MASSIVE Operation Manual
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, hereinafter referred to as NATIVE INSTRUMENTS.
Table Of Contents 1. Welcome to MASSIVE!..................................................................... 5 2. Installation and Setup..................................................................... 6 3. Quickstart...................................................................................... 7 3.1. Load and play........................................................................... 7 3.2. Create your own sound..............................................................11 4. Reference..
.7. Output Sections . .....................................................................51 4.7.1. Amp Section..................................................................51 4.7.2. Bypass Section............................................................. 52 4.7.3. Master Effects Section .................................................. 53 4.7.4. Master Volume Section................................................... 55 4.8. The Center Window.......................................................
1. Welcome to MASSIVE! Thank you for choosing MASSIVE! This new software instrument combines a unique synthesis engine with unparalleled ease of use –- but most of all it is focused on sound creation. MASSIVE is your solution for punchy bass lines and cutting leads, while at the same time it is also capable of beautiful atmospheric pads and funky rhythmic grooves. This manual will show you how to use MASSIVE and all of its features.
2. Installation and Setup Before continuing further in this manual, you should first install MASSIVE on your computer. A step-by-step installation guide is provided within the separate Setup Guide booklet included in your MASSIVE package. There you’ll find information about how to install the application on your hard drive and how to configure its audio and MIDI interface settings. The Setup Guide also explains how to use MASSIVE as a standalone application or as a plug-in within a host sequencer program.
3. Quickstart Welcome! After installing MASSIVE on your computer, this is the place to start getting acquainted with its main features: two quickstart sections that will guide your first steps in loading and creating sounds with this exciting new synthesizer. Our first quickstart (see section 3.1 below) will focus on how to find and load a sound from MASSIVE’s sound library using the powerful Browser View, so you can start playing right away. The second quickstart (see section 3.
to turn it on. If your MIDI device does not appear here, there may be a problem with the installation of the device itself (or its software drivers). If you don’t have a MIDI controller available, you can still play MIDI notes by using the computer’s keyboard. We have assigned the four rows of alphanumeric keys in a similar pattern to that of a piano keyboard.
Result List to the right. Above, you will see the eight Macro Control knobs (see section 4.2.5) as well as the Master Volume Control (see section 4.7.4). The Browser itself is described in detail in section 4.10.1. When you first open the Browser View, the Search Result List at the lower right will show the list of all sounds available in MASSIVE.
You will see all the sounds in MASSIVE reappear at the right. Now let’s try searching for sounds another way: • click with the mouse in the Search Term field to the right of the Reset Button • type “pad” in the Search Term field • you will see the Search Results again automatically update and narrow to include only those KoreSounds that contain your search term in their names or other Meta Information fields (see section 4.10.
3.2. Create your own sound In this quickstart we’ll show you how to create a simple lead synth sound and introduce you to some of the fundamental sound design techniques of MASSIVE. Note that this section assumes that you understand the information in the previous quickstart already, so if you haven’t done it yet, go back and go through section 3.1 first. Here we will see how to select a wavetable for each oscillator and tweak the controls to modify the sound.
The most fundamental parameter affecting the sound in MASSIVE is the choice of which wavetable to use for each oscillator. The other parameters here in the Oscillator Section allow you to modify how that wavetable is used. You can select a wavetable to use for each of MASSIVE’s oscillators independently, by using the popup menus in their headers: click where you see the indication “Square-Saw I” for each oscillator in turn and set them to “Dirty PWM”, “Squelchy”, and “Screamer” respectively.
takes the first filter’s output signal as its input signal. In this example, we want the two filters to process the signal subsequently one after another, not parallel/simultaneously. Then, choose the first filter’s type by clicking the header (where “None” is written) and selecting the entry from the list in the popup menu. Let’s choose the Daft filter type for this example.
In the first case, to set up control via MIDI, first drag the cursor to the Macro Control Section in the lower right corner of MASSIVE’s interface. Here, click on the Modulation Handle of Macro Control 4, i.e. the small cross in the upper right corner. You will see a small numeral “4” appear, which will be attached to the mouse pointer and follow it. Now, move the cursor to the rightmost Modulation Slot of the second filter’s Scream Control, i.e. the small dark rectangle just below the knob.
This page shows us the controls of one of MASSIVE’s four envelope generators. Envelopes are signals that first rise when a note is played, stay at some fixed level as long as the key is held (usually), and then fall back to zero when the note is released. Envelopes are often used to define the volume of a note, becoming louder when a key is pressed, holding that volume, and decaying when the note is released. For our example, we want to use the envelope to modulate the Cutoff of Filter 1.
Saving and Beyond Congratulations: you have just created your first sound in MASSIVE! Now let’s save it in our sound library for future reference. You can save your sound by switching to the Attributes View. Do this by clicking the Attributes View Button within the Navigation Bar, between the buttons for the Browser View and the Synth View.
