Liven XFM Unboxing and Initial Impressions

Liven XFM Unboxing and Initial Impressions
Today I'm unboxing the Sonicware Liven XFM! I've had my eye on this 4 operator, 6 voice synth and 4 track groovebox for some time now, and I'm so excited to finally be diving in. I chose to go into this video almost completely blind, a decision I regretted immediately. This thing is PACKED with features, is deeper than anything in this price category ($199 USD) I've ever seen before, and doesn't really hold your hand though any of it. I can't recall the last time I was so overwhelmed by a piece of gear, and that's a good thing! At it's extremely budget price, the Liven XFM should be a powerhouse synth and groovebox for years to come. Remember, this is just my unboxing video, the review will come later! Enjoy the video :)
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO
Sonicware Liven XFM: amzn.to/3sRNGX3
Zoom Livetrak L-12 (audio recorder): amzn.to/3lyT1ye
Chris Lody's XFM Tutorial:
• How to Use the SONICWA...
Questions? Ask them below!
Support the Channel: / freebeat
Bandcamp: free-beat.bandcamp.com/releases
Follow me on Instagram: / freethebeat. .
If you enjoy this video, considering subscribing to the channel! It's free, and I upload new content every single day!
All links in this description are Amazon affiliate links, the gear is the same price to you, but I get a small kickback when you use these links! It's an easy way to support the channel at no extra cost!

[@rlynker]

Oh....also glad to see your video was "unprepared". It gives a reality check to the rest of us that may decide to pick one up.....what we can expect out of the box. Don't regret that decision. It was a great video for that exact reason!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@eddieehlin3577]

Love the transparency and your videos are always a treat!

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you so very much!

[@raulgorgulio9834]

I love that it has dedicated buttons for sequencer steps - it's a very convenient way to build patterns

[@FreeBeat]

YES, such a great feature! I wish more devices would implement them. Thanks for watching :)

[@rayderrich]

You know, I am happy that you show the confusion after a fresh unboxing. It makes me feel better because now I know even more experienced people have the same feelings I have when I open gear. I love a healthy mix of confusion and anticipation for what lies within. Good luck with the device!

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you liked it haha, thanks for watching!

[@returnofthegoth2220]

I have been so excited for you to intro this equipment. I am so excited to see how you vibe with this. Kudos for choosing the FM unit bc that sounds intimidating. I think you going blind was best bc it shows how diverse you can go with the instrument. FM is nuts and good for you for doing so despite not being one for sound design. This inspires me! Thanks!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much! I'm a little excited to actually get into the FM engine soon haha.

[@jsyarto04]

I was going to buy one last summer but they were back ordered. After watching your unboxing, I finally ended up buying one and it’s all your fault!😆 I really enjoyed the video. It was a bit like a live video because you just did it not knowing what to expect. Thank you for continuing to make great content!

[@FreeBeat]

I hope you love yours! Look forward to more videos coming soon :) Thanks for watching!

[@blkrbbt]

No, you did right going in blind. It's an authentic reaction and we get to watch you on your journey of understanding of this little joint. It will be fun rewatching this after you make your inevitable album just using this gear alone.

[@FreeBeat]

I'm glad you liked the blind reaction haha, it was a bit much for me! Thanks for watching :)

[@peterdonofrio1038]

YES!!! I finally picked up both the XFM and 8Bit Warps for myself about a month ago. I have yet to really dive into them properly but first impressions: people are seriously sleeping on these Liven machines!!! It’ll be great to see your future XFM videos!

[@FreeBeat]

For me, this thing sits FIRMLY at the top of the "I want to get the absolute most for my money that I can" of any budget device I've ever used. Thanks for watching!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Everybody is busy obsessing over really expensive gear. A person could have a stack of Liven's for a single TE OP-1 Field. And the stack of Liven's would far surpass the Field, in capabilities.

