Native Instruments Massive Software Synth (Macintosh and Windows)

Feature:
Massive has an extremely broad range of parameters for shaping and coloring the sound, not all of which are apparent just from a quick look at the GUI. Even the four envelopes, which you might mistake for simple ADSR types just from looking at a screen shot, are far more complex than that. The configurable LFO’s with their sequencer/performer modes are very powerful tools for putting all kinds of shifting motion into patches. It would be great if Massive had panning control over individual oscillators (in other words, a completely stereo signal path from start to finish), and there are one or two other areas where I think further development could take place, but it’s a very powerful synth as-is.

Value:
It was well worth $199 to me, given that it has become one of my main go-to synths and I consider its sound quality to equal or exceed that of hardware synths costing 10X as much (I’ve owned a Virus TI and Waldorfs, so I do have some frame of reference). Whether it will hold the same value for you is obviously dependent on whether you like its sound – but don’t rely solely on the factory presets to make that judgment, because they don’t tell the whole story.

Sound:
As I suspect many others have probably done, I mistakenly allowed the factory presets to color my initial perception of what Massive can and can’t do. For example, because there weren’t any synth basses of the kind I like to use in the presets, I assumed at first that it couldn’t do them. However, when I started from scratch and programmed it myself, I managed to dial in a tight, punchy, analog-style bass that was perfect for the track I was working on. Many of the presets are more on the edgy side, but you can get warmer and less biting textures out of it fairly easily if you spend a little time working with it. As far as patches go, I found that the Massive Expansion Volume 2 collection contained less “one-finger step sequencer” presets and more musically useful patches. On the whole, I think Massive’s sound quality is excellent (as it should be, since NI deliberately allowed Massive to be more CPU-hungry in pursuit of higher sonic fidelity). I’d rate it higher in that department than certain popular hardware VA/wave scanning synths, since Massive has a clearer, more defined top end and can actually play in the upper registers without any noticeable aliasing. Massive takes the classic PPG-type wave scanning oscillator concept and takes it light years beyond what the PPG Wave was capable of. If you can’t coax a broad variety of evocative textures out of it, don’t blame the synth.

Ease of Use:
I honestly don’t know how Massive could be made much easier to use. The drag-and-drop modulation routing scheme is about the most direct and intuitive way of dealing with it that I’ve seen, and in tandem with the “rings of Saturn” displays around the knobs to indicate modulation ranges, it makes it much easier to visualize what’s going on with the routings than a mod matrix. There were a couple of things I had to look up in the manual to understand, but most of it I was able to figure out just by diving in. Programming patches isn’t quite as simple as on a basic subtractive analog synth, but that’s not a fault of Massive – scanning wavetable synths in general are a tad more complex than a Nord Lead, and if you want to get the best out of them, you have to invest a little time in wrapping your head around how they work.

Overall:
I don’t really have to worry about replacing Massive or having it stolen – the nice thing about software is that it doesn’t wear out or have to go in for service, and if your gigging laptop get stolen, you just replace the laptop, re-download all your software and you’re back in business. For those who say things in reviews like “I’d pound anybody who stole my such-and-such,” that’s what musicians insurance is for – why spend so much money on gear and then not protect it?

Feature:
The features included with massive left me not very impressed. If you are not familiar with the components of a synthesiser in terms of modulation matrix and how synth routing works you may have problems. There are almost no tutorials for massive and native instruments are yet to release a proper tutorial.

Quality:
The innovative aspect of the synth is very good and I like the way you can make one parameter modulate another dragging and dropping an envelope for example onto a filter.

Desirability:
In terms of innovativeness, it is well designed. I am considering getting the access virus software as I have a powercore, i would recommend massive as worthwhile if you have a lot of time on your hands.

Sound:
The sound quality on massive is exceptional and has rich dynamic content. the sounds have a hard edge but massive is also good for softer sounds.

Ease of Use:
The presets included with massive have a lot of effects and it dosent contain many raw sounds you can use. If you want fat saw synths or other larger than life sounds used in electronica, you will have to make them yourself.

Support:
No problems here.