Expressive E Osmose CE 61 Review: Take Control

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 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"]

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) feels like the perfect amount for both composition and playing. If you need more width, there are always the octave buttons, too.

There’s the idea that MPE instruments — Osmose included — are only for musos and those with Jan Hammer levels of virtuosity. But sitting down and playing with it, it’s immediately clear that that isn’t the case. Yes, it’s incredibly expressive, and you could go wild with NAMM-floor demo pitch bends and note runs, but it’s just as useful for music production. Instead of automating the filter opening on Serum, you could play it in real time via the aftertouch, for example.

Of course, Osmose CE works with non-MPE instruments too, both hardware and software. You can just as easily control something like the MPE-compatible 3rd Wave as a traditional monophonic analog synth. And it’s not just triggering notes either. With a little programming, you can have Osmose CE opening the applying LFO modulation via aftertouch and pulling off pitch bends with your fingers.

The EaganMatrix sound engine was a big selling point for the original Osmose. Haken Audio’s digital synth is powerful and complex (maybe even a little too complex if we’re being honest) and having it on hand can elevate the Osmose experience. It also adds to the price of the instrument considerably. The CE is a MIDI controller, not a synth, but it’s also not entirely without something to play. That something is Ctrl-e.

A soft synth that loads in your DAW, Ctrl-e hosts plugins like Dune 3 by Synapse Audio Software, Kilohearts’ Phase Plant, and Expressive E’s own Noisy 2, as well as the freeware Vital and Dawesome Zyklop if you own them. With the exception of the freeware synths, which you can use in full, the others offer limited editability, with presets (over 900) filtered by type and character, and macro control over parameters like reverb and drive. However, the goal here is not sound design but having MPE sounds to play with the Osmose CE, and in that regard, it works wonderfully.

While fun, with just nine instruments (including the freeware plugins), it does feel a little limited in scope. Hopefully, this is just the start of Ctrl-e, and it will grow as the company makes deals with more third parties. It would also be nice if Ctrl-e allowed more editing with plugins that you already own, such as with Vital and Zyklop.

[quote align=right text="The whole point is to keep your hands on the controller, and in that it succeeds marvelously"]

Expressive E considers Ctrl-e not an add-on but a core part of the instrument experience. This comes into focus when you put Osmose CE into DAW control mode. From here, you can use the screen and knobs to navigate around Ctrl-e without having to touch your mouse. The plugin macros even appear on the CE screen and respond to knob movements. 

In this way, Osmose CE is truly a controller and not just an Osmose without a sound engine. But it’s called DAW control for a reason, and that’s because it lets you do just that: navigate around your DAW. There are transport and mixer controls, you can engage loops, move the playhead, quantize, and will even display some third-party plugin parameters via the macro controls on the Osmose CE screen.

Like the keyboard itself, using DAW control mode is intuitive and easy to pick up. The whole point is to keep your hands on the controller, and in that it succeeds marvelously. It’s not as fully featured as, say Native Instruments Komplete, but it’s a nice addition to the main star, that being the MPE keyboard itself.

Right now, compatible DAWs include Ableton Live 12, Cubase 15, Bitwig 5 and up, and Logic Pro 12. Hopefully, more will be announced soon.

Osmose CE is great fun to play, of course, but as alluded to, you don’t have to be a gifted keyboard player to get the most of it. Pressing and wiggling the keys comes second nature, and it really is incredibly easy to work up expressive sounds and passages just by pressing on the keys.

Here are some examples for a 140 bpm bass track using just the controller and Ctrl-e with no additional programming.

First, a bass sound from GForce Software’s Maps in Ctrl-e:

Next, a pad via Dawesome’s Myth in Ctrl-e:

Finally, a plucked sound from Dune 3 in Ctrl-e:

A lot of instruments come through our studio here at Attack, some more fun than others. But very few are life-changing. Osmose CE feels life-changing. It’s the keyboard controller we never knew we wanted — and now we can’t live without. Both the keys and DAW control are intuitive to use, the build quality is off the charts, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun to play.

It also opens up all sorts of new avenues for creativity. There isn’t much that you can do with a traditional piano-style keyboard other than push the keys down, but with Osmose CE’s variety of expressiveness, plus the arpeggiator and pressure glide, opportunities for non-programmed production abound. And that’s before you start messing with the sensitivity to create entirely new playing environments.

Ctrl-e is lovely and really shows off what Osmose CE can do, although if you’re a sound designer, you may find the lack of deep editing a tad frustrating. But if that’s the case, you can always just purchase the full software and use the MPE functionality natively. (You won’t get the on-keyboard control, though.)

There’s so much to like about Osmose CE. If we had to nitpick, it would be nice if the additional menu names were visible below the buttons on all of the screens and not just the screen that you’re on. We also can’t say we’re besotted with the white paint job but it does differentiate it from the original instrument.

Ultimately, if you’re in the market for a new controller and you’re curious about MPE, Osmose CE is the one to get. If, on the other hand, you really need the EaganMatrix sound engine, splurge for the full synthesizer version. You’ll get the DAW control too via a promised firmware update.

Now, if only more synthesizers offered MPE as standard.