4. Reference 4.1. Signal Flow and Voicing This section explains the exact routing of the Signal Flow in MASSIVE. We recommend reading this part if you really want to understand how MASSIVE works, as it shows exactly how all of the various parts of the synthesizer are connected and can affect each other. The signal flow in MASSIVE is relatively easy to understand, as it follows the well-known paradigm of a subtractive synthesizer.
oscillators are routed to the f2 bus, you will hear no sound! The Filter Section outputs one combined signal to the next section, a mix of f1 and f2. See section 4.5 for details and examples of different filter routings. After the filters, the signal is routed to the Amp Section (see section 4.7.1) and the Master Effects (see section 4.7.3). It goes first through an amplification envelope in the Amp Section, then through a pan control; then parallel voices are downmixed (more on this below).
The sound of each voice is computed independently from all others until the signal is downmixed to generate a stereo output signal (like a downmix in a multi-track sequencer). This downmix process takes place just before the signal is routed through the Master Effects. This is particularly important as the tube effects, for example, would sound different and less interesting if the downmix took place after the effect. In the Voicing Page you can also find the Unisono Control.
each section. Click the Mute switch with the mouse to deactivate a particular section; click again to return to the active state. It can often be useful to turn off a particular section of the signal chain when you are creating sounds in MASSIVE. For instance, imagine a filtered sound where you want to check the raw oscillator signal - simply click the Mutes for both of the filters to turn off the filters. This preserves all the settings of the filters while temporarily making their effect inaudible.
• Click with the right mouse button to open a context menu providing a list of commands concerned with MIDI and modulation. The latter point will be explained in section 4.2.3 below, while MIDI is covered in section 4.2.5. • Hold the keyboard’s shift key while changing the knob’s value with the left mouse button to make finer adjustments to a control.
• The available Modulation Sources are listed across the top of the Center Window. These include four independent ADSR envelopes as well as four more sources that can be switched between LFO, Performer, and Stepper modes (more on these modulation sources below in section 4.8.2). • To assign a modulation source to a destination, first simply click on the Modulation Handle: the small cross following the name of the Modulation Source you want to use.
This third slot can be used to set up sidechain modulation. This is a type of modulation in which a modulation source can be assigned which will affect the value of other assigned modulation sources. Here’s how this works: Normally, unless you activate the sidechain modulation, all three of these modulation slots will allow you to assign modulation sources to change the value of the control, and the range of the modulation will be set by the Range Knobs as described above.
• Moving our attention to the lower-right corner of the screen, click on the modulation handle of Macro Control 1; then drag the mouse back to the upper-left corner of the screen and release it over the sidechain modulation slot under the Wavetable Position knob. Set up like this, the LFO is causing the Wavetable Position knob to sweep back and forth, while moving Macro Control 1 will change the amount of influence the LFO has over the position of the knob, from 0 to 100% of effect.
Faders in MASSIVE are assigned in the same way as knobs. Some of the fader controls (such as the Input Fader on the filter bus, labeled “Ser>Par” on the interface) can accept modulation sources in the same fashion as knobs, and have the same small black boxes near them to serve as modulation slots.
any problems; but the clipping might not be the effect you desired when setting up the modulation, so you should be aware of how this works. Note that this bi-polarity is also true for voice spreading. If you adjust the Wavetable Position Spreading control to nearly 100% (as shown in this image) and set the actual Wavetable Position Control in the Oscillator Section to the middle of its range, the voices will spread over the complete range.
The eight modulation sources are grouped into envelopes (slots 1-4) and assignable pages (slots 5-8) that allow you to choose between the LFO, Performer, and Stepper modulation sources. If you have chosen one of these assignable slots, you can choose one of these types by using the popup menu in the upper-right corner of the modulation source page. Note the Modulation Handles that appear in this image, just to the right of the name of each of these sources.
each Macro Control knob provides a Modulation Handle. With this handle the Macro Controls can be assigned to any parameter of MASSIVE as a modulation source, i.e. any changes to the value of the Macro Control are then mapped onto the modulated parameter. Setting up assignments this way can be a very powerful technique, especially in two particular situations.
use for automation. In this case, automation means that a specific parameter of MASSIVE – for example a filter’s cutoff or the amount of feedback, or the vibrato depth – is controlled from outside of MASSIVE. This can be done in two ways: • You can assign any of the Macro Controls to MIDI continuous controllers. Simply right-click the Macro Control to open a context menu, click the entry “MIDI Learn” and then move a knob or fader on your external MIDI controller to establish the connection.
• Also, sounds created by somebody else using a different MIDI controller might be useless for you. This is, however, no problem in MASSIVE as the MIDI configuration is stored in the independent MIDI Setup file. Coming finally back to the Macro Controls in MASSIVE’s graphical user interface, beside the eight knobs there are also four small additional Modulation Handles labeled KTr, Vel, AT and TrR. They can be used to assign MIDI data like a note’s velocity or aftertouch to a parameter.
here (or their sub-folders) will be integrated into the database when the Rebuild Database button is pressed. (See also section 4.10 for further details.) Audio and MIDI Settings The Audio and MIDI Settings are explained in detail in MASSIVE’s accompanying Setup Guide. You can find a fast introduction to these settings in section 3.1. Help Here you can find information about MASSIVE: You can launch the Service Center to activate your copy and check for updates.
