Liven Lofi-12 as a Synth - Free Oscillator Banks

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Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion
sonicware.jp/p...
European distribution: b4-distributio...
Just a quickie this time. The Lofi-12 is quite a useful mini synth with oscillator shapes loaded into it's slots so you can download 2 banks here in the Sysex Files/Sonicware/ Liven Lofi-12 folder:
(Edit: files updated and correct now!)
www.dropbox.co...
These banks were made by sampling from the Sonicware ELZ_1 and the Clavia Nord Lead 1
Don' worry if you accidently overwrite any of the factory sound as they can be restored from the download section on Sonicware's website in the Lofi-12 tab:
sonicware.jp/p...
/ chrislodymusic
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chrislody.redb...
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#ChrisLody #SonicwareLiven #LivenLofi12

[@danieldocherty5600]

"I've made a pack, there's a link in the description..." *Rolls eyes "...You don't have to sign up for a mailing list..." *Tears of joy

[@liamokeeffe5215]

These are fantastic! It is incredible what this little machine can do

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes Sonicware sure know how to pack in the features 😁👌

[@The-word-I-does-not-exist]

Awesome Chris, thanks for sharing and all that you do for Sonicware users 🔥🤜

[@aftertheendtimes]

This is Awesome! Thanks dear Chris😍

[@VitaEx]

Rock on very cool just received mine today!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh cool, hope you have fun 😁

[@akf2000]

This is so cool, that ARP gate sounded like You Got The Love

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yeah it's a nice feature. You can do that with sequences too and even automate the gate time

[@emixbase]

Beautiful ! Thanks for the package !🍻 Since I have a preorder in Europe, the stores there has different "available in stock dates" some in 5-7weeks and some in a few days, thats a bit strange since we all want the "synth" now 🤣🍻

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you. Yes I've noticed that with other devices after release before. I think some stockists are just more cautious with their estimates than others! I hope Sonicware have made plenty 😄

[@MathHammer]

It looks like there is a small number of units available for preorder for delivery at the end of December directly from Sonicware, at least as of a couple of hours ago.

[@crolodon8024]

Whoa Chris these are excellent.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks 😁 It's a great machine

[@UnauthorisedService]

Thanks Chris..exactly what I’m after. 3 or four layers on the same channel via midi keyboard makes an ideal enigmatic multi oscillator poly synth ! . Independent arps on each track too 😃Came in the post yesterday, very cool machine 👍

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Nice one. Hope you find the full tutorial video I made helpful too 😁

[@UnauthorisedService]

@@ChrisLodyMusic yep getting round to it 👍

[@The-word-I-does-not-exist]

Awesome.

[@TheBestMethod]

can you do a comparison viideo smpltrek vs lofi 12 or even how they can be used together? Cheers

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I appeared on a live stream recently that was focused on the SmplTrek and Lofi-12 which should answer some of your questions. That's here kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5CQq5KAbJyKe5I But yes once I've explored using them together a comparison video would be a useful thing to make

[@MathHammer]

Really cool. Thanks in advance.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks for watching, have fun 😁

[@jesseeatsbrains]

6:03 Venus Theory reference 👀 “Howdie dodi buckeroonies”

[@NunyaB1s]

Sound design question.. if I sample say an analog saw for a full 4s, nail the loop point... is it possible to randomize the sample start point with every key press to give this a little bit more of an analog flavor?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

There's no way to target the start point with the LFO unfortunately, but one thing that does work well is LFO set to random but a speed of 0 which will create a random value on every new note. Dialing in a value of 1 or 2 to pitch gives a bit of wonk without sounding too out of tune which is perfect for a more analog feel. Higher amounts of modulation can be sent to the filter too

[@duketranslucent3rd]

Helpful as ever, Chris, thanks. What's your take on this machine not coming with the power adapter it needs? That seems bizarre, from Sonicware - and it's not like a 9V 1amp adapter is that commonplace. Wouldn't be so bad if it supported USB power. Supports batteries, yes, but six of the buggers, and I don't imagine they'd last that long. Curious to get your thoughts!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Well I'm well stocked with rechargables and outside of the videos I make I sit with it on my lap a lot. The battery life is very good I'd say. You have the option to buy a power supply with one via the Sonicware website but if you do that and import one to the UK for example that just makes the import cost higher so I'd just recommend getting one and buying a power supply afterwards. They are compatible with the Korg Volca ones by the way so they're easy to find

[@duketranslucent3rd]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks for that. Glad to hear the battery life is decent at least

[@emilianoescalante4418]

I imported the two files and they sound great, thanks! But I also accidentally somehow imported over original first bank. Now when I try to load factory samples I get a D.ERR which I assume means data error.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry to hear that. The original presets are provided as individual sounds so from the sample edit overlay they need to be imported by selecting a bank, then sound, then press OK. Once you're editing a single sound send the data and then it should be restored. Press okay twice to save them and repeat for each sound. I made a full tutorial for the Lofi-12 but only covered that briefly. I'll go over it in detail in another video

[@emilianoescalante4418]

@@ChrisLodyMusic I'll give that a try. Thankyou.

