Fred’s Lab Töörö mkII: the six-voice hybrid polysynth returns with MPE

Fred’s Lab is bringing back its Töörö, a compact six-voice desktop polysynth, as a mkII revision. Frédéric Meslin’s German company had pulled the first version when some parts became unobtainable; the mkII replaces them and reworks the sound engine along the way. Shipping started on 12 October 2026, according to the official product page.

What the mkII changes

The Töörö is still a hybrid, what Fred’s Lab calls a “digilog” synth: digital oscillators feeding a real analog filter on every voice. Six voices are shared across four multitimbral parts (four different sounds at once, each on its own MIDI channel). For what that number really means, see our piece on polyphonic, paraphonic and monophonic voice counts.

• 16-bit oscillators: the spec sheet promises a “drastically improved” noise floor and much less zipper noise (the small audible steps you hear when turning a control).
• White noise and a ring modulator added to each voice: the ring modulator multiplies oscillator 1 by oscillator 2, for metallic and bell-like tones.
• Balanced main outputs on 6.35 mm jacks, thanks to a reworked PCB, a new internal power supply and better op-amps.
• MPE mode: the synth can switch from multitimbral mode to a two-zone MPE mode. MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) gives every note its own expression, on three axes, with a compatible controller.

Inside one voice

Each voice has two wavetable oscillators with morphing, two-operator linear phase modulation (a sine oscillator modulates the other’s phase, the principle behind FM) and sync. The signal goes through a digital shaper, then through the in-house FL A847 filter, a 12 dB/octave analog low-pass that can self-oscillate and saturate. Two ADSR envelopes with a hold stage and two LFOs with their own AD envelope drive an 8-slot modulation matrix. If ADSR is new to you, our guide to setting an ADSR envelope walks through all four stages.

At the output, a 12-bit stereo multi-FX offers several modulated delays. There is also a syncable arpeggiator, and memory for 100 presets and 10 multis.

Connections and form factor

The interface stays minimal: four encoders and a printed panel that doubles as a parameter map. This is not a knob-per-function synth; Fred’s Lab offers an online editor for its other synth, the Manatee, but the Töörö mkII page does not mention one.

Who is it for?

Players who want genuine polyphony with analog filters in a box that fits in a laptop bag and runs on USB power. Multitimbral mode turns it into a small sound module for a hardware sequencer or a DAW, and MPE mode will appeal to anyone with an expressive controller. It is not the best first synth for learning synthesis, though: with no keyboard and no direct-access panel, programming goes through button combinations (see our guide your first synth: analog, digital or hybrid?).

How much?

Fred’s Lab’s own shop lists the Töörö mkII at €419.33 before tax, or €499 including German VAT (the final price follows the VAT of the delivery country). It is hand-assembled in Germany and ships with a printed quick-start guide and a USB cable. At the time of writing, the maker’s shop shows a single unit left from the first batch and a restock date of 15 January 2027.

What does it compete with?

• Korg minilogue xd module: only four voices, but two analog VCOs plus a digital engine per voice, and a built-in 16-step sequencer. Fewer voices, more hands-on controls.
• Modal Argon8M: eight wavetable voices in a desktop format, but fully digital filtering. More polyphony, no analog filter.

The Töörö mkII stands out with an analog filter per voice, two-zone MPE and USB power. It loses out on hands-on control (four encoders) and has no step sequencer.

Official demo

Fred’s Lab has not yet posted a mkII-specific video. The official walkthrough of the oscillator section dates from the first generation, whose architecture the mkII keeps:

Full specs and shop: fredslab.net. More recent polysynths are in our polyphonic synthesizers section.