All About MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE)

[SteveElbows]

Let's see some evidence of that practice.

I have yet to see a demo using an external synth that has the expressive playability of some of the included presets.

Well I can tell you with complete confidence that this is only because there are hardly any demos of the Osmose being used to control external synths full stop. And to make such a demo requires someone to choose the right synth for the job, and take the time to craft a suitable patch, and then take the time to play it nicely and record the demo. And whether it then convinces you will depend on personal taste as to what sort of sounds and playing techniques you think really make the most of the Osmose.

I answered this question with confidence because I've already got far enough with choosing a few synths and starting to mess around with patch design that I know I can get glorious results that elicit the same feeling of my fingers being connected to the sound via the Osmose as I get with some built in presets. But I am not close enough to refining such efforts into a state fit for demonstration, and then I will still lack confidence in my own ability to demonstrate this to other people, due to deficiencies in my own playing technique and ability to record video.

If this void of demonstrations of this type persists for too long then I will try to help rectify it, but I might need this to be a shared effort, eg I may craft the patches for a few synths and then try to find some other Osmose owner to do the playing and demonstration bit. Or some variation on this theme, eg if I can get some other Osmose player to share a recording of the midi MPE+ that comes out of their Osmose when they are playing a built in patch, and I then feed that into one of my synth patches and record the results.

[CedricM]

Any advice for true 5D cheap controllers?
It seems there's only the McMillen QuNeo for ~$199.
Or the Joué Pro, but already €295.

Any tips or tricks for drawing or automating X and Y in a DAW, Z being recorded with a poly aftertouch keyboard?

[FranklyFlawless]

You pay for what you get.

I maintain lists for MPE hardware controllers and hardware synthesizers on the Roger Linn Design board. You may find it useful to compare and contrast each of the items in each list for whatever criteria you deem to be important. I have the LinnStrument, with a MicroMonsta 2 and Deluge, for reference, but I usually just use Surge XT in the studio.

I do not use automation for modulating parameters in DAWs, so I cannot provide you any tips or tricks.

[jules99]

Here in Germany, there are second hand Roli Seaboard's going for 299€ or less.

[FranklyFlawless]

Understandably so, as they are all discontinued, unless it happens to be the Seaboard RISE 2, in which case it is a great deal.

[EdgeRunnerEX]

I always feel disheartened when new tech comes out due to the fact I buy these things as an early adopter but never keep them long as the next bit of kit is just so much more attractive with the new features and all .
Also I name my kit so its always so hard to see them go! :p

Seriously though what would you lot say the De Facto Compact controller on the market is/will be?

[EdgeRunnerEX]

See on here earlier someone was asking if there is a MPE app!? Looks like there is but it's still early in development.
It's here if yall are interested.

Here is the Github: https://github.com/anzbert/beat_pads (https://github.com/anzbert/beat_pads)

Google play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=US&pli=1 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=US&pli=1)

Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/beat-pads/id1633882803 (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/beat-pads/id1633882803)

[FranklyFlawless]

Seriously though what would you lot say the De Facto Compact controller on the market is/will be?

If you are talking about MPE hardware controllers, nothing has stuck yet, regardless of whether it is compact or not. They remain niche products on the market even after the release of the Expressive E Osmose and Ableton Push 3.

Have a look at my List of MPE Hardware Controllers (and More) thread and see if there is anything that particularly sticks out for you as the "de facto" controller at the moment, or will become one in the future.

[zerocrossing]

Seriously though what would you lot say the De Facto Compact controller on the market is/will be?

If you are talking about MPE hardware controllers, nothing has stuck yet, regardless of whether it is compact or not. They remain niche products on the market even after the release of the Expressive E Osmose and Ableton Push 3.

Have a look at my List of MPE Hardware Controllers (and More) thread and see if there is anything that particularly sticks out for you as the "de facto" controller at the moment, or will become one in the future.

Right, there will most likely never be a “de facto” MPE controller of any kind, unless you count the Push 3 which will do well purely on the fact that Live is huge and people will buy it for that.

It’s so personal. People trash the Rise and claim the Linnstrument is the perfect MPE controller, yet I love my Rise and when I tried the Linnstrument I found it awkward to do chords on and I missed the amount of control I had with the Rise’s ability to use the entire wave (hump? lump? ). Am I right? Of course not. I’m right for me. Someone is going to say they both suck and you should get an Osmose, which I ruled out because I want something with per voice pitch control. People are so passionate about it I literally came across a guy trolling FaceBook Roli adds just spouting lies, like, “the Rise isn’t velocity sensitive.” WTF? Maybe it was Rodger Linn using an alias?

