Midiman Oxygen 8

Pretty simple to use. It's got 8 assignable knobs, pitch and modulation wheels, and 3 octaves (technically two, but it starts at low c and goes up to high c). Hooks up either via MIDI out or via USB (which can power the unit without the use of a wall-wart). My favorite feature is the USB-power deal, but that's pretty standard for most USB devices. Didn't use the manual because it was pretty simple to figure it out.

Just a standard dumb MIDI controller. No voices, no hammer-weighted keys, no frills. It's primarliy used for interfacing with a computer, and for that, this thing is perfect. Wouldn't even consider gigging with this thing, because it'd be like trying to use a laptop as a domain controller; sure, it can be done, but it'd be stupid because it's not practical. Anyway, the thing isn't packed with features, but for $120, what more do you expect?

No onboard sounds, but it's MIDI, it'll sound like anything you want if you get the right module/plug-ins. The velocity sensitivity can be adjusted, so if you have angel-fingers, fret not.

Hasn't failed me yet. Again, don't gig with this unless you're retarded. If you ARE retarded, then gig with this bad boy to your little heart's content. It aint gonna make you look any worse than you already do.

Dunno. Had a hard time installing drivers, but such is the nature of the USB device.

I'm selling this controller because it's too small and not versatile enough. I've been shying away from MIDI to go back to my analog synths, and as such this thing hasn't seen a whole lot of use. It's great if you don't have a MIDI controller, need one for your computer-based studio, and don't want to pay a whole lot of money for one, so in that respect I loved the thing. That was the situation I was in when I got it, and it was perfect. Now that I'm not as in to MIDI as I once was, I don't get a kick out of this thing too much anymore, and as of right now, I'm awaiting a payment for it, as I've sold it on eBay.

Using Cubase, Reason etc, the setup was a breeze. I am a midi amature so Im not sure how anyone could complain about ease of setup.. required no patches for mine to work.. Its works great so I dont see any reason to patch it.

Wish it had more knobs. No biggie. If it had 12 knobs it would be a 10.. What else can you say, its a midi controller.. Unfortuneately, people want to compare midi controllers to top of the line keyboards, they seem to be confused I guess. People, this is a fancy mouse.

Not applicable.

No problems.. again, it sends midi signals, not much CAN go wrong, unless you break it.

Not applicable, have not needed any

Again, if it had more knobs, it would be rated higher. I found it easy to use and easy to play. One octave, midi controller, works perfect with laptop.. You can even throw batteries in it.

This thing was bad to set up. I was new to midi interfaces and the manual was somewhat clear, but it still took a month to get it to work. Add to that it needed a few updates from their website right out of the box! I still can't figure out why there is always that ridiculous ? mark in the midi setup box. If i recall correctly you must even call the Oxygen 8 by an alternative name because something somewhere was not up to date yet. Can i say yet that the people at midiman were quiet clueless too?

Okay, this whre this thing makes up a lot of lost ground. It is a perfect little size to use with Reason and my laptop. Theoretically it has a lot of knobs you can edit, pitch wheel and mod wheel. Nice big red LED readout. Has a lot of inputs outputs for MIDI making it very flexible. It can even run off of batteries or USB. Cool.

P.S. - I originally ranked it a 10, but mine never allowed me use all of them because it was always broken. Minus three!

The keys are full sized so that is nice but they sure feel cheap and springy. It does have a mod and pitch bend wheel but they are located above the keys not on the left like on a real synthesizer.

This is your typical cheap, mass-produced, grey market lot of trash. Why do they make and we buy so much garbage? Oh yeah, it was $140. So for that amount of money, i got what seems like a promising little keyboard, but i will have to replace it soon. Remember quality is an investment...

