Korg's wavestate line has spent the past few years building a reputation as one of the more interesting modern takes on wavetable and vector synthesis, thanks to its wave sequencing engine. A recent round of updates pushes the instrument further into expressive-performance territory: every current wavestate model — hardware and software — now supports MPE alongside MIDI 2.0 Property Exchange.
What Changed
According to Korg's release notes, the update touches all versions of the instrument: the original wavestate, wavestate mk II, the desktop wavestate module, and wavestate native, the plugin version. Two changes stand out for MPE users specifically:
MIDI Polyphonic Expression support means wavestate can now receive and respond to per-note pitch bend, pressure, and timbre data from MPE controllers, rather than treating incoming MIDI as a single shared channel. For an instrument built around layered, sequenced wave modulation, that opens up a new layer of nuance — expressive gestures from an MPE controller can now sit on top of wavestate's own internal wave-sequencing modulation rather than competing with it.
MIDI 2.0 Property Exchange support brings wavestate in line with the newer MIDI 2.0 specification's method for devices to automatically share configuration data — patch names, parameter ranges, and control assignments — with a compatible controller or DAW. It's a less flashy addition than MPE, but it matters for the same reason: it reduces the manual setup friction that has historically made expressive controllers more work to integrate than a standard keyboard.
Polyphonic Aftertouch Gets a Sound Bank Refresh
Alongside the protocol-level updates, Korg refreshed hundreds of the wavestate's factory sounds to include polyphonic aftertouch modulation, with channel aftertouch still supported for musicians on more conventional controllers. That's a meaningful detail for anyone evaluating wavestate as an MPE instrument out of the box — supporting a protocol is one thing, but having a substantial slice of the stock sound library actually programmed to respond to per-note pressure is what makes the feature immediately usable rather than something players have to program in themselves.
The update also added a couple of user-requested modulation sources — Pitch Bend+ and Pitch Bend-, which isolate only the positive or only the negative half of a pitch bend gesture as a modulation source. It's a small addition, but one clearly informed by feedback from performers doing detailed per-note modulation work, which tends to be exactly the crowd that adopts MPE controllers in the first place.
Fixing the Keystage Connection
The update notes also mention a fix for an issue affecting the Korg Keystage — Korg's own MPE-capable, polyphonic-aftertouch MIDI keyboard — where incrementing through Performances via MIDI 2.0 CI (Capability Inquiry) wasn't working correctly. That fix is a small but telling sign of Korg treating its MPE-capable controller and its MPE-capable synth as a matched pair rather than two products that happen to share a protocol.
Why It's Worth Noting
Wavestate wasn't originally marketed as an MPE instrument, and its wave-sequencing engine is arguably more associated with rhythmic, evolving textures than with the sustained, per-note pitch-bending and pressure work MPE is often used for. Bringing full MPE and MIDI 2.0 support to the entire line — rather than just a flagship model — is a useful data point in the broader story of MPE moving from a niche feature on specialist instruments to a baseline expectation across mainstream synth ranges. Combined with the Keystage's own MPE support, it also gives Korg a more coherent MPE-native ecosystem spanning controller and sound engine, similar to what Expressive E has built around Osmose and Ctrl-e.
Current wavestate owners can grab the updated system files, editor, and librarian software directly from Korg's support and downloads page.