What is the point of Voice Randomization (VR) in Massive X?

Titus

Hi all,

One of the modulation sources in Massive X is called VR (shorthand for Voice Randomization, nothing to do with Virtual Reality). The manual states that it "add[s] pseudo-random variation to your sound". You'd think this would act somewhat like the Trigger Random modulator in Massive, especially since they say that "It generates a fixed modulation value per voice".

But not at all, in fact what it does is play a fixed pattern of 8 values, that are ALWAYS the same. In other words it is completely pointless since the Performers could do the same thing. SoundBytes Magazine's review of Massive X (which seems to be down at the moment for some reason) were already pointing this out as an oddity when the synth released. But they didn't have the manual back then, but now we do and judging by what the manual says and how the synth actually behaves it really feels like a massive bug (pun intended) or a feature that was never really properly implemented.

I have attached the VR and TrR modulators of Massive X and Massive respectively to a 1 octave change in pitch to Osc 1, see how Massive X has this repeating pattern when Massive is "truly" random:

I want to love this synth so bad. There is so much about it that's great and then there's the baffling stuff that I just don't know why it hasn't been fixed yet, and one of them is VR.

Is there any Massive X dev around here that shed some light around this feature cause I really fail to see its point?

Massive X seems to have been abandoned by NI and it's sad cause it's truly a great synth but we haven't seen any noteworthy update to the plug-in since 2020 and they stopped releasing Massive X Expansions.

Seqsual

I suppose the pattern you mentioned has 8 values because the patch is set to be 8-voice polyphonic.

I think the point here was to emulate old analogue hardware where each voice is having its own deviation from perfection and that deviation is fixed for each voice. Same idea as "vintage knob" on Prophet-5 for example: https://www.sequential.com/product/prophet-5/

Daru925

Yeah its the same "sequence" playing over and over, try it on unison chords no matter the number of voices per chord and you get the same chord patterns everytime.

All in all i don't find it being an issue for my VR usecases,and "at worst", random lfos can give more randomness if need be.

chk071

Yep, it alwas bothered me that it's not truely random.