[@OscarMeza_asiapac]

This is not intended to be a negative comment since I love you and your channel. I hope you do not fall out of love after a few months as you have done with the Circuit Tracks, MPC One, etc., etc. I own the LivenxFM, the 8Bit Warps, and I am waiting for the SplTrkt. These are excellent pieces of gear, a great example of Japanese tech. For videos in KZbin, check for Chris Lody’s tutorial on his channel. There are also tons of videos in their Facebook group. Enjoy the ride, before you push it aside 🤣

[@FreeBeat]

I quickly learned that the Circuit Tracks was not a workflow I would enjoy (also incredibly overpriced for what it was), and the MPC became quickly overshadowed (for me, at least), once I got the OP-1 and Deluge. At $200, I don't think I could find one complaint about the XFM. I mean yeah, the workflow is sort of clunky, the effects aren't great, and probably more, but that price completely shuts ANY of those negatives down. It's ridiculous how much is packed into this groovebox. I mention Chris's channel at the end of the video :) Thanks for watching!

[@Solidahmed]

Thank you for the video! This is one of the most amazing underrated synth!

[@FreeBeat]

Definitely, thanks for watching!

[@yewrforstnaymhearyewrlayst5566]

about time

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@scottfarrell1906]

Great purchase looking forward to seeing what it's like.

[@FreeBeat]

New video coming tomorrow! :D

[@witchfindergeneral2504]

Fantastic video. Loved your enthusiasm 🙏🏻👍

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@electro-soma]

Up until a few months ago I hadn't ever attempted to make music or use hardware. So naturally I bought the XFM! The learning curve is steep but very rewarding. As you've found! I find it an amazing and truly inspiring machine. I started out with the OG Novation Circuit but the XFM just speaks to me more. I've been uploading my XFM jams on my channel. Yes, Chris Lody's tutorials on all the Liven series are excellent. Looking forward to your future XFM videos.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you're liking the XFM so much, I can't wait to start learning :) Thanks for watching!

[@monsterlogostudios]

I’ve had the Liven 8Bit Warps for some time. Surprisingly powerful little synth. With the recently announced SmplTrek, Sonicware is def one to keep on your radar.

[@FreeBeat]

Absolutely!

[@SimpleHold]

I don’t own anything by Sonicware, but they have my respect. Such interesting ideas for their grooveboxes regarding sound engines and features, and that price is attractive, too. I search for their gear on KZbin just to hear people use it. Happy learning!

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah the price to feature ratio is insane haha, thanks for watching!

[@funkbungus137]

I just ordered mine yesterday, I cut my teeth on a DX7 back in my highschool band days, so I'm excited to have access to another hardware FM synth again, great vid, thanks for the stuff ya do

[@FreeBeat]

Nice, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for watching :)

[@patricpatterson2695]

HYPE! Just picked up the Bass & Beats, know it's not 1-1 but it'll be cool to see you in a similar workflow for a bit

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

Freebeat : “I don’t like sound design” Buys an FM synths, which are notoriously hard to do sound design on. I love the dedication 😀

[@ebrown3k]

I thought this exact thing when I saw a video on the XFM. I love sound design so it's great for me. I hope Freebeat puts in a bit of time and makes some cool sounds with it.

[@FreeBeat]

The FM synth is only half of the box haha. The other half (the one I was super interested in) is a 6 voice, 4 track sequencer and groovebox. 64 step patterns, 128 available patterns, with chaining, for less than $200 USD. Crazy!

[@ebrown3k]

@@FreeBeat this is very true. I bought it as a cheap way to start experimenting with FM sound design, but you absolutly get a heck of a groovebox in the package.

[@DavidDeLuge]

There were some great sounds during your initial noodling. I'm looking forward to a full song. It's a synth I've never heard of!

[@FreeBeat]

It's incredibly powerful for the price, I've been blown away so far!

[@adventureswithsteve2981]

Nice video dude , i hope you enjoy your new toy and hope to see many new videos with this wee beasty . Great to see it get some more coverage and i hope it encourages you to purchase some of Sonicware's other wee beasties

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@the-sailing-bard]

Ah, you have yours. Enjoy. I've had one for a month or more and it is indispensable. FM for ever.

[@FreeBeat]

Glad you're liking yours too, thanks for watching!

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

It's probably just me, but I love when something comes with overlays for different modes. I have a Minibrute, which comes with "patch" overlays. They really helped me learn the synth, so I don't really use them anymore, but it's such a fun low tech solution to things like lack of patch memory, or complicated secondary modes of operation. All this new gear coming out is hurting my insides! On the one hand, I want everything, but on the other hand, I don't really need more gear. I have so much gear that I don't use already, quite a bit of which I wouldn't have bought with a little more research and the gift of hindsight/time travel (lol).

