MPE — Guides
& Deep Dives

Melatonin's Sine Machine leaves early access as a friendly additive synthesizer with MPE and MTS-ESP microtuning built in. Here is why per-note control changes additive synthesis.

MPE and MTS-ESP both control pitch, and when they overlap the result is warbling, drifting notes. Here is how the two systems interact and how to set them up correctly.

Equator2 was built from the ground up for MIDI Polyphonic Expression. We look at what its six-slot engine and 530 MPE presets still offer players in 2026.

AAS added MPE support to its physically modelled electric piano in version 5.1. Rhodes and Wurlitzer emulations are an unusual place for per-note expression — and a revealing one.

The MIDI Clip File spec stores Universal MIDI Packets directly instead of 7-bit byte streams. For MPE players, that means per-note controller data survives a save and reload intact.

Curves & Membranes 1.4.0 gains four-voice paraphony and an Expression Mode with per-note pressure, pitch bend and CC74 control over oscillator geometry. Here's what it changes.

The multidimensional MPE controller is back on track under new ownership — with a redesigned mainboard, five playing modes at launch, and a difficult decision facing original backers.

Embodme's Erae Sound is a $89 virtual-analog synth where every preset ships with its own surface layout — and it works with any MPE controller, not just the Erae 2.

Expressive E's MPE physical modeling synth Noisy 2 gets eleven resonator types, FM and additive models, nine new effects and 150 presets — all free for existing users.

Audio Damage's MC-202 emulation looks like a 1982 monosynth but ships with eight-voice polyphony, per-voice drift and full MPE. Its intro price runs out on September 15.

FL Studio is skipping MPE and going straight to MIDI 2.0 per-note controllers. Here is what actually differs between the two, and what it means for the gear you already own.

Tracktion's physical modelling synth now supports per-note expression with an independent bend range and automatic remapping of existing patches. Here is why that second detail matters.

Aaron Jasinski's free beta synth surrounds a virtual glass cylinder with eight resonators and eight orbiting exciters, producing modal sounds that never stop moving — and raising interesting questions for expressive players.

Geert Bevin's open-source MPE recorder gets a standalone version, continuous loop recording and session files, reopening the debate about how much nuance DAWs lose when they record expressive performances.

A wave of synth plugins added MPE in 2026 updates, but the phrase covers everything from full per-note routing to bare pitch bend. Here is a practical test you can run in ten minutes.

Live 12.4.5 landed in late August 2026. Looking back across the whole 12.4 cycle, several small changes add up to a noticeably better experience for MPE players.

Vertigo 5.4 adds MPE support, three per-voice LFOs and a new Keep Section to discoDSP's additive synthesizer. Here's what per-note control unlocks in an additive engine.

Mike Martin's new cinematic synth plugin supports polyphonic aftertouch and poly glide but skips MPE for now. It's a useful case study in how the two differ.

The last of Doepfer's Superbooth 2025 modules has arrived. The revised Trautonium-style ribbon adds switchable quantisation, nine user scales, improved gate handling and an optional MIDI output.

Brad Holland has modelled the Andromeda's custom chips, its Moog 921B-style oscillators and its dual filter paths. The plugin also doubles as a SysEx editor for original hardware.

Polyend has shown a prototype mechanical QWERTY keyboard with a three-octave piano row, nine assignable encoders and open-source firmware. Pressure sensitivity is reportedly in development.

Expressive E now assembles the Osmose in its own facility in Poland rather than through subcontractors. For a category built on custom keybeds and long waiting lists, vertical integration may be the most important MPE story of the year.

The latest update to Christophe Kalkau's MPE performance environment adds Typing Keys, two playable manuals mapped to your computer keyboard, plus a new FORGE Point Cloud renderer that turns any image into a 3D field you fly through while playing.

Reason Studios has released a permanently free version of its Rack plugin with 15 devices and full Rack Extension access. It is a generous move, and it also highlights the one feature MPE players keep asking Reason for.

A new developer has released a free public beta of Phaseburn One, a synthesizer built around a phase-locked loop borrowed from radio engineering — and its instability makes it unusually rewarding under expressive control.

Plogue's next chipsynth bundles emulations of the OPM, OPP, OPZ, and OPZII chips — the silicon behind the TX81Z, DX100, and FB-01 — into a single FM synthesizer plugin.

