Midiman Oxygen 8

Easy to use, nice to be able to program the sliders, the manual is very helpful and straight to the point. I have not used the USB driver, only MIDI out, cannot speak for how well the USB driver installs.

There are two midi outs and a usb connection. No MIDI in. You can switch between battery, usb and wall power. There is a pitch and a mod wheel, a data slider, two dedicated octave transpose buttons and a data button that puts the keyboard into programming/function select mode. 8 knobs that can be programmed to send CC messages.
It is easy to transpose the keyboard, to send specific midi commands etc. Together with for example Emagic Logic's environment, you can create a very powerful setup.

I give it 8 for features, because in theory the unit offers a lot. However it doesn't help with good ideas and features when they aren't done well, see reliability.

There are no sounds, its a controller.

The keys are light and plastic, that would do much if the velocity response was consistent, but I feel it isn't - either the velocity curve is crazy or the keys just respond differently each time you hit them. It takes a while getting used to, but it is playable.

I think you can divide the usage of this unit into two: As a controller to bring along the laptop when gigging, and as a unit for desktop musician that NEVER moves the unit. If you play very carefully on the unit and never "move" it, I think the unit will last for a year. This unit is not for bringing to gigs and transport, even with careful packing.

As another user, the data slider knob fell off when I opened the plastic bag. The octave transport buttons has stopped responding. The data slider fluctates randomly between the nearest 5 values, and so does the first two knobs. You can't have a midi controller that spits out midi data, especially when moving around in a sequencer environment and the midi controller suddenly decides to send out the value 127 on CC07 (volume)... and this happened after only one gig.

I mailed Midiman support and asked about my problems, but have not got a reply (only auto-reply).

Sorry - I will return the unit, and seeing that others have commented that it doesn't last very long, I won't be wanting another one. Its sad because the features and the idea is very good.

I give it 3 because I think it could be OK for desktop/studio-only musicians. If you plan to bring it around, I think you need to look for something more reliable.

This is a basic controller with a few nice bells and whistles on it. For $130 it does what it's supposed to do quite well. The manual is well-written and understandable.

Quite flexible-- has usb capability and works well with stand alone modules too. The keyboard action is a little stiff, but for a supplementary keyboard for doing sounds within a performance, it's fine.

Not a lot to say. It doesn't have its own sounds, but the controls for tweaking other sounds on other modules are quite good. An interesting gadget, really.

I say be a little gentle on it. Of course, I say that about all my equipment.

Not, bad. I asked a few dumb questions, they were polite and informative. Manual is quite good.

I'd buy it again. Very worthwhile. Been playing for over 30 years. Own a Yamaha PSR9000, Nord Electro, Nord 2 Rack, Roland XV5050 module, a Les Paul, Pedulla Thunderbass 5, Eric Clapton Strat, Taylor 514ce. This little guy fits right in with the big stuff.

8. Fairly easy to use after you figure out what's going on.
Numeric/function selection is though the use of the keys you hit. This makes it more compact, and you probably won't really be reprogramming a knob in the middle of playing. (Ok. not too likely, anyway)
The manual, although sparse, is written in actual english.

Keyboard is ok. 10 key polyphony.. No expansion capability. [The ability to have more than one knob mapping would be great. If this board had 360 degree rotating knobs [It'd work along the lines of the older optomechanocal mice with the wheels with the slits.] and a bit higher resistance to moving the knobs, having multiple assignments would work.
360 degree knobs so that they don't have any absolute value. i.e. go to mapping one, set knob 1 to 23. Go to mapping 2. It would also jump to 23 if absolute values were used.:

Bundled software covers a decent range.
However the one nice keyboard/sampler program that was bundled is no longer meant to go with it.

It's a midi controller. N/A.

velocity could be more spread out. An option to set the limits by tapping to enter lightest and hardest pressure would also be a nice addition.

It has a few problems. The data slider knob easily comes off as the tab for the slider sticks out of the slot by about 1mm.

