FORMANT LEAD SOUNDS WITH MASSIVE X

Since the release of the original Massive a lot of rival wavetable synths have hit the market. To compete, Massive X clearly had to find new and exciting ways to work with wavetable oscillators. With Massive X’s ten distinctive playback modes, which can go from gritty-as-hell to weird and ambient, the developers have pulled it off and then some...

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One of Massive X’s headline features are its multiple playback modes, which control how each oscillator scans through its wavetable. Changing these setting can have huge sonic results. To try this, use Osc 1 and add the Additive + FM > Metallic String A wavetable.

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To the left of the oscillator is where we change the playback mode. Click ‘Standard’ to bring up a dropdown and select Gorilla. This gives us two new controls: Over, dictating the strength of the effect and Bend, controlling formant-style ‘bending’.

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For our patch, let’s set both of these to roughly three-quarters to the left, for a subtle effect. Now let’s use a randomised LFO to modulate the Bend parameter, to create a unique, talking-like effect.

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Before moving on, take some time to try Massive X’s other playback modes out to see how they affect the timbre of the sound. ART is great for a modern take on acid bass, Jitter is cool for glistening pads.

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Sticking with Gorilla for now, let’s finish off the patch by loading up the Stereo Delay effect in the final Master FX slot.