The player is beyond reason awesome.
I was a bit antagonistic, but, it seems like an interesting addition.
Also good to see that they will continue working on the synth.
The player view is making me want to buy it. I do not need more synths. I do not need more synths. Yes, but I kind of want this one now.
Despite the reservations (and post-release comments) of some, I think Native Instruments got it mostly right on this one. I'd like to see full control of ADSR envelopes in this view, but if I get the full synth, my impression is I can switch views. Use the player view for primary manipulation, and if I feel the envelopes need adjustment, go to the main view. I hope I'm correct about that.
I'm not—and never plan to be—a sound designer. But I know enough about sound design to make a preset my own—not that I am averse to using a preset completely unchanged if it suits what I am making—and this gives me a level of control that fits well with my way of working.
Yes, exactly. The full Massive X now has tabs for Play (the Player page), Edit (the regular, full synth page), and Browse (preset browser). You can tweak/design your sound in the Edit page, then flip over to the Play page for performance. The Edit (Main) page also now has a little button that toggles on and off the Animator feature in the Play page (Massive X Player). The Animator fluidly controls the Macros knobs that are listed along the top of the Edit page. Or, if you have a MIDI controller, you can tweak the 8 macros knobs in real-time yourself. They really nailed this new performance experience.
Also, FYI- you can get the full Massive- along with a ton of other stuff- for $49 in one of the Select bundles that are currently on sale. Which is insane.
I'm happy and greatful to see NI is finally stating to give MX some TLC. It' s not much yet and was not really needed but it's nevertheless a great innovative addition that I'm planning to use even though I'm an experienced MX sound designer myself and could use some additions to the main programmer section myself. How about a dedicated granular engine for starters? It could maybe be added to the Noise sections sample player.
