I use it live and it sounds awesome. I admit the sequencer isn't nearly as easy to use as Cubase or Sonar but it is still very powerful. I use Cubase 4 to organise tracks and then import to the Oasys (as SMF's) and use the internal sounds/effects which are stunning. Couldn't manage without it now and I back up all my work on an external hard drive should mine ever get stolen.

Even after 12 months I am still finding new things that the Oasys will do and it feels like I have just found a new keyboard every time.

Mike Conway has released an unoffical DVD turorial which gives a good insight into some of the things the Oasys can do. Search Korg forums Oasys for links to the DVD and other good Oasys resources.

Pros: sound quality, most synthesis types are covered now (Rompler, 3 VA Engines, Semi-Modular, Wavestation, Physical Modeling, FM Synthesis with DX-7 patch import, and Hammond B3 simulation, integrated hardware surface that is preconfigured to work with the built-in sounds and sequencer/hard disk recorder, tons of storage and super fast load times. Almost every screen has a help page that displays pages from the instruction manual (pres the help button). I expect it will take me a lifetime to even begin to exploit the possibilities because so much sonic ground is covered here.

Major Con: The sequencer is still in the stone-age. It's not that it has a poor resolution or that it only has 16 tracks, it's just that there is no visual editing and it is a pain to record multiple takes and comp, so you better be a good player and practice before you record. To deal with the sequencer's shortcomings I bought a Roland MV-8800, which I have gotten to sync up nicely with the recorder section in the OASYS (leave a blank measure at the beginning of the song to avoid crankiness). So with this pair I have over a hundred MIDI tracks and 32 audio tracks, which is plenty for me.

There's a lot of negativity towards this keyboard because it is impossible to understand what it is from a quick in store demo and the price seems high (Korg puts the cheese-ball one key wonder sounds up front). The reality is that you can pick one up used for under $5k and new for around $7k. For someone that buys a Motif & a Fantom it's close to the price of owning both. The MP3s at Korg's website don't demonstrate the sparkling clarity of the sound engine. If you're tired of adding pieces on to your rig, this should satisfy your GAS for many years to come.