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, I sat down with the overlay last night and tried some light programming, it actually works really well! As someone who doesn't enjoy sound design, I had a pretty good time :) Thanks for watching!

[@CmdrMic]

Awesome... Never heard of it before! Thanks for the heads up.👍👍😎

[@FreeBeat]

Definitely worth checking out!

[@CmdrMic]

I just snagged a Donner B1. Also worth a look... $152.

[@wiggesobk]

Great little synth. I'm looking forward for the smple trek!

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, it definitely looks pretty cool!

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

64 steps, may have to ditch my back order for the new Volca FM, and get one of these.

[@rookmaster7502]

If you already have the old Volca FM, I think this gadget by Sonicware would make a more interesting purchase than the new Volca FM.

[@FreeBeat]

64 steps, 128 patterns, AND chaining!

[@nickpritchard7130]

An interesting piece of hardware. As time goes by, music creation enthusiasts are getting more bang for their buck. Thanks for the intro vid.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah this thing is an absolute steal!

[@Gwyn94]

I've been waiting for this one for a very long time dude, so glad you finally got ahold of one. This thing is hands down the best piece of gear you can get for $200, aside from maybe the Arturia Keystep. Even if it were just an FM synth, it would still be an amazing piece of equipment for it's price; pair it with the keystep and use it as a desktop synth and you're off! But the fact that it's a full blown groovebox just puts it over the top imo Sonicware is an amazing company. The devices definitely don't feel as premium as something from Elektron, feels more in line with a suped up Korg Volca to me, but the amount of features they cram into their products really is kind of insane. I only have the XFM atm, but I'm super interested in that new sampler and maybe the ELZ-1. Really excited to see what jams you come up with once you get comfortable with this thing!

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah I can't believe how many features they packed into this box, at the $199 price no less! I'm guessing you have one of these, and if so, I have a question. Can you copy an entire pattern, instead of just a track? I couldn't find anything in the manual. Thanks in advance lol.

[@RobG1729]

When saving a pattern, choose a location different from the source pattern that you just edited.

[@Gwyn94]

@@FreeBeat I sure do! I love mine. Haven't gotten too deep into actual FM functionality, but even without that it's a super fun groovebox and pairs really well with the Model:Samples, so you have 10 tracks to work with overall! I imagine the same would be true of the Cycles. To copy an entire pattern, just load up the pattern you wanna copy, hit func + ptn to access the save function, then pick one of the 16 step buttons to save it to whatever pattern slot you want.

[@WrightFlyer1903]

