Massive X 1.6.1 update (September 2025)!

[kenny saunders]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

[chk071]

Yes, the only parameters you can MIDI learn / automate are the 16 macro parameters.

[simon.a.billington]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

But yes there is probably times where you want that momentary independent control.

[sQeetz]

[edit] Nevermind... I should learn to read properly

[pdxindy]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

I very much like the sound of Massive X... sound quality is right there with the best plugins...

but the midi implementation is complete crap. No midi learn, no automation except the macros. It also doesn't support an expression pedal or breath controller or PolyAT.

I use Bitwig and it has an amazing modulation system that works with every single vst plugin I have... except Massive X...

Massive X also has a near useless browser. There is no capability to organize ones presets whatsoever.

Massive X is shockingly bad in these areas!

[pdxindy]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

No, it is not a smart way to do it. Being able to automate macros is cool, but when that is all you can do, that is not smart at all... way too limited and clumsy

[simon.a.billington]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

No, it is not a smart way to do it. Being able to automate macros is cool, but when that is all you can do, that is not smart at all... way too limited and clumsy

If it saves you time re-automating because of the parameters you wish to change. It is quite smart. Anything that makes life easier for you and saves time is smarter way to work with. Because it limits it to just the macros which are very, very easy to set up it saves you from also potentially wading through the endless lists of automatable parameters in the DAW, especially if your automating several on the timeline, that’s quick, it’s precise, it’s the opposite of clumsy.

I can understand you have a preferred way of working, but you can’t really say it’s not smart or that it’s clumsy.

[pdxindy]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

No, it is not a smart way to do it. Being able to automate macros is cool, but when that is all you can do, that is not smart at all... way too limited and clumsy

If it saves you time re-automating because of the parameters you wish to change. It is quite smart. Anything that makes life easier for you and saves time is smarter way to work with. Because it limits it to just the macros which are very, very easy to set up it saves you from also potentially wading through the endless lists of automatable parameters in the DAW, especially if your automating several on the timeline, that’s quick, it’s precise, it’s the opposite of clumsy.

I can understand you have a preferred way of working, but you can’t really say it’s not smart or that it’s clumsy.

I can say it's not smart and it is clumsy. There is no reason whatsoever it needs to be one or the other. One should be able to modulate the macros and also any individual parameter.

If someone wants to setup a midi controller... say Ableton Push... to control a synths parameters. You cannot do it with Massive X.

Same in Bitwig with the Remote Pages. You cannot set up a dedicated page for the Amp envelope.

Okay, I can assign macros 9-16 to control the Amp envelope on a specific preset. But then as soon as you change presets, that is lost. If you want to keep that, you have to do it for every freakin preset... it doesn't get clumsier than that!

[Yakko Warner]

To owners of Massive x.
Do I need Native access and / or reactor player for the demo version? Also applies to Super 8.

[zvenx]

I can answer half your questions.
I dont know if you need Native Access for NI Demos,
however Massive X is not a reaktor ensemble whilst I believe Super 8 is, that is, you dont' need reaktor fro Massive X but you would for Super 8, afaik.
rsp

[kenny saunders]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

But yes there is probably times where you want that momentary independent control.

Well you may (pretty much all the time for me) want to automate any number of things by different amounts, at different times. Lets not kid ourselves: the only reason you can't automate params is because they wanted to rush it out the door.

[experimental.crow]

New to massive x, but It has no MIDI learn or automation? The only thing you can do apparently is automate some macros via daw? Thats kinda ridiculous!

Kinda. It makes sense in some way though. We could update how our sound is responding to the automation by making tweaks to the parameters but because the Macro is automated we wouldn’t have to adjust several lanes of automation data. It’s actually quite a smart way to do it. Lion can only be automated by its macros too. I’m sure there are others.

But yes there is probably times where you want that momentary independent control.

Well you may (pretty much all the time for me) want to automate any number of things by different amounts, at different times. Lets not kid ourselves: the only reason you can't automate params is because they wanted to rush it out the door.

i would be mildly surprised to behold a track in which a single preset contains over 16 different lanes of automation ... not saying it couldn't happen , mind you ...

the browser really needs some attention ...

[Arashi]

i would be mildly surprised to behold a track in which a single preset contains over 16 different lanes of automation

My thought exactly. Show me an example of something you want to do where 16 macros, velocity, modwheel, and aftertouch don’t give you enough external control (not to mention the large number and variety of internal modulation sources). I find it hard to imagine anything that complex that doesn’t just sound like a random mess, but I would honestly love to see/hear something that crazy that’s actually good.

[pdxindy]

i would be mildly surprised to behold a track in which a single preset contains over 16 different lanes of automation

My thought exactly. Show me an example of something you want to do where 16 macros, velocity, modwheel, and aftertouch don’t give you enough external control (not to mention the large number and variety of internal modulation sources). I find it hard to imagine anything that complex that doesn’t just sound like a random mess, but I would honestly love to see/hear something that crazy that’s actually good.

Lots of people like to use midi controllers... many people use Ableton Push and you can set it up to globally edit most every plugin without needing to use the mouse and screen. This is not possible with Massive X because you cannot edit parameters directly.

When I set up such remote control pages in Bitwig, I often put the Amp Envelope parameters on page 1... Filter and FX on page 2... that is using 16 macros right there so no page 3 is possible like every other synth I use. Those are the basic parameters I want to have at hand while playing to adjust things on the fly. That does not mean I am automating all of them at a given time.

It is not possible to set this up globally in Massive X. It is by preset so one has to redo every preset this way to have it global (across all presets). In all my other synths, I can set this up once and it just works across all presets. Massive X sucks in this way. And of course even if I took the time to edit every freakin preset that way, it still uses up all the 16 macros so they are not available for what they are supposed to do in the first place.

[Arashi]

Lots of people like to use midi controllers... many people use Ableton Push and you can set it up to globally edit most every plugin without needing to use the mouse and screen. This is not possible with Massive X because you cannot edit parameters directly.

I get what you mean, and I definitely appreciate the ability to control every (or almost every) parameter on most synths with my Komplete Kontrol S49 (the ones that support NKS, anyway). However, I'd argue that it's not practical in this case, because Massive X is so flexible that it's impossible to simply create a map all of its parameters. Practically every section has a dropdown menu at the top that lets you swap it out with a different module, and each module has different parameters, with different numbers and types of controls. Many of them even have a subtype or other menus that also reveal different controls. There are also graphical performance sequencers and tracking maps, and a graphical routing page.

Basically, the interface is too complex to be completely controlled by knobs and buttons, and you actually need a graphical user interface with precise input to use it.

You could set up a different map for each specific configuration of modules — in other words, first you build your synth, and once you've settled on the components, you create a map for it so you can create different sounds with that configuration. I think that's a valid use case, and it would certainly be useful to be able to map as many parameters as you want. Maybe they could make a concession that you can assign MIDI CCs to any parameter you want (independently of the macros), but if you later swap out one of the modules, it unassigns any CCs that were mapped to that module. Sounds messy and complicated though.