Embodme ERAE Sound: A Synth Built Around Its Own MPE Controller

Hardware makers have long tried to ship controllers with a matching sound engine. Embodme is now taking that idea into software with ERAE Sound, a synthesizer designed specifically for its ERAE Touch MPE controller. It was covered in detail by Synth Anatomy when it launched in June.

What ERAE Sound is

ERAE Sound runs inside the ERAE Lab Editor, as a standalone app and as a VST 3 and AU plugin. It ships with 84 instruments, and each one comes with a layout that doubles as a playable control surface on the ERAE Touch.

That is the key idea: the sound and the playing surface are designed together. XY pads, faders and buttons defined in a layout appear automatically as modulation sources, so you do not need to hunt through a mod matrix to wire a gesture to a parameter.

Inside the sound engine

The synth is built from two dual-oscillator engines with waveform morphing, a wavefolder, dual morphing filters and through-zero FM. Modulation comes from ADSR envelopes and polyphonic LFOs that can run free, tempo-synced or at audio rate. There are no slot limits and no traditional modulation matrix.

Effects are handled by a four-slot multi-FX with nine effects: distortion, chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, reverb, shimmer, compressor and parametric EQ. Each sound generator also has its own wet send.

Other MPE controllers

Embodme says ERAE Sound works with other MPE controllers, but they need mapping. If you play a LinnStrument, Osmose or similar, expect some setup work to get the same level of integration. The ERAE Touch is clearly the target.

Price and criticism

ERAE Sound costs $89 / €79 / £69, and a free five-minute demo is available. Synth Anatomy's reviewer liked the concept but questioned the pricing structure, suggesting a cheaper player version for presets, with the full plugin reserved for editing.

Why it matters for MPE

Most MPE players know the problem: a controller sends rich per-note data, but not every synth uses it well. Layout-aware instruments like these point to a different approach, where presets ship with their own performance surface. Whether that approach spreads beyond one vendor is an open question, but it shows how designers are starting to treat expression as part of the preset, not an afterthought.

For now, ERAE Touch owners get a sensible way to explore the controller's full range. Everyone else can try the demo and see how well the layouts translate.