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Oxi One changed it all.

Writer's picture: Johno WellsJohno Wells
hands playing on the Oxi Instruments One

It's true.

For me, the Oxi One changed it all.

People who know me and know how I make music, know I haven't been a sequencer guy. I might have a small CV sequencer sand maybe a creative trigger sequencer here and there, but there is no master huge battleship sequencer for my system(s).

So...why would I be interested in the Oxi Instruments One?


closeup of the buttons on the Oxi Instruments One

Well, I saw a local friend playing his modular system with the One, and got a closer look at the performance aspects of it (i.e., the jamability). This friend has an experimental style that I was surprised could work with a sequencer like this, so I talked to him after his set, and he showed me how he was working with it. I dropped my jaw. And as you know how we do: I sold stuff I suddenly didn't need in pursuit of the next shiny penny. After trying so many modular sequencers and giving up - I wanted to see if this could be the sequencer for me.


It's a tall order because I'm going to want to see a sequencer like this play nicely with (1) an iPad, (2) Cubase, (3) eurorack, and (4) outboard midi gear. It has to be fun and not tedious. AND it needs to be jammable, i.e., I don't want to have to save patterns. I want to be able to play it on the fly.

Oxi Instruments Pipe Module
Pipe module


With an iPad.

Using AUM, I can only say that the setup was simple, and the One was playing with iPad synths in minutes. Get this: MIDI over Bluetooth. Good lord, we have arrived.

More than a few early mornings, I've woken up on the couch with an iPad and this sequencer next to me. Learning this thing is fun.

With Cubase.

This wasn't easy, and I've been using Cubase since 1998. I won't bore you with the details of routing and unique aspects of this setup because I got it working, and that's all that matters. It's great fun to control VSTs with an external sequencer, and it worked without a hitch with all four channels.


With eurorack.

I guess this was the big test. Working with iPads and VSTs is all well and good, but let's fire up the modular, install this Pipe module, and see how it plays. So, the Pipe module is a passive 8 gate outs and 8 CV outs situation coming in at 6HP. It connects to the One with an HDMI cable; micro on the One to full-size HDMI on the Pipe module. Interesting. Yes you read that correctly, 8 gate and CV outputs. You don't need the Pipe, though. You can find the same 8 gate and CV outputs on the back of the One. The setup for the channels is easy to learn, and you're off to the races in no time.



Rear of Oxy One
Rear #1 - 8 CV outs, clock, midi, pipe

Rear of Oxy One
Rear #2 - 8 Gate outs


With outboard MIDI gear.

I tested the One with the Behringer Syncussion and the Korg Volca FM. With simple channel assignment that a child could figure out without the manual, I was doing the midi thing.

Yay, I love midi! Kidding.


blue and red buttons on the Oxy One sequencer

Construction.

I have to take a quick moment to mention the construction. How a small company like Oxi Instruments is putting out something of this level of quality is just beyond me. It's a tank—not super light. There is no plastic case here. Powder-coated heavy aluminum and the kind of rubber buttons you want to feel all day make this thing a real joy to hold and touch. I realize this part of the post is getting a little steamy, but you know this stuff matters.


Let's go a little deeper with Modes.

This is where the party is at. Manuel (the man behind Oxi Instruments) is constantly updating the Oxi as the active community asks for more, and even in the short time I've owned it, more modes have been added. What are modes, you ask? Simply put, they are sequencing styles: Monophonic, Polyphonic, Chord, Multitrack, Stochastic, and Matriceal.

I feel like we're getting into RTFM territory here, so I'll just say that these modes, paired with the right voices, are the heart of this sequencer. Take your time to discover one at a time. They are all super powerful.


4 tracks? Or are they sequencers?

It's weird. We might see them as tracks, but they are 4 sequencers.

And each one can be doing different things and running at different divisions of each other. For example:

Sequencer 1: Midi out to poly synth

Sequencer 2: Set to Multi-track mode using the Pipe module triggering 4 drum and percussion samples, and using the CV outs for pitch modulation on the samples

Sequencer 3: Set to Mono mode for a monosynth in eurorack, using another gate and CV pair from the Pipe module. (Remember there's 8 total)

Sequencer 4: Set to stochastic mode, controlling a VST in the DAW over midi


buttons and lights on the Oxy One sequencer


It's just fun.

And this is coming from the guy who told you he wasn't a sequencer guy at the beginning of this article. Now, I can't wait to play. As I mentioned above, it feels good. It's fun to play with and experiment with. If you know about stochastic sequencing (like found on the inimitable SIG, the Stochastic Inspiration Generator), then you know it's a probability chess match with a sequencer. On the Oxi One, it's fascinating to see how the Turing machine part of stochastic mode interacts and inspires new gate and melodic gestures. It's more fun than any Turing machine I've danced with in modular.

It's absolutely 100% inspiring to work with. I wish Manuel (from Oxi) could see me laughing with glee at his creation when I discover another thing I didn't know it did.


LFO and CV Powerhouse.

When I saw the video on SynthDad's channel where he was literally drawing CV gestures on the Oxi One, I was sold. It's too easy and fun to draw shapes and send them out over midi or over the CV outs on the Pipe (or the back of the One!).

Each sequencer can crank two internal LFOs, so you can imagine the possibilities here. Of course, it has all the more normal shapes, too, if you don't want to draw them in over the buttons.


Oxy Instruments One Sequencer

Seriously, no cons?

Ok, I have a concern. Is it an elephant in the room? Maybe.

At some point, I fear the community, as wonderful as it is, and Manuel, as considerate and accommodating as he is....are going to over-engineer this thing to death with more ideas and firmware updates.

As it is, it's challenging to learn it, and also learn the new things that keep being added. And the community keeps coming up with cool ideas that Manuel can implement. So that got to be a good thing, right? Well, maybe too much of a good thing, when it's getting more and more complex and so many shift functions to learn.

How about just bug fixes for a while? Let us newbies catch up.


I'm not sure what the cons of working with the One would be.

It's kinda perfect.


This got long.

And there's so much more to say. The Oxi One is slick in every way, and I couldn't recommend it more.


For full disclosure: Manuel (from Oxi) offered me the One for a discount for this coverage but has no part in my writing.

I didn't have to love it and gush about it.

But the truth is, I totally love it.

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1 comentário


Jon Gee
Jon Gee
22 de nov. de 2024

Great article J! Convincing!

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