Controlling the Synth Massive Live

Alan_Wayside · 12-22-2015, 09:22 PM

So.

Massive is beautiful in its ability to build distinct and strong patches, and just as beautifully lets you control the parameters of those channels via macro controls.

Well, if you are anything like me, you might have a few different types of sounds within the filters - filter one has very distinct sound from whatever comes out of filter two, and of course, switching between those two via a macro control. Maybe the wavetable to another. Or maybe you have an LFO on the cutoff of your filters. And maybe you have a macro to control the speed of that LFO, and maybe there's a macro to control whether or not that LFO is even going to affect that filter.

Here's where I am going with this - macro controls are awesome, and make the sound dynamic, fluid, almost alive. It's absolutely great in production, too, especially for wobbles or changing the feel of the song. However, it's hard to do live.

I'm trying to figure out the perfect midi controller combination to control both the notes as well as the macro controls, and I would like your help!

As far as parameter control, I am looking at The Behringer FCB1010.
Each switch/button selects a midi control channel, and the pedal you have selected to correlate with that button then moves the value of that parameter up and down. It has ten buttons and an up and down button, I may be able to program it to also control volume and patch selection.

As far as notes go, I'm thinking The Artiphone might be what I am wanting.
It's an instrument that is meant to be used in different styles for actual performance, which will be really nice if I design different patches around this fact. Plucked patches might be nice if I am using a plucked-style of play, bowed or smooth pads might be nice if I am in a bowed-style of play, etc.

I am open to suggestions. I am by no means an expert in midi controllers, and my actual musical performance experience is in piano. However, I hate using keyed midi controllers for a few reasons, and controlling the macros via knob of fader never really seems to work in my favor. It's possible I might like the idea of keyed controllers more if I am using my feet to control the parameters, but I still won't have the freedom to move around the stage as I'd like to.

TLDR; Looking for a good option to perform dynamic Massive patches live, using the Behringer FCB1010 and the Artiphon for notes with various playing styles. Not experienced in using midi controllers, especially for live settings and looking for advice.

12-22-2015, 09:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
Alan_Wayside Groupie Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 1	Controlling the Synth Massive Live So. Massive is beautiful in its ability to build distinct and strong patches, and just as beautifully lets you control the parameters of those channels via macro controls. Well, if you are anything like me, you might have a few different types of sounds within the filters - filter one has very distinct sound from whatever comes out of filter two, and of course, switching between those two via a macro control. Maybe the wavetable to another. Or maybe you have an LFO on the cutoff of your filters. And maybe you have a macro to control the speed of that LFO, and maybe there's a macro to control whether or not that LFO is even going to affect that filter. Here's where I am going with this - macro controls are awesome, and make the sound dynamic, fluid, almost alive. It's absolutely great in production, too, especially for wobbles or changing the feel of the song. However, it's hard to do live. I'm trying to figure out the perfect midi controller combination to control both the notes as well as the macro controls, and I would like your help! As far as parameter control, I am looking at The Behringer FCB1010. Each switch/button selects a midi control channel, and the pedal you have selected to correlate with that button then moves the value of that parameter up and down. It has ten buttons and an up and down button, I may be able to program it to also control volume and patch selection. As far as notes go, I'm thinking The Artiphone might be what I am wanting. It's an instrument that is meant to be used in different styles for actual performance, which will be really nice if I design different patches around this fact. Plucked patches might be nice if I am using a plucked-style of play, bowed or smooth pads might be nice if I am in a bowed-style of play, etc. I am open to suggestions. I am by no means an expert in midi controllers, and my actual musical performance experience is in piano. However, I hate using keyed midi controllers for a few reasons, and controlling the macros via knob of fader never really seems to work in my favor. It's possible I might like the idea of keyed controllers more if I am using my feet to control the parameters, but I still won't have the freedom to move around the stage as I'd like to. TLDR; Looking for a good option to perform dynamic Massive patches live, using the Behringer FCB1010 and the Artiphon for notes with various playing styles. Not experienced in using midi controllers, especially for live settings and looking for advice.