SONICWARE Liven Lofi-12 - How to Make Lofi Music

Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text and video manuals like this. Any other shorter videos on my channel containing Sonicware products are not paid content.
If you'd like to support the channel I will make a small profit from any purchase you make after using one of these links:
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Amazon UK - Liven XFM amzn.to/3wXeXs1
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Alternatively you can grab a 'Pay What You Want' album from my Bandcamp or an instrument, kit or badge from my Etsy.
chrislody.bandcamp.com
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SymetriColour
sonicware.jp/pages/liven-lofi12
European distribution: b4-distribution.com/en/dealer-locator/
**Full disclosure, I do freelance work for Sonicware so I am not the most impartial source, but I do love this 😁**
So here it is, the new SONICWARE Liven Lofi-12 sampler, and it's pretty damn good.
The Lofi-12 allows 12khz and 24khz sampling frequencies with 128 sample slots. The samples are either 2 or 4 seconds long depending on the chosen frequency. Audio can be recorded directly into the internal memory via the Line In socket, after which sampled sounds are immediately playable across the keys chromatically. Sample playback is not interpolated (not smoothed out) so they have a gritty quality rather than being dulled by the low sampling rate.
A lot of features have been brought over from the Liven XFM including it's sequencer, voice modes, parameter locks etc, but this time the maximum polyphony is 10 rather than 6. Plus each track has it's own effects section that can be modulated by the parameter locks and the reverbs found in the Liven 8Bits Warps are here in a dedicated master reverb section with the addition of Tape and Vinyl effects.
There is a deep editing overlay like the XFM which enables samples to be trimmed, looped and reversed. It's possible to record in instruments and waveform and then loop sections to make the sound loop cleanly, a slight cross-fade is used to accomplish this.
The same Sound Locking function found on the XFM is present too so it's possible to modulate the sample selection in each track, so having a track play a kick and then a snare is entirely possible.
All in all it's a very well rounded little affordable sampler that can record directly into it's memories and can be used like a groove box. Pretty awesome I think.
Sampled drum break source: Future Music Magazine issue 135 cover CD
Free (and very good) audio recording app used: www.dolby.com/en-gb/apps/dolby-on/
ChrisLodyMusic
ChrisLodyMusic
chrislody.redbubble.com/
www.patreon.com/ChrisLodyMusic
#chrislody #SonicwareLiven #LivenLofi12

[@brandobin]

😭 this is everything I wanted my volca sample to be able to do.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes me too 😄 I was very hopeful when they announced the Volca Sample 2 but sadly it didn't add chromatic playback of direct sampling. I'm biased as I work freelance for Sonicware, but this nails it

[@rorz999]

@@ChrisLodyMusic yeah, Volca Sample2 was a letdown. It was better than the original, but not by enough

[@tomblaze2]

Exactly

[@johnrobinson5672]

Just sample!! You had one job Volca!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha yes, the clues in the name you'd think 😆

[@beardedkupp]

this is the first hardware I ever bought, first time I've ever dived into music and I am so lost but your videos have been a blessing.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Well I really hope you're having fun with it and I hope my tutorials are easy enough to follow! The Lofi-12 is a pretty good place to start I'd say, it's got a pretty good tool set for making whole tracks and is good for the money. Along with the new Liven MEGA it's my favourite in that regard.

[@beardedkupp]

I have made 2 beats so far using drum breaks and what I can come up with that I think sounds halfway decent lol. Your videos have been awesome and very helpful!@@ChrisLodyMusic

[@doughankins3996]

Man. I really like this thing and all the other little machines I have seen from the company. They're in a good price range and they seem very useful and intuitive. Thanks for this video.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks for watching 😁 Yeah they're making some interesting stuff in this price range. I've been really enjoying working on these

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

Order is in !! Woo hoo. Gonna help get me through the very long winter of working 4 days and 2 nights. The nights are killing me lol

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sounds pretty exhausting! I hope the Lofi-12 helps, have fun 😁

[@DopamineOverload]

Superb tuto as always, Chris. Went down the Sonicware rabbit hole again tonight. This thing is dope af

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Awesome glad you're enjoying it, still enjoying exploring mine 😁

[@MattGreerMusic]

I was hoping they would make exactly this. P.S. I have a stack of those old Future Music disks, too.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

So was I tbh sisce the 8Bit Warps 😆 Time to get your old discs out 😁

[@RANDOMLOOPGENERATOR]

Wow!!!! I'm loving the Bass & Beats, it immediately made a huge difference to my sound. I was dead set on getting the SampleTrak but this? This is something else! And at the price of the Liven series it's an absolute steal! I am hardware through and through so any opportunity to have a hands on approach to some of my favourite elements of software is always a plus. Great run down Chris, I can't wait to get this!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

So glad you're excited by this. I've been dying to tell people for months as I think it's going to be a really popular bit of kit

[@RANDOMLOOPGENERATOR]

@@ChrisLodyMusic absolutely, I can see it finding its way into many a set up. Over the past couple of years I've often pondered picking up an old Akai from Gumtree but couldn't get over the possible unreliability of old units. This is Ideal and just what I need to get back into sampling in a truly old school sense.