I wonder how long it took for the piano to catch on in its current form. Were there a bunch of regional variations? I bet there were, especially in a time before modern manufacturing and transportation. So maybe in a hundred years we’ll see one of these take over, but by then I’ll be in a robot body using direct neural interface to play my VR Moog One.

[zerocrossing]

Any advice for true 5D cheap controllers?
It seems there's only the McMillen QuNeo for ~$199.
Or the Joué Pro, but already €295.

Any tips or tricks for drawing or automating X and Y in a DAW, Z being recorded with a poly aftertouch keyboard?

My tip is to switch to Bitwig, if you’re not already using it. It’s got the best MPE editing tools I’ve seen so far. I don’t really use it to automate things in MPE, though. I’m not sure how that would work. I just play the part, because that’s fun.

[FranklyFlawless]

It’s so personal. People trash the Rise and claim the Linnstrument is the perfect MPE controller, yet I love my Rise and when I tried the Linnstrument I found it awkward to do chords on and I missed the amount of control I had with the Rise’s ability to use the entire wave (hump? lump? ). Am I right? Of course not. I’m right for me. Someone is going to say they both suck and you should get an Osmose, which I ruled out because I want something with per voice pitch control.

Each MPE hardware controller has different benefits and drawbacks, which is why there are so many options on the market now. Some of the major reasons why I chose the LinnStrument (200) in the first place was Linux compatibility, easily replaceable mass-produced parts, and open-source firmware. Most of the other MPE hardware controllers do not neatly fulfill this criteria.

People are so passionate about it I literally came across a guy trolling FaceBook Roli adds just spouting lies, like, “the Rise isn’t velocity sensitive.” WTF? Maybe it was Rodger Linn using an alias?

Roger does not have the time nor interest for such behavior.

I wonder how long it took for the piano to catch on in its current form. Were there a bunch of regional variations? I bet there were, especially in a time before modern manufacturing and transportation. So maybe in a hundred years we’ll see one of these take over, but by then I’ll be in a robot body using direct neural interface to play my VR Moog One.

Hundreds of years of development.

[zerocrossing]

People are so passionate about it I literally came across a guy trolling FaceBook Roli adds just spouting lies, like, “the Rise isn’t velocity sensitive.” WTF? Maybe it was Rodger Linn using an alias?

Roger does not have the time nor interest for such behavior.

I was obviously joking. My point was that this guy seemed to almost have a financial interest in seeing Roli fail for some reason. When someone says, “I tried the Rise but I didn’t like the feel of the silicone,” or “I need something with Linux support,” what can you say? Nothing, but when you start actually lying about it… I don’t get it. It’s not like he posted once, he literally methodically answered almost every positive post with some misinformation b.s.

[pdxindy]

Each MPE hardware controller has different benefits and drawbacks, which is why there are so many options on the market now. Some of the major reasons why I chose the LinnStrument (200) in the first place was Linux compatibility, easily replaceable mass-produced parts, and open-source firmware. Most of the other MPE hardware controllers do not neatly fulfill this criteria.

That's why I have the Linnstrument, Osmose and ERAE Touch. They each have different strengths. If I could only have 1, it would be the Linnstrument cause it is the most future dependable. It does not require any computer software to configure, has a great interface and as you say, firmware is open source and parts are easily replaceable. I'm very happy with the Osmose too. It has a unique level of sensitivity that is inspiring.

Roger does not have the time nor interest for such behavior.

Roger is also smart enough to understand that the early success of the Rise helped promote MPE and was thus good for the Linnstrument as well.

[neverbefore]

Each MPE hardware controller has different benefits and drawbacks, which is why there are so many options on the market now. Some of the major reasons why I chose the LinnStrument (200) in the first place was Linux compatibility, easily replaceable mass-produced parts, and open-source firmware. Most of the other MPE hardware controllers do not neatly fulfill this criteria.

That's why I have the Linnstrument, Osmose and ERAE Touch. They each have different strengths. If I could only have 1, it would be the Linnstrument cause it is the most future dependable. It does not require any computer software to configure, has a great interface and as you say, firmware is open source and parts are easily replaceable. I'm very happy with the Osmose too. It has a unique level of sensitivity that is inspiring.

Roger does not have the time nor interest for such behavior.

Roger is also smart enough to understand that the early success of the Rise helped promote MPE and was thus good for the Linnstrument as well.

of those 3 which one needs the lightest touch?

[pdxindy]

of those 3 which one needs the lightest touch?

I assume you mean between Linnstrument, Osmose and ERAE Touch...

Osmose is the lightest touch... of course it is different cause it is not just a note on
Linnstrument is also a light touch
ERAE Touch is heavier