Interview e - AMAZONA.de
Translated version of AMAZONA.de Interview
Peter M. Mahr - The Oasys Man
18.05.2007 - Peter Grandl
Since the year 2000 Amazona has presented readers, their music and their studios in the series Personal Studio. In this case we are interested in the 41 year old molecular genetics biologist Peter M. Mahr who has come to attention through his Korg Oasys blog. You can find other Personal Studio stories under ‘Archiv’ in the rubric ‘People’.
And now enjoy yourselves with someone who stood up for the Korg Oasys.
Your AMAZONA.de editorial.
AMAZONA.de – Hello Peter, you are very active in the forums, publish your own KORG OASYS blog and are very creative as a composer; and all this in your spare time. How do you manage it?
peter m. mahr: You’re starting with a question that I can’t really answer. If I said “I get up early” that doesn’t really cover it. (Laughs). Partly I think it has to do with my personal constellation, and partly that I just don’t go out so often in the evenings as I used to. The “extra time” can be used in the studio or in front of the computer. This also demands its price. It was recently made clear to me during an indirect discussion about “Stomp”, that I’m missing an important inspiration source. I have also more time due to a career change. I decided to take a step back after I realised that my career wasn’t so important to me.
It’s probably due to my age that the weighting in my interests is shifting and I’m moving in a direction where I believe I will feel content for a long time. That sounds a bit cryptic but to explain it properly would take up more room than this interview. To put it simply, music has taken up a permanently important place. There is no other form of art for me from which I can take so much strength and dive deep down. Now I have more time for that! That is good for me and also for my immediate surroundings. Hmm… somehow I have the feeling that, like a politician, I haven’t answered the original question….
AMAZONA.de – Now we’ll start at the beginning. How did you come to your music?
peter m. mahr: While I have notched up a few years this didn’t exactly happen yesterday. It’s a long story. Sigmund Freud would not be happy but it is my father’s fault. My old man is a “hardcore” classical fan. Those who don’t understand this description just need to know that I heard at least one hour of Mozart every day since I was a little boy. As a balance and, if you like, a topping, there was also Bach (Johann Sebastian), Haydn, Schubert and, to relax, Beethoven. This conditioning goes so deep that even today, I get a urge to eat Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad when I hear Mozart…..because we had schnitzel and salad every Sunday complete with soundtrack from Wolfgang Amadeus. This confirms Pawlow’s experiment. (Laughs).
But seriously, I was so sick of this music by the time I was 8 or 9, and together with a cutting experience from my music teacher (who found me completely untalented and threw my out of her music class) I concluded “F… music”. I was just conning myself, of course, as step-by-step I was more quickly interested in music again as I was willing to admit. Although it was Jean Michel Jarre, Walter Carlos later Kraftwerk and naturally Ultravox, and Depeche Mode and O.M.D…..oh ja and Human League…..and Heaven 17, and so on. The detonator was definitely Jean Michel Jarre’s “Oxygene” and a photo that was published of him standing in front of a Modular System. It was clear to me, that’s how I wanted to float around space. A band was starting to come together in our school at about this time, whose musical direction was pointing somewhere else completely…but somehow or other I slipped in with my synthesizer.
AMAZONA.de – Your first synthesizer?
peter m. mahr: That was the KORG MS-20, followed one or two years later by a Mono/poly. The Polysix was not affordable for me then. After one or two years break, my most favourite synthesizer came onto the market – Yamaha DX-7.
AMAZONA.de – You belong to the circle of people who were the first to buy a KORG OASYS. Why? It is actually a lot of money for which you could buy three different, highly priced, synthesizers.
peter m. mahr: Name me three that can offer what you get with an OASYS. I say that because there isn’t anything to compare to the OASYS. Not that everything else is bad or that everything on the OASYS is good, it is simply this “whole packet” that you’ve got in front of you. The OASYS offers physical modelling and not only in the form of virtual analogues, wave sequencing, a very good sound sampler, hard disc recorder, sequencer, good effects, not forgetting the KARMA; it that runs stabile and sounds simply very good. That is actually a whole lot of stuff that you can work with without problems. Of course I wouldn’t dare suggest that it’s perfect, you just have to read the English speaking forums to know that. It is still, however, a super piece of equipment, whose ticks don’t negatively influence my style. I don’t have the time or the energy to play around with updates which only suggest improvements but at the end of the day have just wasted my time.
