Rob Papen has officially launched eXplorer-11, the newest version of its long-running plug-in bundle, now packing 36 instruments and effects plus optional legacy titles. The headline additions this time are RAW-Kick 2 and FilterField — two tools clearly aimed at producers who spend serious time shaping drums, textures, and movement inside a mix.
RAW-Kick 2 takes the original hardcore-focused kick designer and pushes it much further into full-on sound design territory. The plug-in now runs a three-layer engine where each layer can be a dedicated kick synth model or a sample-based source with WAV and AIFF import. There’s also a granular mode that lets you reshape the length and size of samples in real time, which opens up way more experimental territory than your average kick tool.
The redesigned MAIN page makes workflow faster, letting you blend layers, swap presets, and tweak core parameters without getting lost in menus. Once you dive deeper, there’s a huge amount going on: harmonic waveform drawing, 48 filter types, dual FX chains, 25 distortion models, modulation, EQ stages, multi-stage envelopes, and Rob Papen’s signature Ribbon Controller with tempo-synced spring-back movement. It feels built for producers who want kicks that cut through hard techno, hardcore, DnB, EDM, or industrial mixes without relying on static samples.
FilterField heads in a different direction, focusing on movement and modulation. The plug-in combines four filter modules with 32 analogue-modelled filter types, including combs, phasers, EQs, frequency modulation, ring modulation, and feedback filters. The standout feature is the XY morphing workflow, where filters can smoothly move between each other while morphing multiple parameters at once.
You can run filters in parallel or serial modes, record XY movements, add tempo-sync modulation, and even use audio followers for sidechain-style effects. Add the dedicated distortion section with 21 distortion types and FilterField quickly becomes more than just another filter plug-in — it’s closer to a motion-focused sound mangler for synths, drums, loops, and transitions.
eXplorer-11 also adds fresh presets for Predator-3, Punch-2, and WirePluck, alongside the massive existing Rob Papen catalogue.
The bundle is available now for €499/$499 in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows.