thanks, i have a prophet 6, haven’t tried it yet with osmose, but would be cool if someone who figures it out could post a mini guideline/manual on how to get osmose to play well with OB-6 / Prophet 6
MPE mode config settings on the Osmose has a end ch. option and setting that to 7 should already be enough to make things work with the OB-6 and Prophet 6. I mentioned this when I first provided some tips about using the Osmose with these synths.
Master channel being set to 1 should not cause a problem, this is what the OB-6 is expecting too, its standard for the world of MPE (technically speaking its the standard global/master channel that is used with an MPE lower zone).
So I dont know why you were having problems with MPE mode with the end channel set to 7. Perhaps there is a bug somewhere that I didnt notice, perhaps you made some small mistake with the Osmose menus. Usually when trying to figure these things out I am happy to use midi monitor software on a computer so that I can inspect the midi coming out of the device to look for anything that doesnt seem right. But obviously you need to understand what messages you should be seeing to remain MPE-compatible and compatible with a particular synth in order to make the most of inspecting the data in this way.
Multi channel mode is actually quite similar to MPE in most respects, except there is no concept of a global/master channel. Its mostly designed to be used with older synths that are not MPE compatible, but do have a ‘midi channel per voice’ mode, sometimes called a guitar mode, sometimes I believe called a mono mode in the original midi spec, although that old label will probably confuse people further. This sort of feature tended to be available in certain synths from a certain era, often but not exclusively ones that allowed lots of multitimbrality where multiple patches could be active on the synth simultaneously, each listening to a different midi channel. You could also probably use it with certain modern synths that dont support MPE but work in the same multitimbral way, eg elektron analog 4, and various samplers, if you are prepared to do the work of loading the same patch onto all the voices/channels.
You really should not need to resort to multi channel mode in order to get the Osmose working with these two sequential synths, but obviously we havent got to the bottom of why MPE mode isnt working for you. The main thing you are losing out on by using this mode instead of MPE mode is the lack of the global/master channel, which is used to send messages which are supposed to affect all voices/notes. eg global pitchbend and mod wheel, pedals.
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The other thing to note when using Osmose as a controller for other synths is that by default in MPE mode, its the initial movement of the Osmose keys, the first touch zone, pressure, which sends MPE Z/aftertouch and the second zone, the aftertouch zone on the Osmose, which sends MPE Y (CC74). Some people dont want that, they want the later aftertouch zone on the Osmose to trigger aftertouch on the synth, not for the initial movement of keys to do that. Which one I prefer depends on how each patch is designed on the synth and how I want to play/touch the keys. This is easy enough to resolve via settings on the Osmose, because you can swap around which message the two zones on the Osmose send. Main thing to be aware of when doing this with MPE is that MPE Y is cc 74, and MPE uses channel pressure messages, not poly aftertouch messages, so cc. 74 and ch. press are what you should be assigning to the gestures via the Osmose config options.
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This resource should provide ample guidance to make synths work with an MPE controller: Support - LinnStrument - Recommended Sounds
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Thanks this is super helpful. I’ll try again in MPE mode vs. multi channel. It is almost certainly user error. As stated, totally new to MPE.
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Thanks. Will have. A look through.
I forgot whether I previously mentioned the Expert Sleepers FH-2 as an option for Osmose MPE to cv control here or not. But I just got round to trying this today, and it works pretty well, a fun experience. You just have to understand how to setup the FH-2 for MPE. And be aware that if connecting the FH-2 to the Osmose via USB, it see’s both the midi ports that come over USB from Osmose, so you have to disable the Haken port in the Osmose settings to stop the FH-2 from responding twice to everything.
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Having a bit of bother with midi in Ableton. Osmose seems to trigger 2 notes if played firmly. The second note is an octave lower. Anyone else encountered this? It’s possible I’m just not setting something up properly though I can recreate the issue in Logic. So, what am I missing?
Edit: looks like I missed that Osmose has two midi ports which was confusing the DAWs. Sure there will be a reason for that but switching one off puts behaviour back to what I’m expecting
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One of them is the configurable midi layer that can be MPE or normal midi or normal midi with poly aftertouch or multi channel midi. Designed for controlling other synths. This midi also comes out of the midi din output.