Steve Duda has ported Neil Thapen's legendary browser-based vocal tract synthesizer into free VST3 and AU plugins, complete with a modulation engine and an FX version that runs any audio through the tract model.

Corona 7 is a free upgrade for existing owners that adds MPE support as modulation sources, a new sequencer arpeggiator mode, and a JP-8000-style unison engine.

With 61 pressure-sensitive buttons on an isomorphic layout and open-source firmware, the Striso Board offers a third path for expressive players who don't want a piano keybed or a rectangular grid.

Nigel Stanford's Ultra synthesizer gains full MIDI Polyphonic Expression support in its 1.1 update, bringing per-note control to a plugin built around five sound sources and the UltraWave engine.

A new $189 USB MIDI controller distills the core expressive MIDI functions into a device the size of a mouse — and it solves a real problem for MPE players with hammer-action keybeds.

Numerical Audio's new iPadOS app ships Seaboard-style ribbons and MPE string grids as drag-and-drop modules, plus a node-based MIDI engine — starting at $7.99.

Ben Osterhouse's new $29 MIDI plugin records playable clips onto individual keys for live jamming. Here's how it fits into an expressive workflow, and the one feature MPE players will want next.

Bela's Trails module records up to 40 seconds of two-dimensional touch movement across four independent lanes, outputting CV and MIDI. A different way to think about expressive control.

Abyss 2 is out now with full MPE support, a deeper spectral engine, a new multi-FX section and 400+ presets. Here's what the update means for expressive players.

ROLI is restructuring to avoid a second insolvency, with products out of stock and orders unfulfilled. Here's what Seaboard owners should know and what it says about the MPE market.

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman is the latest artist featured in Expressive E's collaboration video series, demonstrating how MPE performance shapes his approach to scoring and sound design.

Sound Radix has stripped its Radical1 additive engine down to a free monophonic plugin, giving MPE players a no-cost way into spectral sound design.

Twisted Electrons' eight-voice TWISTfm pairs vintage Yamaha OPL-3 FM chips with full MPE support, letting players bend, pressure, and shape timbre per note.

Avid showed early MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) integration for Pro Tools at NAMM 2026, alongside a new MIDI Editing Mode and MIDI Playlists. Here's what was shown and what's still to come.

Expressive E's new Osmose CE strips the flagship synth engine to deliver a dedicated MPE controller bundled with free Ctrl-e software. Here's what changed and why it matters.

A new desktop app from developer Christophe Kalkau visualizes MPE data — pitch bend, pressure, and timbre — in real time, and can even add expressive motion to a standard MIDI keyboard.

Expressive E's Osmose CE controller recognizes seven distinct playing gestures and maps each to macros in its free Ctrl-e software. Here's how that gesture vocabulary actually works.

MPE support has become a checkbox nearly every major DAW claims, but how Bitwig, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and Reaper actually implement per-note editing varies enormously. A practical comparison.

MPE Insight renders per-note pitch bend, pressure, and slide as real-time visuals instead of numbers on a MIDI monitor. That reframing turns out to be a genuinely useful debugging and learning tool, not just a screensaver.

Live 12.2 shipped with Expressive Chords, a free Max for Live device with 52 chord sets that respond to MPE pressure, slide, and pitch bend on individual notes within a chord.

Expressive E's controller-only Osmose CE ships with Ctrl-e, a bundled software ecosystem built from partner synths like Vital, GForce, and Kilohearts. Here's how the pairing works.

Squarp's free Hapax 3.0 firmware update adds per-track MPE zones and three-dimensional pad expression, reshaping the hardware sequencer into a live performance instrument.

AIR's new Fabric Vintage Synths collection multi-samples the Jupiter-8, Prophet-5, and Memorymoog into one unified plugin — with full MPE compatibility built into every layer.

From controller-only hardware to touch synthesizers and wearable gesture instruments, Superbooth 2026 showed MPE support spreading well past the dedicated boutique gear that used to define it.

The Hans Zimmer-developed analog modeling synth gets a 2.1 update adding MIDI Polyphonic Expression and Native Kontrol Standard compatibility, putting per-note pitch bend and pressure inside a cinematic Minimoog-style engine.