[@aaronnelson3644]

Has anyone tried to use these on lofi 12 xt? I don't understand why they are sysex files and not wav. Thanks in advance.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

These won't work on the XT so I've already made a new version with a lot more options specifically for the XT and SmplTrek. I've not had time to make a video about it yet, the pack is linked below. Btw the original version uses Sysex because it preserves all the loop points I've set up, re-recording the wavs in the Lofi-12 wouldn't keep those. www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/9rs5k9418u6dcd7q9r9ih/AJ_wKRQt2aDZbv8_5fEl1Ek?rlkey=6dt7odw06fe7ixb48ifffd6ci&dl=0

[@aaronnelson3644]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks so much! The internet really pulled through for me this time :) They sound great. Very thorough.

[@xgskrillax]

Blz go on sale sometime this year for 199.99 on Amazon so I can buy without import fees

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Not sure if you're in the UK but it won't be sold on Amazon here. Distribution will be through places like Andertons and a few other music tech stores infant remember the name of

[@xgskrillax]

@@ChrisLodyMusic ahh i meant next year actually. Im in Colombia.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh I see 😄

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

Mine is on its way!! I eta next Tuesday ! Can’t wait to dig in :) gonna be fun hooking both my xfm and this baby. That should be fun ! But first I want to really see what sampling is all about. My “free fm2” arrived and I decided not to open Because if I am enjoying the lo fi it really won’t be hard to part with and make some extra $ to make up for spending it on this ha ha Thanks for the great videos and the sound Bank Are there plenty are sound bank spaces to utilize yours or does it right over one of theirs?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh cool I hope you have fun with it. It comes with 5 of its 8 banks full so you'll still have a spare bank to play with even if you add these two

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

@@ChrisLodyMusic awesome ! Thanks so much!!

[@renaudbarbault8157]

Amazing! But how do you load samples into the machine?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

You record them as audio from the line in. It's possible to back them up and reload them via midi which is something I'll show in the main tutorial. But this is slow compared to recording audio and you can't create files to transfer in from from anywhere but on the Lofi-12 itself. Saying that users have asked for an editor so maybe that will happen eventually

[@snaggdadon]

Wooow im a bit of a noob so pardon the question but if I understand this sorcerey correctly I can import midi patches from my microfreak in the same manner?????

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

No sorry that's not possible. The files are created in a format that's unique to the Lofi-12 so only compatible files can be used. The same is true of the files made for the MicroFreak. But you can of course sample the MicroFreak 😁

[@snaggdadon]

@@ChrisLodyMusic copy thank you!!!!

[@griffithmorgan4966]

I had been asking on various sonicware sites like the Facebook one, about loading your own samples into this device. What is the format for the file you create? I have a ton of files of sounds I've been collecting. How do I put mine directly into Lofi? If I could load my own files I would buy one of these, but I was told it is not possible.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

There's no way to transfer files directly in from a computer, not at the moment anyway. An editor has been suggested by other users. The workflow is that you record audio to the device via the Line In, make your edits and if you want to back those up you can export them as midi sysex files to PC or Mac which can be imported back in if you need to.

[@griffithmorgan4966]

@@ChrisLodyMusic I am a fan of the Sonicware products, but not having a way to move samples is a real deal breaker. For a brief moment I had my hopes up on having a reason to buy one. Even my 2hp Play module uses a little smart disk and I can just put waves on it with my computer by moving files into a folder. Oh well.

[@thepaintingtube7965]

Chris ive run into an issue. I tried sampling with my portable MP3 player and the LOfi 12 doesnt receive a signal. No matter how much the gain i use. It does from my PC however. My Octatrack did receive a signal with the same MP3 player. So im thinking the Liven 12 doesnt have a Pre-amp built in to amplify the signal? The iphone dont have a pre amp built in either. Its not a biggy but only devices thathave a pre amp will work with the Liven 12. And most are not portable. It does say in the manual that microphones dont work unless fed through a mixer first . So im thinking this is the case. Can you confirm this for me just so im not barking up the wrong tree. Many thanks Peter

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

So yeah they don't have a preamp which means microphone level equipment or electric guitars can't be plugged directly in but it will accept anything with a line out or headphone output so your MP3 player should work. So should a phone or pretty much anywhere else like that. Have you been able to sample anything else into it?