Knob potentiometers are possibly either dirty or cheap..
They will randomly shift up or down by 1 or 2. This I think could be fixed by software set with a threshold before the value is affected.

They have a range where no values are affected. This is ok though, since you may want a 'rest' area for it. It could be smaller though, as these inactive areas take up 3 of the 12 'notches' indicated.
The battery compartment lid does not always easily fit in, and when operating off battery power, slight bumps may cause it to reset or lose power.

I haven't had to call them yet.

If it were stolen, I'd sit down and think about it a while before replacing it. If they were to release a new one, perhaps in black rather than the cheap tan/grey/silver sparkle plastic, and even with just the slider fixed, I would be less hesitant to buy it. If they also incorporated multiple mappings, and fixed the battery compartment, I'd be comfortable paying more for it.

It is not very intuitive programming the knobs, and it behaves weirdly (buggy?), when entering numbers.

It has a lot of things the composing computer-user will like. It does lack MIDI in, though, so you still need a MIDI-interface.

The keys react very differently to velocity and the two sections are seldom well aligned.

Upon testing several units I would say they are poorly built with a lot of flaws. Several units I have tested have had weird problems with the data-slider. The battery-holder is awful and very hard to get into.

If nothing else fits on your desk, maybe you should consider buying it.

The keyboard has few features so it's easy to use.

The action is stiff and the keys feel cheap. The USB midi is convenient. The knobs feel pretty good, better than the rest of the unit. No other device has knobs and such a compact size so I give it a good features rating.

The USB interface stopped working after 2 days. I tried it on 5 different computers before giving up. The high-F key started mistriggering after 3 days. The slider knob fell off as soon as I unwrapped the plastic. Casio toy keyboards are better built than this.

The tech support response came in less than 24 hours although the info wasn't much more than the web site already offered. They seemed surprised my unit had had problems. In the end, I returned it.

As much as the Oxygen 8 is a fantastic idea, it's simply not built for what it's supposed to do. If you wanted a keyboard to throw into a bag with your laptop, well... it'll probably break by the time you get to your destination. My advice is go to the music store and play with one before buying. Pick it up, put it down. Press a key and you'll agree with me.

Im using this with Logic and Cubase on a powerbook g4 and it installed real easy once i figured out that the first one i got was actually damaged......just follow the manual's instructions exactly and you'll have no probs.

Its great.....2 octave full size keys, pitch and mod wheels and 8 seperate controller knobs.....all quite straight forward.....what i like best about this keyboard is its size and its direct connectability via usb......perfect for the laptop traveller.

no sounds of course but i will say the keyboard and wheels are fairly stiff, perhaps they will loosen with use.

no probs yet.......not had it long enough though

100% excellence. Best support ive ever had. Very personal and totally solved my problems.......i had a defective unit which they replaced immediately.

so far so fuckin good.......my dreams have come true.....ive now got a COMPACT MIDI controller that i can travel with enabling all kinds of musical creativity. Im very very happy.

there's not much to it so it's pretty easy to use.
programming the knobs & keys is a little convoluted, kinda late 1980's...
but overall easy to use. the drivers need an update tho, u can't put the computer to sleep for example, without losing the keyboard (thus having to restart).

just a controller, so no sounds/polyphony. but the knobs & slider are great, and the portability rules. combine this with a laptop & software & you can make music ANYWHERE.

keyboard is a little stiff, but the concept makes up for it.
velocity works as advertised, the pitch & mod wheels are great.

feels pretty solid. the whole idea (for me) is to throw it in a bag, grab my powerbook, & go work...anywhere.

needed help setting up with the computer, the company was EXCELLENT. quick responses to email/tech forms.

overall, brilliant. a little thicker than i'd expected, and you wouldn't buy it for the keyboard action...but it's a brilliant idea, and i haven't missed my bigger keyboard for a second.
requests: mulitple banks for the knobs, access to the lowest midi notes (0-7 i think)