Expressive E Unveils the Osmose CE: Pure MPE Control Without the Synth Engine

At Superbooth 2026 in Berlin, Expressive E made one of the most anticipated announcements in the MPE community: the Osmose CE, a pure MIDI controller version of its award-winning Osmose synthesizer. For players who fell in love with the Osmose's expressive keybed but already have their own sound engine of choice, the CE is the answer they've been waiting for.

Same Legendary Keybed, No Built-In Synth

The Osmose CE inherits the exact same three-dimensional keybed that made the original Osmose so celebrated. Every key responds to a full range of gestures: tap, press & tap, pitch bend, vibrato, shake, strum, and expressive note-off. Each finger movement is tracked independently, allowing per-note control over pressure, lateral slide, and release — the full MPE specification in one tactile surface.

What distinguishes the CE from its predecessor is what's missing: there is no built-in EaganMatrix synthesis engine. This is a deliberate design choice. Rather than paying for a sound engine you might not use, the Osmose CE outputs pure MPE MIDI data over USB-C or DIN MIDI, letting you route that expressive data to any MPE-compatible instrument — hardware or software.

Specs and Build

Expressive E offers the Osmose CE in two configurations:

Osmose CE 49 — 49 keys, priced at $999
Osmose CE 61 — 61 keys, priced at $1,199

The build quality is exactly what you'd expect from Expressive E: a solid aluminum chassis with a white top panel and black base, manufactured at the company's facility in Poland. On the front panel you'll find seven knobs/encoders, nine buttons, pitch and modulation sliders, and a 4.3-inch color LCD for navigation and parameter display.

Connectivity is comprehensive: USB-C for class-compliant MIDI and power, DIN MIDI In/Out, and two assignable pedal inputs for sustain or expression pedals. It's bus-powered from USB, so the stage setup stays clean.

900+ Expressive Presets via Ctrl-e

Even without an internal synth, the Osmose CE ships with access to Expressive E's Ctrl-e companion software, which includes over 900 MPE-optimized presets designed specifically for the Osmose keybed. These presets target third-party instruments and DAWs — not an internal engine — so you can immediately start playing expressively through Ableton Live 12, Bitwig Studio 5, Cubase 15, or Logic Pro 12 without spending hours mapping parameters.

Ctrl-e also handles customization: you can remap any gesture (pressure depth, slide sensitivity, vibrato threshold) to match your playing style, and save presets per song or session.

Why the MPE Community Is Excited

The original Osmose sat at around $1,799, which put it out of reach for many players primarily interested in the controller aspect. The CE cuts that price significantly while delivering the same physical interface. For musicians who already own MPE-capable instruments — whether software synths like Pigments, Surge XT, or hardware like the Roland V-Piano — the Osmose CE is now one of the most technically advanced MPE input devices on the market at under $1,200.

The 49-key format in particular will appeal to composers who work in hybrid setups: it's compact enough to sit alongside a regular keyboard while offering a fundamentally different expressive vocabulary for layered performances.

Availability

The Osmose CE is available now through Expressive E's website and authorized retailers worldwide. Production units are shipping from the factory in Poland, and early reports from Superbooth attendees confirm the build quality and feel are on par with the original Osmose.

For the MPE community, this is a significant moment. The barriers to accessing world-class expressive hardware continue to fall, and the Osmose CE makes a compelling case that 2026 is shaping up to be the most exciting year yet for polyphonic expression.