Fender's polyphonic aftertouch controllers, the Motion 16 and Motion 32, are now shipping and come bundled with a free perpetual license for Fender Studio Pro — a signal that expressive control is going mainstream.

Tone2's free Icarus 3.1 update adds MPE support for Legato and Mono modes, giving the hybrid wavetable synth finer per-note control alongside skin customization and stability fixes.

A plain-language guide to MPE's Manager and Member channels, zone sizing, and channel rotation — the plumbing behind per-note expression, and the usual culprits when it stops working.

A recent software and firmware update brings MPE support and MIDI 2.0 Property Exchange to every wavestate model, plus fresh polyphonic aftertouch modulation across hundreds of factory sounds.

The new iPadOS and macOS instrument Anima pairs physical modeling with a built-in multitouch ribbon keyboard and full MPE support, wrapped in an unusually approachable interface.

ImoxPlus's physical-modeling wind synth Respiro is a reminder that MPE isn't only for keyboards and pad controllers — breath and wind controllers speak the same expressive language.

Arturia's 12-voice analog flagship pairs true MPE support with a third aftertouch mode, FullTouch, that uses the entire travel of every key instead of just the bottom of the stroke.

The Knobula Monumatic squeezes eight polyphonic voices, 16 oscillator algorithms, and full MPE implementation into a screenless 12HP Eurorack module.

Steinberg marked 30 years of VST and 25 years of HALion with a free 7.5 update that brings MPE support, Real-time Decompose, and Spectral Snapshot to its flagship sampler-synth.

Elektron's 16-track multisampler Tonverk shipped without MPE support, and its user community is now actively requesting per-note pitch, pressure, and timbre control.

A look at the small ecosystem of Max for Live devices — including Arpex, MPE Envelope, and MPE Modifier — built specifically to extend what MPE controllers can do inside Ableton Live.

Novation's firmware v2.0 overhauls stereo controls, modulation, and effects on the Summit and Peak, but the community's long-running request for MPE support remains unanswered.

Studio-only MPE setups don't always survive contact with a stage. Here's what touring keyboardists and sound designers are prioritizing when they build an MPE rig for live shows in 2026.

A free firmware update turned Supercritical's compact analog polysynth, the Redshift 6, into a fully MPE-compatible instrument — and the company hasn't stopped iterating since.

UDO Audio's NAMM 2026 breakout synth, the DMNO, is shipping now with an Oberheim-inspired dual-engine architecture — and MPE compatibility is confirmed to arrive in a future update.

inMusic's takeover of Native Instruments folds Kontakt, Komplete Kontrol, and Maschine into a portfolio that already includes Akai and Moog. Here's what the deal could mean for MPE workflows.

Sumu combines additive resynthesis, FM, and vector-field spatialization behind a ten-module patcher — and its MPE mode makes it one of the more distinctive per-note expression engines available today.

MPE controllers aren't cheap, but you can start writing genuinely expressive, per-note parts today using free plugins and features already built into your DAW.

Arturia's new Memory V plugin recreates the 1982 Memorymoog with expanded polyphony and full MPE compatibility, letting per-note aftertouch and pitch drive any parameter.

A practical look at how Bitwig Studio, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro currently implement MIDI Polyphonic Expression, and which one fits your workflow.

Christophe Kalkau's real-time MPE visualization and performance app just got a free update, headlined by a DRIFT module that fakes expressive control from ordinary MIDI keyboards.

From the new Piano Profile to a forthcoming BLE MIDI 2.0 transport, the MIDI Association's 2026 progress reports show how MIDI 2.0's profile system could shape the next generation of expressive instruments.

reFX has released Rippler, a dual-layer physical modeling synthesizer plugin with full MPE support, developed in partnership with the creator of the free RipplerX engine.

Roland Future Design Lab and Neutone have advanced Project LYDIA, a neural sampling stompbox that reshapes one sound's tonal character onto another in real time, into a more complete hardware prototype.

Expressive E strips the EaganMatrix engine out of its acclaimed Osmose keyboard to create a dedicated $999 MPE controller, paired with a new free companion plugin called Ctrl-e.

