Torn between two worlds

[GR Baumann]

Roli seaboard and the considerably more expensive Osmose Expressive e.

Honestly, I dislike the decision on the Osmose to have fader instead of wheels, and the whole thing purely from an aesthetic point of view doesn't tick my boxes.

Any Roli / Osmose users around here?

I had a look at the keystage from Korg as well, but that is a rather compromised keyboard to put it mildly. The keybed does not convince me at all.

I lean towards the seaboard, but it is a lot of money, and perhaps I wait a little longer to see if anything else may arrive in 2025. That being said, I am intrigued my MPE. There is the PUSH 3 as well, but this thing is not my world at all.

[wst3]

I have the "baby" Seaboard, I love it, and I hate it.

There is a lot to learn, and a lot of skills to develop, to use it effectively. I wouldn't sell mine. The Osmose looks awesome, but since I am still learning how to take advantage of MPE I think my shopping days are on pause.

If I was deciding today I'd probably go with the Roli, it isn't like it will become obsolete if I end up picking up another keyboard from another developer.

I've long ago minimized my paralysis based on what's coming next - probably not good for my wallet, but it is a lot less stressful, and so far there are very few products that I've regretted

[GR Baumann]

Thanks Bill. Now that I have a couple of synths that are fully MPE enabled, Myth, Novum and Pigments, I might jump on it as well. Could do a Roli Rise 2 from eoy Tax stuff.

[scherzo]

I have a baby Seaboard too. Seaboard Rise 25 or whatever it was called, probably one of the first that shipped back when it was new and cool.

I don't like it. No particular reason really, I can see and appreciate the expressive potential, but I just never really vibed with it. Someone on here, I believe, described the feeling of playing it as being akin to fondling a dead whale - kinda how I feel too. I've also mostly been using faux-orchestral libraries for the longest time and it proved not to be particularly useful for that. So I stashed it away in the closet, telling myself I'll give it another shot the next time I have a synth phase. Well, that moment has yet to materialize, so it's really just been collecting dust now for... *looks at email archive* ...shit, almost a decade? Wow, that was money well spent!

(I also see I have an old support ticket about one of the sensors not working properly. Supposedly soon-to-be-fixed in a systems update, according to the reply. I don't remember any of that now but it might have factored into my putting it away for the time being.)

Anyway... try before you buy, I guess. Or make sure they have a good return policy.

For me, I think the Osmose looks like the more interesting instrument. Also guessing that standard keyboard technique would translate better. But I've never seen or tried one, so I'm only speculating. Wheels > sliders though, absolutely.

But generally I've grown to accept that I'm more of a programmer/mouse warrior than a player. I've had a lot of controllers come and go, and the only ones that stuck around thus far are the piano and breath controller. Not the right target audience I suppose. I should probably take the Seaboard out for another spin and a second opinion when I have time though.

[GR Baumann]

Thanks Scherzo. While digging deeper, I also read that the company went belly up for some time due to financial troubles not too long ago. Not very convincing for a commitment on that scope. Looks like they recovered, but it remains a concern.

Fondling a dead whale, FFS, that made my morning here. It certainly does look like it. but well that's what this keywave technology is about.



Yeah, I am very insecure whether it is the right time to buy into MPE as much as I would love to. While the Ableton Push 3 certainly is an excellent product, I cannot see myself pushing coloured blinking buttons, and I never used Ableton. Frankly I am reluctant to get into another DAW, with Logic I am more than happy.

A shame that the Korg keystage is such a sausage, no endless encoders on an MPE instrument is a totally fucked up design decision.

I don't know why I dislike the Osmose design, besides the faders instead of wheels, it just looks like a hunk of keys sticking out to me. The price tag is also on the very very high side here.

[scherzo]

Yeah, Roli folded and was later resurrected again somehow. I don't remember exactly what happened there. Figure that's always gonna be a risk with niche products like this unfortunately.

I hadn't heard of Push. I looked at a few videos and... err, I dunno. Looks like it's capable of stuff, but I would find the blinking grid interface distracting and confusing. Not my cup of tea at all. What's the problem with the Keystage though? Looks like a regular keyboard with poly-aftertouch, or...?

Actually over the years, the alternative controller that has always intrigued me the most is the Haken Continuum. Never tried or even seen one in person, but it looks amazing and very capable. But of course, it's even more niche and expensive than all the others combined. One can dream though...