Also, when I have to sit in front of the computer and solve problems I totally lose my creativity. The OASYS has it’s price, no question, but in return you get the afore mentioned profits. You turn the destroyer on and after about 1 minute and 50 seconds you’ve got a very good sample player, lots of virtual instruments (like the CX-3. the AL-1, optional MS-20 and the Polysix and also the, from me, highly treasured STR-1 string model) all ready for action. And that’s the status quo! Who knows what could come next? However I do have the feeling that KORG have devoted themselves completely to the M3 and have left the OASYS users hanging a bit. I also find it negative that the “open system” is not really open for outside providers. But perhaps we would become exactly the problems that the OASYS, until now, didn’t know at all.
AMAZONA.de – In your keyboard park you’ve got a Neuron. That’s also not the cheapest thing available, what persuaded you to buy this piece of equipment?
peter m. mahr: Right from the beginning the instrument awoke my interest, even after the rather full-bodied speeches of the makers had made me frown. The more discussions that were made in the different forums, the made curious I became. After the Hartmann company realised that claims and reality are incompatible, the price came down enough so that I was willing to take the risk. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the “inventor” of the home shopping laws.
But to answer your question, I find the Neuron the most interesting synthesizer since the DX-7 that I can afford, and maybe as a little supplement for the Yamaha VP-1. But back to the Neuron who has a fixed position in my studio, and more importantly, in most of my other pieces. Its’ sound is unique, one moment a scratching, cheap digital and the next it’s off in a totally other direction. You can feed it with material and the results are more often than not, different as to what you expected. That means it’s got character, which is something quite rare these days.
AMAZONA.de – Unfortunately the Neurons are difficult to come by as the Hartmann company doesn’t exist any more. These means there are no more updates. How safe was the Neuron in the the last software version?
peter m. mahr: What I always asked myself about the collapse of the Hartmann firm is – why are there so many companies in Germany making very good products who are incapable of staying alive? I’m thinking of PPG, Waldorf, Hartmann and in the younger days, Creamware. Something is not right. On this note I’m reminded of a comparison in the bio-technology field, but that wasn’t the question……if your asking about the reliability of the running system……..I have respect for the people who play it live. My Neuron shows his character in that every now and then, right in the middle of playing he doesn’t make a sound, only to them later, return from the deep. The first time it happened to me I got an adrenaline shot but now it doesn’t stress me out at all. I only hope that he doesn’t develop a serious defect one day, that would be bitter, very bitter.
AMAZONA.de – And as a full bloodied analogue you’ve also got a MOOG Voyager. Maybe a few words on that?
peter m. mahr: I can make that short. The voyager stands out due to its’ beautiful, almost gentle sound. Although I don’t think he sounds the same as his famous predecessor. Originally I was sure I would never separate myself from my voyager but recently I’ve been toying with the idea of selling him. He has already disappeared from my immediate working area and is sitting on the sidelines next to the Roland JX-10 in the synthesizer park. I almost always use the OASYS for the bass sounds these days. Although I’m not trying to say that the virtual analogue in the OASYS sounds like a Minimoog or a Voyager! But the OASYS is putting them under pressure and offers a much wider spectrum. Also I’m don’t find the “analogue sound ideal” so important. But let’s see what the future brings…
AMAZONA.de – What’s the main centre for all your sound generators?
peter m. mahr: When you mean a recording centre then that is a mix between an AKAI DPS24 and a MOTUS dp5.1, (I use this for 5.1 mixes which I just started doing). My most important tool is the OASYS. Especially when I’m starting something new, I just start it up and nothing else. (Although the weighted keyboard on the Roland XV-88 is much better). You’re probably wondering why I’ve still got such a thing. That’s because of the completely different character of tone that it has which comfortably completes my sound palette, and also on the keyboard. I usually use the AKAI’s MPC4000 as a sequencer, because when it comes to timing it can’t be beaten and I find operating interface user-friendly. Even when the two TFT screens leave a lot to be desired, I am actually a fan of spartan looks. As I found myself modifying the colour palettes in dp to suit my taste a few years ago, I have atarted generally to question my work methods. The pretty pictures and colours distract me and the fact that I need to make a visual “feel-good zone” sets the alarm bells ringing! Why do I have the TFT screens then? That is because of the surround sound mixes that I can only do in this form with dp. When I listen back I turn the screen saver on so I can concentrate on listening.
AMAZONA.de – Why did you choose a MPC4000 and not one of the smaller versions like a MPC 2500?
peter m. mahr: The MPC2500 wasn’t available when I went shopping. But even if it was, and I had the money, I would still buy the MPC4000. Even when it’s just my opinion, or let me put it so, on the one hand it’s not the best thing that AKAI have put on the market. If we are just talking Drums I would recommend the MPC3000. But on the other hand I wanted a simple, intuitive, easy-to-use sequencer, which didn’t break my working flow, stood out due to superb timing and offered a suitable sampler. The 24bit and 44.1, 48 and 96kHz are, in my opinion, further plus points for the MPC4000. The sound, to prevent any misunderstandings, is above doubt. A nice touch is that I can take it with me on holiday and work with it. Try doing that with the OASYS…..
