Released two decades ago this month, Native Instruments’ Massive became one of the most influential soft synths of its era and a staple in the toolbox of countless producers, before a belated sequel, Massive X, was released in 2019.
Today, Native Instruments unveils Massive’s third generation, the successor to Massive X and the company’s most significant instrument release since it was acquired by inMusic, owner of Akai and Moog, earlier this year, after going into preliminary insolvency in January.
A supersized upgrade to its flagship wavetable synthesizer, Massive XL builds on the core synth engine of Massive X with expanded sonic capabilities and an enhanced workflow, introducing custom wavetable creation, polyphonic aftertouch support and Synplant-style audio-to-patch preset generation, while borrowing preset mutation from Absynth, another recently revived NI classic.
Though there are tons of improvements and new features in Massive XL, it’s the Generate function that’s going to steal the headlines. This is an AI model, developed in-house by NI, that analyses any imported audio file and recreates it as a fully editable patch in Massive XL.
Drop an audio file of up to 30 seconds in length into the newly-added menu on the right-hand side of the synth’s interface, and it’ll appear in an audio editor. Here you can select a slice of up to four seconds in length to use as the basis for a patch. What’s more, NI has added stem separation, so you’re able to drop a sample from an existing song, split it into its constituent stems (Vocals, Bass, Drums and Other) before running a slice into Generate.
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Generate creates four different patches by default, and you’re able to adjust how much variation there is between presets and how closely they match the timbre of the original audio file. Each preset variant is automatically assigned six macro controls that let you make quick edits to the character of the sound. Placing the kind of audio-to-patch technology pioneered by Sonic Charge’s Synplant plugin in a more sophisticated synth architecture while giving you more control over the results, Generate is a huge step forward for Massive.
Massive XL also inherits a much-loved feature from Native Instruments’ Absynth 6: preset mutation. This automatically creates variations of the currently loaded preset by introducing algorithmically-generated parameter changes that borrow settings from other presets in your library.
An entire preset can be mutated at once, or you can apply mutation selectively to its oscillators, noise sources, filter, inserts, effects and amp envelope; you’re also able to choose between four levels of divergence, which determines how extreme the transformation is. There’s also a randomization function that applies random values to every parameter in a preset.
Like Massive X, Massive XL is built around two wavetable oscillators with 10 oscillator modes, plus phase modulation oscillators, two noise generators and a filter with nine types, three insert slots, three effects slots, semi-modular routing and a flexible modulation system.
Both the Generator and Mutator give users new ways to access fresh sounds at the click of a button, but Massive XL has plenty of upgrades for more traditional sound designers too. You can now create your own wavetables – something Massive users have been asking for for a long time – by dragging-and-dropping any audio file or single-cycle waveform into the oscillator section, and there’s a new single-oscillator view that lets you see the whole wavetable in a waterfall display too.
Joining the 170+ wavetables already in Massive X’s library are more than 100 new wavetables designed for XL, including some retro options lifted from classic PPG synths and the original Massive, and you get over 100 new noise tables as well.
There are three new effects onboard based on existing NI plugins: Raum is a three-mode algorithmic reverb, Replika Shimmer combines delay, reverb and pitch-shifting to create classic shimmer effects, and Tape Wobble adds wow, flutter, saturation and noise in the style of analogue tape machines. Sub-presets for effects, inserts and filters can now be saved too.
Massive XL also introduces polyphonic aftertouch support, so controllers that send per-note pressure can shape the sound of each note independently – any existing aftertouch assignments, including those in older presets, will automatically switch over to per-note response. (Unlike Absynth 6, there’s no full MPE support.)
That’s not all, either: there’s a long list of minor improvements, including animated modulators, interactive envelope graphs with draggable handles and curve segments, custom user banks for user presets, and undo/redo functionality.
Along with Massive XL, Native Instruments is releasing Massive XL Player, a free version of the synth that lets you load and play presets in the Play view but doesn’t give you access to full editing. NI has confirmed that Massive X and Massive X Player are both being retired.
“Massive has always been about giving producers the freedom to create sounds that feel uniquely their own,” Native Instruments' Senior Director of Product Management Tim Adnitt said in a press release.
“With Massive XL, we’ve focused on helping users reach those sounds faster. It delivers the character, flexibility, and control Massive is known for while introducing new tools that make exploration, experimentation, and sound creation more immediate.”
Massive XL is available now for €199/$199/£179, with an introductory price of €99 / $99 / £89 from October 27 through December 31. Owners of Massive X and Massive are eligible for upgrade discounts.