Voices The Voices indicator shows two numbers: the first indicates the number of voices currently being played in MASSIVE, while the second indicates the maximum number of voices available, which can be set in the Voicing Page in the Center Window (see section 4.8.1 for more on how to set this up; section 4.1 contains additional information).
Save and Save As Further to the right from the Preset Selector popup menu, there are two shortcut buttons labeled Save and Save as. These will allow you to quickly save your sounds without having to access the File menu. The View buttons Moving further to the right, there are three buttons which allow you to switch between different views in MASSIVE: Browser, Attributes and Synth. When you click the Synth button, you will be returned to the main view of all the synthesizer controls in MASSIVE.
4.4.1. Wavetable oscillators Three wavetable oscillators form the basis of sound generation in MASSIVE. In this type of synthesis, numerical representations of various types of basic waveforms are stored in wavetables. Instead of directly computing a sine wave, for example, a wavetable oscillator uses a digital representation of a sine wave stored in memory. This synthesis technique is similar to sampling: instead of an actual audio source, a digital representation or “recording” of it is used.
You can choose the specific wavetable to use for each oscillator by using the popup menu at top left. Here you will see a list of all the different wavetables you can choose from, a wide variety of different choices and sounds. You can also go through the wavetables in order by using the Prev and Next buttons here. You can control the selection of the specific waveform to be played from the oscillator by using the Wavetable Position Control knob.
The Pitch display allows you to tune the oscillator up or down in frequency, adjusting it by semitones and cents (hundredths of a semitone). Pitch can also be modulated by routing a modulation source to one of the modulation destination slots just below it, allowing you to create powerful vibrato and arpeggiation effects. To create a rapid sequence/arpeggio effect, route the Stepper modulator to pitch and assign it to a wider pitch range.
and fast at the end. Visually, this is displayed below, taking BendB mode as an example. • The middle image (Intensity knob at mid position) shows the unaltered waveform. • The upper image (Intensity turned to the left) visualizes a fast readout at the beginning and end of the waveform, i.e. the wave is compressed at the ends while it is stretched in the middle • The lower image shows the inverse effect (Intensity turned to the right). Here, the central part is compressed while the ends are stretched.
4.4.3. Amplification and Routing The Amp knob controls the output volume of the oscillator. Use the three Amp controls (one for each oscillator) to control the relative balance of each oscillator within the overall sound. For example, try routing an LFO to the Amp knobs to modulate their values and cause the relative balance of the oscillators to shift and change as you hold down a single MIDI note.
Each oscillator also has a vertical Routing Fader at the right edge labeled F1-F2. This controls the balance of the oscillator’s output into either filter 1 or filter 2 or a mix of both. The filters in turn may be routed in either serial or parallel, or a combination of both (see more on this in section 4.5 on MASSIVE’s Filters below). 4.4.4. Modulation oscillator This oscillator generates sine wave modulation source signals in the audible range.
signals that sound like a bowed (or blown) instrument that has some “surface noise” in its sound. Also try detuning or transposing the modulation oscillator to vary the effect. Filter frequency modulation allows you to modulate the frequency of one of the filters with the Modulation Oscillator. Try setting up the Filter FM like this for some interesting bass sounds: • Set Filter 1 to be modulated by Filter FM by clicking on the appropriate box (1) in the Modulation Oscillator Section.
4.4.5. Noise Section The Noise Section incorporates the sound of a noise generator into MASSIVE. There is a Noisetable popup menu at the top of the Noise Section allowing you to choose between different noise types (based on samples). The Color knob allows you to change the coloration of the noise by shifting the overall frequency spectrum upwards or downwards, while the Amp knob adjusts the volume.
In the Feedback Section, you can adjust the level of output using the Amp level knob, and adjust the ratio of the output between filter 1 and filter 2 using the Routing Fader. The Amp knob has 2 modulation slots where you can attach a modulation source to change the output. A typical case where you might want to make use of the Feedback Section is to create variable saturation effects.
• Now, as in the above example, click the Routing Page in the Center Window so you can see the diagram of MASSIVE’s signal flow. Then click one of the small FB icons in this diagram in order to select the source of the feedback signal. Again, choose the one at the top center of the diagram, a bit to the right of the Filter 1 icon. • Turn the Routing Fader at the right edge of the Feedback Section all the way up, towards where it is labeled “F1.
Note that you can send your signal through the filter busses via a serial or parallel routing. When you use a parallel routing, Filter 1 receives all signals that are sent to F1 by using the oscillators’ Routing Faders described above; in contrast, Filter 2 receives all signals sent to F2. Both signals are then processed independently. A serial routing, however, routes the output signal of Filter 1 to the input of Filter 2, i.e. the signal us filtered twice.