[@thepaintingtube7965]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Hi Chris. Thanks for getting back. I haven't tried anything else. But its weird the PC works and the MP3 player doesnt so its not the cable. Ive tried maximizing the line level and output level from the player but not a squeak.Im a bit baffled by this. Edit. Just tried my Robert radio with line out and it works. So must be something to do with the MP3 player. Do you know what B.D.L.F stands for on the lcd screen when sampling?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

BD.LF is one of the preset samples, sample 1 in bank 1. Make sure you select an empty slot when sampling as otherwise you'll overwrite the preset sounds

[@thepaintingtube7965]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Doh!! i sampled something into a pattern as well and got all the FX on the sample imported thinking it was screwed. But then i realized you have to be in an empty pattern as well otherwise you end up with a distorted sample. Small steps :) Ive got an Isla S2400 and i must say it gives it a run for its money sound wise. The 24bit is as clear as a whistle. The 12 bit has real crunch.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes it's pretty easy to overwrite things. The original patterns can be restored with a factory reset but that doesn't include the samples, though they can be restored via midi sysex files if needed. I'm working on the full tutorial at the moment so it should be ready fairly soon. That S2400 looks like a serious bit of kit 😁

[@ElectricCelt56]

I take it the envelopes are paraphonic, one per channel, and not polyphonic? All the chord playing is single trigger notes.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes so it's one filter and one filter envelope per track but the samples and their volume envelopes are one per voice. So a paraphonic setup like the MicroFreak or Poly-800 but one per track

[@snake1029]

Chris, I loaded both OSC L and OSC H and for some reason OSC H turned out to be a copy of the loop bank. Tried it twice and same result, just a heads up.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha I'm such an idiot. I was really pushed for time today so I didn't have time to check them. I've just updated the files so it should be right now. I'll check them this time too!

[@snake1029]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Not a worry! Thanks for doing this at all and for getting the update out so quick!!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Just hope it's right this time 😆

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@snake1029 I finished checking and they're definitely right now. Thanks for letting me know 😁

[@snake1029]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Yep. all looks good. Much appreciated!

[@DurtyCardiologist]

Can these be used on the Lofi-6??

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry no I never made a Lofi-6 version of this

[@jeffaguilar7788]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Well, this explains my struggles... any tips for us 6 users who want these sounds? It wouldn't work the same just sampling in from like a software synth, right?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes you can just sample them straight out of a soft synth. Most of these were sampled from a Nord Lead directly into a Lofi-12 which is a virtual analog, basically a soft synth in a keyboard. Just sample continuous tones would be my advice, filter open, resonance off, and maximum sustain. Start with basic waveform and work from there. Looping the basics waveforms from the overlay is easy. Things can get a little trickier with more complex moving sounds like pwm, you just have to make sure the pwm cycles back to the start within the maximum sample length for the Liven in cases like that. Also save each sound as a project or high quality wav on your pc. I didn't because I was feeling really ill at the time and couldn't be bothered so I only have the recording inside the Lofi-12 which is why there aren't any other versions of it 😅

[@jeffaguilar7788]

@@ChrisLodyMusic You are a legend Chris, Thank you! I'll give it a shot! Edit: Reporting back! I took your advice, open filter etc. for sampling some single oscillator sounds. It turned out great so far! Got them all from Arturia's Model D Emulator. I see what you're saying about PWM and the max sample length on the Lofi... I'm going to experiment with the loop start and end points and see what happens there.

[@michaeleanderschulte]

I just read that there is no way to save and examge samples, if this is true this thats a total misconception for the wanted target group of „sample diggers“ … it seems this could have been the coolest item for hiphop beats since the SP1200 but they completly messed it up. Thats kind of sad … instead they think a shitty speaker would be cool.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I don't know where you read that but it's s entirely possible to export and exchange samples. This is done using Sysex export and import. Failing that you can just send them audio they can record in

[@michaeleanderschulte]

@@ChrisLodyMusic thanks for your reply … may i‘ll give it a chance then. Seems a very cool item.

[@michaeleanderschulte]

@@ChrisLodyMusic a Simple USB connection, Gotek USB reader and / or drag and drop solution with an editor would have been nice anyway … i won‘t seem silly … i glad people/companies building stuff … but … just sayin

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Well personally I buy hardware to get away from using computers as much as possible so I've been waiting years for an old school sampler like this to come along and do just that. I can understand people wanting to be able to back up their samples really the workflow of recording directly in is just as easy as dumping files over

[@michaeleanderschulte]

@@ChrisLodyMusic me too … the o ly computer i use is justy old atari 1040 for sequenzing and midiclock. I quit using software a long time ago. I sit hours on a screen at my job so i don‘t need it in my qualitytime. I do sampling for almost 3 decades now, i owend almost all MPCs along with, Casio FZ, EMU, Korg Samplers and sampled i guess thousands of hours. I just think it‘s a a kind of misconception, because hip hop heads who make beats are often sample diggers and bukld up their own sample library. Don‘t get me wrong i love Limitation, i still own my beloved MPC60 with only 26 Seconds of sample time overall. But i don‘t get the 4 seconds only 128 sample limitation … 256 and 2 seconds, 512 1 second or an variation would be more handy … i guess the longest samletime in an SP1200 is 1.2 seconds … when longer needed people can sample at an higher pitch … isn‘t that recomended in the reviews? That beside the storage option ……. But … i bust ordered it anyway :) because i realy like the concept. So i‘ll see - maybe its a keeper. One good thing i learned at my MPC60 no bullshit samples, because there is no space for it. ✌️ I got one question left. At thomann their mentioned 80 preset samples beside the sampleslots … is that right?