Hardware synths that speak MPE natively are still a small club, so a new entry always deserves attention. This week, Fred's Lab announced the Töörö mkII, a second generation of its compact hybrid polyphonic synthesizer. According to SYNTH ANATOMY's coverage, the original was pulled after some components became unavailable, and the mkII is described as a revision rather than a simple reissue.
What is the Töörö mkII?
The Töörö mkII is a desktop module built around six hybrid voices. Each voice pairs digital oscillators with an analog filter, which is the "hybrid" in the name. The sound engine offers:
- Two digital oscillators per voice with waveform morphing, 2-operator linear phase modulation and self-sync
- 16-bit oscillators, up from 12-bit on the first model
- A new noise source and a ring modulator
- An analog 12 dB/octave low-pass filter with auto-oscillation and saturation
- A digital shaper for extra crunch
Modulation comes from two multi-wave LFOs, two ADSR envelopes and an eight-slot modulation matrix. A stereo effects section adds modulated delays (including ping-pong), chorus and flanger. You can find the full specification on the official Fred's Lab product page.
How it handles MPE
By default the Töörö mkII runs in a four-part multitimbral mode, which is the traditional way to use several sounds at once. Switch it to MPE mode and the instrument changes personality. It supports two MPE zones, lower and upper, so you can run two simultaneous patches, each responding to its own controller section or even to two different controllers. Expression is three-axis: pitch, pressure and slide, the same trio found on most MPE controllers such as the Expressive E Osmose or the LinnStrument.
Two zones are a bigger deal than they sound. A lower zone could host a warm bass patch while the upper zone plays a bright lead, all on one hardware voice pool. If you want to understand how zones divide the MIDI channels, our guide to what MPE is is a good starting point.
Connectivity for a dawless setup
The module offers balanced main outputs and two additional dual-voice outputs (voices 1+2 and 3+4), which lets you route individual voices to separate processing. There are 5-pin MIDI input and output connectors, and a USB port that both powers the unit at 5V and carries data. That combination suits two very different workflows:
- Computer-based: connect over USB to a laptop and your DAW
- Dawless: connect an MPE controller straight into the MIDI input and play without a computer
Because MPE over classic MIDI cable carries plenty of data, it helps to know the limits. We cover them in our look at MPE over DIN cable and USB.
Price and availability
The Töörö mkII is priced at €499 including VAT. It ships from Germany, and according to the announcement the first batch is almost sold out and ships in October 2026. If you are interested, check the product page for current stock.
Why it matters for the MPE community
Most of the news in the MPE world concerns controllers and software. Sound modules that accept MPE directly are rarer, and affordable ones even more so. Six voices is modest, but for a player with an expressive controller and no wish to be tied to a plugin host, a dedicated voice-for-voice hardware engine with a real analog filter is appealing. The modulation matrix also suggests that pressure and slide can be routed meaningfully rather than hard-wired to a single destination, though you should confirm exact MPE routing options in the manual before buying.
As always with new hardware, listen first. Demos from the original Töörö give a good idea of the character, and the mkII's higher bit depth should translate into a cleaner top end.
The takeaway: the Töörö mkII is a compact, relatively affordable hybrid that treats MPE as a first-class mode with two zones. If you are building a dawless MPE rig, it deserves a spot on your shortlist.