• First, the Input Fader has to be turned up to the top of its range, to the direction marked “Ser” for serial. This will direct the output of Filter 1 into the input of Filter 2, though the output of Filter 1 will still be heard at the output of the Filter Section as well. • Then, the Mix fader has to be set to allow output from filter 2 only so that we do not hear any direct output from Filter 1, but only after it has been routed through Filter 2.
• Scream: this is a type of low-pass filter with additional internal feedback added; the Scream parameter controls the amount of this feedback. Use this type to create more analog-sounding, dirty filter sounds that employ a strong resonance peak. Cannot be used for filter frequency modulation. • Daft: another type of low-pass filter with its own particular sound. This filter is very responsive to filter frequency modulation with the Modulation Oscillator.
• Choose the allpass filter and set the Resonance control to around 50%. Then try modulating the filter cutoff with an LFO to create some phaselike effects. 4.6. Insert Effects There are two different types of effects in MASSIVE: Insert Effects, which can be placed at various points in the signal chain (see section 4.1 on Routing), and Master Effects, which come at the very end of the chain. We will first discuss the Insert Effects in this section, while the Master Effects will be covered in section 4.7.
As you can see in this picture, there are a number of small buttons labeled “ins1” and “ins2” present in the Routing Page, placed in various positions between the oscillators, filters and other components of MASSIVE. These buttons are the Insert Effects Position Selectors. You can use these to select where exactly each Insert Effect should be placed to modify the sound. Simply click one of the buttons labeled “ins1” to select where the Insert 1 effect will be placed, for example.
• The Dry/Wet Control adjusts the balance between the unprocessed (dry) signal at the left and the delayed (wet) signal at the right. • The Pitch Control adjusts the time interval (frequency) at which the signal is sampled; more slowly to the left, and more quickly as you turn the knob to the right. Slower sample times will result in “deep,” harsh distortion effects, while higher Pitch Control settings will result in “high,” subtler distortion sounds.
Try using the Frequency Shifter within the Feedback bus to shift the frequency of the feedback signal and mix it with the main signal. Try modulating the Pitch Control with the Stepper modulation source to create a stepped series of melodic or harmonic intervals. Note that the Pitch Control by default follows the MIDI input pitch. You can control this within the Center Window’s Keytracking Oscillator Page (see section 4.8.1). 4.6.6.
4.6.8. Parabolic Shaper The Parabolic Shaper is a waveshaping effect like the Sine Shaper, but with a different shaping curve: where the sine shaper uses a sine shape, the parabolic shaper uses an s-like curve. As you turn up the Drive control, the linear transition becomes a rectangular one, distorting the smooth transitions of any input curve. • The Dry/Wet Control adjusts the balance between the unprocessed (dry) signal at the left and the delayed (wet) signal at the right.
As with most synthesizers, you can trigger single notes by using a MIDI keyboard or other controller. However, technically speaking, you are not triggering notes but amplitude envelopes. They start at zero and rise to a peak value, (mostly) specified by the note’s velocity. When the key is released on the keyboard, the amplitude envelope decays back to zero.
further in section 4.1 on Signal Flow. You can specify the oscillator to be used as source of the Bypass signal within the Routing Page of the Center Window as described in section 4.8.1.) There are a number of reasons why you might want to do this. For example, you might create a sound in which one of the oscillators is outputting a clear subbass type of sound that you want to mix in with other sounds cleanly, without processing it through all of the other sections.
sounds can become less present and lose clarity when too much reverb is used. Note that you can also try using the dimension expander or a short delay to create subtle room effects. The controls here enable you to change various parameters of the reverb space, including Size (room size, i.e. the length of the reverberation), Density, (the diffusion of reverberation, a lower density = more echoes) and Color (a filter to subtly change the sound of the reverberation: left = duller, right = brighter).
• Delay: an echo effect. Delay Simple is a stereo delay, with controls for Damp (a low-pass filter with adjustable cutoff on the delayed signal) and left and right delay time. Delay Synced is a tempo-synced delay which in addition to the Damp control also adds a knob to control Feedback as well as two displays to set up time-synced delays on left and right (see image below). Try using the Delay Simple effect to simulate very small room sounds, for example.
the output meter. However, even if you want a distorted sound, you will likely get better results by using one of the Insert Effects or the Feedback Section; this Master Volume control should only be used to avoid distortion. For best results, adjust it so that the loudest peaks in your output signal are near the top of the meter without actually reaching the top. 4.8. The Center Window At the center right of the main MASSIVE window, we find the Center Window.
In this section we will describe all the controls and parameters for each Page of the Center Window. 4.8.1. General Pages The General Pages can be opened by clicking on the upper row of tabs. We will describe them here in order from left to right. OSC The OSC Page includes general settings related to the pitch and phase of MASSIVE’s oscillators. From left to right, we find several blocks of parameters labeled Glide, Vibrato, Pitchbend and Phase, respectively. Let’s look at these one at a time.