Like so many of us I suffer from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) so already have all sorts of small synths (many of the ones you feature in fact) so I have NTS-1, Modal Craft 2, Behringer Crave, Microfreak, IK Uno and all along I've been looking for the "perfect" synth but I'm more interested in DAWless than a button box you just wire to your PC. So at Christmas, almost as an afterthought I asked my wife to get me a PO-32 Tonic as I had nothing for rhythm/drums so it was a "toe in the water". Right from the very start I was completely hooked by the pattern sequencer which I found much easier to use than those in devices like Microfreak, Crave, Uno. It was about then I found this guy called "Freebeat" making really great tutorial videos on KZbin that focussed on the rhythm generation side of things and often using PO-32 (and Microfreak and NTS-1). But I began to find the PO-32 a bit limiting as I wanted to find a device that could do one or more rhythm tracks but also some bass and lead stuff too. So I googled around, watched a ton of Gabe Miller videos and almost had myself convinced I needed Novation Circuit Tracks (something I will still get in the future) but in the searching I came across this Japanese startup called Sonicware. Most was about "8bit warps" and I'd almost convinced myself to get that as it had a proper 4 track sequencer (and the loop recorder). I was a bit put off that a lot of the focus was on "8bit" and "chip tune" (though I found out later it has a much wider, deeper sound palette) but then I started to read about XFM as an alternative to 8bit warps. I watched as many videos as I could find (mainly Matt Greer and especially Chris Lody who effectively "wrote the book". In particular he has a 56 minute intro/tutorial video for XFM which I would describe as totally essential for anyone starting with XFM) I was completely convinced the XFM was the next equipment I needed so I waited until my birthday at the start of April and asked my wife to get it for me). Well this thing is an utter REVELATION! Without doubt it is the best value, most FUN piece of synth equipment I ever got. I used to think the Microfreak could not be beaten - then it was. I know it's daunting at first but that's because this thing is so deep. Every piece of functionality has about 50 different things you can achieve with it and then you go and discover another 10 functions you didn't know were there. Then, to top it all, you have the FM editing overlay that basically changes the thing into a whole new device and doubles the possibilities again. Yes FM synthesis is complicated (compared to subtractive) and so there is a ton to learn but if you do background reading about DX7, Dexed, Volca FM you begin to realise that the XFM is an even cleverer design than all of them. You are not limited to fixed algorithms (though it's an option buried deep at the back of the manual if you want it) but the truly clever part of the design is that the output of every operator can be routed in various amounts into every other operator (and that includes themselves for feedback) so although four operators looks limited compared to six in DX7/VolcaFM that is not really the case. The sonic possibilities are endless. When I just saw you had an unboxing video my first thought was "Brilliant, now KZbin is going to get some really serious content about XFM to complement Chris Lody and Matt Greer who seem to be the only other gurus who have realised what a truly amazing design the XFM is. Really looking forward to this!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for sharing! Just reading your experience has my excited to learn more and dive deeper, I appreciate the comment :)

[@jantuitman]

I love that you picked this up, it is indeed severely underrepresented on KZbin and the demo songs already sound great! The FM engine in the Deluge is also 4 operator and yet I heard sounds I would not know how to do on the Deluge. (And also some sounds I can do). I almost want to buy this to see if it can help me learn how to make more flavors of FM sounds…. But I surprised/shocked myself by buying a totally unplanned Syntakt and that device is also crazy deep so I’ll have to learn more about drum synthesis first. Nevertheless I be very interested to see more about the XFM!

[@FreeBeat]

Let me know how you like the Syntakt, thanks for watching!

[@spaceman103]

Sell the Syntakt (and the Digitone if you got one) and you’ll save at least €1300.😉

[@jantuitman]

@@spaceman103 LOL. No it sounds too good, I am very inspired by the Syntakt and will happily learn more about drum synthesis

[@avrilcadabra]

Nice, it is a pretty intimidating synth. Few quirks (like the filter defaulting to OFF) , look forward to your videos on it, I have a made a few. I mostly enjoy just noodling on it with some big reverb. It can sound huge!

[@electro-soma]

Yes I think the filter being off by default gets everyone at first!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks! I've been checking out your videos on it over the past week or so while waiting for mine to show up haha. It's super intimidating, lots of odd workflow quirks, but for $199 I'm certainly not complaining :)

[@avrilcadabra]

@@FreeBeat get on that atonal mode morph ( use shift and 3rd knob at top i think to turn off pitch and envelope locks ) and run it through nts1 cathedral or something. So glorious

[@JakeSweeper]

The more I look at Sonicware products, the more I suspect a few of the designers worked for Korg. :)

[@WrightFlyer1903]

The main designer actually worked for Zoom and you can see a lot of influences from that in the Liven trio but especially the forthcoming SmplTrk.

[@JakeSweeper]

@@WrightFlyer1903 Ah, OK. My suspicions came from how much keybeds Sonicware uses looks like Korg's Nano line. :)

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@coltranius]

I was about to ask what it gets me that my Digitone doesn't, then you said $199 #mindblown

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah haha, the price is insane! The workflow is sort of clunky, there are a lot of odd button combinations. But at that price point I'm not going to complain at all. Thanks for watching :)

[@DCPier]

8bit Warps isn't just for Chiptune, you can get quite nice EBM Basses and Darkwave pads out of it :)

[@FreeBeat]

Good to know, thanks!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

@@FreeBeat I concur. 8bw is capable of a huge range of kinds of sounds.