Intuitive Instruments' affordable Exquis MPE controller gets a major firmware update with Key Freeze and MIDI Score Display, alongside new free workflow scripts for Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio, and Reaper.

A new desktop app from Christophe Kalkau visualizes MPE data in real time, giving players and sound designers a way to see exactly what their controller is sending — and finally debug expressive performances by eye.

Embodme's redesigned Erae 2 touch controller adds a grippier surface, swappable skins, and an integrated looper, aiming squarely at modular and live MPE performers.

Avid showed early MPE support for Pro Tools at NAMM 2026, alongside a new MIDI Editing Mode — a long-awaited move for one of the last major DAWs without native MPE.

Sound Radix's new modular additive synthesizer Radical1 ships with MPE-ready expressive control, giving per-note pitch, pressure, and timbral movement to a fresh spectral engine.

BaconPaul's free and open-source Six Sines FM synthesizer, built for MPE controllers, adds phase-distortion synthesis in its 1.2 update — no purchase required.

Jamstik's new LOON software instrument rebuilds its Creator plugin around a fresh MPE-capable synthesis engine with three independent signal paths.

Quantastical Sound's STRÄNG synthesizer gains native MPE support in version 2.3, letting Seaboard, Osmose, and other MPE controllers drive its real-time convolution engine with per-note expression.

Expressive E's new Osmose CE drops the internal EaganMatrix engine and cuts the price to $999, betting that keyboardists want the touch-sensitive keybed more than the synth bolted to it.

Intuitive Instruments' isomorphic MPE controller gets Key Freeze and MIDI Score Display, plus native remote scripts for Ableton Live 12, Bitwig Studio, and Reaper — a good snapshot of how deep MPE/DAW integration has gotten in 2026.

A new desktop app from developer Christophe Kalkau renders MPE pitch bend, pressure, and timbre as real-time visuals, giving performers and sound designers a way to watch their expressive data as they play.

A look at how Bitwig, Ableton, Logic Pro, FL Studio, and Pro Tools currently handle MIDI Polyphonic Expression, and why the gap between them still matters for MPE musicians choosing a production setup.

Developer Christophe Kalkau has released MPE Insight, a desktop app that visualizes per-note pitch bend, pressure, and expression from any MPE controller in real time.

Expressive E strips the synth engine out of its acclaimed Osmose keyboard to deliver a dedicated $999 MPE controller. Here's what the Osmose CE means for expressive playing.

A new desktop app called MPE Insight visualizes MIDI Polyphonic Expression data in real time, giving musicians a way to finally see what their controller is doing under the hood.

Two of the most widely used software synths have added full MPE support in 2026, joining a growing list of plugins that treat per-note expression as a standard feature.

Noisy 2, Expressive E's MPE physical modeling synth, jumps from 5 to 11 resonator types in a free 2.6 update that adds FM, wavetable, and harmonic engines plus 1,400 presets.

Image-Line has confirmed FL Studio won't add native MPE support, choosing to wait for full MIDI 2.0 implementation instead — here's what that means for producers using expressive controllers.

Berklee's ABLE Assembly 2026 spotlighted how MIDI 2.0 features like Profiles and Property Exchange are opening per-note expressive control to musicians with disabilities.

Bitwig Studio 6 brings deeper per-note expression editing to its already best-in-class MPE implementation, with expanded overlays for pan, gain, and note chance.

Expressive E unveils the Osmose CE, a synth-less controller edition of its expressive keybed with MPE arpeggiation, Press Glide, and a free preset ecosystem.

A new desktop app called MPE Insight visualizes per-note pitch bend, pressure, and expression from any MPE controller in real time, with eight rearrangeable modules.

Haken Audio unveils the Slim 21 Continuum, a compact fingerboard controller that packs the full EaganMatrix sound engine into a portable, travel-friendly frame.

A new desktop app from developer Christophe Kalkau visualizes MPE data in real time, turning per-note pitch, pressure, and timbre into a living performance environment.

A look at how three leading DAWs handle MIDI Polyphonic Expression in 2026, and what it means for MPE controller owners deciding where to produce.

Haken Audio's Slim 21 packs the full EaganMatrix engine and per-finger Hall-effect tracking of the flagship Continuum into a smaller, more portable 21-note fingerboard.

