Expressive E has finally given us a MIDI controller version of their game-changing keyboard with Osmose CE. Does it still hold up without the sound engine?
Ever since Expressive E started shipping Osmose in 2023, things have been, well, different. Osmose wasn’t the first MPE-compatible keyboard but it was the first to make it more accessible to regular musicians. Here was an instrument that looked not like something from a space disco scene from a 1970s sci-fi show but an actual piano keyboard that we were all familiar with. And, with its incredible EaganMatrix sound engine inside, courtesy of fellow MPE instrument maker Haken Audio, it was the complete synthesizer package.
Osmose could also function as an excellent controller, so the logical next step would be a dedicated MIDI controller version. Expressive E have finally taken that much-anticipated step and released Osmose CE, the same mechanics minus the internal synth, but with a few additional surprises tucked inside.
In our review of the original Osmose, we said that it was a joy. Does Osmose CE spark the same joy even without the EaganMatrix?
Osmose CE Overview
Osmose CE comes in two sizes, with either 49 or 61 keys. As with the original model, there’s a color screen at the left that displays controller preset and configuration information, with six knobs arranged around it and buttons above and below, plus pitch bend and modulation sliders. What’s new for the CE is the colorway —which is white, not black — and the software, which now includes a DAW mode along with the original external instrument mode. More about the new DAW mode later.
Staying with the software, you get an MPE arpeggiator with a wide variety of modes, as well as the unique pressure glide, or portamento for MPE that lets you create natural-sounding polyphonic glide effects — or indeed very unnatural pitch risers and other transition effects. You can also adjust the sensitivity of functionality like note on, per-key vibrato and aftertouch, and save the settings as presets.
The controller draws power via USB-C, with an additional power-only USB port for keeping the data line clean. There are DIN MIDI in and out ports, plus two jacks for expression pedals.
[quote align=right text="Osmose CE feels life-changing"]
Osmose CE As A Controller
Osmose CE 61
We won’t go too deep into Osmose CE as a keyboard, as we covered a lot of that ground in the first review, but suffice it to say that using Osmose CE feels like playing a piano but the way that it was meant to be played. Sitting down at an actual piano and laying your hands on the keys is a satisfying experience, especially if you’re only used to synthesizer action. Now, times that by 10 and you’ve got what it feels like to work with Osmose. Your hands just love pressing the keys.
It’s also shockingly intuitive. Remember the first time you used an iPhone, how your fingers made the gestures without having to practice or even think about it? That’s how it feels to use Osmose CE. Your hands just know what to do. Playing, wiggling the keys to create per-note vibrato and pitch effects, plunging deeper for polyphonic aftertouch, it really is a joy. Having five octaves (we’re reviewing the 61-key version) fee