[@PennyroyallBlew]

Using (and perceive) it only as a "Chiptune" synth is a sin. This device has a lot of character and whatever direction you want to go with it you can be really amazed with the outcome - big ambient pads, dark pads, deep subs, stabs, one shots - everything can sound very unique and nothing like chiptune stuff. I had my 8 bit for 2 months now and already replaced most factory presets with my own patches (factory presets still slaps but you can go much deeper with your own). Not even gonna mention that hands on controls and FX engine make creating patches so easy and fun.

[@dr.yuendo]

Wow!! Thank you!!🙏🙏🙏

[@FreeBeat]

I should be thanking you! I appreciate all your hard work on these products, thanks for taking the time to check out my video :)

[@mynameisaram]

"Completely overwhelmed..." yup, that sounds like FM synthesis, haha.. Seriously, thank you so much for making this video. I really want a MegaFM but sadly don't have $500+ to spend, and while the Volca FM is considerably cheaper, it is much more limited. The Liven FM looks to be the happy medium - and only slightly more expensive than the Volca.

[@notactuallysean]

have you checked out the volca fm 2? they just recently released it

[@yewrforstnaymhearyewrlayst5566]

look at blastbeats by twisted electrons

[@FreeBeat]

Hahaha what's funny is I wasn't even talking about the FM aspect when I said I was overwhelmed. Just the sheer amount of sequencer options were enough to stop me in my tracks lol. Also, the Volca FM is only $30 cheaper than the Liven XFM for now, I'd say if you want a full fledged groovebox to definitely go for the XFM. Thanks for watching :)

[@mrz80]

Six voice polyphonic, huh? That gets me thinking about using it as a sound module for my digital guitar setup. Yeah, this'll be going on the Christmas list :D

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah it's awesome even if you skip the groovebox elements!

[@bilkoprince4222]

You could never make a bad video buddy 1🥰

[@FreeBeat]

Hahaha I definitely disagree, but I appreciate it nonetheless!

[@brianramsey7648]

A very underrated piece of gear for sure. Very good for creating sounds that evolve over time. I also have the bass n beats so check that out too - similar bang for your buck there too.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@infriad]

Great video as always! I’m not really convinced by the FM-hysteria that exist right now. But I have to say, this sounds A LOT better than the Model:Cycles and even the new Syntakt which is a huge disappointment. Not sure about the workflow though 😊

[@FreeBeat]

I just can't believe they packed an entire FM synth ALONG WITH a 4 track, 64 step per pattern, 128 pattern, 6 voice groovebox for $199. Makes a lot of other devices seem completely overpriced lol. Thanks for watching :)

[@youngboyfuture]

Insane bro

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@trustworthydan]

I was looking into one of these. It fits with a mobile set up idea I have, no wires and stuff like that. I really like that it runs off AA batteries.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, super cool!

[@RobG1729]

All of the Liven series run on AAs and have line in audio. Bass & Beats has a 3-channel mixer, making for a very compact portable set-up.

[@richardjames9976]

Excited to see what you come up with the XFM. One question; is it 6 voices across the 4 tracks? Or per track?

[@christianmuller3721]

6 in total

[@christianmuller3721]

But quite Same Parameter Lock Like Elektron. You can get a Lot Out of 1 Track

[@DeaBroggn]

Yea you can use parameter locking to switch between patches in one track, for example for a monophonic drum track that switches between kick, snare and hats and still have 5 voices left for bass, lead and a triad chord on the other tracks.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, 6 in total, like others have said. But parameter locking different sounds is super easy. A lot of power in there for sure!

[@koalemos1679]

Boy this gives a Digitone a run for it's money in my opinion.

[@FreeBeat]

It certainly makes the $800 Digitone price tag feel pretty intense haha. Thanks for watching!

