Rob Papen releases Blue-II

Rob Papen Soundware has announced availability of BLUE-II, an all-new reworking of its BLUE soft synth for Mac OS X (10.6 or higher) and Windows (Vista, 7, and 8).

First released in 2005, after namesake company founder and sound designer Rob Papen formed the RPCX (Rob Papen ConcreteFX) partnership with music software developer Jon Ayers, BLUE reflected Rob Papen's cutting-edge, creative, and musical approach towards developing virtual instruments by first delivering FM and subtractive synthesis, then duly adding Phase Distortion and wave shaping synthesis into the highly creative mix. Rob Papen called it 'Cross-fusion synthesis' since it covered so much musical ground so effectively.

Today BLUE-II remains true to that ethos with even more sound dimensions and features to its extended name, starting with six oscillators. These can be connected in various ways, together with two analogue-style modelled stereo filters with 27 different filter types, a large range of processing and modulation options, sequencer, and a powerful arpeggiator. A new range of specially selected waveforms based on samples have been meticulously fashioned for creating new and fresh-sounding synth sounds, so don't go expecting acoustic pianos galore here. However, since choirs and strings are an excellent basis for so many synth sounds BLUE-II has them in abundance — with much more besides.

BLUE-II takes the useful XY pad features from its virtual instrument sibling Blade and transplants them into its own workflow... perfect for time-based sound movements and vector pad-type sounds. Complemented by four top-quality FX processors, each offering 35 FX types, BLUE-II is a powerful virtual instrument.

But BLUE-II is also easy to use, thanks to its user-friendly user interface and an Easy Edit page for speedy sound changes, while the Bank Manager allows whistle-stop navigation through thousands of Rob Papen presets and artist sound banks covering a wide range of musical styles.

Pricing & Availability

BLUE-II can be purchased as a boxed version from authorised Rob Papen dealers worldwide for €149.00 (including VAT/tax) / $179.00 or downloaded directly from Rob Papen here: www.robpapen.com/buy-blue-2

Upgrades are also available as follows:

• BLUE owners can upgrade to BLUE-II for €44.00 / $49.00.
• eXplorer II bundle owners can upgrade to the still-to-be-released eXplorer III, which will include BLUE-II and also the upcoming Punch-BD virtual instrument, for €44.00 / $49.00.

eXplorer II owners can also request a 'temporary' BLUE-II serial number if planning to upgrade to eXplorer III when released, while anyone who purchased eXplorer II in 2014 will qualify for a free Explorer III upgrade and can also request a 'temporary' BLUE-II serial number.