a strange noise when I hit the buttons

can't make do with 1..have to give it 2

none

what!?
no 0!?

usb dead (like the first writer)

they basiclly told me to go to hell

go away! run & hide!!

dont even think about it !!!

they realeased a second version for this piece of crapy plastic

The installation with xp was fiddly and needed several attempts. Once it was up and running it was ok, but if you change system you have to go through the same frustrations again. Once running, it's not that easy to to edit the parameters - you have to follow the instructions very carefully and even then it can be easy to wind up frustrated.

I bought the thing mainly just so that I could use the keyboard and have a bit more control over the software. It does this quite well in that it feels comfortable, but there is a slight tackiness to feel of it and it might have been better to have spent a bit more on another 25 key machine.

It's not "expressive" - but then it's a controller so what do you expect ? Velocity and aftertouch ok.

Some keys stick a bit and this can be a real problem as the volume of some synths keeps buiding. But what really sucks is the modulation wheel. After a few months, it starting involuntarily fluctuating which screwed up every sound. Having to waste time going through the checks to isolate the problem didn't sit well with me and I wasted a lot of time trying to solve this problem.

The initial feedback was ok - advice on how to disconnect the mod wheel and a promise of replacement parts as I live in a remote area. But nothing arrived so I contacted them again. Again, nothing arrived and now, after 10 months, I have lapsed into occasional emails in their direction to see if they will ever fulfil their promise. Basically crap.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd be happy collecting the insurance money and get something of better quality from a company with better support.

It understands if you see that.

25 full size keyboard.
It is Cheap.
Often, even if a keyboard is pushed, it isn't returned.
Because of that, I perform an operation for him well.

no sounds.

It is low.
Sometimes, keyboard is hold.

A cheap keyboard.
A function except for that is good.
Only, a keyboard is pulled out, and it can't be evaluated.

Simple things are straightforward. The rest of the functionality that is listed in the manual seems too complicated and i don't know how to use its full functionality even though i use it for 6 months allready.
On windows 98 it works great. I don't have winXP but when i was on the shop to get my "fixed" pitch bend keyboard for two times, each time we connected the keyboard on the SAME computer it asked for the drivers. Even if we turned off and then back on the keyboard it kept asking for the drivers.

There is a polyphony limitation around 8 notes i think, but i don't think anyone would have a problem with this because the keyboard has only 2 octaves. The problem he would probably run are stuck notes that you have to hit again to turn off. It is supposed to have after-touch but i can't find why it isn't working. Or it is not supposed to have after-touch? i don't know. Velocity sensitivity is ok.

There is no synth of course. It works good enough for single handed playing because it has only 2 octaves. I use it for jungle/dnb and it should work with dance music. For rock, jazz, classical and anything else with rich melodies you should definetely avoid this keyboard. Velocity is working, after-touch no, but i don't know if after-touch is on its features.

You can't really depend on it. It seems that every oxygen-8 comes with a broken pitch bend wheel. The shop that i bought it nearly admited that. After two times that i send it back with the pitch bend wheel still broken, they gave me one used they have on the shop that the pitch bend wheel has the same ammount of "dead region" both up and down. I think that is the best case one can hope for with this keyboard. It had the midi/select button broken but they fixed it (really!). I think that a used one that works pretty good would be more reliable than a new one.
Of course you should definetely not go live with this keyboard even "it fits on your bag"

The company was kind and "helpful" but every time i got a "repaired" one back it was the same thing i have send them to repair. I consider myself lucky for giving them my new broken keyboard and get instead a used one they had on the shop to show to the customer.

I wouldn't buy it in any case again. I don't suggest anyone go buy this keyboard. The only thing is that you won't regret your money but if i had any chance to replace it or buy something else i would do it. It is my first keyboard and it is not that bad to get started but with some more money i would have bought something that i would liked more and maybe be more productive. I think one should spend more time shopping to find something else.

Anyone can set this thing up... just install the drivers and plug it into a USB port. HOWEVER, it's not as easy to edit parameters as it should be. A bank of buttons to select parameters would be nice. It's an excellent, cheap solution to people with no experience using midi controllers for music software, but anyone who plans on using it heavily will quickly find it limiting. Anyone who plans on using it live should simply buy something else.

Knobs and keys give Reason and soft-synths a huge advantage over using a mouse, but the keys on this unit are loose and feel like a $25 casio toy keyboard. The pitch bend wheel was broken upon arrival. M-audio fixed it, but I don't trust it, as the whole thing rattles, feels hollow and cheap. Programmability is extremely limited. I wish I had spent more time shopping before buying this. The Novation ReMOTE 25, for example, has TONS of useful features that this one lacks, including semi-weighted keys, dedicated transport controls, user-programmable templates for all kinds of software (with overlays), and a MUCH better design for the pitch bend and mod "wheel."

Well, as it's a controller, it doesn't make any sounds itself, but I will say that the aftertouch is a nice feature, and can add expressiveness to your soft-synths.

It stops sending midi signal at random. If it happens while the user is pressing a key, the computer never receives the "note off" information, and the current note plays indefinitely. As far as I can tell, nothing fixes this problem except restarting whatever software is being controlled by it. I can rarely use it for longer than 3 minutes or so before it stops controlling my software. I thought it was broken, but after sending my first one back to have this problem and the broken pitch bend wheel fixed, it still did the same thing. I sent it back AGAIN and received what was supposedly a new unit and I still have this problem. I don't know whether I got the same broken unit back and was lied to, or if the Oxygen 8 simply has this problem frequently. I have a new alienware laptop so I know my computer is not the issue. I would never, and I repeat, NEVER use this thing live.

