In addition to being a standalone synthesizer, Osmose is an expressive MIDI controller that can breathe life into any hardware or software you have. Use external MIDI mode to either connect via USB to a host (computer), or to an external synth via the DIN MIDI out port.
External MIDI mode settings are independent from DAW Control mode settings. Changes made in External MIDI mode do not affect your DAW Control setup, and vice versa. If you want to use DAW Control with Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio, Steinberg Cubase, or Apple Logic Pro, refer to the corresponding DAW Control mode section.
☝️ Please be aware that some synthesizers, plugins, or DAWs may not support MPE, the protocol used for per-note expressive control. When MPE is not supported, Osmose CE can still provide an expressive playing experience through classic MIDI, with global expressive control, or through multi-channel mode when available. For more information, see the sections below, most notably the setup examples.
mpe compared to legacy midi
Osmose is part of a family of MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) instruments and controllers that strive to tear down the expressive restrictions of common electronic instruments. When starting to control external instruments from Osmose, it’s useful to understand the way legacy MIDI communication is set up and how the MPE extension builds upon this.
In a classic MIDI environment, all MIDI messages that belong to a sound are sent on one single MIDI channel. Any modulations (such as pitch bend or changes in timbre) are sent per channel and thus affect all notes of that sound in the exact same way. If other MIDI channels are used, then this is commonly done to address a separate instrument or track of a multitimbral sound engine, e.g. in a hardware workstation or in your DAW.
MPE is an official extension to the MIDI standard where multiple MIDI channels are used to control the same sound. One channel is retained for global messages (master channel), but every single note that is played is granted its own MIDI channel. This way, per-channel modulation can be applied to each note individually, giving you much more control over your polyphonic performance. You can learn more about MPE on our dedicated info page “what is mpe?”.
backward compatibility
Even if the external software or hardware instrument that you hook up to Osmose doesn’t support MPE, you can still intuitively shape their sound directly via the keys of Osmose’s Augmented Keyboard Action. Pressure and Aftertouch motion axes can continuously control any parameter inside the synth on a global basis. Bending can perform a pitch bend of all the notes you play as a whole.
In a non-MPE context, this global value of a motion axis will affect all the notes you play in the same manner, just as if you would move a knob or a fader on a standard MIDI controller. Osmose lets you define whether the global value sent by a motion axis is calculated as an average of the individual values of all keys pressed, or whether it is derived from the pressure or bending you apply to a specific single key (highest note, most pressed down, etc.).
ℹ️ Monophonic lines on external synths can always be played expressively from Osmose. This is because for monophonic sounds, there’s always one dedicated channel per voice, even in a legacy monochannel setup.
For concrete examples, watch these dedicated video examples: Osmose CE — Overview
midi port reminder
As explained in the osmose usb midi ports section, use the “Play” USB MIDI port when you want to send Osmose’s MIDI performance data over USB:
macOS: ‘Osmose 49 Play’ (Port 1) or ‘Osmose 61 Play’ (Port 1)
Windows: ‘Osmose 49’ (Port 1) or ‘Osmose 61’ (Port 1)
The type of data sent on this first USB MIDI Port depends on the configuration in External MIDI mode or DAW Control mode.
By default, the same data is sent on the DIN MIDI output as well.