AMAZONA.de - Let’s go back again to the flagship, KORG OASYS. Have you ever rued buying it?
peter m. mahr: At the beginning we had a very ambivalent relationship, that I also wrote about for posterity. It had to do with the, now well known, “G.A.S.”. In the OASYS blog you’ll find the story under
http://blog.petermmahr.com/2007/01/17/meine-oasys-geschichte/
There are things worth criticising; the sequencer is right at the top. Just the way you have to turn it on and the building up…..he is not up to the standard of the rest of the equipment. This doesn’t bother me that much because I would still work with the MPC anyway. On the other hand I would be happy to have a better sequencer as long it wasn’t a Phyrrhusseig. A type of dp, Logic, Cubase or similar would probably overload the computer so that less voices could be used or they would be of a terrible quality. The last thing would be completely unacceptable for me.
AMAZONA.de – What is the main usage for the OASYS?
peter m. mahr: While he is an all purpose tool for me, I use him in every area I am musically active. He is not standing in the centre of my studio for nothing.
AMAZONA.de – You can make a direct comparison. Analogue (Voyager) against virtual analogue (KORG OASYS). How real does the AL-1 sound?
peter m. mahr: As I already said, I tend to just use my OASYS. Especially in the case of bass sounds, you are more flexible. Quite often I lay two sounds on top of each other and then use the Ribbon controller when I play it back. The mix of both tones, the diverse other parameters, from sound making to steering the effect intensity……. the Voyager can’t keep up. However he is better at doing other things.
But I think it’s better that I let a short audio clip speak for me: http://members.chello.at/peter.mahr/files/B.mp3. This makes most virtual analogues look old. You won’t ever reach the soft, warm Oberheimpads either. That doesn’t mean to say that the AL-1 sound terrible, even the partly catastrophic work sounds shouldn’t put you off. It has always been a puzzle to me how to program a church organ, E-piano and an A-piano into the AL-1, especially when KORG’s programming team usually very good is. Whoever is responsible for this decision didn’t do the OASYS any favours and would do better to sort out the sounds on the PA-series.
AMAZONA.de – What is at the top of your list of updates for the KORG OASYS?
peter m. mahr: This will probably surprise you, Firstly FM, super drum samples, then a Vocoder like the one you find in Roland’s V-Synth. The sequencer is not so important to me…as I like my MPC but should he one day be like that, then, if only for the timing, I would definitely use him. Why I want FM doesn’t need to be explained does it? The soldering of the batteries in the TX-816s is getting on my nerves, although I’m afraid something like that would never fit in the OASYS.
Why the drum sounds? Natural drum sounds is what I mean here. The processed are already great but I miss acoustic drum kits. The Roland SRX Board has got wonderful 80’s kits for example, and I want something in this quality. A 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s kit would be perfect, and lots of snares, kicks and toms. Unfortunately there isn’t much point in implementing the wavedrum as most of its’ tones belong in the box of unidentifiable sounds. Maybe a wind/brass model would be nice if it was of the same quality as the String Model. Then I would have to decide where I would get the money from to buy a second one as I would definitely need a back-up.
AMAZONA.de - One last question: What was your most disappointing synthesizer buy?
peter m. mahr: Rolands JV series, although that was my mistake. I mistakenly thought that they would possibly sound a bit like the JD’s ……but they are worlds apart, The JD-990 was, in my opinion, the best digital synthesizer from Roland.
AMAZONA.de – We thank you for this interview and wish you much musical enjoyment in the future.
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Mike Conway says:
Fantastic interview! I liked that Peter didn’t sugarcoat anything - he expressed what was on his mind. I’m also a big FM fan and former TX816 owner.
Mai 26th, 2007 at 11:51
blogasys says:
Hi Mike,
thanks a lot for the kind feedback and for pointing out that it is what it is - _my_ opinion.
To avoid any misunderstanding, sound programming on the OASYS is on a high level… on a very, very high level. But the original AL-1 sound bank is orientated in the early 80ies were people tried to make their Prophets, Oberheims and JP-8s sound like Acoustic Pianos or E. Pianos. But these sounds are already there and in high quality… so why???
I would have liked to see some young guys (and of course girls are welcome too) who would have added some modern sonics. Take for example Access’ Virus or Clavia Nord Lead… and guess why they are still succesful. Not every new VA sound is a techno sound and there are for sure very good people out there… just listen to the Radias!
peter
Mai 31st, 2007 at 06:27