Osmose Synth - Watch before you buy 👀
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- Buy Osmose (affiliate link): bit.ly/3SfqtuP
The Osmose Synth from Expressive E is unlike any keyboard I've ever tried. Yes, it's a stand alone synth with a super powerful synth engine from Haken Audio. Osmose finally give us ways to become more expressive with our music via a brand new technology, "Augmented Keyboard Action" keybed. In this video we look at all aspects of this instrument which is a "must watch" before you buy the Osmose! I hope this video will be useful for anyone thinking about upgrading to an awesome MPE capable synth.
Big thanks to Expressive E for sponsoring my channel with a demo unit.
Thanks for watching, // Mattias Holmgren
www.morningdewmedia.com
#osmose #synth #musician
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:24 Osmose Music Demo
00:45 My first contact with Osmose
01:02 Standalone Synth
01:22 Why is Osmose an Innovation?
02:08 Pressure sensitivity & Leaning into sound
02:25 Pitch bending individual notes
02:44 Dune - Compose cinematic music with Osmose
03:37 Fun with pitch bending
03:57 Expressive Synth pad demo
04:43 Tapping & Staccato
05:17 Versatile Sounds
05:50 Tips on per-note pitch bending
06:56 Expressive E Synth Pad
07:14 Preset: Slap Bass
07:27 Preset: Dual Cello
07:42 Mod wheel & Pitch Bend
08:19 Preset: Electric Piano 6
08:46 More Preset demos
09:03 FX
12:21 My Thoughts on the effects
12:36 MACROS in Eagan Matrix Sound Engine
13:36 I/O
13:43 Osmose MPE Setup
14:30 MPE in Logic Retro Synth
15:25 Important info
15:45 MPE in Phase Plant - Osmose Pressure test
16:43 Final thoughts & where to buy Osmose Synth - Jak na to + styl
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
The hype is real. This thing sounds great. Waiting to find out how well it plays with Roli VSTs before making a purchase. Did you try any of the MPE presets for Bitwig instruments?
Yeah I tried some Bitwig MPE presets, but nothing comes close to the expressiveness and sound depth of the already built in Eagan Matrix IMO. Bitwigs presets just sounded meh, probably designed by an artist for a specific type of song. The Osmose onboard sounds are custom made for this instrument so it's just perfect from start. No need to fiddle settings. Did you listen to my demo song in the shorts videos? czcams.com/users/shortse4lsMVof8XM?feature=share
works great wtih Pigments, also MPE. Probably my most fav VST with the Osmose.
Listen to the full "jungle song" Osmose performance here: czcams.com/users/shortse4lsMVof8XM?feature=share
Great review, and beautiful playing.
Thanks Mattias 🤗
Thank you so much! I am having a blast with this synth...as you can see. ;)😋🍿
I can’t believe how much I love my new Osmose.
Firmware needs a little work , but I have confidence, they will fix in future updates.
Great demo. Thanks 😊
Agree its a wonderful instrument and experience. My bet is that the Software will get some more love soon. My wish is that they add preset folders with custom naming. So we can categorize the excellent presets the way we want. Say I have a filmscore project or an EDM project with 5 selected presets each. So I can easily find those per project I am working on. Would be an amazing addition. 🌟💎💯🏆
And thanks 😄🐠🌱💎
@@MattiasHolmgren Yes, I was thinking the same. User defined folders, and more slots for patches would be great.
Somehow I got fascinated by the daytime light changing in the background due to the different recording moments of the whole video. 🙂
Yeah, I’m based in northern sweden and its winter so day passes quickly. ☀️😄
Sounds amazing.
Yeah, love it. Thx! 👌😄
Hi Mattias, love your videos! That's all! /regards
Thanks, lovely to have ya aboard! 🏆💪😄
Kinda wish they made a version with their Touche modulation controller built in.