The other one, the 2nd usb one, is the Haken MPE+ layer that is used to control the internal synth engine of the Osmose. This data is higher resolution, and is also used to communicate with the EaganMatrix editor software.
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Cheers! That makes sense.
Spent some time playing both vsts and the internal engine last night. I’m definitely warning to it. putting aside the MPE qualities for a moment, it’s possibly the nicest keybed I’ve played in a synth. It feels weighty but light too which won’t make sense unless you’ve played one.
My dream device is still a mad mix of Osmose and Push. I’ve possibly gotten too lazy to play keys “properly” but then that’s also part of the Osmoses beauty - so many presets are just begging to be played with long emotive note holds and the likes. Can’t help but get lost in playing through presets at random.
So in my battle of the keyboards it’s the AK that’s starting to look very worried.
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for me, the Push pads are way to hard… and 8x8 grid is too small…
if this is what you want then, probably, the Linnstrument is your best bet.
I’ve tried with the Erae Touch and it does work nicely.
if you are using with a different MPE controller, you’ll likely find you need to tweak the presets in the Eagan Matrix.
as stated previously, the EM ties the surface and sound very tightly together, this is why they are such a joy to play BUT it means they dont always translate well to other surfaces without adjustment.
this is particularly true for Osmose presets, which has some peculiarities with Z/Y.
(in fact, Id say using Continuum presets as a starting point for other MPE devices is preferable)
back to topic… perhaps others will license the Eagan Matrix, and it’ll turn up in different form factors… but Id not hold my breath.
that said, these days we have the Eagan Matrix Module (eurorack), which is perfect for matching with other controllers. (just chuck in a small eurorack skiff)
anyway, if you have the Osmose, adding another MPE controllers is a blast.
it provides a whole new way to explore the Eagan Matrix world.
I’ve actually owned a linnstrumemt and it was fantastic but I really want the integration Push brings. I always thought the Linnstrument was a little too faffy to get the most out of. I want plug and play and back then Ableton just didn’t work that way.
There will no doubt be a Push 3 at some point. Will be interesting to see if Ableton believes there’s enough in the MPE crowd to build into a new controller.
Guess we all have different thoughts on what makes the perfect instrument/controller though.
Doubtful …
It’s also far from clear if they want to create a standalone push ( ala Maschine+) given their main sale is software ( and I suspect Push is subsidized by Live sales)
… and they’d not team up with someone like Haken ( too small)
But of course, no one knows , never say never.
For now, I use what we have and / or build my own 
Yeah, agree.
Even playing a non-MPE synth like the Prophet 12 module, I find using the Osmose really breathes new life into it. Perhaps it’s just the poly-AT, but I think the keybed has something to do with it too.
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LS is as plug and play as it gets: everything about it can be configured on-board. Even many years after its release, it is one of the most modern, universal and flexible MIDI controllers out there, albeit not the cheapest one. Looks like the Osmose will be both a good alternative and a good complement.
It certainly wasn’t what I’d describe as plug and play when I had it a few years back! But to clarify, I was primarily looking to use it with Ableton and that required messing around with setting up multiple midi tracks and the likes. Just not how I wanted to work with either DAW, instrument or VSTs.
With something more feature rich (back then), then absolutely, it would likely have been much more “plug and play”.
This was the same reason why I moved on the Roli Rise fairly quickly in the end.
Going back to both the Roli and Linnstrument now would likely be a fresh of breath air in terms of my user experience though.
IMO you’d have to blame the DAW ecosystem and not the controller. The major DAWs are rather slow adopters of “new” technology - the official MPE spec has been released in 2018. Even today, if you need to record MPE MIDI data on the fly, you will be better off with dedicated software à la MIDI Tape Recorder.
Although even Ableton eventually felt the need to add MPE support to Live.
I’m doing what most people are doing, but with less discipline and into a Soma Cosmos. I basically can’t stop.
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That’s beautiful. Wow.
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