Massive X 1.6.1 update (September 2025)!

[WasteLand]

mmmmmh, i am thinking of buying the komplete 12 update, just for massive x (and the price difference is next to nothing, and kontakt 6 is worth it, and sell my mod pack..), and when komplete 13 ultimate comes, buy that one. and let go of the komplete 12 update.. for a nice price, it is used, so...
via jrrshop, the price, for an EU citizen is pretty good.

but demo first! and i have a already a lot!!!

[chk071]

Massive X was a big motivation for me to get Komplete 12, so, yeah, definitely worth the consideration.

[pixel85]

Same for me: upgrade to 12 for MX. No regrets, especially that it's the only good addition in the update

[recursive one]

Updated to 1.3 and also downloaded some free presets floating over here. Now MX scans all presets on each startup and takes few minutes to load

is this normal?

On the bight side, I figured out how to make cool hypersaws, take the Susaw wavetable and modulate the WT position with a fast LFO. The faster is the LFO and the wider is the modulation range, the more detuned it will be. You can then add global unison if you want stereo spread (pretty much like Virus TI).

[chk071]

On the bight side, I figured out how to make cool hypersaws, take the Susaw wavetable and modulate the WT position with a fast LFO. The faster is the LFO and the wider is the modulation range, the more detuned it will be. You can then add global unison if you want stereo spread (pretty much like Virus TI).

I just tried that. Pretty neat, and a good way to save some CPU, because it only needs 2 global unison voices. It sometimes phases a bit, and there also send to be a bit of cancelling when the wavetable is modulated, if my ears don't deceive me. Sounds very nice though.

Thanks for the tip.

The 6 unison voices can be a bit limiting with these supersaw/hypersaw sounds, so, that's a good way to get them.

[chk071]

Interestingly, when you use a free running or synced LFO, you won't have the same "detuning" across the note range. You need to set the LFO to oscillator to get the same "detuning" for every note that way. Not quite sure what is the reason for that.

[EvilDragon]

It's because the modulation rate needs to track pitch in order to have the "detune ratio" (mimicked by WT position modulation) constant no matter which key you play. LFO in oscillator mode automatically tracks pitch.

[chk071]

Yep, that's gotta be it. I guess what's hard for me to grasp is how the LFO rate and the modulation of the wavetable correlate. I assume it has to do with the oscillator phase (time) changing with the note pitch.

[SiloCybin]

I use this synth all the time and I had to check a picture of the interface to remember which knobs are black... I see "Level" or "Pan" above the knob. That is the important information.

Me too! I had to pull up a picture of the gui. I use it with the dark color scheme so my knobs are all black and gray. Are people seriously complaining about the look of a vst versus the sound and capabilities?!?! Graphic designers shouldn't be music producers, they never get anything done. Instead they just bitch about "the look"!

[SiloCybin]

If you're having trouble finding knobs and sliders in Massive X while doing sound design then you need to retake sound synthesis 101.

[chk071]

It's a ego thing. "Look, I can do so much better than the industry leader. Those incompetent idiots."

[midi_transmission]

The GUI is a complete mess.
It's pretty clear to be me that - this being somewhat om a semi-modular synth- that they were inspired by the hardware modular world where you often combine modules from different brands resulting in a complete mess.

But this is one synth; not a set of hardware modules that are thrown together.
No sense making it into a complete mess then. Bad choice.

As mentioned separation issues, contrast issues but also knob handling issues, (computer) mouse handling issues, bad use of real estate, illogical topology, gestalt rules of perception completely neglected, almost no regard for colorblind guidelines, the list just goes on and on...

The Massive X GUI is visually pleasing if considered as art... but as a functional GUI it's not well designed. Definitely form over function. As previously mentioned, the LFO's are one example of that. The whole circle thing is complicated and takes up a lot of space and at the same time is not very capable or flexible. It's like someone thought it was cool looking.

MX requires more mouse clicking than any synth I have. Everywhere are little menus. For example on a default Osc there is Forward, Polarity+ and Int On... all 3 of them are 2 option menus instead of toggle switches. So they each require 2 clicks instead of one. LFO sync on off is also a menu. and so on.

And everything is mouse clicks... no mousewheel support so you cannot hover over one of those 2 option menus and switch, no support for arrow keys in menus or the preset or wavetable browsers.

This: The Massive X GUI is visually pleasing if considered as art.

I have to highlight it as much as I can. It's one of the big problems in GUI design since some years. Not only in plugins. I think one problem is that graphics designer are hired to design the GUI and UX nowadays and they see it from their perspective. Create a shiny look. But it's often a pain to use. It's often as bad as in the old days when the nerds did them. The only difference: it looks shiny.

[chk071]

I'd even agree with that. The big question is whether or not you can't just cope with it, instead of discussing it to death on internet forums. I can cope with it. It's a head thing, I guess.

[midi_transmission]

My post was not about Massive X in paticular, but about GUI design.

[Buckster]

I have tried some of the Rush and Scene expansion (bought them cheap with NI vouchers) and have to say this synth just impresses me more and more

So versatile and dynamic and somehow pure sounding

Some of the Trance, Supersaw and Analogue style presets are best I've heard