Would be massive flagship
Very thorough walkthrough, thank you! As much as I love MPE still waiting for that perfect device. The Sensel so far has been my favorite to use but they discontinued it of course 😭. I do love the Roli but I have had hardware issues with all 4 of the devices I have, and the repair process took forever. I mean it was good service but just took a long time. But I still prefer the small Sensel for playing, Roli isn't as consistent no matter what settings I try. I prefer more delicate playing and the Sensel does better there in registering movement and not having accidental data.
Hey MLH, oh what happened with the Rolis? Do you have the Seaboard? Yeah its important they send correct data, I have quite shaky hands and sometimes these devices are so sensitive it comes through…hehe especially on the wacom when I draw lines. 😄just read the announcement for the sensel morph discontinuation, apparently they focus on haptic touchpads for laptops instead. Probably a 100x more lucrative business than the niche MPE music devices. But yeah. Sad for musicians. 😭☀️
@@MattiasHolmgren lol indeed more lucrative but a shame. The Sensel is so fun! I do have a few different Seaboards, I do love them but far from perfect. The issues they had are all different. One was the USB input, another was the bed not registering in a large area. And the one I haven't sent in yet, is a very small area that doesn't register anymore. They always repair without question, but it is a pain to box, ship, wait. It is a bit better now that they have more repair centers but used to be you had to send it across country to get repaired. Took forever haha. But even when they work, I feel there is a lot of room for improvement in as far as the sensitivity. I think a lighter bed would work better maybe. People with stronger fingers might disagree haha
Good Morning I just got mine Totally blown away. The build is solid. The keybed is solid. One question for you the right slider doesn't seem to travel all the way up. Is this normal?
Awesome, congrats. Its an awesome synth! How do you mean regarding the mod-slider? Are you not able to produce value 127 with it? Test in a daw. Mine works fine.
quicksampler in logic is MPE? didnt know that. awesome!
Yeah its odd Alchemy didn’t want to respond to pressure no matter how i configured. That’s one plugin you really want to me MPE. Same with Omnisphere.
Interesting key bed.
It is! 👌😄
thanks for the overview... Do you think this could work as your only keyboard if you mostly use plugins and a DAW?
Yes, absolutely. Just flip it to Classic Keyboard mode if you don't want MPE bends / wiggle and pressure. But I feel that the real key-point to this fine instrument is the new keybed technology in combination with the onboard synth engine (Eagan Matrix) from Hakan Audio. 🏆
That's where you get the goozebumps. 😄
But yes, it worked fine for playing regular plugin instruments & third-party like; Kontakt, Phase Plant, Omnisphere 2 patches.👌 But quite expensive keyboard if you don't plan on using it for those lovely onboard sounds.
Thanks for writing! 🍿
@@MattiasHolmgren@MattiasHolmgren Thanks for the detailed reply!. I would definitely also use the built-in synth, but it is good to hear that it could be a "workhorse" as well with a DAW and plugins..
Loving the video! Could you see yourself relying on it as a live-performance main Synth? worried about Screens with sunlight too
I always have a regular keybed at hand too, since they are better for regular piano perf. In my case its the Summit or KK S61 mk2.
@@MattiasHolmgren ah cool thanks for sharing! Yeah I was wondering- even with the glide fully off? I am street performing and osmose looks and sounds like a portable jack of all traits so far
Not currently in my budget, but I'm surprised it's priced at only $1800. Innovative and expressive keybed, plus poly aftertouch. It's impressive. I mean, it's only $600 more than a Behringer UB-XA.
Yeah, good point. I paid €2300 for the Novation Summit and IMO the Osmose is a much more fun instrument. Maybe because I’m a keyboard / piano player at heart. They are of course both great, but different instruments.
the fact that you compare a Oberheim Clone with this tells me you like apples and oranges.
@@maxmeier532 The UB-XA has poly after touch. It's something in the same price range and the Osmose is a really innovative device. And yes I do like apples and oranges, but prefer pears and pomelos.
Guys probably the ubxa doesn’t really compare,the only common they have is the poly aftertouch.