The one positive thing I can say is that one gentleman in M-Audio tech support was very friendly and helpful. He even gave me his cell number when their office was moving, so I didn't have to wait until after their move was finished to get my product serviced. I don't know that this is common practice, but he did make me feel like he wanted to help me, and is the only reason this rating is not a 1. The rest of the support staff seems very unknowledgable and their steps of troubleshooting are not very comprehensive. As far as repair goes, When I sent the first unit back, they failed to diagnose and fix the problem of chronic loss of midi control. For this reason, I question whether I did in fact receive a new unit when I sent it back the second time. They did not pay for shipping for either time I returned it, so now I've spent nearly as much on this unworking toy as I would have on a Novation ReMOTE 25. It has been a severe disappointment dealing with M-Audio.

I can't recommend highly enough that anyone serious about their gear buy something better. This is a low-cost, portable controller, but apparently you get what you pay for. It is nearly worthless.

No problem installing the drivers (USB),I use it with Reason and had it up and running in less then ten minutes. The rotary knobs can easily be assigned to different parameters (using "set crtl" key), The manual is pretty basic.

Needles to say it's a midi controller but it connect's via USB. It has an extra slider (unlike the Evolution MK255C) but how to assign this to another parameter than master volume is a mystery so far
(5 days after purchase). And what the fuck is Aftertouch?!?

The keys are velocity sensitive (sensitivity can be altered), the knobs have a solid feel, maybe to solid

The data slider(master volume) has some kind of noize on it, when I set it at say 85 it doesn't stay there but it wobbles between 83 and 88. In other words the output on that knob constantly changes and will be recorded accordingly. The slider has a cover that can easily be taken off, super-glue this motherfucker or loose it! The other 8 are stable. There's one anomaly on the keys, when I strike one specific key (the one that has "cancel" above) it sometimes seems to 'sustain', so that it remains generating output (the sound sustains without me touching anything and no I dont have a sustain pedal and the decay in the synth is set to zero). The sound stops when I push the specific key. Not to reliable doing live sets.

Haven't tried out this feature, yet.

It get the job done, and as someone already mentioned, it's just a sofisticated mouse. Rather that than RSI!! I like it, but I need more knobs (maybe I'll go for the Doepfer Drehbank)

The fact that it has no dedicated program change buttons kills it for me. Also using the midi select button and then the keys on the keyboard to select what parameter to edit sucks! Hell it was cheap though and it does work! Also the unit only stores one setup for the knobs and changing the midi CC numbers each time you use a different softsynth is bogus!

See my gripes above. I must say that it did pave the way for the likes of the Novation remote 25, which I just got and will review at a later date.

It has no sounds, the knobs do come in handy and the wheels are nice. Has no aftertouch though.

I have had some problems with it sending random midi program changes at times, especially when using Native Instruments' Pro 53.

Well,a year ago I did email their techs and told them what it needs to have. They ignored me. A year later now and I got the Novation Remote 25, which I havent used yet, but from what I know about it, they covered my previous wish list and then some!

I had zero previous experience using a PC-oriented MIDI controller prior to buying this unit, but I had it up and running in a matter of minutes. Assigning the knobs took me a bit longer to figure out, but again, with no previous experience under my belt I had it mapped out the way I wanted fairly quickly.

8 assignable knobs, 1 slider, pitch & mod wheels... there's not much to it, but it does offer a significant amount of flexibility despite that. I'm not a keyboardist by default, so I can't fairly comment on the feel of the keys. The unit also doubles as a MIDI interface, so you can easily route your external gear through it for use with your PC. It's also USB-powered, which is nice if you're low on available outlets.

Velocity seemed to be a tad out of whack straight out of the box, but thankfully that's tweakable. It integrates well though with any number of soft-synths.

So far no problems. At a glance, the unit *looks* like it's cheaply made, but I've given it a good pounding on a number of occasions and it's held up flawlessly. I don't gig personally, but I wouldn't recommend doing so with the Oxy-8, not without handling it with extreme care at least.

One thing worth noting: I've seen this unit touted in a number of ads/articles that it fits perfectly on a standard sliding rack shelf. And that's true, the keyword being "shelf". I had a sliding rack "tray" in my rig earmarked for this unit, only to find that the Oxy didn't fit perfectly. So if you plan on housing the unit in a similar manner, be sure it's a flat shelf, not a tray like I have.

Haven't had a reason to contact Midiman regarding this unit yet.

For what it costs (mine was $129 new), I'd easily buy another if it were lost or stolen.

A friend on mine who been eyeballing the Oxy-8 asked for my opinion on it, to which I simply said "it is what it is". In other words, it's a simple MIDI controller and interface with a limited number of very useable features. It's an excellent tool for beginners and more seasoned users alike. I'd describe it as a sort of sketch pad; when paired with the proper software, it's a great way to hammer out ideas quickly, and it's portability makes it a perfect piece to take with you just about anywhere.

If you're looking for bells & whistles, this board ain't the one to roll with. And with Midiman's new Ozone recently unleashed, complete with audio I/O capabilities, the Oxy may very well become obsolete in the near future. For the time being though, as starter units go, it's hard to beat.