Massive X 1.6.1 update (September 2025)!

[audiouser720]

Polyphonic or not, NI Blocks is the best sounding, best looking and most creative virtual software modular. Not recognising and prioritising the potential is a big mistake IMHO

[jules99]

You might have misread. NI is planning to create VST versions of some of their most popular Reaktor ensembles like Monark. So far, no mention of users / Reaktor ensemble creators being able to do the same.

It is the logical conclusion, though. And not an entirely crazy one, if you ask me.

But wouldn't allowing ensemble creators create VST versions of their Reaktor ensembles lead to a nightmare of licensing woes due to the restrictions of Steinberg's licensing policy?

[Starbright]

Then what if they switch to CLAP?

[Teksonik]

As far as the "big update to a much-loved synth product" is concerned, I wouldn't be surprised if that "synth product" was FM8.

That would be the only NI synth (that I own) I would care to see updated if for nothing else to add modern GUI size options so I don't have to put my nose on the monitor just to see it.

But I very seriously doubt I would pay for such an update unless there were some other serious additions. I was a huge fan of FM synthesis back in the 80's but not so much now and of course I have other options like Blue 3 and Sytrus. However, being able to bring FM8 back into my working arsenal wouldn't be a bad thing. It's been pretty accurate in importing my old DX7 patches whenever I need a blast of nostalgia.

Same for Absynth, any update would have to blow me away at a price that I couldn't resist. I have little faith either of those conditions will be met let alone both. I sold my license on many years ago and never looked back. But maybe that is the "much beloved" synth product they're working on.

The following text seems to indicate NI is more concerned about making things easier rather than making them better synths so any major improvement to synthesis capabilities doesn't seem likely. "While Massive X sounds amazing, it can be hard to use. Our killer product design team threw themselves at this problem, and later this year we’ll be introducing a new Massive X Player view for finding and expressively shaping sounds in a fast, simplified way".

I don't find Massive X difficult to use, I find it to be lacking features that I want and need.

Anyway, all we can do is wait and see what happens. It will either make us happy, make us mad, or fill us with apathy.....

[GeneralQ]

I am actually one of the people that really likes MassiveX. I think it sounds great and can do some cool things. I would be hyped for an update and potentially even willing to pay for one. But not if that update is a player view. That's just wasted potential. But I'll stay optimistic. Maybe they add some features beyond a player view.

[catamorphism]

I think there's a lot of people who like MX. It's just that there are a lot of very vocal people on the internet who in fact don't know how to use most of these synths we are talking about and are just either regurgitating what they heard on YT or simply talking out of their ass.

[Aloysius]

That sounds painful.

[Starbright]

I think a player view would be great if the get a better overview of the adsr section and the modulation capabilities. But that's just me. I am actually thrilled to see an easier view in MX

[audiouser720]

It desperately needs a nice sequencer ala Pigments 6. That performer of an excuse oh my. Also would be nice a sort of one knob analoguiser / vintagiser / drift random thingy, so you don’t have to always meticulously program for more analogue behaviour goodness. Even better would be proper analogue modelled oscillators on the top of the wavetables, just like in Pigments again. Yeah basically I want Pigman with MX sound

[sunthief01]

I also really love both Massive X and Reaktor blocks.

On the Blocks front, Toybox audio has made some insane blocks packages over the years, some of which do have polyphonic blocks - oscilattors, envelopes, filters etc. So it can be done! The Atomic. pack in particular is just ridiculously powerful and capable, check out cinningbao's YouTube tutorials...

Re: Massive X - it is one of my top synths but a play view is not something I would ever use. I don't use it in Pigments. I don't even need the modulation animations folks clamor for necessarily - but making the functions available to the DAW and thus midi assignment is a MUST. It is insane to me that this feature was never released. And of course would welcome new modules and user wavetables - the latter of which honestly sends me to Icarus more often than MX at this point.

[EvilDragon]

User wavetables in MX are extremely unlikely to happen, for reasons stated earlier in the thread.

[poonna]

It desperately needs a nice sequencer ala Pigments 6. That performer of an excuse oh my. Also would be nice a sort of one knob analoguiser / vintagiser / drift random thingy, so you don’t have to always meticulously program for more analogue behaviour goodness. Even better would be proper analogue modelled oscillators on the top of the wavetables, just like in Pigments again. Yeah basically I want Pigman with MX sound

I agree. I would really love to have one knob vintage/drift thing and analog oscillators — perhaps with continuous shape like UAD Opal.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Massive X Player view I bet will be like one of those Kontakt NKS libraries with a nice big picture covering most of the space (perhaps of a keyboard with too many black or white keys) and then two pages of 8 big macro knobs. Because that will be way easier than finding those darned 16 macros in the synth UI!

[digitalboytn]

I still think that it's the original Massive that's going to get some tweaks

[Aloysius]

OnePingOnly Professional.