Audio to MPE · Pro Tools 2026.11

Every note's vibrato, as MPE, from a recording.

Pro Tools now plays MPE, but its per-note curves come from an MPE controller or are drawn in by hand.

TONIQ reads them from the audio. A guitar's chords with vibrato, a string section, a whole band: each note leaves with its own bends, for DAWs and synths that read MPE.

Download TONIQ What Pro adds

From a recording to MPE in Pro Tools.

  1. 1

    Drop the recording onto TONIQ

    Pick Polyphonic: for guitar, keys and strings, and it reads a whole band's notes too.

  2. 2

    Turn Vibrato on

    TONIQ writes each note's vibrato and bends into the MIDI. Where a bending note sounds together with others, each note gets its own MIDI channel: that is MPE.

  3. 3

    Export the MIDI file

    TONIQ states the bend range in the file: two semitones for an MPE take.

  4. 4

    Import it into Pro Tools 2026.11

    File › Import › MIDI, and tick "Interpret multichannel tracks as MPE" (it is off by default). The take arrives as one track and one clip, each note's curve in the per-note pitch bend lane.

  5. 5

    Play it on an MPE synth

    Avid's SynthCell plays it with no MPE switch to set. Route the MIDI track to it and set its pitch bend range to 2, to match the file.

What each DAW does with the file.

The same TONIQ file, imported and played back on 4 November 2026. We list only what we have tried.

DAW What happened
Pro Tools 2026.11One MPE clip. Each note bends on its own: beside a note with vibrato, a held note moved 0 cents (SynthCell).
FL Studio 2026No MPE import. FL splits the file by MIDI channel into one instrument per channel, and each note keeps its own vibrato.
Ableton Live 11Merges every channel's bends into one clip envelope, so one note's vibrato moves every note. Use it for a single line, where TONIQ writes plain bends.

Audio to MPE: questions.

What is MPE? +
MIDI Polyphonic Expression. Ordinary MIDI has one pitch bend per channel, so bending one note of a chord bends them all. MPE puts each sounding note on a channel of its own, so every note can carry its own vibrato, bend and pressure.
Do I need an MPE controller? +
Not with TONIQ. Pro Tools records MPE from an MPE controller, or you draw each note's curves by hand. TONIQ writes them from the recording: the vibrato and bends the player or singer actually made, note by note.
Why did my file come out as ordinary pitch bend, not MPE? +
Because one channel was enough. TONIQ writes MPE only where a note bends while another sounds. A sung line or a single-note solo comes out as plain pitch bend on one channel, which DAWs that read pitch bend play as it is.
The bends sound far too wide. Why? +
The synth is ignoring the bend range written in the file and using its own, often 48 semitones for MPE. Set the synth's pitch bend range to what the file states: 2 semitones for an MPE take (TONIQ writes 12 only for a sung line with wide glides, on one channel) and the notes land in tune.
Does it work in Pro Tools Intro? +
Pro Tools Intro 2026.11 imports the MPE clip the same way. SynthCell, Avid's synth that played it in our test, comes with the paid Pro Tools tiers.
Is it free? +
Vibrato and bends on every take, and MPE with them, are TONIQ Pro: $129 once, after a 14-day trial. A vocal keeps its bends for free in Vocal mode. Audio to MIDI itself is free for good.
Which DAWs did you test? +
Pro Tools 2026.11, FL Studio 2026 and Ableton Live 11, on 4 November 2026. We have not tested Live 12, Logic Pro, Cubase, REAPER or Bitwig Studio yet, and the page will say what we find when we do.

The rest of the MIDI: TONIQ in your DAW. Pro Tools and SynthCell are Avid's, FL Studio is Image-Line's, Ableton Live is Ableton's; INSEKTIQ is not affiliated with any of them.