But!
I don’t know if you checked the video of the polybrute 12,looks like the keyboard has something similar like the osmose besides the poly aftertouch.
Watch before you buy? I preorded it the same week it was announced (and then played the waiting game for I don't know how long anymore) :) I really like it, but if you want to use the internal sound engine, I really think that you need to pair it to some type of effects pedal. I have mine hooked up to a reverb pedal (I really don't like the internal effects) and the Analog Heat +FX to add punch/drive. When doing that, it's fantastic!
Hehe good to be early out my friend! 👌Yeah absolutely. I use it with Valhalla supermassive… or Microcosm for epic lush ess. Also the Strymon Deco pedal…or other tape emulation plugins to get an even more raw tone. While it’s of course great with these extra fx, I still feel OOB the Osmose sounds amazing. 💪🏆😄
Do you happen to know if I use this as a midi controller for another synthesizer whether the functionality in the key bed will lend itself to the other instrument ?
Yes absolutely. But to get the full experience of MPE you need to connect it to an MPE compatible synth.
Bought a Roli Seaboard Rise 2 👍
Oooh, cool 😄
Korg M1 vst is on sale for 50 bucks. I just bought it. Really notastalgic but still sounds great.
Oh awesome, yeah played plenty of M1 in the past. We had one for writing sessions in Supreme Majesty. 😄👌
nice
oh yes!
🔥❤️
❤️😘🏆💯🌱🥁☀️🌟🐠💎
Is it possible to map custom CCs to the mpe?
Yes you can define the X-Pressure and also the Aftertouch in the Osmose settings what they should transmit. I changed it to CC1 worked nice.
Hi sir how Wel does it work with swam instruments for example
Swam? Swarm? 🤷♂️
@@MattiasHolmgren Swam, a series of modelled instruments, they sound very good. I thought you were using them as it sounded very realistic, which virtual sound or synth are you using?
@@hectorraus6194 cool, gonna try them out. In this specific video it's Osmose internal synth engine only. It sounds super awesome IMO!
I am thinking of buying one.. still contemplating 😀
Osmose gave me more smiles than the Novation Summit ever did so far. It's important the synth really demands a bit from the player. But it's just super fun to discover the sounds and presets and ways of playing them. Coridor1 02:44 was just the Dune soundtrack in a heartbeat (watched the film the other day too, so fresh in mind). Osmose experience reminded me of when I first played Omnisphere 2 many years ago...totally blown away!
@@MattiasHolmgrenI will definitely have to wait then 😀 I am now way near how you play the instrument. This is a level up for sure :). Pls keep posting more videos on how you are using this on your new compositions. Thanks a lot
@TechPithan Practise is super fun! Absolutely, this will be my main instrument for playing melodies from now on!
All else aside that sounds a hell of a synth. The sounds are off the scale. Where has the company behind them been all these years?
…Hiding in secret to reveal themselves when the stars align. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
@@MattiasHolmgren sounds like they've aligned😉
One of the companies behind this is called Haken Audio that started making weird keyboards and overcomplicated sound engines in the early 80s. Expressive E just had the idea of the side-moving keyboard and was clever enough to ask someone who has had decades of experience - and Lippold Haken was clever enough to agree to something that might secure his pension.
@@g3cd thank you for your response my friend, its much appreciated.
I find it difficult to believe this keyboard is more expressive than my Kurzweil PC4. I have up to 6 pedal inputs, 2 are CC's and the other 2 can be dual switches or complex single switch such as a half damper. Plus monoAT and typical mod and pitch wheels. Now add 16 zones that can have any of these pedals/AT/wheels assigned or not, and 88 keys. So instead of the Osmose's fade in I can use a volume pedal to achieve the same. AT can vibrato on an assigned zone, another pedal can sweep the filter, switches can turn on and off step CCs modulating another source.... and more.
