Released in 2006 and marketed to techno producers, the Massive Synthesizer only began gaining popularity a few years later and within a different musical genre: dubstep.

What developments in media, culture and music led to its delayed success? How did the development team behind Massive anticipate its future use and was there inspiration from existing instruments? Gösta Wellmer, Head of User Interface Design at Native Instruments, tries to answer these questions based on interviews with the original development team, the examination of its preset sounds, and comparisons with other synthesizers.