7 free MPE synths we love
An essential collection of expressive freebies you can download right now.
So you’ve bought a new MPE controller — or you’re considering it — and now you’re looking for something expressive to scratch the new-sounds itch? You’re in luck. Back when we launched the first Seaboard in 2013, only the newest, most cutting-edge synths included full MPE support. Today, though, things look a little different.
Exciting new synths and instruments, of both hardware and software varieties, seem to arrive every other day at the moment. And increasingly often, they have built in support for MPE controllers like Seaboard 2 and Piano; Serum 2, Noisy 2, and Pigments 4 are some prominent recent examples. What’s more, many of the most popular existing synths are adding support via free updates (u-he’s much-loved ACE, Bazille, Diva, and Hive 2 all got expressive upgrades recently, to name a few).
If there’s one thing we love more than a good MPE synth, however, it’s a good free MPE synth. Again, we’re in luck; there are now quite a few to choose from, and you might be surprised at how capable the very best of them are.
To prove the point, we’ve rounded up seven of our favorite, totally gratis MPE soft synths in one handy list. Read on to see which made the cut and download them for free today.
Dexed
We’re kicking off our list with one of the free-est of the free synths. Dexed is an open-source emulation of Yamaha’s classic FM keyboard, the DX7. It sounds just like the real thing, comes with a library of virtual cartridges each packed with presets, supports MPE out the box, and it can even load classic DX7 patches via SysEx. That means you can channel your inner Brian Eno with a free set of classic patches from the man himself.
Surge XT
Another open-source gem is Surge XT, a multi-engined powerhouse of a synth whose feature set belies its price tag. Designed with MPE in mind, SurgeXT comes with thousands of great-sounding presets covering classic virtual analog sounds as well as wavetable, FM, and more. It even includes 16 powerful built-in effect modules.
Vital
Vital is a self-described “spectral warping wavetable synth,” which roughly means that it’s capable of some incredibly out-there sound design without ever leaving the oscillator section. Only the basic version of Vital is free, but there’s plenty there to keep you busy — and the sounds speak for themselves. Should you be looking for more of the same, there’s some very reasonable upgrade pricing, including a $5/month subscription.
Analog Lab Play
It might help to understand Arturia’s software lineup here. Firstly, there are a whole load of great classic synth emulations. These come as part of the V Collection, which has its own plugin, Analog Lab, for easily accessing sounds across all the individual instruments in one place. Analog Lab Play is a free version of this plug-in with a selection of 100 sounds from the full collection — many of which support MPE. We recommend you begin by doing your best Vangelis expression with the CS-80 V.
Animoog Z
When you think about synths, there’s a good chance you think about Moog. They’ve been building hardware synths in much the same way for 60 years, after all. Far from a mere nostalgia trip, however, this 16-voice soft synth seamlessly integrates wavetable and vector synthesis into a futuristic yet intuitive interface, yielding some surprising sonic results. Despite all of its experimental potential, you’ll be pleased to hear that Animoog Z also features a selection of classic-sounding presets, and it retains a good dose of that legendary Moog low-end, too.
Zykløp
It’s easy to see where this one gets its name. The one-eyed Zykløp is the smaller sibling of Dawesome’s Myth synthesizer. Both use some extremely clever resynthesis techniques to turn any sample into an expressive synth sound. Try it out on your own library for some weird but wonderfully inspiring results. Zykløp’s signal chain includes all the standard tone-shaping tools you’d expect from a subtractive synth, plus a few interesting effects you might not. If you’re using a Seaboard, be sure to select its dedicated mode in the top right corner.
Pendulate
This last entry is a little bit of an oddball, given that it’s a monosynth. It is free, though, and Newfangled Audio promises MIDI “Polyphonic” Expression nonetheless. In this case, it means your MPE controller’s going to work just fine out the box, but for one note at a time. Why has it made the list? Because it sounds like nothing else (aside from perhaps Newfangled’s Generate, which offers more of the same and puts the P back in MPE for a reasonable price).
Free synths for ROLI users
Already own a ROLI Seaboard or Piano? You likely already have access to some incredibly powerful MPE instruments you might not have explored yet.
All purchases of ROLI Piano, Piano M, or Seaboard M come with ROLI Studio, a pair of plugins packed with expressive, MPE sounds and performance features. ROLI Studio Player is where you’ll find melodic sounds of all varieties, plus unique creative tools like the three-layer MPE arpeggiator. ROLI Studio Drums is one of just a handful of plugins designed to bring expressive MPE control to percussive sounds, and comes with a variety of hard-hitting acoustic and electric kits.
If you’ve purchased a new full-size Seaboard in recent years, you’ll have received a free copy of our flagship MPE synthesizer, Equator2. Designed from the ground up with Seaboard in mind, Equator2 blends up to six sound sources (choose from wavetables, granular sounds, or multi-sampled real instruments) with extensive effects and modulation, allowing you to create — and perform — just about any sound you can imagine.
