Because of that, it’s extremely intuitive and fun to use. Serum has a simple, dark and sci-fi-inspired layout (if you don’t count the incredible number of custom skins that can completely change that). We all know that you shouldn’t judge a synth by its cover, but nobody really listens to that, right? Massive X Demo (Download Presets Separately)īefore we get into the nitty-gritty of both synths, let’s take a look at the general features and layout of our options.Ultimately, plugin choices are a matter of personal preference, so you may find yourself drawn to a particular option because it works into your workflow better, despite what I talk about here.īoth plugins have demo versions, so make sure to check them out before making the dive into either option. Same goes with Serum, even though it’s already an extremely stable synth. Massive X will likely continue to have updates to fix a lot of the current issues as well as introduce newer features that may be lacking. So take this into account when purchasing either of the plugins. For this reason, it’s got a few kinks and creases that need ironing out, but it has similar technology to its predecessor, meaning it’s not as new as it seems. Trying to combat this, Massive X only came out 5 years later in June of 2019, making it a far more recent synth. You had no reason to use Massive unless you were used to it. Why? Simply put, Massive was an outdated synth, lacked a good graphical interface and Serum’s feature set not only superseded the technology but also you could literally use the Massive wavetables inside the synth. That changed within a few months, with many well-known producers switching to it as their primary synth. Serum came out in September of 2014, when Massive was already the undisputed ‘king’ of wavetable synthesis.

In essence, make sure that you don’t expect either of these synths to do something they can’t. Since they are both the same type of synthesizer, we can make a fair comparison, as opposed to comparing an FM synth like NI FM8 to Serum. These wavetables are unique and each one has it’s own sound, allowing thousands of possible timbres. Sound is produced by wavetable oscillators that you can ‘scan’ through to morph the sound over time.

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