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Rob papen's Blue: a truly versatile synthesizer

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Though they're by no means poor, it could be argued that the presets don't quite make the most of the massive engine that sits behind them.

These are good sounds – some of them are excellent – but there's little here that you won't have heard before in the likes of Z3TA+, FM7 and Papen's own Albino.

The synth only comes into its own when you immerse yourself in it, and this is where Jon Ayres (Papen's partner on the Blue project) comes in. Ayres has designed Blue so that you can easily get your head around the myriad creative possibilities that it offers.

The six oscillators take pride of place, and underneath them are the two filters. It's Blue's LCD-type screen that's most noteworthy, though: each of the buttons above it reveals a single page of options, so it's easy to access all of Blue's functions and, more importantly, adjust them graphically.

It's a great system – one that enables you to see exactly how a sound 'works' – and ultimately, it makes programming Blue a lot easier than it should be when you consider its specifications.

So who is Blue aimed at? Well, given that it contains all of those different synthesis types and easy-to-use functions, it could be seen as something of a 'best of' synth.

However, although you can generate all of the sounds that are associated with its numerous synthesis options, Blue does perhaps lack the personality of some of its more specialist cousins.

If you're looking for a 'do everything' workhorse, this is a fairly decent option, but if you want to unlock Blue's true potential, you'll need to travel a long way beyond the presets and explore it in much more depth.