Massive X 1.6.1 update (September 2025)!
- KVRian
- 932 posts since 23 May, 2010
I see this thread resurface from time to time and it’s seems that many users here want to love it but the current feature set and workflow holds them back.
I understand many of gripes about Massive X workflow and features BUT if you’re into sound design, and spend some more time with this synth, you will be rewarded greatly. This thing is nothing short of spectacular! It sounds great and it’s capable of creating the most bizzare, complex, alien sounds I encountered so far during my sound design journey. It can sound beatiful and it can sound very nasty (in a good way) and it works very well in my trailer/cinematic music production. Also, whenever I’m bored or stuck in sound design with other stuff I get back to Massive X and it always brings back the flame, it’s very inspiring.
I’m pretty ok with the workflow. What I would like the most is a support for third party packs in the browser. Poly Performers would be nice to have but not a deal breaker, taking into account what can be done with it already.
I hope NI will keep developing this one because it’s a real gem.
I understand many of gripes about Massive X workflow and features BUT if you’re into sound design, and spend some more time with this synth, you will be rewarded greatly. This thing is nothing short of spectacular! It sounds great and it’s capable of creating the most bizzare, complex, alien sounds I encountered so far during my sound design journey. It can sound beatiful and it can sound very nasty (in a good way) and it works very well in my trailer/cinematic music production. Also, whenever I’m bored or stuck in sound design with other stuff I get back to Massive X and it always brings back the flame, it’s very inspiring.
I’m pretty ok with the workflow. What I would like the most is a support for third party packs in the browser. Poly Performers would be nice to have but not a deal breaker, taking into account what can be done with it already.
I hope NI will keep developing this one because it’s a real gem.
Last edited by spektralisk on Mon Aug 19, 2024 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
https://spektralisk.com/products | Sound libraries for: Massive X, Pigments, Vital, Razor, Kontour and more | Free sounds → Sound Flux
- KVRAF
- 37383 posts since 14 Sep, 2002 from In teh net
Couldn’t agree more, for me the 3 key improvements would be to add Poly aftertouch or ideally also MPE, poly performers and user bank authoringspektralisk wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2024 2:07 pm I see this thread resurface from time to time and it’s seems that many users here want to love it but the current feature set and workflow holds them back.
I understand many of gripes about Massive X workflow and features BUT if you’re into sound design and spend some more time with this synth you will be rewarded greatly. This thing is nothing short of spectacular! It sounds great and it’s capable of creating the most bizzare, complex, alien sounds I encountered so far during my sound design journey. It can sound beatiful and it can sound very nasty (in a good way) and it works very well in my trailer/cinematic music production. Also, whenever I’m bored or stuck in sound design with other stuff I get back to Massive X and it always brings back the flame, it’s very inspiring.
I’m pretty ok with the workflow. What I would like the most is a support for third party packs in the browser. Poly Performers would be nice to have but not a deal breaker, taking into account what can be done with it already.
I hope NI will keep developing this one because it’s a real gem.
- KVRAF
- 3812 posts since 20 Apr, 2005
It definitely does have that huge alien weird timbre and thing going on. And it all sounds great.spektralisk wrote: Wed Aug 14, 2024 2:07 pm if you’re into sound design and spend some more time with this synth you will be rewarded greatly. This thing is nothing short of spectacular! It sounds great and it’s capable of creating the most bizzare, complex, alien sounds I encountered so far during my sound design journey. It can sound beatiful and it can sound very nasty (in a good way) and it works very well in my trailer/cinematic music production. Also, whenever I’m bored or stuck in sound design with other stuff I get back to Massive X and it always brings back the flame, it’s very inspiring.
It definitely can take you on a journey into odd sounds.
I sometimes struggle a bit to get what I want on more simple bread and butter sounds - it does have a very clean pristine sound, and seems to lean into harder distortion types. When it works though it's great, and I often get better, if slightly different, sounds than I hoped.
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- KVRian
- 1407 posts since 1 Jul, 2023
It just has the most pristine FM sound, and the filter fm just sounds so smooth- unlike Serum or other syths which sort of break up with filter fm, MX has this wide sweet spot and the sound can remain really characterful and coherent even when sweeping cut-off quite liberally. Did that as a source for PM on oscillator 2, alien craft came racing in from distant stars.
- KVRian
- 1493 posts since 7 Jun, 2021
Has somebody a tipp where to look at sound presets ? (commercial)
i´m NOT into EDM !
Sounds like you would do with the new Microwave 1 plugin.
Synthetic sounds. More on the E-Piano side of things for example.
And anyway kind of percussive physical modelling / karplus strong type of stuff.
But Synths, not percussion.
In short:
Anything nice for hand-playing.
Synth-workstation type of sounds.
Tipps ?
i´m NOT into EDM !
Sounds like you would do with the new Microwave 1 plugin.
Synthetic sounds. More on the E-Piano side of things for example.
And anyway kind of percussive physical modelling / karplus strong type of stuff.
But Synths, not percussion.
In short:
Anything nice for hand-playing.
Synth-workstation type of sounds.
Tipps ?
"Plugin has turned Drug now"....and the business knows it.
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- KVRAF
- 2056 posts since 13 Dec, 2016
After the Komplete 15 release, Massive X still can't map a single parameter to MIDI?
Its over for Bitwig--CUBASE WON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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- KVRAF
- 5573 posts since 30 May, 2006 from Hollow Earth
It's the only synth I regret no buying when it was super discounted...
ABEFLGMOPPRRST 
- KVRAF
- 8037 posts since 28 Dec, 2015 from Atlantis Island
ABEFLMOPPRRST
https://sonograyn.bandcamp.com/music Experimental Ambient
https://martinjuenke.bandcamp.com/music Alternative Instrumental
https://martinjuenke.bandcamp.com/music Alternative Instrumental
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- KVRAF
- 5573 posts since 30 May, 2006 from Hollow Earth
That one is not as good as Massive X
ABEFLGMOPPRRST 
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- KVRian
- 1407 posts since 1 Jul, 2023
I don't share much of the criticism toward MX but I just wish the oscillators could be panned independently. The track delay module could do some really nice wide haas stuff if one could pan the bloody oscillators.
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- KVRAF
- 3232 posts since 21 May, 2010
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- KVRAF
- 1689 posts since 7 Dec, 2017
Those presets are for the old Massive, not Massive X. It's a completely different synth, the Massive presets don't work with Massive X.havran wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 12:42 am I hope it's okay to link this deal here:
https://www.lootaudio.com/category/bund ... oid-bundle
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- KVRAF
- 3232 posts since 21 May, 2010
Oh! Good point. I completely missed the "X" in the thread's subject line.seangm wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 1:20 amThose presets are for the old Massive, not Massive X. It's a completely different synth, the Massive presets don't work with Massive X.havran wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 12:42 am I hope it's okay to link this deal here:
https://www.lootaudio.com/category/bund ... oid-bundle
