If you're stacking this against Patchworx 88 PHAS3LINE Drum and Bass Massive Presets or the two Neuro DnB packs and trying to work out which one deserves your money, here's where this review lands: High Energy DnB is the most balanced of the bunch. It covers more sonic ground than the darker, narrower alternatives, and the value case is tighter than it first appears once you count what's actually in the box. At $21, this pack sits in a sweet spot for Massive users who want a complete toolkit rather than a deep dive into one flavour of DnB. It's built for producers who already own NI Massive 1.5.1 or later and want to skip the patch-building phase and get straight into arrangement.
How It Compares Out of the Box
The PHAS3LINE pack from Patchworx goes dark and brooding with 64 presets. Patchworx 51 and 74 (the two Neuro DnB packs) push further into distorted, modulated territory with filthy basses and raw, unsettling textures. High Energy DnB doesn't try to out-extreme either of them.
Instead, it spreads across six categories: 10 Atmospheres, 10 Basses, 10 FX, 10 Leads, 10 Pads, and 10 Plucks. That's a deliberate choice to serve a whole track, not just one element. If you hate spending an hour digging for one usable lead when you've got a bass line you love, this structure is satisfying. Each category pulls its weight.
Owners report lots of texture and variety. That lines up with what the category split suggests: this is a pack designed to get a full session started, not to give you 70 versions of the same sub-bass.
Performance Deep Dive
Every one of the 70 presets ships with a matching MIDI file and a rendered WAV at 24-bit 44.1kHz. That's 140 additional usable assets total (70 MIDI + 70 WAV, beyond the 70 presets). At $21, that works out to roughly 30 cents per asset if you're counting. Honestly? That's hard to argue with.
The WAV renders matter more than they might seem at first. If you're running a CPU-heavy session with multiple Massive instances already loaded, you can drop the rendered audio straight into your DAW without opening the synth at all. That's a workflow win that the preset count alone doesn't tell you.
Each preset has assigned Macros, which means automation is built in from the start. You don't have to map anything manually. Pull the Macro knob in Massive and the preset moves. For live arrangements or anything with evolving pads and atmospheres, that's a real time saver.
Total pack size is 246MB. Light. It won't clog a drive or cause download headaches.
One hard limit: this is Massive 1.5.1 or later, full stop. Massive X users are out. That's not a caveat buried in small print; it's the first thing to check before you buy.
Where It Wins
The three-asset bundle per preset (patch, MIDI, WAV) is the clearest advantage this pack has over its rivals. The Neuro DnB packs and PHAS3LINE are strong on sound design but don't necessarily package content the same way. When you're in a session and you want to audition ideas fast, having the WAV ready means you don't need Massive loaded at all.
Breadth is the other win. You can build a whole DnB track from this pack alone. The atmospheres set a scene. The basses anchor it. The leads cut through. The plucks add rhythm. That self-contained quality is underrated in preset packs, where most developers focus on one sound type and leave you hunting for everything else.
Macro assignments on every patch keep your workflow clean. No frustrating setup. Open Massive, load the preset, and the controls are already waiting for you.
Where the Competition Wins
If you want to go deep into one specific corner of DnB, the Neuro packs win. Patchworx 51 and 74 have a sharper identity: distorted, modulated, aggressive. If that's your sound and you want 60-plus presets all pushing in the same direction, those packs are more focused tools.
PHAS3LINE has its own mood. Dark and brooding is a legitimate lane, and if you're producing darker, atmospheric DnB, that pack's narrower palette is a feature, not a problem.
High Energy DnB trades that focus for range. That's the right call for some producers and the wrong one for others. It's not a flaw exactly, but it's worth being clear-eyed: if you already have leads and pads sorted and just need heavy modulated basses, one of the Neuro packs will serve you better.
Who Should Buy Which
- ✅ Buy if you own NI Massive 1.5.1 and want a full DnB toolkit across all patch types in one place
- ✅ Buy if you want rendered WAVs alongside presets so you can skip loading Massive in a heavy session
- ✅ Buy if you're producing high-energy DnB and want Macro-ready presets you can automate straight away
- ❌ Skip if you're on Massive X. These patches won't load.