The Vibrato block controls the pitch oscillation around the base pitch of the played note: • The Vibrato Rate Control sets the speed of the oscillation. • The Vibrato Depth Control defines the amplitude of the oscillation. At the top of this block, a Mono Button forces the vibrato to be monophonic, i.e. the same oscillation is used to cause the vibrato for all played notes. In other words, when this button is activated, you will hear the pitch of all played notes oscillating together (in phase).
In the lower part of this block, you will find two parameters to control this envelope: the Attack Time Fader adjusts the attack of the envelope, and the Decay Time Fader adjusts its decay. All adjustments are represented on the Internal Envelope Graphic Display. Keytracking Oscillator The Keytracking Oscillator Page allows you to define the pitch response of the oscillators to the pitch of the incoming MIDI notes.
• The User Response is freely assignable and you can tweak it according to your wishes. You can choose to assign one or the other of these keytracking responses for each oscillator individually. This is done in the Mapping Selector. This is basically a selection matrix. You can assign the Linear or User Response (represented by the two columns here) to one or several targets including the three main Oscillators, the Modulation Oscillator and the Insert Effects (as shown in the five rows here).
When you click on a Breakpoint, both the x- and y-axis display small lines pointing to their coordinates. The coordinate numerical values are also displayed in the two small fields at the right of the horizontal axis and at the bottom of the vertical axis. If you double-click on a particular Breakpoint, you will delete the whole User Response and replace it by a horizontal line at the Breakpoint’s vertical level, thus creating a constant keytracking response at this particular outgoing pitch.
You will find the same basic layout structure here as in the Keytracking Oscillator Page: a Mapping Area on the left, and a Mapping Selector on the right. Please refer to the above section about the Keytracking Oscillator Page for detailed information on how this Mapping system works. Here we will describe only how the Keytracking Filter Page differs from the Keytracking Oscillator Page.
At left, the Voicing Area allows you to define the polyphonic scheme that you want to use for MASSIVE. From top to bottom, we find the following controls. The Voice Maximum Control defines the maximal number of voices that can be played at the same time before the oldest is cut off. The range of this control is from 4 to 64. To modify this value, click on the number field and drag your mouse up or down, or double-click the field and enter the value via your computer keyboard.
Below these two number fields, we find the Mono/Poly Switch. This switch lets you choose from three polyphonic modes: • Polyphonic allows you to play several notes at the same time, within the limits set by the Voice Maximum and Unisono Controls. • Monophonic allows you to play only one note at a time. Note that the Monophonic mode deals with notes (i.e. pressed keys), not with voices. Thus, you can use this mode and still have many voices per note, as set by the Voice Unisono Control.
Generally, for each of these parameters, the additional voices will sound more and more “distant” from the original voice. That is why this process is called “spreading”: the additional voices are “spread” out around the original one as you adjust the controls. The parameters here are arranged in three rows. These rows share the same structure. From left to right, we find the following controls: • A Spread Switch allows you to activate the corresponding parameter to spread the voices.
Here are two examples to understand how this works: With the settings as above, the four active voices will be tuned according to the following list: Voice 1: -75 cents Voice 2: -25 cents Voice 3: +25 cents Voice 4: +75 cents As you will notice, the original pitch is not present within this mode; rather, the four different voices surround it symmetrically.
Routing As you can see in the image below, the Routing Page shows you a graphic representation of the signal flow in MASSIVE: Here you can see the various modules and Sections in MASSIVE and how the signal flows between them. You can also see a number of buttons that can be activated or deactivated by clicking them. Activated buttons show up light blue here, deactivated buttons in a darker color. The signal flow in MASSIVE is explained in detail in section 4.
Setting the position of these effects can make a big difference in how they modify the sound. Note that you can only have one “ins1” and one “ins2” button selected at one time. There are also a number of buttons here labelled “FB.” These are the Feedback Source Selector buttons. Only one of these can be selected, and it determines the point at which part of the signal is routed back to the Feedback Section, where it can be reintroduced to the signal chain at the beginning.
The Preset Quality buttons switch between two quality modes. High (using oversampling) should be used whenever possible, but note that the CPU load is increased with this setting. Copy/Paste and Randomization can be applied module-wise in this section. There are four module groups: oscillators, filters, insert effects and master effects, arranged horizontally.
• The modulation handle (the little cross at the right of each tab header) allows you to assign this modulation source to the desired destination parameter(s), as described above. It is not necessary to select a modulation source first before assigning it.
Decay and Release shapes are logarithmic. With this Switch activated, the Decay shape becomes linear as well. • The Trigger Mode Switch causes the envelope to retrigger from the beginning every time it receives an incoming MIDI note. If this is disabled, the envelope will not start at zero if the previous note’s release period is not over yet; instead using the current level as its starting point.
