How to Set Up Masssive to Create Sub Bass Sounds

This article explains how to set up Massive to create a sub-bass sound as featured in the Komplete Tutorial video The Jackhammer.

The example patch described in this setup can be downloaded as an attachment at the end of this article.

Preparation

It is often helpful to begin creating a new patch by selecting a preset sound that has some of the desired attributes. A good amount of sub-bass is needed in this instance, so load an instance of Massive and select the Plucked Sub preset.

  1. Undo some of the preset’s existing routing by switching all mapped macros, LFOs and envelopes from OSC1, OSC3, Filter 1 and Filter 2 to OFF. To do this, right-click the small coloured numbers visible underneath some of the parameters and select OFF.
    Jackhammer_1.png
  2. Deactivate Oscillator 2, using the small blue button to the left of the OSC2 label.
    Jackhammer_2.png
  3. Deactivate Insert 2 in the same manner.
  4. Select the Routing tab in the Center Window and turn off any lit inserts by clicking on them.
    Jackhammer_3.png

Oscillators

  1. Use the leftmost drop-down menu at the top of the OSC1 section to switch the first oscillator’s wavetable to Crude. From the drop-down to its right, set the oscillator mode to Formant. Pitch the oscillator down a further octave by dragging down the Pitch value downwards until it reads -24.00. Set the Wt-position, Intensity and Amp parameters of OSC1 as shown below.
    Jackhammer_4.png
  2. Use the Routing Fader on the right-hand side of the OSC1 section to send its signal entirely to Filter 1 (F1).
  3. Switch the OSC3 wavetable to Deep Throat, and set its pitch to -13.00. Set OSC3’s Wt-position, Intensity and Amp parameters as shown below.
    Jackhammer_5.png
  4. Use the Routing Fader on the right-hand side of the OSC3 section to send its signal entirely to Filter Two (F2).

Filters

  1. Slide the Filter Input Fader on the left all the way down. This sets up a parallel filter routing, such that both filters process input signals simultaneously.
  2. Use the drop-down menu at the top of FILTER 1 to activate Bandpass mode. Set the filter’s Cutoff, Bandwidth and Resonance parameters as shown below. Set the Output Fader of FILTER 1 to around 60%, as shown below.
  3. Set Filter 2 to Lowpass 2 mode, and adjust the Cutoff and Resonance parameters as shown below.

    Jackhammer_6.png

LFOs

To assign an LFO, click the Modulation Handle (small green cross) next to it, then click on one of the small dark rectangles below the parameter you want the LFO to modulate. The green number corresponding to your chosen LFO will appear in the box. To set the LFO’s range of influence over the parameter you have assigned it to, click and drag the cursor up or down from this green number. The range will be represented by a green ring around the parameter’s knob, or, in the case of numerical displays such as the Oscillator Pitch, with a new numerical value next to the green number.

To configure an LFO or an Envelope in Massive, open its editing panel by clicking on the corresponding blue or green label at the top of the Center Window.

For this patch, the LFOs are configured and assigned as follows:

5 LFO

  1. Switch on the Sync and Restart buttons, then set a ratio of 1 / 24.
  2. Move the Decay Time Fader left to around 50%.
  3. Set the top LFO  to Sine and drag it to the position shown below, using the Curve Graphic Display.
  4. Set the bottom LFO to Square and drag it to the position shown below using the Curve Graphic Display.
    Jackhammer_7.png
  5. Map 5 LFO to Filter 1 Cutoff as shown below.
    Jackhammer_8.png

6 LFO

  1. Switch on the Sync and Restart buttons, then set a ratio of 2 / 2.
  2. Move the Attack Time Fader left to 0%.
  3. Set the top LFO to Saw and drag it to the position shown below, using the Curve Graphic Display.
  4. Set the bottom LFO to Sine and drag it to the position shown below using the Curve Graphic Display.
    Jackhammer_9.png
  5. Map 6 LFO to OSC1 Intensity as shown below.
    Jackhammer_10.png

7 LFO

  1. Switch on the Sync and Restart buttons, then set a ratio of 1 / 32.
  2. Move the Decay Time Fader left to 0%.
  3. Move the XFade Curve slider down to 0%
  4. Set the top LFO to Saw, and drag it to the position shown below using the Curve Graphic Display.
  5. Set the bottom LFO to Triplet Ramps using the dropdown menu and drag it to the position shown below, using the Curve Graphic Display.
    Jackhammer_11.png
  6. Map 7 LFO to OSC1 Wt-Position as shown below.
    Jackhammer_12.png

8 LFO

  1. Switch on the Sync and Restart buttons, then set a ratio of 1 / 1.
  2. Move the Attack Time Fader left to 0%.
  3. Set the Amp parameter to 100%.
  4. Move the XFade Curve slider down to 0%
  5. Set both LFOs to Square as shown below.
    Jackhammer_13.png
  6. Map 8 LFO to the filter section’s Mix fader as shown here:
    Jackhammer_14.png

Envelopes

  1. Select the second item, Triangle 1.5, from the upper Sustain Morph Popup Menu (highlighted in the below image). Ensure that the Morph parameter to the left is set to 0%.
  2. Adjust the knobs or drag points manually to approximate the curve shown below. For more information on editing envelope curves, consult section 4.8.2 of the Massive user manual.
    Jackhammer_15.png
  3. Map 1 Env to OSC3 pitch with a value of 0.53.
    Jackhammer_16.png
  4. Map 3 Env to Filter 1’s Resonance parameter as shown below.
    Jackhammer_17.png

Key tracking Oscillator

The Keytracking Oscillator tab allows you to define the pitch response of the oscillators in relation to the pitch of incoming MIDI notes.

  1. Open the Keytracking Oscillator editing panel by clicking on the KTR OSC tab in the Center Window.
  2. Drag the points along the horizontal line to approximate the slope shown in the image below.
    Jackhammer_18.png

For more information on the Keytracking Oscillator, consult section 4.8 of the Massive manual.