All user reviews for the M-Audio Oxygen 8

A few sliders would be nice. Then again, that would make it more expensive. What is nice is it only has three buttons. Operating it is almost a no-brainer.

Price paid

150 Euro

UTILIZATION

Easy as pancake!!!

It's a sturdy very portable item, but I wouldn't use it out and about without a good case around it.

OVERALL OPINION

It has no onboard sound, but the way it controls your sounds is great. Just be shure u use a low-latency setup (soundcard). Some cards produce up to almost half a second of delay.... Now I've switched and it works like a charm.

It's a beauty for me. And when I've grown out of it, I can still make use of it as an extra controller.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown (January 2-, 2003)

It's very small and very good for transportation. Just put it in your bag with your laptop. Ok, then we've got a pitch and bend modulators, a little screen, two octaves, octave switchers and, of course, 8 rotating and _assinable_ knobs. Moreover - this baby can be powered via USB, that means you can make your loops in a subway, in a car, in a park - everywhere! For example Midiman's Ozone hasn't got this handy feature, so if you're after mobility - go for the Oxygen now!

Price paid

139$

UTILIZATION

Very easy to use. Plug it and play. Though I still recomend you to read the manual. The problem here is to chose the right software. I've tried my Oxygen only with Propellerheads' Reason 2.5 - great results. I don't spend much time figuring out my melodies and drawing them with mouse anymore. I just push the REC button and play whatever I want. After this, if I'm not pretty much happy with the result, I can move the bars with mouse untill I'm satisfied. This is like working on another level.

The quality of this product is very high. Nothing to complain about. The keys are almost perfect, they even understand loudness and velocity.

OVERALL OPINION

It is so awesome, I'm totally loving it. I'm sure I won't get rid of this keyboard even after buying something more serious. If you're looking for a GOOD audio controller for your home/mobile studio than Oxygen 8 is exactly what you need!

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: modernstyle ( 1-, 2004)

For me it's got too many features. All I needed is a way to sequence live play into my tracks which this thing does perfectly. But it's got 8 assignable control knobs for things like pitch, velocity, pan and so on that I rarely use becuase I prefer editing in software. If you're an oldschool hardware cat, then you'll like the option. It's powered by either USB or AC so that's great if you're on a laptop. The less wires the better.

Price paid

170.00 CAD

UTILIZATION

EASY. Plug in the USB connector, install the software and you're ready to go.

It's good, but I wouldn't drop it or anything like that... it's a very light unit so be careful. Other than that I know for a fact its pretty durable. It's survived a few hits from my mini basketball (when I need to relax from tracking something, I play min hoops in my "studio&quot It would be nicer if it was heavier.. or more solid.

OVERALL OPINION

It's good. But I'd rather get the Midiman Ozone for the built in mic pre's or the Keystation 49e for it's straightforward simplicity. But if all you need to do is key-in some live events in your songs or you're just getting started it's a good controller. I can't really complain.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: cocopuffz ( 6-, 2004)

Well It has some nobs and pitch and balances that are pretty useful especially for the sample based producer. Which are quite good basically.

Price paid

$139

UTILIZATION

Its real easy to use if you get use to it basically. You just have to adjust.

Well to me its well built and durable so Basically I like the quality of this keyboard. Plus I dropped it a few times and it didnt break at all which is quite good cause I don't have any warenty on this.

OVERALL OPINION

Its Pretty good basically works for most sequencers that are out already. You should definatly buy it.

I love. I use it all the time so basically its like the number one thing on my list so far basically so If you are just starting out producing you should really get this keyboard its really helpful to the newcomer.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Earthquake ( 7-, 2005)

This unit gives you a taste of basically everything you need to create music. It has 8 programmable knobs with an on-screen display of the current setting, so you can pinpoint the values on the spot without guessing. It only has 25 keys, but it's easy to flip through octaves. Also, being that the keys are velocity-sensitive makes a huge difference; it takes out most of the "midi-sound". The pitch bender and modulation wheels are a nice plus also. I give the features a 9 simply because it's not for the true piano player, theres just not enough keys. But for someone who wants to step away from step sequencing their melodies and get into the basics of piano, this is the unit of chice.

Price paid

$120

UTILIZATION

This one would depend on what you actually have it plugged into... I'm running it with FL Studio and it's extremely easy to assign the knobs and stuff. So ease of use in my situation is a 10.

It has held up for quite some time, and nothing has given me problems yet. My only complaint is that it looks like a child's toy. It's much more capable than it looks...

OVERALL OPINION

This unit has brought me completely away from step-sequencing, and that's a major improvement to me. I think the next step for me will be moving up to a larger keyboard with the same features. So if you're a producer and you feel like you're in a rut with the same old thing, Pick up one of these things, it's the ultimate door to improving your music.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: SacDeadbeatS ( 8-, 2005)

This compact wee unit is cool as its got the lot! A whole bunch of solid rotary controls pitch + mod wheels, good midi controler with full size keys. Missing Mmm a few faders?

Price paid

£75

UTILIZATION

A monkey could use this! the thing is great the rotaries are even jumbo so finding them on a dark stage is never gonna be a problem!!!!!!!

Steady as a rock! i even dropped it down some stairs, did it break? ha it laughed at me!! Though it has a wee crack in it

OVERALL OPINION

Great, amazing!!! it fits in the lap top bag for $$££ sake (With The LapTop) how cool is that on the train on a monday morning?

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: FlyMuzic (January 0-, 2005)

I like that you can program the knobs in reason. For the price its worth it.

Price paid: $80.00USD

UTILIZATION

Its USB powered, just plug it in the usb port, install the drivers, configure to reason, good to go

I brought my used, it just has a few blemishes but thats it, its very light, you can put it in your book bag with your laptop.

OVERALL OPINION

I love that I can bring it anywhere. I just throw it in my bag go to a friends house, and im ready to play. I wish I would've got the ozone though, its a better buy.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: dbrand02121 ( 2-, 2006)

The M-Audio Oxygen 8 is a 2 octave MIDI controller with a volume lever, pitch and modulation wheels, octave up and down buttons and programmable knobs for control of plug-ins and virtual instruments. It has both MIDI inputs and outputs as well as a USB input which powers it if you don't have the power supply (which I don't).

UTILIZATION

The feel of the keyboard seems normal to me. The keys are easy to press down and the action is very friendly. Overall set up was pretty easy for the keyboard, but it really depends what software you are running it with. I use it with Reason 3.0 and have had a few problems setting it up with that. On my PC, unless you install the keyboard right when you are installing Reason, you must go back and reinstall Reason so that the keyboard is programed with it correctly. The patch selection is simple enough, as I just toggle on my computer. I had no manual with it because I bought it used, but I can definitely see it coming in handy.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had the Oxygen 8 for about 3 or 4 years and while its nice to have a small portable keyboard for playing lead lines, its tough to really play full keys with this. I do love how easy it is to use and the feel of it, but I wouldn't mind upgrading to a fuller sized keyboard. I used to have an M-Audio Keystation 49e and I wish I still had it. Although it didn't have all of the programmable options that the Oxygen 8 does, I prefer having the full size keyboard, but of course it all depends what you are using it for. I do wish it was a bit cheaper, which is the reason I had to buy it used. While this is a good controller for what it is, I think somewhere down the line I will look into something with more keys.