• The Keytracking Fader controls the influence of the incoming note’s pitch on the overall envelope amplitude as follows: the higher the pitch, the smaller the envelope amplitude. If the Fader is at full left, the envelope amplitude is not influenced at all by the MIDI pitch. If you move the Fader to the right, the overall envelope amplitude is more and more influenced by the incoming note’s pitch, with higher sounds becoming lower in volume.
moving on. Second, a morphing function provides you with two selectable sustain shapes, allowing you to morph the actual sustain shape between these two. The controls for the Sustain stage are as follows, from left to right: • The Sustain Loop Length Control adjusts the time between the sustain start and end points. If you turn it clockwise, you increase the sustain duration, and therefore also lower the speed of the envelope in the sustain stage.
select 2, the envelope will go from the start point to the end point, and back to the start point, and then it will jump to the Release stage. And so on. You can turn this up to a maximum of 32 half-cycles (i.e. 16 times forwards and 16 backwards). However, the menu also allows you to select an infinite loop (choose inf in the menu, all the way to the top of the popup menu.), which makes the sustain stage loop forever. Note: A white dot in the Graphic Display indicates where the cycle process will stop.
Click on one of the four green tab headers to select the corresponding modulation source and display its Modulation Page with all its parameters visible. Most of the controls in the top row of these three modulation modes are mostly the same, so let’s have a look at them from left to right: • The Mono Button, when activated, will force the modulator to output a monophonic modulation signal, no matter how many voices are played. You can use this function to “synchronize” the modulations of different voices.
complete cycle; for all other sources this is actually one step within the sequence. The lower value determines the temporal unit; e.g. a 16 represents a sixteenth note, and 4 represents a quarter note (one beat). The upper value determines the actual length of the cycle as multiples of the lower unit, e.g.
Note that each LFO in MASSIVE is actually a double LFO: the modulation source features a morphing function that allows you to interpolate between two curves (similarly to the sustain stage of the envelope modulation source described above). You can adjust the LFO curve on the fly by moving the Xfade Curve slider. This is all done in the left part of the interface. The two curves are represented in the upper and lower part.
In the lower part, you will find two parameters for this envelope: the Attack Time Fader adjusts the attack of the envelope, and the c adjusts its decay. All adjustments are represented on the Internal Envelope Graphic Display. Stepper The Stepper is basically a step sequencer. It allows you to define a certain number of steps, each of them having a specific amplitude value. The steps are read in a looped sequence, recreating a periodic signal to be used as a modulation.
On the top of the Display, a Loop Area Bar shows the step numbers. On this bar, a yellow triangle indicates the current step being played. The triangle moves through all steps included in the loop. The steps included in the loop have their numbers highlighted in the Loop Area Bar. To edit the loop range, click on the first or last step number in the loop, hold the mouse button and drag it to the left or to the right: the highlighted numbers follow the mouse movements, defining a new loop range.
For example, in the image above, we can see that: • The loop includes the steps 5 to 16. • The Glide Modulation Control is at a middle setting, and it is modulated by Macro Control 5. • Only step 10 is affected by this glide modulation (as shown by the lower Step Activation Row). • The Amplitude Modulation Control is at a low setting, and it is modulated by the Macro Control 3. • All the steps in the loop are affected by this amplitude modulation (as shown by the upper Step Activation Row).
The steps are depicted in the Performer Graphic Display. Each step displays its loaded waveform. You can choose a specific waveform for each step. To choose a waveform, click on the Load Curve Button at the top left of the Modulation Page. This will open a matrix with a number of different waveforms. Here you can select and assign various waveforms to the steps: select one waveform (by clicking), then click on the target step frame.
controlled by the Rate/Ratio Control, in the left block of controls described earlier (“Common Controls for LFO, Stepper and Performer.”) At the left of the Performer Graphic Display, we find two faders: • The Amplitude Modulation Control adjusts the overall amplitude of the modulation defined by the step sequences. At full down, there is no modulation (whatever the waveforms are); at full up, the modulation is at its maximum.
• Only the steps 1, 3, 5-9 are affected by this amplitude modulation (as shown by the lower Step Activation Row). • The Sequence Morph Control is at a quite high setting, and it is modulated (in the opposite direction) by the Macro Control 2. • Only the steps 1, 2, 7-9 are affected by this sequence morphing (as shown by the upper Step Activation Row). 4.9. Macro Control Section MASSIVE’s Macro Control Section handles incoming MIDI data such as velocity, aftertouch and other MIDI controller information.
You will find that most of the preset sounds included in MASSIVE’s library already have assignments made to the eight Macro Control Knobs, allowing you to easily assign external MIDI controls to them and start tweaking and changing the sound in creatively useful ways. The exact assignments for each preset will vary, but in general they conform to the following pattern.
contained within separate sound banks, with all its organizational problems. Instead, the settings for each sound are saved into single files that can then easily be ported between platforms or projects. These sound files can also be loaded directly by NATIVE INSTRUMENTS’ host application KORE. Therefore, each saved sound within MASSIVE is called a KoreSound. To handle all these KoreSound files you need a powerful way to browse them.
4.10.2. Searching and Loading Sounds with the Browser The Browser View is the place where you search and load your MASSIVE sounds, and where you organize them into programs. The Browser can be used in two alternative view modes that are toggled by clicking the Sounds button in the View’s upper-left corner. When this is deactivated, you will see the File Tree View; when activated, you can browse your KoreSounds in the Database View.
