Expression via hardware before MPE required programming automated movement manually
From almost the time of their birth, artists and musicians have viewed synths as less an instrument with which to master, and more a field of research in which to explore. Carving out new realms of previously undiscovered sonics, evolving textures and bubbling arpeggiations is part and parcel of using a synth. While a big boon of the controllers we’re highlighting is how they can better mirror the intricate articulation of real-world, acoustic instruments, when used in a synth context, multi-timbral control explodes and expands what both analogue and digital synths are typically able to do.
Prior to the advent of MPE, expression via hardware synths required programming automated movement manually. Applying modulation and pitch bend meant taking one hand of the keyboard and using it to oscillate their respective wheels. Put simply, using a synth to react with spontaneous nuance was nigh-on impossible. With MIDI Polyphonic Expression’s level of per-note control and responsiveness, the limitations of basic up/ down and velocity control that was previously the synth’s ceiling is shattered.
The hard facts