Massive X 1.6.1 update (September 2025)!

[swilow11]

ah, sorry...the email from NI just said "free Massive X," not some "player" version...what on Earth is that, some scaled down version? (Note: if it just means less presets, IMO BFD)

You should edit your post because it's very misleading now.

And the email clearly states that Massive X Player is what's free. The email title is "Get Massive X Player for free". I know it sucks that you can't get outrages about something but reality is reality.

[concealed identity]

The player reminds me of molekular.
I like that they fixed the annoying spacebar bug, that would switch presets and wavetables instead of start/stop transport.
Hope they keep upgrading the synth.

Reminds you of Molekular in what sense?

Probably the X-Y pad animations

[starflakeprj]

ah, sorry...the email from NI just said "free Massive X," not some "player" version...what on Earth is that, some scaled down version? (Note: if it just means less presets, IMO BFD)

The email said "Get Massive X Player for free", FYI.

[aMUSEd]

It'll be 2 years in October since they shipped controllers with polyphonic aftertouch and have done nothing to make their software support it.

Yes for me this is the most annoying thing. I don't want to keep having to manually switch my keyboard to Mono aftertouch just to play Massive X. Most plugins these days just use either type of aftertouch without requiring a hardware switch - for example Pigments just has 'aftertouch' modulation that accepts both poly and mono sources - whatever is available.

[Vortifex]

Haven't installed it yet. Do I understand correctly that the light mode theme has been removed?

No, it's still there. The patch notes were confusing and at first I thought the light mode had been removed as well.

[SLiC]

It'll be 2 years in October since they shipped controllers with polyphonic aftertouch and have done nothing to make their software support it.

Yes for me this is the most annoying thing. I don't want to keep having to manually switch my keyboard to Mono aftertouch just to play Massive X. Most plugins these days just use either type of aftertouch without requiring a hardware switch - for example Pigments just has 'aftertouch' modulation that accepts both poly and mono sources - whatever is available.

100% - I have Osmose + PUSH 3 plus a S88MK3...its just seems do weird not having MPE (let alone polyAT) on such a powerful and 'animated' synth. NI made such a fuss about launching PolyAT keyboards then followed up with almost nothing (a few Kontakt instruments) it makes no sense, one helps sell the other. Anyway- I have decided to be optimistic (based on this update) and tell myself its just around the corner...it certainly feels like mapping their own hardware to their own software should be relatively easy and a priority (S MK3s Machine, ehem... )

[GaryG]

Haven't installed it yet. Do I understand correctly that the light mode theme has been removed?

The actual synth page is exactly the same as before theme-wise, the new Play page is dark. Maybe there's new options to change that but haven't dug that deep yet.

[GaryG]

Regular Massive X price - $199. On sale now for $99.50

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... massive-x/


I've got Komplete, but that Komplete Start bundle is excellent for someone who's new to N.I.

The fact they've given those bundles away in different places (owners of certain hardware, whatever the 'email' giveaway was a few months back etc) means Marketplace always has licenses up for grabs for peanuts. Massive X, Battery and a whole load of libraries you may never install for $10 (example) is crazy.

[yhvh]

Regular Massive X price - $199. On sale now for $99.50

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... massive-x/

That price is a joke...I got Massive, Absynth, and FM8 all for $50 a year or so ago, and based on what I'm hearing from people who had both, it's debatable which is better between Massive and Massive X.

fwiw i’ve noticed a lot of the people making that claim about massive/x tend to be those that watched the way native instruments shit the bed with the release of massive x and it turned them off to the point they never really gave it a chance. NI dropped the ball for sure back then so i don’t blame anyone for that but imo MX is 10x the instrument massive is. it’s silly that they share a name at all though, the only real similarity between them is that they’re wavetable based. my main issue with mx once the bugs were ironed out was the ui/workflow can feel a bit awkward and nonsensical, but as i’ve used it more and more i find myself actually appreciating a lot of it. it’s not perfect and it can be annoying having to click back and forth to different sections, but it’s also a more ambitious synth than most so there probably isn’t a perfect solution to the UI that wouldn’t sacrifice features anyway. i do tend to prefer its workflow to the original massive. all that said, what’s most important to me is that massive x sounds so much better than essentially all of its competition and it’s amazing for its sound design possibilities. i use phase plant as my go to because of how quickly i can design what i need (mx is my #2 though), as mx isnt really efficient as a bread a butter type synth for simple patches. but if you invest the time in it, the quality is second to none. i’ve owned massive x for a few years now and my appreciation for it steadily climbs the more i use it, and i regularly find new uses for it. meanwhile i can’t remember the last time i felt the need to open massive up. i certainly don’t feel like massive is in any way an adequate sub for what massive x brings to the table, i would just encourage anyone to be patient early on with it.

[noiseboyuk]

ah, sorry...the email from NI just said "free Massive X," not some "player" version...what on Earth is that, some scaled down version? (Note: if it just means less presets, IMO BFD)

You should edit your post because it's very misleading now.

And the email clearly states that Massive X Player is what's free. The email title is "Get Massive X Player for free". I know it sucks that you can't get outrages about something but reality is reality.

In today's world of disinformation this admittedly probably doesn't crack the top 5. But mixguy2, if you change the title of the OP it will reflect in the title everyone sees in the thread menu.

No excuse not to do it really, or else this thread deserves a lock / deletion.

[bnz]

Does anyone here know how to repair this situation:
1) Tried to update using native access, it stated installation failed
2) Tried to uninstall massive x in order to reinstall, uninstall failed with some error message I forgot. Massive X isn't listed any more under Programs (Windows 11)
3) Massive X is still listed as installed in native access
4) when i try to reinstall from there, the installation still fails.
5) when I grab the downloaded zip before the installation fails and try to install the download by hand, the installer states that No previous installation was found and that I should run the full product installer. However, I can't get the full product installer as native access still thinks I have it installed.

The NI chatbot is unfortunately going in circles with this.

Edit: reinstall now seems to work after reboot. Loving this nonsense.

[db3]

What's confusing is there are loads of You-tuber 'experts' now promoting free Massive X Player but are showing the Massive X edit page — and giving the impression you can edit presets. I suspect the edit page will be some sort of upgrade for Player owners. On the NI Player product page it shows the play screen as per the full version which includes an 'edit' tab, but they don't show what happens when you click 'edit' in Player.

To add to the confusion, I don't see Massive X Player in NI Native Access to download and check, even though I added it to my account — not sure whether is because I already have full Massive X. Go figure.

[swilow11]

ah, sorry...the email from NI just said "free Massive X," not some "player" version...what on Earth is that, some scaled down version? (Note: if it just means less presets, IMO BFD)

You should edit your post because it's very misleading now.

And the email clearly states that Massive X Player is what's free. The email title is "Get Massive X Player for free". I know it sucks that you can't get outrages about something but reality is reality.

In today's world of disinformation this admittedly probably doesn't crack the top 5. But mixguy2, if you change the title of the OP it will reflect in the title everyone sees in the thread menu.

No excuse not to do it really, or else this thread deserves a lock / deletion.

Indeed, not even in the top 1.8million. But it irked me and I reacted with a bit of outrage of my own Internet is an outrage machine.

[felis]

MX 1.6 change log: https://community.native-instruments.co ... sion-1-6-0

[Gam456]

Regular Massive X price - $199. On sale now for $99.50

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... massive-x/

That price is a joke...I got Massive, Absynth, and FM8 all for $50 a year or so ago, and based on what I'm hearing from people who had both, it's debatable which is better between Massive and Massive X.

I've got Massive and FM8 for free