The attributes are grouped into columns, the categories. For instruments, the categories used are Instrument, Source, Timbre, Articulation and Genre. • Instrument specifies the general type of instrument, for example Synth, Bass, or Soundscape. • Source loosely describes the sound’s origin: acoustic, derived from a sample loop, synthetic, etc. • Timbre describes the sound’s general tonality: cold, warm, metallic, dissonant, and so on.
attributes. Each additional attribute that you select reduces the total number of matching KoreSounds in the list at right. The remaining KoreSounds are displayed in the Search Results. Instead of browsing the database by using the attributes you can also search for sounds by entering a search term into the Search Term text field. When you enter a term here and press Enter, the MASSIVE Browser will search through all KoreSound file names as well as all the text fields of Meta Information.
Working in File Tree View’s is straightforward, as it is similar to the way you work with files in the operating system itself. You can select a folder by clicking its name; any KoreSound files contained within it are immediately displayed within the Search Results. If a folder contains sub-folders, you can make them visible by clicking on the folder icon in front of the folder’s name. The list of sub-folders is closed again by clicking the folder icon once more.
These are the default locations for the user content folder. You can add further locations within the Browser Tab of the Options Dialog. There you can also trigger a rebuild of the database. This is necessary after deleting or renaming a KoreSound to inform the database of the changes. The My Favorites entry is a powerful way to quickly access the KoreSounds you use most often. You can add any KoreSound from the Search Results by right-clicking it and selecting Add to My Favorites from the context menu.
it from the display. Vice versa, clicking the label of a column that is currently not displayed inserts the column into the table. You can now easily load a MASSIVE KoreSound by double-clicking it within the Search Results. Note that you can also load your Search Results one after another by using the Navigation Bar. See section 4.3.2 for details. Programs Within the Browser Control Bar you will find the Programs button.
export the list to a file and create another one. All exported lists can be imported again for future use. Note that those program lists link to the actual KoreSounds, similar to the Favorites. If, by any circumstance, one of the KoreSounds on the list has been lost or renamed, the program list will not be able to recall it. Note that you can also load your program list’s entries one after another by using the Navigation Bar. See section 4.3.2 for details. 4.10.3.
• Comment: this field can hold any information you want. Often it is used to describe a KoreSound in terms of its possible usage, and also to note any special interactive features of the KoreSound, e.g. “MIDI modulation wheel controls master cutoff.” • Number of Inputs: Specifies the number of inputs. • Number of Outputs: Specifies the number of outputs. • CPU Usage: Displays the percentage of CPU power the sound uses on your system.
be found in “My Documents/MASSIVE/My Sounds” in Windows XP (“[User]/ Documents/MASSIVE/My Sounds” in OSX). Note that you can access this folder within the Browser’s File Tree View by selecting the My Sounds entry. As explained above, you can use your operating system to delete or rename files within these folders; please refer to section 4.10.2 for details. Appendix A – How to Work with Attributes This chapter will provide several examples on how to search for sounds and effects with the sound Browser.
Probably the first thing you did was to click on Synth to find a sound, as MASSIVE is a synthesizer. You’ll wonder why we’ve included so many acoustic instruments as Attributes. The practice of imitating acoustic instruments has a long history. Synthesizing brass, woodwinds or strings in analog synths has become so familiar to sound designers that sounds like Mellow Strings or Fat Brass have become familiar preset names for synthesized sounds.
As you can see, this column is subdivided into seven smaller groups, each of them serving a specific purpose. We’ll start from the top and make our way to the bottom of the list, so let’s begin with the first group: • Acoustic – Electric – Analog – Digital: These four Attributes define the instrumental source. Let’s assume you’ve clicked on Bass in the Instrument column; you can then distinguish among Acoustic basses (e.g., an upright bass), Electric bass (e.g., a picked rock bass), Analog Bass (e.g.
The next six Attributes are grouped in pairs and specify the sound’s source: • Solo/Single – Ensemble/Kit • Small – Big • Dry – Processed These are clearly opposites (e.g., a sound cannot be Dry and Processed at the same time). Please refer to Appendix B for a complete set of definitions. The Timbre Column The Timbre column specifies a KoreSound’s timbre. It is made up mostly of Attribute pairs: As with the pairs in the Source column, these Attributes are opposites.
The Articulation Column The Articulation column serves two purposes: It describes how the sound progresses over time; and it gives you information regarding how to use the sound With the Articulation column you can define exactly what the Sound is about, and its intended use.
The Genre Column The Genre column describes the musical style with which a sound can be associated: This set of Attributes is the last step in defining your KoreSound, as these are the most subjective definitions and/or interpretations. Obviously, the definition of “What is techno?” and “What sound can be used for techno?” is always subjective because really, every sound can be used for every genre, like a harpsichord in hip-hop or a sub bass in jazz.
• FM Bass: This is a typical search setting for an FM bass sound. • Rave Lead: Note that no Instrument is specified, so this search will give you all sounds that could be used in the same context.
