Arturia has released Memory V, a software recreation of the 1982 Moog Memorymoog, and quietly tucked into the announcement is a detail that matters far more to the MPE community than nostalgia for a 40-year-old analog polysynth: the plugin ships with full MPE support out of the box.
A Vintage Icon, Rebuilt With Modern Expression in Mind
The original Memorymoog was one of the first fully polyphonic analog synths from Moog, prized for its fat, unstable, gloriously imperfect voice architecture. Arturia's software version aims to recreate that character with what the company calls "breathtaking authenticity," while extending it well past what the hardware could ever do — expanded polyphony, drag-and-drop modulation routing, and per-note expressive control.
That last part is the interesting bit for anyone playing an Expressive E Osmose, ROLI Seaboard, LinnStrument, or Haken Continuum. Memory V offers full MPE compatibility, with aftertouch, release velocity, and keyboard tracking all assignable to any parameter in the plugin's Advanced panel. In practice, that means a player can map per-note pressure to filter cutoff, or slide gestures to oscillator detune, without any workaround patching or third-party MIDI utilities.
Why MPE on a Vintage Emulation Matters
It would be easy to dismiss MPE support on a vintage-synth emulation as a checkbox feature, but it points to something broader happening across the plugin market: MPE compatibility is increasingly expected on new software instruments, even ones built primarily around nostalgia and analog modeling rather than modern sound design. A few years ago, MPE support was mostly reserved for synths explicitly marketed toward expressive-controller players. Now it's showing up as standard functionality on mainstream releases with mass-market appeal.
For Memorymoog fans who've never touched an MPE controller, this is also a low-friction entry point. Because the underlying voice architecture is monophonic-feeling even in polyphonic mode — each voice has its own quirks and drift, much like the original hardware — per-note pitch bend and pressure map naturally onto the instrument's character. Sliding into a note or leaning into pressure-driven filter movement feels like an extension of the original synth's imperfect, expressive voice rather than a bolted-on modern gimmick.
Presets and Availability
Memory V comes with more than 300 presets built by Arturia's sound design team, spanning vintage brass, basses, and keys through to modern electronic textures, cinematic pads, and dedicated expressive performance patches — the latter category built specifically with MPE controllers in mind. All of the original factory Memorymoog presets are also included, letting players compare the software recreation directly against patches from the original 1982 unit.
The plugin is priced at $149 / €149, available now for Mac and Windows in VST3, AU, and AAX formats directly from Arturia's store.
The Bigger Picture for MPE Players
Memory V's release fits a pattern worth watching if you're building out an MPE-capable production setup: software companies are treating per-note expression as a baseline feature for new instrument releases rather than a specialty add-on. That's good news for anyone who has invested in an MPE controller, since it means the pool of genuinely compatible, well-implemented software instruments keeps growing well beyond the small handful of MPE-first synths that dominated the space just a few years ago.
For MPE controller owners specifically hunting for warm, vintage-flavored analog sounds to pair with per-note pressure and slide, Memory V is one of the more unexpected — and welcome — additions to that list this year.