Software synth developers usually reach for the same handful of building blocks — wavetables, virtual analog oscillators, FM operators, sample playback. Syntropy, released in June by developer SonicModeler, takes a different route: it generates sound through custom mathematical functions, treating synthesis as an exercise in equations rather than assembled waveforms. For MPE players specifically, the more immediately useful detail is that this experimental engine ships with expressive performance control and microtuning built in from the start, rather than added later as an update.
Synthesis Built on Math, Not Waveforms
According to SonicModeler, Syntropy generates its sound using a combination of standard mathematical operations and custom functions, and is designed to move fluidly "from conventional synthesizer timbres to evolving textures and experimental sonic structures." That framing puts it in similar territory to physical-modeling and granular tools that have picked up momentum recently, but the mathematical-modeling approach is its own distinct lane — closer to generative sound design than to modeling a physical object or resampling existing audio.
The instrument ships with 500 factory presets spanning basses, leads, pads, and effects, giving players a starting point before diving into the custom-function side of the engine. It's available as a standalone application as well as VST3 and CLAP plugins, putting it within reach of most modern DAW setups without needing legacy AU or AAX support.
MPE and Microtuning, Together
The detail that matters most for readers here is that Syntropy supports MPE performance control as a core feature rather than a bolt-on, and the developer specifically calls out compatibility with the ROLI 5D family of controllers. Pairing that with built-in microtuning support is a notable combination — most synths that handle one of those two things well don't necessarily handle the other, and players working in just intonation, historical temperaments, or other non-12-tone systems have long had to hunt for instruments that do both simultaneously without awkward workarounds.
Combined with MPE's per-note pitch control, microtuning support opens up a genuinely different kind of expressive playing: rather than being locked to a fixed scale grid, a performer on an MPE controller can bend into and sustain microtonal intervals with the same continuous gesture vocabulary they'd use for vibrato or pitch ornamentation in equal temperament. That's a niche interest within the broader MPE audience, but it's an underserved one, and Syntropy is one of relatively few current instruments addressing it directly.
Rounding out the feature set, Syntropy includes multisample export for taking sounds designed inside the synth into sampler-based workflows elsewhere, useful for producers who want to capture a particular mathematically-generated texture without needing the full plugin loaded in every project.
Pricing and Availability
Syntropy is available now for €59 directly from sonicmodeler.com, running on both Mac and Windows. Synthtopia's coverage of the launch includes a demo video showing the mathematical synthesis engine in action, from clean conventional patches through to the more experimental end of what the custom function system can produce.
Why It's Worth Watching
Syntropy is a small, independently developed release rather than a headline product from a major manufacturer, and its mathematical-modeling approach is unlikely to replace wavetable or virtual analog synthesis as anyone's daily driver. But it's a useful example of a broader pattern in 2026: developers building genuinely new synthesis engines are increasingly treating MPE compatibility as a default requirement rather than a stretch goal, even for instruments aimed at a relatively small, sound-design-focused audience. For MPE controller owners with a taste for experimental synthesis — or anyone exploring microtonal composition who's been frustrated by the usual gap between MPE support and tuning flexibility — Syntropy is worth the modest cost of entry to try.