Only a couple of weeks after launching its FM instrument, Tupos Audio has released a second plugin in its MPE line. Tupos MPE Subtractive, covered by KVR Audio on October 12, 2026, is an analog-style synthesizer designed from the start around per-note expression rather than having MPE bolted on afterwards.

What is under the hood

The sound engine will feel familiar to anyone who has used a classic virtual analog. There are two oscillators plus sub and noise layers, with unison, pulse-width modulation, hard sync and cross-modulation for the harsher end of the spectrum. A resonant filter offers low-pass, band-pass, high-pass and notch modes at 12 or 24 dB per octave, and separate envelopes handle filter, amplitude and pitch.

Around that core sit a performance LFO, vibrato, stereo width and pan spread controls, an arpeggiator and a step sequencer. Eight effect slots cover delay, reverb, chorus, phaser and bitcrusher, among others. There is also a standalone app with full-window scenes, so you can play it without opening a DAW.

Expression assigned right on the knobs

The most interesting design decision is how modulation is routed. Instead of burying MPE assignments in a matrix page, each knob shows source badges for pressure, slide, velocity, mod wheel, expression, swell and LFO. You can see at a glance what is driving cutoff, resonance or pulse width, and change it without menu diving. MIDI Learn works on every assignable knob too.

With an MPE controller, every note gets its own pitch bend, pressure and slide, so a held chord can have one note brightening while another bends away. If you only have a standard keyboard with aftertouch, the plugin applies pressure to the whole voice, which keeps patches playable on any setup.

Zones and controller profiles

The plugin supports Lower, Upper and Both zone configurations, plus a multi-channel mode, which should cover most hardware. If you are new to how zones divide the 16 MIDI channels, our explainer on MPE channel zones is a good primer. Tupos also ships controller profiles for ROLI, LinnStrument and MIDI guitar, which removes the guesswork of matching pitch-bend range and channel layout.

Price and availability

MPE Subtractive costs €19.99 for macOS and Windows in VST3 and AU formats, and one licence covers up to three computers. KVR's listing also shows an App Store version for Mac and iPad at €9.99. For comparison, the earlier Tupos MPE FM launched at €39.99, so the new synth is positioned as an easy entry point into expressive playing.

Why it matters for MPE players

Plenty of MPE-compatible synths are deep, complex wavetable or modular environments. A focused subtractive instrument fills a different need: bass, leads and pads that respond immediately and that you can understand in a few minutes. Subtractive synthesis also rewards pressure and slide very directly. Mapping pressure to filter cutoff, slide to resonance or pulse width, and letting per-note pitch bend handle vibrato covers a huge amount of expressive ground with only a handful of assignments.

It is also a reminder of how quickly the MPE plugin market is broadening. A few years ago, MPE support was a bonus feature on a few flagship instruments. Today small developers are releasing instruments that treat per-note expression as the starting point, at prices that make experimentation cheap.

Things to check before buying

As with any MPE plugin, confirm that your DAW routes MPE correctly to the plugin and that your controller's pitch-bend range matches the synth's setting; a mismatch is the most common reason bends sound too wide or too narrow. Our MPE hosting checklist walks through the usual pitfalls. The developer lists macOS and Windows support, with App Store distribution for Apple devices.

If you already own an MPE controller and want an inexpensive, no-nonsense analog voice, Tupos MPE Subtractive is worth a look. You can find details and downloads on the official product page.