And I can control any synth that receives MIDI CCs with this Kurzweil, so I am not limited to the Osmose sound engine. Now... I am a master of the keyboard, and my first instrument was organ and controlling from both my feet is natural, so the Osmose can be for the beginner keyboardist, however most practiced pianists who own synths for a few years can do what I do, so a much more expressive control of keyboards with pedals does exist. Plus I can add a foot keyboard and the Kurzweil ribbon controller for an extreme of control that Osmose will never match. A one octave foot keyboard could add 13 more switches for triggering one note on the keyboard that is zoned off just to play an arp drum kit, or arp sequence. I could have 13 different bass lines or 13 drum patterns with fills. .....more.....like velocity switching....
Of course you can also have good control and expression other ways. 😄 But the Osmose have to be played and experienced IMO since its all in rhe fingertips with XYZ control, and leaning / fading into notes. Polyphonically. ;) exp pedals is not poly. 😄 its really sweet to fade in out different notes when you play dramatic pieces.
Expression pedal, any pedal can be isolated to a zone. A simple two zone can be a solo zone and accompany zone with pedals assigned as needed to each. 88 keys and zones are what make it all possible. I don't think musicians are using the current and past technology to its greatest use. @@MattiasHolmgren
But I’m totally fine with ”using what you have philosophy”. That’s always good to make rhe most out of what you got around. Less gear is easier to work with and more accessible. And you get to know your gear at a deeper level. All 👍
Closest I'll ever get to this is playing Pigments on a Roli
;) Roli and Pigments is also awesome, haven't grabbed it yet though. So many plugins and sounds to explore... :)
@13:05 You have a modulate and not a mod delay according to youtube CC captions XD
Good eye. Will fix the erronous caption. 😄
Oh man, this synth is made for DS atmosphere.
Nintendo DS ;) Yes, atmospheric sounds are awesome with the Osmose dynamic sound engine and versatile keybed.
@@MattiasHolmgren Haha yeah I mean Dungeon Synth
@BLVCKSCORP 😂 haha, ahhhh, 👌🤘absolutely.
Hi Mattias, I was one of the early,bird buyers and was so exited to get hold of a proper mpe synth. Obviously there was a long delay due to Covid and I got fed up, waiting for it to arrive so I ordered a Roli Seabord Rise mk2 while waiting for the Osmose, which arrived earlier than the Osmose. I have to say that although the Osmose has a shorter learning curve, I actually prefer the Seaboard. This is obviously just my personal preference. The Osmose has a really powerful synth engine but let’s face it… the editor is a nightmare to use. I think Expressive E should have made the Osmose a MPE midi controller and just developed a soft synth for it, just like Roli did when they converted the synth engine of the original Seaboard grand to a soft synth (Equator). This would have made the Osmose,cheaper and easier to maintain. I think the keyboard of the Osmose is as far as you can go in terms of expression while still having a “normal” keyboard. The Seaboard, being a continuous controller with ripples that constitutes the keys, does allow you to get much more expression than the Osmose. It is like a keyboard and ribbon controller in one. I just love the way you can bend notes with it. I won’t say that one is better than the other… they both have their pros and cons and it is really a question of preference. I do love them both
Thanks for your story. I’ve played the Seaboard extensively at NAMM but didn’t get along with the rubber feel at the time. It may be a wonderful instrument if you get along with the feel. Up to taste.
And they also have a sweet sounding engine and software so I understand your experience. Did you try the Equator software using Osmose? Work good together?
@@MattiasHolmgren I did and they work fine together. The vertical slide of the Seabed (often used for vibrato), is translated to the 2nd aftertouch level on the Osmose. Equator is a really nice sounding synth that is easy to program so, it should be a great companion to any MPE capable keyboard…AND most patches are available in both standard midi as well as MPE versions
@@marcdeschryver7687 does the Osmose work well with Equator 2? I imagine the granular stuff would be very satisfying to play.
