Most software synths give you oscillators, filters, and envelopes. Anukari, released by Anukari Music in late June, gives you masses and springs — and asks you to build an instrument out of physics rather than waveforms. It's an unusual synthesis approach on its own, but what makes it particularly relevant for the MPE community is that expressive, per-note control isn't bolted on as an afterthought — it's one of the two primary ways the entire instrument is meant to be played.

Physics Instead of Oscillators

Anukari's synthesis engine is built on real-time physics simulation. Players construct a 3D network of small masses connected by virtual springs, then excite that structure with mallets, plectrums, bows, or traditional oscillators triggered via MIDI. The result is a sound source that rings, vibrates, and feeds back into itself the way a physical object would, rather than one built from stacked wave shapes. According to Anukari Music, "you can build structures that ring, vibrate, interact, and feed back into one another," with results ranging from subtle acoustic-adjacent tones to considerably weirder territory.

The instrument isn't limited to synthesis duty, either. Because the masses can be vibrated directly by an audio signal rather than only by MIDI, Anukari doubles as an effects processor and reverb, accepting incoming audio as a sidechain or primary input and letting you route it through the same physical structures used for synthesis.

Full MPE Support, Not a Partial Implementation

For players with an expressive controller already on their desk, the relevant detail is this: Anukari explicitly supports both legacy MIDI and full MIDI Polyphonic Expression, and the developer calls out compatibility with the LinnStrument, Roli Seaboard, and Haken Continuum by name. Because each mass in the physics network can respond independently to per-note pitch, pressure, and timbre data, an MPE controller isn't just triggering notes here — it's shaping how each individual point in a 3D structure vibrates, which is a natural fit for an engine built around continuous physical interaction rather than static presets.

The modulation system follows the same physical metaphor: rather than a conventional matrix of sources and destinations, connections are displayed as physical links in the 3D world itself, and nearly every parameter in the instrument can be modulated this way, including sample-accurate LFOs capable of running up into audio-rate territory for FM-style effects.

Editor, Formats, and Pricing

Anukari runs as a VST3, AU, or AAX plugin on Windows and macOS, or standalone for players who want to explore the instrument without a DAW. The 3D editor is built to be tactile and immediate — you lay out the physics structure visually and watch it move, flex, and resonate in real time as you play, rather than reading modulation values off a static interface.

The synth launched at an introductory price of $99 (down from a regular $149), available directly from anukari.com. Synthtopia's coverage of the release has a walkthrough video showing the instrument being built and played live.

A Different Kind of MPE Instrument

Most of the software synths that have added MPE support over the past couple of years have done so by retrofitting per-note handling onto existing oscillator-and-filter architectures. Anukari is one of a small but growing group of instruments — alongside physical-modeling and granular tools elsewhere in the market — where the synthesis method itself seems built with continuous, per-note gestural control in mind from day one. That's a meaningful distinction for players who've found that MPE controllers feel underused on conventional subtractive synths, where pitch bend and pressure data often just modulate the same filter cutoff or amp envelope a mod wheel already could.

Whether Anukari's physics-based approach becomes a mainstay tool or stays a niche sound-design curiosity will depend on how deep the preset and patch-sharing community gets around it. But for MPE controller owners looking for an instrument where expressive input does something structurally different than usual, it's a release worth a closer look.