• Soft Electric Piano: In this example, because Sweep/Filter Mod is selected the sound will have some sort of filter movement. As a result, the electric piano might have a wah-wah “feel” to it.
• Chord Stab • Thin Bells 102 – MASSIVE
Appendix B – Attributes Reference The following pages are a reference of all attributes used in MASSIVE’s database. The attributes are identical to those used within KORE. They are ordered in categories: first those used to describe an instrument sound, then those that specify an effect sound. Please note that some attributes should are mutually exclusive, e.g. a sound’s source can either be acoustic or electric. Refer to Appendix A for examples.
• Drums: A single drum sound, a drum kit or a drum loop based on an acoustic or electronic drum kit. Typically this includes kick drum, snare, toms, hi-hat, ride/crash cymbals, claps. • Percussion: A single percussion sound, a percussion kit or a percussion loop. This includes all idiophones and membranophones of indefinite pitch, such as bongo, timpani, agogo etc. It also includes electronic percussion that is not usually found in an electronic drum kit.
Source Describes the source and/or synthesis technique with which the sound can be associated, always in relation to the selected instrument. • Acoustic: Further defines the instrument, e.g. acoustic piano, acoustic guitar, acoustic (i.e., church) organ. • Electric: Further defines the instrument as an electro-acoustic instrument, e.g., electric piano, electric guitar, electric organ. • Analog: Further defines the instrument as a typical subtractive synth sound, e.g.
• • • • • violoncello is categorized as Bowed Strings/Big; a taiko drum would be found under Percussion/Big.) Dry: Has no noticeable effects like reverb or delay. Distortion and/or filtering do not affect this Attribute. Processed: A sound reinforced with some obviously added and audible effects like delay, reverb or chorus. Layered: A sound where two or more sound sources contribute to one instrument. The sounds must combine to form one sonic character, like a typical Piano + String sound.
• Soft: A general, rather subjective interpretation of a sound. Can be used to differentiate similar instruments (e.g., vibraphone with soft mallets). • Muted: A sound with a muted or damped quality, like a muted guitar or con sordino strings. Usually found on acoustic instruments (a dark sound is not necessarily muted). • Detuned: A sound with detuned oscillators to create floating tones, like saw leads used in trance music or honky-tonk piano.
• Long/Evolving: A sound with a complex, moving or increasing envelope, which persists for more than just a few seconds. • Pulsating: A sound with periodic changes in volume and/or timbre over time, e.g., a step modulator controlling volume/filter. A loop is not necessarily Pulsating - only if it is processed in a similar manner. • Echoing: A sound with significant reverb or delay. • Pad: A sound texture suitable for as a homophonic background.
Genre Describes the typical musical genre to which a sound would be suited. It can also stand for a particular sound’s origin. • Avantgarde: Sounds associated with modern contemporary music, whether acoustic or electronic. This Attribute works well in combination with other genres, e.g. orchestral + avantgarde might include extended playing techniques on acoustic instruments. • Orchestral/Classical: Sounds used in a traditional symphonic orchestra or chamber group.
trance anthems) and commercial dance sounds like bells and arpeggiated elements go here. Sounds that are suited to create a hypnotic mood also fit here. • HipHop/Downbeat: Sounds with a laid back and chilled character belong in here as well as typical sound effects like vinyl-scratching, struck drum sounds with an acoustic or analog synthetic character, and mellow pads.
Index A Aftertouch as a modulation source............ 83 all-pass..................................... 45 Amp knob................................. 38 amplitude modulation................. 52 Amplitude Modulation Slots........ 52 Amp Section............................. 51 Articulation....................... 98, 107 Articulation Attributes ............... 87 ASIO.......................................... 7 AT............................................ 83 Attributes..................
F Faders................................ 20, 25 Feedback Section...................... 41 file locations default................................... 89 File Tree View............................ 88 filter all-pass.................................. 45 AP......................................... 45 band-pass.............................. 45 band-reject............................. 45 comb..................................... 46 Daft....................................... 46 DNA................................
Load a sound.................................... 7 loading time.............................. 91 Loop Area Bar..................... 79, 81 loop range................................. 81 low-pass................................... 45 Low Frequency Oscillator............ 76 M Macro Control........................ 9, 83 Macro Controls.......................... 27 library assigments................... 83 Macro Control Section................ 83 Master Effects Section............... 53 Master Volume Control...
Pitchbend........................... 57, 58 Popup Menus............................ 19 Position modulation.................... 39 Preset Selector.......................... 31 Previous and Next buttons.......... 20 Programs.................................. 91 Q Quickstart................................... 7 R Range Knobs............................. 21 Rebuild Database button............ 31 Recent Files.............................. 30 register....................................... 6 Reset Button.....
V Vel........................................... 83 Velocity..................................... 83 as a modulation source............ 83 Vibrato................................ 57, 58 View buttons............................. 33 Voices................................. 18, 32 voice spreading.......................... 26 Voicing.................................17, 18 W Wavetable oscillators.................. 34 wavetable position...................... 12 Wavetable Position Control..........