[@RobG1729]

Liven XFM has a brilliant architecture as the 4 operators can be carriers and/or modulators, so it can go from one patch to any other. How the morph's done is modifiable with settings which have color names. Try a morph (XFRM or XLFO) with pitch lock off for strange atonal effect. Each track of a pattern can have a separate length and a different note value. There are 8 types of LFOs for the XLFO engine and the LFO for filter cutoff and/or pitch. Line in audio can have built-in effect added. Yes, it's deep, deceptively (seductively?) so.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, absolutely crazy haha. I feel like it would have been well worth it for just the synth, OR the groovebox features, but they went ahead and gave us both! Thanks for watching :)

[@DopamineOverload]

Ohhhh FreeBeat... here we go. Huge fan of Sonicware. Had to sell mine as well as 97% of my home studio gear just to stay afloat through 2022. I do dig this a lot... but I have to give the edge to the Model:Cycles, even though I didn't think I would... the M:C has way more polyphony because of the ability to use six tracks of the Chord engine, more options... way, way better reverb, solid delay, the chance/conditions stuff... it’s no contest.... hoping I get out of my financial hell to pick up all the gear I had to part with, in the next year or so. Including the XFM again, and M:C.

[@FreeBeat]

My only gripe with the Model:Cycles is that the polyphony is phony, since you can't actually play the chords. Even though the XFM is only 6 notes across all the tracks, just being able to mess around on the keys makes it a lot more fun to "play" in my opinion. I love them both!

[@DopamineOverload]

@@FreeBeat True yeah... you can actually play the chords with XFM. Biggest issue I had with a pattern I made is that there was SO much note-stealing with the XFM. Simple beat, and a 3-note-polyphony track for chords... when I was jamming with a free track, notes were stolen from my chord track. Bizarre but annoying "feature" with the XFM... still cool, just... argh.

[@rexcellencemagee6729]

Hook that puppy up to the key step and start practicing scales! Lol, welcome to thinking outside a groove box! Peace

[@FreeBeat]

The built in keyboard honestly isn't that bad haha. Thanks for watching!

[@micaelarvidsson9034]

Can the 4 track sequencer play track 1 with the synth and example the 3 other tracks with midi out on different midi channels?

[@FreeBeat]

Yes I believe you can do that!

[@ildafons]

Cool!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@eagereyes]

Red Means Recording has some great videos about FM sound design on the Digitone. Not sure how much of that would translate, but they helped me a lot to make that thing much less intimidating. Impressive little boxes though, these Sonicware things. I've been curious about their bass and beats, can't decide between it and the Roland T-8…

[@FreeBeat]

Haha yeah when I said I was overwhelmed, I hadn't even looked into the actual FM engine. The sequencer alone was enough to blow me away! The overlay works pretty well though, I've already done some light editing and it's pretty nice. Thanks for watching!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

The FM patch programmer is dead simple. tweak til ya love it, just like on a subractive synth. Not complex at all, like traditional FM synthesis.

[@christianmuller3721]

When i got mine. I immediatly thought that's a piece for freebeat. In my opinion it Teams Up with model:cycles perfectly. A really great Peace of Gear.

[@FreeBeat]

How would you use it along side the Model:Cycles? Thanks for watching!

[@christianmuller3721]

@@FreeBeat to be honest... I Just sync over Midi. I Like the Model cycles as Master. Drums and perc from cycles and Sounds from xfm. I send the Audio from cycles in the xfm. What i really like is the Mobility. Both devices can be battery powered and the Audio in on the xfm is all i need to sit on my balcony and have some fun.

[@jahovahjira]

Damn you FB! Just when I was done with GAS, you show me this!!!!!! Grrrrrr! Lol!

[@FreeBeat]

Hahaha sorry! Thanks for watching :)

[@ebrown3k]

I made a PDF patchsheet for the Liven XFM. It's in the files section of the "book of faces" Sonicware LIVEN group. I found having a way to see all the settings at once helped me understand the FM sound editing a lot better. I have tried this comment a couple of times. I think KZbin is removing them because I am referencing other social media... Either that, or my KZbin is not showing me my own comments so I have posted three times. If it's a duplicate, sorry.

[@FreeBeat]

Oh that's super handy, I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

[@CmdrMic]

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone & FB. FYI, you can buy this on sale ($179) in stock - free shipping: at Perfect Circuit this weekend [$40 LESS than buying through Amazon (for me)]. Also avail. Liven Beats & Base - companion synth to the X FM. I like Perfect Circuit because they pack well in outer box and are very supportive of the synth community.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for the heads up, that's a great deal!