For a month i tried to get the thing to work. So that is what, about 30 days right? There went my store return/refund/exchange window of opportunity. For the next couple of months i'm totally consumed with it - using it a lot on my projects, right? So in this time frame i'm just happy that i can get it to work. I use the keys and sometimes the mod wheel, etc. After that initial intro period i want to edit the control buttons, i.e. get different knobs to control other parameters than preprogrammed in Reason.

Lo and behold it does not send the data to Reason for editing. I thought i was just a slow learner and could not follow directions. I asked around with Midiman (aka M-Audio) and even on the Reason discussion forum to no avail. Strange that it would allow me to tweak the knobs but won't let me edit, but it won't. On top of that knob number 7 is totally dead. Actually, it works on hot days when something inside there binds just right. It was probably broken since i got it.

Lesson one, if you plan to use something a lot buy a high grade of quality. Two, make sure everything works right and test everything before your window of return/exchange/refund runs out!

I bought this from Sam Ash not long after they came onto the market. I get a feeling this may have been a returned item that they just taped up and sold again. I said that knob 7 works occassionally. They might have tested it and thought the customer was an idiot and taped it up and but it back on the shelf. They sold like crazy initially and so they felt good about having that last one available for sale. Or maybe not, i don't think the quality was there to begin with...

Maybe it was bad timing, but this company took at least two weeks to answer tech emails. Completely unnacceptable, even for buying a $140 product. Come to think of it, they are always slow to respond.

However, i did manage to get a hold of somebody once, he tried but was petty ineffective in helping me. Granted, i didn't know much about Reason or midi, but i was hoping he would, given his support position and the fact that this thing was almost designed exclusively for Reason. I eventually spent more and more hours on it and figured out i wasn't activating the right keyboard in Reason. You see, for some reason the keyboard appears twice in the pulldown menu in Reason preferences and you must choose the second of the two. I would say it was my dopey installation, but other people have found the same problem and i have reinstalled and it happened again!

I did report the problem to Midiman but i never heard back from them.

Too bad. This could be a great product and it probably is for some and not others. What i mean is the quality is such that one out of every 8 users gets a lemon, the other 7 don't know what I'm talking about. Sure, it's only about $140, but actually its costs are quiet more because mine must be replaced. Believe me, i like the package but the overall fit and finish on this thing is awful. Maybe between now and when i bought it they have tighten up the quality control, hired more support people, and actually trained the ones who care - but i doubt it.

Vedi, vedi easy to use. Just plug in, and go (on PC at least). Editing the eight knobs, slider, etc., difficult for the novice, especially with the 3-digit display.

Features not bad for the price. I, like so many others, wish that the pitch and mod wheels where to the right of the keyboard though. Good for more simple progressions of course.

Whatever.

Plastic piece of crap. Feels cheap, key feel funny, slider isn't very accurate. Can no longer transmit MIDI commands with USB, that failed after about 2 weeks, and every computer I tested it on fails to recognize it.

Sent e-mail to midiman, but they didn't help much. Haven't called, warranty expired by now. My fault.

If you are a laptop musician, try it, but keep your reciept. Desktop musicians, or anyone with the room should probaly go with an Evolution MK249 or something.

The Oxygen is pretty easy to use really. USB connection means the keybord is auto-detected then installing the drivers takes 2 minutes. Editing and presets is easy after flicking about in the manual and once set the presets are automatically saved. The manual itself is quite good, but then a manual is a manual, who really reads them all!

This keyboard has pretty much all the features that are available to a MIDI controller. 8 hands on knobs that give great control, modulation and pitch bend and a data entry slider. It also features a digital display which helps emmensely when programming keys etc. As expected it also features touch sensitive keys too.

N/A It has no sounds on it.

only had it about a week so no problems.

N/A never needed it.

If this beast was stolen I'd replace it instantly. It brings an extra dimension to song writing and editing in my studio. If you want to record with MIDI and you've got a good sound card buy this little number and your laughing.

Loaded the software, plug in and go, no problems. I'm a novice with MIDI, so I haven't gotten into programming the various control knobs. Purchased the Oxygen 8 for a midi controller to use Cubase SX and various VST plug-ins.