@@misfitmanic yes it does and very well. My Seaboard Rise mk2 came with Equator 2 and I could use the Osmose/Equator combination without needing to make any configuration changes in Equator… obviously you can if you want to. 😉
@marcdeschryver7687 wonderful! 😃👌
Watching this video is about as close as I am going to get to one of these. The markup in Canada over the US is $900. With sales tax this pushes it a price of $3000. Just in case Osmose are not aware money does NOT fall out of the sky like snow!
Oh yeah sad to hear about the exchange rate and huge cost for Canada. Did you check if there is any local dealer selling the Osmose with a better price at least. Maybe second hand market.
Know the feeling, Get one to New Zealand would involve high postage, plus NZ goods tax, import charge's charge to make sure there are no insects or organic stuff, buy the time you add all that up it's not worth it, just stuck with software vst's. Can't get most of stuff from dealers as they don't want to stock it and even then you will have to pay for their markup and then it will be a store model with dust on.
why is it that no one every does a guitar patch with osmose.... you would think it would be killer....... but no one does that... even with a vst (if it lacks a good internal sound)
Tsss who wants guitar if you got synth sounds 😂
I'd be interested if they made an affordable pure controller version. As nice as the synth is I have no need for it, not for what I do. As is the price is pretty steep just to get few expressions I could just add in Bitwig. It's not like I'd overdo it anyway. That gets old fast, imo. Have you ever heard a singer that throws in a vibrato at the end of every phrase? Or guitar player that does the same? Yeah, stop it. I prefer it as an ornament.
Yeah, a pure controller version would probably be a good idea too. Although I found most MPE patches (like in Bitwig) not give me the same WOW factor as the sounds from the Eagan Matrix. I think adding small ornaments to the playing (like any guitar player does) is a great way to enhance melodies in music...like I did in the shorts example: czcams.com/users/shortse4lsMVof8XM?feature=share But then again I demands quite a bit from the player. Some people like to just add notes in the piano roll and automate and it's of course all fine too. I do all the time too! But at heart I'm a player and performer and love that aspect of music, and Osmose is great for that! ;) If you just want a small MPE midi controller to just add small details to your sounds in other software it's probably not for you. Did you look at the Touché?
@@MattiasHolmgren I understand wanting to perform. A lot of what I do is record straight to audio with an instrument, piano/keys, guitar, bass, drums and vocals. I definitely prefer keys to something like a Touché.
I didn't express myself well. I mean to say that, for me, It's a waste money and a synth to get it just for it's keys. I'd jump on it if they made a pure controller version. For now I'm better off just using Bitwig to draw in a few expressions (ornaments for external MPE capable instruments) as I use ornaments really selectively anyways. I'm not the put vibrato on everything and everywhere type. 😉 I hope that makes more sense.
@EnervatedSociety no worries, it made all sense from first post. 👌😄
I do not like that sound engine at all. Would make for the ultame midi keyboard though.
It is a lovely beast to play IMO. 👌🦊
To call it a "stand alone synth" is misleading. You DO in fact need a computer to make your own sounds, and that's how most people use synthesizers. Plus, the editing software is ridiculous. But if you just want a very expensive factory patch player, that synth is for you. Basically one step above a rompler. Not exactly my cup of tea.
Its not misleading, its the definition. Can be plugged directly with headphones / speakers and play different synth sounds.
lcd? into trash it goes
Hahaha. Blah tech icky. Lol
Show off watch :D
Eh…ok
Ipad with keys.
Ok?
If you think having a keyboard that can be controlled like a guitar, well, you must be a fan of the keytar. If you are a keyboard player and think, "this needs pitch bend", then you must be a fan of shitty music. I have watched dozens of videos of the Expressive E over the years since its first prototypes, and they all sound the fucking same and it's not good.
😂
ROLI is better
Oh yeah? 😄
I have it. Hard to translate my years of keys to it. Getting Osmose 😂
Roli is different. Have tried it for hours. Didn't get warm with it. I plugged in the Osmose, was comfortable with it instantly. In my opinion Roli also made a major step backwards by removing their build-in sound engine.