A look at how the major DAWs handle MIDI Polyphonic Expression in 2026, including which ones have embraced it, which are betting on MIDI 2.0 instead, and what that means for players.

A new desktop app called MPE Insight visualizes per-note pitch bend, pressure, and expression data in real time, offering musicians a clearer look at what their MPE controller is actually sending.

Modal Electronics unveiled the Element One at Superbooth 2026, a €649 synth built around a 4-axis joystick and channel aftertouch that makes expressive playing approachable without an MPE controller.

Native Instruments' Komplete 26 refresh brings MPE and polyphonic aftertouch support across a wide swath of its instrument lineup, signaling that expressive control is now a bundle-wide expectation rather than a single flagship feature.

Polyend's Poly 2 is a polyphonic, MPE-compatible MIDI-to-CV converter that lets Eurorack modular systems respond to per-note pitch, pressure, and timbre from any MPE controller.

Artiphon's Orba 2 packs full MIDI Polyphonic Expression, an onboard synth and sampler, and a looper into a handheld ball-shaped instrument — proof that expressive per-note control doesn't require a full-size keybed.

ROLI's AI Music Coach pairs Airwave's hand-tracking cameras with conversational AI to give real-time feedback on piano technique, not just note accuracy — a new approach to expressive-instrument learning built into the ROLI Learn app.

Microsoft's Windows MIDI Services brings a native MIDI 2.0 stack, multi-client support, and smoother per-note data to Windows 11 — a foundational upgrade that benefits MPE controller owners even before every plugin catches up.

Berklee College of Music's Expressive Control Lab is putting Seaboards and LinnStruments in front of students, treating MPE as a performance discipline rather than just a production feature.

Cherry Audio's software recreation of the Ensoniq ESQ-1 adds full MIDI Polyphonic Expression and polyphonic aftertouch to a classic 1986 hybrid synth for its 40th anniversary.

Sunhouse's redesigned Sensory Percussion system turns an acoustic drum kit into an expressive, zone-mapped controller, extending per-note nuance to drummers the way MPE has for keyboardists.

A long-term review of the Embodme Erae 2 finds a touch-sensitive MPE controller that doubles as a modular hub and eight-track looper — expensive, demanding, and unlike almost anything else on the market.

A growing number of compact MPE controllers and modules use 3.5mm TRS MIDI jacks instead of full-size DIN — but two incompatible wiring standards mean identical-looking cables can fail silently. Here's what's going on.

Live 12.2 brings Expressive Chords — a free MPE-enabled chord device available across every Live 12 tier — plus MPE-capable pad upgrades for Push and new MIDI I/O for Move.

GeoShred Control turns an iPhone or iPad into a free, touch-based MPE controller for desktop and mobile synths alike, offering a surprisingly capable pocket-sized alternative for musicians who don't own dedicated expressive hardware.

Native Instruments' Kontakt 8.10 update introduces native polyphonic aftertouch inside the sampler engine, a small but meaningful step for a platform long criticized for its awkward relationship with MPE.

Korg's Keystage keyboard pairs a natural-feeling keybed with Polyphonic Aftertouch and full MPE compatibility, offering a more affordable, familiar-feeling route into expressive MIDI for players used to a standard piano layout.

Anukari Music's new physical modeling synth builds instruments out of virtual masses and springs, and ships with full MPE support for LinnStrument, Roli Seaboard, Haken Continuum, and other expressive controllers.

SonicModeler's new Syntropy synth generates sound through custom mathematical functions rather than traditional oscillators, and ships with MPE performance support, microtuning, and ROLI 5D controller compatibility.

u-he's first maintenance update for Zebra 3 quietly ships two meaningful MPE refinements — per-voice pitch bend and smoother timbre response — alongside new macro and modulation tools.

Steinberg's Cubase 15.0.10 update quietly fixes a longstanding MPE bug, but users are still asking for deeper note-expression editing tools.

Controller builder Yann Seven combined two Sensel Morph pads and Joué overlays into a guitar-style MPE instrument called the Ystring — a glimpse at where DIY expressive controllers are headed.

A practical look at how PreSonus Studio One and Cockos Reaper handle MIDI Polyphonic Expression, and what limitations MPE players should know before choosing either.