- ❌ Skip if you need ultra-specific Neuro or dark atmospheric DnB sounds exclusively: the focused rival packs are a better fit
- ❌ Skip if you don't own NI Massive at all and are hoping to run the patches in a different synth
Specs & Technical Details
| Developer | Loopmasters |
| Price | $21 |
| Plugin Format | NI Massive Presets (.nmsv) |
| OS Support | Mac / Windows (dependent on NI Massive) |
| Activation | N/A |
| CPU Usage | N/A (dependent on NI Massive instance load) |
| Trial Available | N/A |
| Version Reviewed | Requires NI Massive 1.5.1 or later |
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 4.0/5 | Owners report genuine texture and variety across all six categories |
| Value for Money | 4.5/5 | 210 usable assets (preset, MIDI, WAV per patch) at $21 is a strong deal |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/5 | Macro assignments on every preset make customisation immediate |
| Features | 3.5/5 | Three-asset bundle per preset is clever; nothing beyond that stands out |
| CPU Efficiency | N/A | Dependent entirely on how you run NI Massive in your session |
| Overall | 4.0/5 | Solid, well-structured DnB preset pack with strong value and broad coverage |
Alternatives to Consider
Patchworx 88 PHAS3LINE Drum and Bass Massive Presets is the right move if your DnB skews dark and brooding. It's a narrower focus, but the mood is more consistent if that specific atmosphere is what you're after.
Patchworx 51 Neuro Drum & Bass goes harder on the edgy, distorted side: modulated sequences and aggressive basses with serious bite. If you love that Neuro sound and want your basses to feel like they're chewing through the mix, this one deserves a look.
Patchworx 74 Neuro Drum & Bass Vol 2 doubles down on what Vol 1 started: filthy synths, raw distorted basses, and cavernous pads. If you hate restrained sound design and want your session to feel ugly in the best possible way, Vol 2 pushes further than High Energy DnB is willing to go.
The Bottom Line
You're getting 70 presets, 70 MIDI files, and 70 rendered WAVs in a single 246MB download. At $21, that's not a gamble. It's a reasonable investment for any producer who's sitting in front of NI Massive 1.5.1 and needs a DnB session started today, not three hours from now.
The Massive X incompatibility is the one thing that could make this irrelevant to your setup before you've even clicked download. Check that first. Seriously, check it before anything else.
If Massive 1.5.1 is what you're running and high-energy DnB is what you're making, this pack earns its keep. It's not the most extreme option in the Patchworx catalogue, but it's the most useful one for a whole session. That's a different thing, and it's the cleverer buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Patchworx High Energy DnB pack work with NI Massive X?
No. The presets are built for NI Massive version 1.5.1 or later and are not compatible with Massive X. If Massive X is your synth, these patches won't load. Check which version you're running before you buy.
What's included beyond the presets themselves?
Every preset comes with a matching MIDI file and a rendered WAV at 24-bit 44.1kHz, so you get three usable assets per patch. The total download is 246MB covering 70 presets, 70 MIDI files, and 70 WAVs. The WAVs let you audition or use sounds without opening Massive at all.
Can I automate the presets easily in my DAW?
Yes. Each preset has Macros assigned inside Massive, so the key controls are already mapped and ready to move. You don't have to build your own Macro assignments from scratch. For pads, atmospheres, and anything that evolves over a bar or two, that makes arrangement faster.
How does this pack compare to the Patchworx Neuro DnB packs?
High Energy DnB covers six categories and aims for breadth across a full track. The Neuro packs (Patchworx 51 and 74) focus specifically on distorted, modulated Neuro sounds with raw basses and aggressive textures. If your whole track needs to live in that Neuro space, those packs go deeper. If you need atmospheres, leads, pads, and plucks alongside the basses, High Energy DnB covers more ground.