Two-octave midi keyboard controller, USB interface.

No real problems here, velocity and aftertouch not great, but in some cases I was able to improve on this by tweaking settings in the VST instrument.

I'm not a keyboard player, and didn't play it hard. It was strictly an input device, and received light use. Yet less than 30 days, and a key has already failed. What a piece of junk. It goes back to the store today.

Unknown, I didn't even try.

dunno the software version.. don`t wanna loot it up either

The keyboard works pretty good.. programming the knobs takes a little getting used to.
the usb feature is great.. and midi works fine also

sounds... it has none, so we`re all done here

I only use it for gig`s and it never failed me.
been using it for over a year.. and it`s been to over 15 gig`s in moist and very hot area`s straight in from the cold.
and it never once complained! ;)
so very dependable imho

never had to deal with their costumer support.

as a final conclusion I would say
If it were lost or stolen I would probably buy it agian..
it`s the right size for bringing on stage and hooking up to your laptop...
If you are just looking for something cheap to use as controller in your studio
I would probably go for his bigger brother... more keys, bigger, more options...
so all in all it`s (imho) only good for bringing on stage or making some music on your balcony or in the garden with your laptop.

Easy to use.. (ish)

very good feature list

velocity sensitive but a bit weird.. and you need to press the keys way too hard.

Well.. I bought this keyboard instead of an Evolution and within 2 months one of the keys had stopped responding and one of the buttons was a bit on the iffy side... Very mushy feel to the keyboard and probably about the worst build quality I have seen (apart from the twiddly knobs which are rubberized and very nice)... I managed to convince the guys I bought it from to allow me to change it for an Evolution 249C.. and the difference is quite astounding... The evolution has much better build quality and much better feel.

okay.. they got back to me within a week by email.

Nice features, looks okay, just needs better touch and a vast overhaul on quality control.

Once you understand how it all works, it's very easy to program. The installation was a little confusing (I'm on a PowerBook), but once I fiddled around in OMS, I got it to work through the USB port (with reason and live)...

8 knobs that are assignable to any midi channel and control number, independant of the midi keyboard itself. NOTE: I'VE GOT THE NEW MODEL, AND KNOB SETTINGS ARE SAVABLE AS PRESETS! That was the main gripe from most people on this device. (The manual doen't mention it, though. They need to really invest in thier marketing folks...)

In this class of controller, I'd say it's really nice. The velocity is great, for me. It's not the cheapest feeling keyboard I've used. ;-) The controls feel real nice and smooth.

Mine seems pretty sturdy. I'd gig with it...

Haven't had a need...

It's well worth what I paid. It's my dream keyboard, actually. I've turned my laptop into a complete synth/seq machine. And, as it's USB powered, I can stick my whole setup in one gig bag. Nice!

It's straightforward. About as easy as it could get considering there's only one two digit display for everything.

The controller knobs work great, but the fact that you can't save configurations makes it a pain in the ass. With Encore Electronics Knobby, you get the same 8 knobs, but you can save configurations. Of course you don't get a keyboard with the Knobby.

No sounds - it's a controller

Well, mine hasn't had parts fall off yet like other people's have, but the general build quality certainly doesn't inspire confidence.

Never used them.

Even though I'm not much of a keyboard player, I do find myself rather sensitive to keyboard feel. I was happy when I took it out of the box and didn't think the feel was as bad as other reviewers have warned. But when I plugged it in, I found that the bizarre velocity response renders it almost unusable for me. Even with the velocity offset maxed out to start at 64, I practically need to hit it with a hammer to get a full velocity response out of it. Now I do tend to sequence with a light touch, but it's always been adequate with things like, say, mid-level Roland keyboards. Bottom line is I just can't get it to work for me, which is a shame because obviously there's a great need for a little two octave desktop keyboard.