Arturia's new Memory V software instrument recreates the legendary Memorymoog with modern polyphony and modulation, while adding full MPE compatibility for expressive controllers.

CLAP, the plugin standard co-developed by Bitwig and u-he, bakes in per-voice note expression that goes beyond MPE — here's what that means for expressive controller players today.

Expressive per-note control is no longer limited to keyboards and touch surfaces — MIDI-to-CV Eurorack modules like Noise Engineering's Univer Inter are bringing MPE gestures into modular synth racks.

A practical walkthrough of Bitwig's on-note expression editing — how to select a note and reshape its pressure, gain, and slide curves without re-recording a performance from a controller.

When pressure or slide data feels wrong on an MPE controller, the fastest fix is seeing the raw data rather than guessing. Here's a practical approach to isolating the problem.

In a new interview, Expressive E's Head of Global Sales & Marketing explains the philosophy behind the Osmose CE and pushes back on a common misconception about what MPE is actually for.

Logic Pro has quietly become a fully capable MPE host, with native recording, editing, and per-note aftertouch support across most stock instruments. Here's what works and how to set it up.

Serum 2 carries forward Serum's long-standing MPE support with new auto-mapping options for pitch bend and bi-directional control, making it easier to get expressive results from any MPE controller.

Imogen Heap's MiMU has released Glover as a standalone desktop app, letting musicians turn phones, Leap Motion sensors, and micro:bit boards into expressive movement controllers without buying the MiMU Gloves.

UVI's latest sample-based collection samples 300 classic synthesizers and ships with native MPE compatibility, giving expressive controller owners decades of hardware tone to shape in real time.

Waldorf's second-generation Iridium Desktop adds four synth layers, per-note parameter locks co-designed with Aphex Twin, and stays fully MPE-compatible for expressive controller players.

Between a granular instrument with new MPE capability, curve-based expression editing, and default MPE mode for Expressive E's Ctrl-e, Live 12 has closed much of the gap with dedicated MPE-native DAWs.

Roger Linn Design's latest LinnStrument firmware update introduces Low Row Transpose, letting players shift key and mode mid-performance while notes stay lit and playable.

u-he shipped Zebra 3 in April 2026 after more than ten years of development, and the modular workhorse synth now includes native MPE support alongside a raft of new modulation and filter tools.

A practical look at why MPE controllers suit orchestral writing so well, and which instruments, plugins, and DAWs make continuous per-note expression usable for composers working with strings, brass, and other ensemble textures.

Surge XT's recent updates quietly refine how the free, open-source synth handles MPE timbre polarity, pitch bend interpolation, and MIDI learn — small changes that add up to noticeably better tracking for expressive controller players.

Developer tiagolr has released Rippler, a free and open-source physical modeling synthesizer with full MPE aftertouch support, twelve resonator models, and a generous built-in effects section.

Six years after its original release, Continua gets four new oscillator modes, a generative patch tool, and deeper per-instance MPE configuration — all as a free update.

Soliste is a four-instrument solo string suite built around physical modeling and real-time MPE bow control, promising expressive violin, viola, cello, and double bass without a sample library in sight.

The Argentinian-built Bree6 Keyboard pairs a fully analog six-voice engine with a semi-weighted, MPE-compatible keybed — and it's been tested directly against Osmose and LinnStrument.

From Hans Zimmer's use of the Osmose on Dune: Part Two to a new wave of controller-only hardware, MPE is reshaping how composers add human nuance to electronic sound.

Intuitive Instruments' affordable isomorphic MPE controller Exquis now ships with a free Ableton Live 12 Remote Script and expanded DrivenByMoss support for Bitwig and Reaper.

From ASM's flagship Leviasynth keyboard to Dog Paw's weighted grid instrument, NAMM 2026 showed just how differently manufacturers are approaching MIDI Polyphonic Expression.

A step-by-step look at enabling and configuring MPE mode on Ableton Push 3, covering expression settings, compatible sounds, and common workflow tips.

Native Instruments' revived Absynth 6 now ships with full MPE and polyphonic aftertouch support, letting per-note pitch, timbre, and spatial placement respond to every finger on an MPE keybed.

ROLI has rebranded and refined its flagship keyboard as Seaboard 2, and paired it with Airwave, a camera-based hand-tracking system that adds gesture control above the keybed.

