New synth plugins appear almost every week, and most launch announcements describe oscillators, filters and effects without saying a word about expression. If you play an MPE controller, that silence leaves a question: will this instrument respond to per-note pressure, slide and pitch, or will it treat your controller like an ordinary keyboard?
This week gives two useful examples. Neither announcement we reviewed mentions MPE, which means neither can be assumed to support it. Here is how to find out for yourself.
This week's releases
Map Audio Rhino 3 revives a 2004 FM and additive synth in a new form. According to Synth Anatomy, it offers six operators per voice, an additive wavetable editor, two ring modulators, two morphing multimode filters and a 16-step sequencer. It runs standalone, as VST3 and as AU on macOS and Windows, with an early-access price of $50 and a free upgrade for Rhino 2 owners. Notably, velocity, keyboard tracking and aftertouch all have custom curves, which shows the developers care about playing response.
Rob Papen QUAD 2 is a 16-voice phase distortion and waveshaping synth with a built-in ribbon controller, a 43-type morphing filter and over 1,200 presets, as covered by Synth Anatomy. It is listed at $49 with upgrade pricing for QUAD 1 owners, in VST2, VST3, AU and AAX.
Both are interesting instruments. Whether they suit MPE players is something to confirm in the manual or by testing.
Step one: look for the right words
Before downloading anything, search the product page, manual and forum for terms like MPE, polyphonic expression, per-note pitch bend or multidimensional. Be careful with similar-sounding features:
- Aftertouch curves usually refer to channel or polyphonic aftertouch, which is not the same thing as MPE pressure. Our explainer on aftertouch versus MPE pressure covers the difference.
- A ribbon controller or XY pad inside a plugin is an on-screen modulation tool, not a sign of MPE input handling.
Step two: the five-minute test
If the documentation is silent, try the demo or trial version:
- Enable MPE in your host (or on the track) with the zone and bend range your controller uses
- Hold a chord and bend a single note. If every note bends, the plugin ignores per-channel pitch
- Press harder on one note. If all voices change, pressure is being treated as channel-wide
- Slide on one note. Check whether CC74 can be assigned in the modulation matrix, and whether it affects only that voice
- Release a note and play it again to check for stuck or hanging notes
If the plugin passes steps two and three, you have a working MPE instrument, even if the manual never advertised it.
Step three: the workaround when it fails
A plugin that does not understand MPE can still be useful. Many hosts can split an MPE stream into per-note MIDI or filter it to a single channel, so you can play the instrument with a standard keyboard feel. Some players also layer a non-MPE synth under an MPE one, keeping the expressive voice on top and using the other for a static pad or bass.
You can also ask the developer. Small teams often add MPE after user requests, and a short feature request on a forum helps the case.
Why this matters
As the expressive-controller ecosystem grows, MPE is moving from a niche add-on to an expectation, but it is not universal yet. A synth with deep modulation, like the ones launched this week, becomes much more compelling if it gives each note its own movement. Until developers say so explicitly, a quick test is the surest way to know.
If you already own a controller, keep a short list of the plugins you have verified. It saves time before each session and makes it easy to spot gaps worth reporting.