When a developer with a long, respected catalog adds MPE across several instruments at once, it changes what is realistic for expressive players. That is what happened when u-he announced MPE support for ACE, Bazille, Diva and Hive 2, published on the company's news page in August 2024.
What u-he shipped
According to the announcement, the MPE-enabled updates for the four synths were free for existing license holders and installed over the previous version. The same notes mention improved Note Expression support, available in the CLAP versions of ACE, Bazille and Hive 2, and improved in Diva.
That pairing is worth noticing. MPE is a MIDI-based approach where each note travels on its own channel. Note Expression, part of the CLAP plugin format and also found in VST3, attaches per-note modulation to a note inside the plugin API itself. Both aim at the same goal, independent control over every voice, through different routes. A synth that supports both is easier to fit into whatever host and controller you use.
Why these four synths matter
Each instrument has a distinct character, and that is precisely why MPE suits them:
- Diva emulates classic analog circuits. Per-note pressure on filter cutoff or oscillator mix can make familiar polysynth sounds breathe in ways a single mod wheel cannot.
- Hive 2 is a fast, modern wavetable-style synth that rewards quick modulation changes, ideal for slide-driven timbre shifts.
- Bazille is modular in spirit, so you can route MPE sources into unusual destinations and build instruments that react to touch in unexpected ways.
- ACE is a patchable, semi-modular design where every cable becomes a possible expressive path.
You can find the full product lineup on u-he's site.
Testing MPE in any plugin: a quick checklist
Announcements tell you a feature exists. A five-minute test tells you whether it works for your setup. Try this with any plugin that claims MPE:
- Confirm the host is sending MPE. In your DAW, set the instrument track to receive on all channels or enable the host's MPE mode where one exists.
- Play two notes and bend one. If both bend together, the plugin is treating the data as ordinary channel-wide pitch bend.
- Press one note harder. Only that note should change if pressure is mapped to a per-note destination.
- Slide up and down on a held note. Timbre should shift on that note alone.
- Match the pitch bend range. A mismatch between controller and plugin is the single most common cause of "out of tune" glides.
If any step fails, the cause is usually configuration rather than a bug. Check the plugin's MPE or expression settings and your controller's channel mode.
What this signals for the market
The list of synths that treat MPE as a first-class feature keeps growing. A few years ago, expressive players often had to choose between a small set of MPE-native instruments and awkward workarounds for everything else. Now established developers are retrofitting their classics, and users benefit without paying again.
For musicians who already own these synths, the practical advice is simple: update, then revisit your favorite presets with an MPE controller in hand. Patches you have used for years may behave very differently when pressure and slide are live. For developers, the lesson is that MPE retrofits can be rolled out gradually, starting with the instruments whose architecture benefits most.
Final thoughts
Per-note expression is moving from specialty feature to expected behavior. The more mainstream synths support it, the more reason there is to explore controllers that make use of it. If you have been waiting for your existing plugin collection to catch up before investing in an expressive controller, announcements like this one are a good sign that the wait is largely over.