Genki Instruments' Wave ring translates hand and finger gestures into MIDI and modulation data, offering a wearable alternative for musicians who want expressive control without a dedicated keybed.

ROLI's expressive instrument lineup — including the gesture-tracking Airwave and the new Seaboard 2 — is now officially distributed in Japan through Yamaha Music Japan, marking the brand's full return to the market.

Spectrasonics' flagship synth Omnisphere 3 ships with full MPE support, per-note polyphonic aftertouch, and a new Quadzone performance layer. Here's what it means for MPE players.

Independent sound designers are increasingly building dedicated MPE preset banks for Arturia's Pigments 7, turning a mainstream wavetable synth into a showcase instrument for expressive controllers.

Elastic OSC, an 8-voice macro-oscillator synth built on Mutable Instruments' Plaits algorithms, now supports MPE across iOS, Android, and a new desktop plugin, opening expressive per-note control to mobile producers.

Sound Workshop has fully funded the Flexur T2, a standalone synthesizer built around twin touch-sensitive bars inspired by the Trautonium, with USB-C and TRS MIDI output that includes native MPE support.

Fender's first MIDI controllers, the Motion 16 and Motion 32, bring FATAR polyphonic aftertouch pads to producers for under $330 — a sign that per-note expression is going mainstream.

The MIDI Association's 2026 roadmap makes Property Exchange mandatory for new device categories. We break down what MIDI 2.0 actually changes for musicians already using MPE.

A look at how mainstream plugin makers — from Xfer's Serum 2 to Native Instruments' rebuilt Absynth 6 — are adding real MPE support in 2026, and what that means for players building an expressive rig.

Aodyo Instruments has successfully Kickstarted the Loom, a compact multidimensional MPE controller with four distinct playing modes — keyboard, ribbon, strum, and drum — targeting delivery in Autumn 2026.

Delta Sound Labs has released XStream, a granular synthesizer plugin with full MPE support, per-voice effects, live sample recording, and a 3D spatialization engine — at an introductory price of $79.

Embodme has released ERAE Sound, an analog-style synthesizer plugin built specifically for the ERAE 2 MPE controller — with polyphonic LFOs, four-slot FX, and 84 expressive presets, also compatible with any MPE controller.

MIDISketch lets you draw MPE pitch curves directly in your DAW's piano roll, while MPE Insight visualizes what your controller is actually sending in real time. Together, they fill two long-standing gaps in the MPE workflow.

Squarp Instruments has released Hapax OS 3.0, a landmark firmware update that brings full MPE support, multi-track MPE routing, and virtual MIDI cables to the $1,245 hardware sequencer — at no cost to existing owners.

Bitwig Studio 6.1 is now in beta, bringing a powerful granular playback mode called Fragments, an updated FM synthesizer, and continued best-in-class MPE support. Here's what MPE players need to know.

Expressive E has launched the Osmose CE, a standalone MPE MIDI controller version of the acclaimed Osmose synth. Available in 49 and 61-key versions starting at $999, it brings the same legendary expressive keybed to any setup.

Haken Audio has introduced the Slim 21, the most compact and affordable version of the iconic Continuum Fingerboard. With the full EaganMatrix engine in a 2-octave portable form factor, it brings the Continuum experience within reach for more players.

MPE support across major DAWs has matured significantly, but differences in depth and workflow still matter. Here's where Bitwig, Ableton, Logic, and Reaper stand in 2026.

MPE Emulator by Attila M. Magyar is a free, open-source VST plugin that converts single-channel MIDI into full MPE data — now updated to v1.2.0 with macOS support and a resizable UI.

A behind-the-scenes look at how we design Loopa Presets MPE — the choices, the failures, and the philosophy behind building sounds that truly respond to touch.

From the Expressive E Osmose to the Roli Seaboard and LinnStrument — a complete guide to the best MPE controllers available right now.

A practical guide to enabling MPE in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, and Bitwig Studio — with tips for routing, recording, and getting the most from your MPE controller.

MPE — MIDI Polyphonic Expression — gives every note its own independent channel for pitch bend, pressure, and slide. Here's everything you need to know.

The story behind mpesynth and why we decided to build the first MPE-native cinematic orchestral instrument.