NI Massive X Tutorial | Overview and Patch Creation

Guzi has used Native Instruments Massive pretty much since day 1 of his music production journey. It was the first software synth that he was ever introduced too and over the years it became a permanent fixture in his productions. Over a decade later, Native Instruments have drastically upgraded the synthesizer, releasing Massive X. In this 1 hour long course, Guzi will give you an overview of the synth and all of its individual components, before going on to demonstrate some of his own custom patches in step by step walkthroughs.

In Guzi’s overview, he breaks Massive X down into its 5 individual sections, and their individual components:

• The header is the top section of Massive X. Here, we can load or save presets, monitor / tweak the output volume and change the size / theme of the synth. This is also where we can access the pitch bend & modulation wheels as well as the macros.
• Below the header are the module panels, where audio will be both generated and processed. The wavetables, phase modulation oscillators and noise tables generate audio. The filter, insert effects, amp & stereo effects process that audio signal.
• Below the module panels is the navigation bar, which determines what we will view in the 4th section (the editor). Here we can choose between Voices, Routing & the various Modulation sources.
• The final section at the bottom of Massive X is the remote octave section. This section enables us to use MIDI to switch between up to 12 different performer groups. This can be very useful in a live scenario!

Guzi then goes on to explain 3 of his custom Massive X patches:

• Feedback square bass – a slowly evolving, monstrous bass sound
• Funk guitar – an authentic sounding, funky guitar with phasing and stereo delay
• Melodic jump up bass – a modern jump up stab, with solid sub bass content

To wrap up the course, Guzi finally shows you how to easily create simple variations of the melodic jump up bass to create a ‘switch up’.