[@rlynker]

I could SWEAR that in your early days on here, you bought a Volca FM. You were overwhelmed by it and got rid of it. Maybe it was someone else. In any case, I have been watching the XFM since it was in Kickstarter and I was VERY close to pre-ordering one (to get the free case). I'm glad to see more people getting them and, of course, glad to see you getting into FM (again.....I think?). The electrical engineer in me loves FM synthesis.....but the very amateur level musician in me is too lazy to put the time into figuring it all out. I stick with a Raspberry Pi MiniDexed using pre-made DX7 patches.

[@FreeBeat]

I actually bought and returned a Volca FM before I even started the channel, I've mentioned it a few times though haha. I mainly picked up the XFM because I wanted to see how capable it was as a total groovebox for the $199 price tag, but I'm looking forward to diving into the FM engine as well. Thanks for watching!

[@yewrforstnaymhearyewrlayst5566]

don't know if it came updated with new firmware yet, but if not you should update right away. those early bugs were pretty bad, lost my first patches because of it

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks! I need to get my hands on a 5 pin to USB interface lol.

[@inwex8350]

9:25 Total Rick & Morty

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

The plastic buttons give it character. I would never sell my 8bw, or xfm. ❤

[@DeaBroggn]

True, I actually like to play on Liven buttons.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

@@DeaBroggn I play both of my liven's keys, all the time. They might be groove boxes, but their keys become fun, after only a few minutes of playing. The noisy keys and buttons, are full of character. Nobody can hear them on a record, or at a gig.

[@FreeBeat]

You're totally right, there's something addictive about those springy little plastic keys haha. Thanks for watching!

[@DetroitMicroSound]

@@FreeBeat It's the same love as with many certain 1980's machines that also featured buttons with plastic button caps. ❤

[@henninghoefer]

Gotta love when a 199$ device has a nice 16-segments display while my 999$ Deluge has only crappy 7-segments… 😄

[@FreeBeat]

One might argue that the entire sequencer grid is also a screen on the Deluge though haha.

[@rygelxv]

I have to admit that i returned the 8bit warps. These units are really cheap, but the button quality really disturbed me a bit too much.

[@FreeBeat]

I was sort of taken aback by them at first, but just a day later I'm really enjoying them!

[@mojophonic]

Volca FM plays DX7 patches. This doesn't? Other than that, this seems much, much more bang for the buck and capable. I will say that if you don't want/enjoy doing sound design, the DX7 path thing is more important

[@FreeBeat]

The groovebox element of this is what makes it so crazy for the price I think! Thanks for watching :)

[@spaceman103]

So now Elektron will lower the price of the Digitone? Never mind I ordered a XFM.

[@FreeBeat]

While the Digitone is indeed more powerful, it's hard to argue with the XFM's price to performance!

[@brianramsey7648]

BTW - Imminent price increase coming per the manufacturer. I’m pretty sure it is June 1st and all the Livens will go up by 40 bucks. Grab em now!

[@FreeBeat]

Oh that is good to know, thank you!

[@Galacticat_]

I am planning on getting the 8bit Warps first, but I am definitely grabbing one of these as well. Great company that makes powerful gear that doesn't kill your wallet. "box doesn't seem to be anything special".... Dude, there is a fucking OCTOPUS on it! LOL.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@alecchapman7976]

Ey I have that

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@familymusic1771]

Novation Bass Station vibes … modernized

[@RootSuitMan]

I guess I was a month late for it still being $199

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah :-/ It's still a great deal at $239 though in my opinion.

[@RootSuitMan]

@@FreeBeat I actually ended up buying one earlier today as my first synthesizer with no musical experience. It's definitely going to be a bit overwhelming haha

[@jenewbee]

Third!

[@FreeBeat]

You win! (minus 2 of course)

[@FastRCToys]

Sorry but Volca FM2 sound (NO STOCK WHAT ARE YOU DOING KORG....) is way better...

[@FreeBeat]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I'd say the two of them are way too different to compare!

[@FastRCToys]

@@FreeBeat All FM synth are not equal (typing this on my Yamaha Montage that I use every day ;) )

[@glynnpowell7864]

Haha I’d rather pay $2000 for op-1f than get paid $100 to take that piece of junk.

[@FreeBeat]

That seems like a pretty extreme reaction, why do you think it's a piece of junk?