Expressive E's New MIDI Controller Strips Away the Synthesizer

Expressive E has announced a new version of its Osmose keyboard called the Osmose CE. Instead of being a complete instrument you can play on its own, this one is designed to control other software instruments on a computer. It removes the built-in sounds but keeps what makes Osmose special: a keyboard that responds to pressure and finger movements in ways most keyboards cannot.

What Makes This Keyboard Different

A typical keyboard detects when you press a key and how hard you press it. The Osmose keybed does more. Each individual key can sense side-to-side movement and varying pressure across its surface. This means you can bend a single note while others keep playing, apply vibrato to one note at a time, and create effects that would normally require extra knobs or pedals.

The keyboard speaks to your computer using a standard technology called MIDI, which lets keyboards and other devices communicate with music software. It also supports a newer standard called MPE (Musical Polyphonic Expression) that lets software instruments capture and respond to all these extra finger movements.

How It Fits Into Your Setup

If you use music software on a computer—programs like Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or others—the Osmose CE plugs in as a controller. Your fingers do the expressive playing on the keys. The computer handles all the sounds through software instruments.

This arrangement has become common in music production. A few decades ago, musicians needed large hardware synthesizers that made their own sounds. Now that computers are powerful enough, many musicians use smaller controllers connected to software that runs inside their computers. It's similar to how a guitar player might use a small effects pedal that plugs into a computer running recording software, rather than needing separate hardware for each effect.

The Practical Trade-off

The Osmose CE costs around $1,800, placing it in the premium controller market alongside other specialized keyboards. For that price, you get the distinctive keybed and MIDI interface—nothing more. The original Osmose synthesizer, which produces its own sounds, costs the same amount.

Here is something worth keeping in mind: the Osmose CE only gets its full value if your software instruments are designed to recognize and respond to MPE data. Some popular music software supports this, but not all do. If you use older software or simpler instruments that only understand basic MIDI, the keyboard's pressure sensing and sideways movement become less useful. Standard keyboard functions still work fine, but you lose the expressive capabilities that justify the price.

What This Means for the Market

This is part of a larger shift in how musical instruments work. Instead of makers building complete instruments that contain everything needed to make music, they focus on what their technology does best and let software handle the rest. Expressive E decided their strength is in keyboard design—specifically, how the keys feel and respond to touch. By removing the synthesis engine, they can compete based on that specific advantage rather than trying to match software synthesizers at making sounds.

For musicians, this approach offers choice. You can buy an Osmose CE and use it with whatever software instruments already appeal to you. The downside is that the controller's value depends on your software library and whether you plan to use music programs that support the extra expressive features.

Several companies are exploring different approaches to this kind of expressive keyboard technology. The goal across the industry is to capture the nuance of live performance in a way that traditional keyboards cannot. Success typically comes down to whether enough software makers build instruments that understand these new keyboard languages. Without software support, even the best hardware remains limited.