The initial idea for Blade was born out of the want to have more ‘human input’ into the sound. The classic synthesizer parts for modulation are LFOs and Envelopes. The ‘human input’ is the keyboard we play and controllers like pitch bend or modulation wheel. A XY pad is perfect for the human input, but it controls only the filter and volume... We found this to be too limited. We wanted also to control the ‘harmonics’ of the oscillator...changing the waveform using the XY pad.

Out of this idea, Blade was born...

At the heart of BLADE, lies the Harmolator. This special oscillator system uses 9 global controls which change the harmonic content (partials) of the waveform.
The Harmolator allows oscillator spreading, fattening the sound and also square / sine wave sub-oscillator. What's more, the sound can be modified further by the 21 per-voice distortions types and 14 filter types.Blade offers total control of the sound over time using an array of different modulation controls.
The most significant of Blade is the central XY screen. Here you can either alter things directly by moving the cursor around, or you can record paths which can be replayed.The recorded path can be looped, bi-directional looped and tempo based as well. Even the speed of the XY recording can be modulated for dynamic changes!
So the XY pad is also an incredibly advanced “human input” modulation source. Furthermore, Blade has the full range of other modulation sources, including a dedicated envelope, LFO and velocity as modulation source for Harmolator controls.
Two FX units featuring all the FX from other Rob Papen products, plus the Arp / Sequencer and an Easy page which allows you to easily control sounds, all add up to an amazingly flexible and useful instrument at the cutting edge of today's synthesizers!

First released in 2005 BLUE already reflected Rob Papen’s cutting-edge, creative, and — most importantly — 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 to create one seriously creative combination. Rob Papen himself 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 beating at its musically creative heart. These can be connected in various ways, together with two analogue-style modelled stereo filters with 27 different filter types, an enormous range of processing and modulation options, sequencer, and an incredibly 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!
 
Moreover, BLUE-II takes the useful XY pad features from its popular virtual instrument sibling Blade — a cutting-edge additive synthesis powerhouse with a human touch — and transplants them into its own equally extraordinary 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 phenomenally powerful virtual instrument to behold.
 
But BLUE-II is also easy to use, thanks to its user-friendly user interface and an innovative Easy Edit page for speedy sound changes, while the Bank Manager allows whistle-stop navigation through thousands of inspirational Rob Papen presets and artist sound banks covering a wide range of musical styles.
 
BLUE-II represents an amazing journey into ‘Cross-fusion synthesis’ and, quite simply, sounds stunning