People tend to say, that Massive does not sound “real” enough to use it for Melodic Techno or other analog influenced genres. While it will never reach an original Moog for example, there are ways to make it sound closer to the synths it was derived from.

Here is a Pro-Tip from producer and synth enthusiast James Wiltshire:

Step 1:

In Massive´s LFO5, we blend a sine wave with a hint of noise and use that to modulate Osc 1 pitch very slightly.

Step 2:

LFO 6 is used to gently waver Osc 2 pitch and pulse width.

Step 3:

Then for even more random drift, LFO 7 and 8 are used to alter the rate of the first two LFOs.

Step 4:

To wrap up, we assign LFO amplitude to one of Massive´s macros.

Now, one twist of this “drift macro knob” blends in some analog style pitch instability - especially with chords.” computer music

Keywords: sound design, massive, analog sounding bass, melodic techno, underground techno, clean mix, ableton