[@dinogoldie9716]

HELL to the YEH!!! At this point, I might as well set up a standing order with Sonicware. Just take my money and GimmeGimmeGimme all this Liven goodness. Livens rule! Thanks Chris for this and all your previous Liven demos/tutorials too.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha I knew you'd be excited by this. It's very much like the XFM so just as accessible but I'd say easier to navigate in general 😁

[@nyfaniloandrianjafy8171]

I went from very excited about this device to very frustrated when I finally got it to enlightenment. You cannot approach this device and map out the same workflow as a SP404 for example (which is my favorite device right now). I have come to love the Lofi 12 watching this specific video. Thank you Chris.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Glad to hear that, hope you're having fun with it 😁

[@foundatlantis]

thanks for the tutorial chris- really nice touch sampling lorry noise. gives the track some depth. i reckon pairing this with the xfm would be a really powerful combination.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you. Yes I was chuffed with the way that sample sounded on this and ends is a great place on the beat, mostly luck 😁 This and the XFM i'm sure would be great to work with, I've not had the chance to hook them both up together just yet but I'm sure I will

[@benjaminbrodie9801]

Excellent video! I dig the sounds you created. Great job. Definitely a stocking stuffer this year. Cheers!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you. It's an exciting product for Sonicware I think :)

[@MrChuckMaddox]

Hello, I just discovered your KZbin channel, and I am happy with the quality of the content. From now on I will follow you regularly. Good luck to you.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks very much, I'll try to keep it up 😁

[@charliecowan9973]

I think I want the XT instead but this is extremely cool, and I do love this case layout for their other synths

[@philipsnettleton]

Good work, Chris. Mine arrives next week.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you, I hope you have a ton of fun with is 😁

[@philipsnettleton]

​@@ChrisLodyMusic, I'm sure I will. Best Regards, Quantum Electric Monk (www.youtube.com/@quantumelectricstudio).

[@Digiphex]

Great review of it with a good music style to show the features.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you 😁

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

This is wild and actually funny because I am waiting for my “free korg volca sample 2 “ because they had a deal. Ha ha looks like i might not even open it ha ha and get this ! Wow I love that you don’t need to hook it to a computer to Sample ! Great demo Chris!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh awesome, I'd like a free Sample 2. I'm a big fan of the original but yeah this spec beats it by some margin and not having to send samples in via usb or audio data like on the first model is a huge plus for me!

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

@@ChrisLodyMusic well it is still going on. If you buy two certain volcas by the 30th of November. So I picked up the kick cheap cause it was on sale and then I signed up for some text alert and got money off that And the mixer went down a lot and I did the same with that. So I figured I paid less then the price of one regular priced volcas and have three now. If I sell the sample I will have two volcas practically free lol

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh cool I think I've seen that deal before but for some reason they've not done it in the UK yet or I probably would have leapt on it too

[@MariaCalfaDePaul]

@@ChrisLodyMusic oh darn! Maybe they will :)

[@rorz999]

Best video I've seen on this unit so far, thanks. When you change the sample to 12-bit (which you do on the drum break you sampled), does it actually reduce the sample to 12-bit or is it a lofi FX that is applied?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks very much. The 12 Bit mode is just a playback setting so it can be turned on and off without being destructive or having to re-render the sample. It will sound identical to a sample recorded at 12 bit.

[@rorz999]

@@ChrisLodyMusic thanks!

[@gsc677]

Thanks Chris, great demo and fun unique sampler, I'm in.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Awesome, welcome onboard 😁

[@SimpleHold]

Very nice product! Thanks for sharing the news and for the demo!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Glad you like it and I'm so glad I can talk about it now 😄

[@UnauthorisedService]

another great overview ! youve proven it to be a most versatile instrument 👍

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you 😁 Yes it's an extremely versatile little box

[@scottharris7222]

I was on the beta team for the liven 8bit warps. I had asked if 12bit processing was possible and was told it wasn't in the cards for the Waprs. I'm guessing they must have had a lot of similar requests. I think they've nailed this. Now can we chain patterns on this to make songs?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes I guess they must have learned a few tricks on the hardware since the 8Bit Warps. I always suspected a sampler would be possible on this hardware after the looper on the 8Bit Warps so it's nice to see it finally happening. Yes it's entirely possible to use pattern chaining to make full tracks 😁

[@dannydaniel8975]

Where did you get the computer voice for your intro...I've been searching for that voice for years and have not been able to find it

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It's from a piece of software called Speech by Superior Software. I used to have it on my old 8 bit Amstrad CPC but it was released on other systems like the C64 and will run on emulators if necessary. I've always loved old school computer generated voices like this 😁

[@dannydaniel8975]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thank you!!!

[@trevormalcolm4328]

Love the look of this, Question, is this 1 sample per track? (I.e. 1 sample playable over the keyboard) or multiple samples (kick on 1st note snare on 2nd etc..)

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It's the former, 1 sample stretched across the keyboard. You can use the Sound Locking function to program different steps in the sequence with different sounds so a track can play more than one sound, but it's not designed to play drum kits. Hope that helps

[@trevormalcolm4328]

Cool, 👍🏽 my workflow is “less is more” so thats not perfect, but still works for me!

[@trevormalcolm4328]

More videos please!!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Incoming video tomorrow hopefully as Sonicware have asked me to make another one 😁

[@exmalobonum1]

Question: Can you use this thing as effects pedal for a guitar? I assume it won't actively modulate sound its being fed in real time but thought it was worth asking. I'm completely new to the groove box/synth scene.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It can pass the Line In through it's master reverb section but not the track insert effects. It's worth having a look at the Liven Texture Lab though, that can do the same but also in EFX mode it can pass the audio through its entire granular synthesis engine, filter and shimmer reverb. With that you can craft your own unique effects including using LFO's to modulate parameters so it's especially useful if you're into designing your own fx. On all the Livens you'll need to convert your guitar level signal to Line In level before you can use them like this.

[@exmalobonum1]

@@ChrisLodyMusic thank you! This is super helpful.

[@mjhobo5520]

Haha! future Music CDs! i have a box of those buggers in the garage

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes, a huge box here and all samples ripped to a HDD too. Still one of the best sources of high quality samples I reckon 😁

[@smacksalad]

Studio space looking great :)

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you 😁

[@xisotopex]

lol I have a bunch of those future music cd's stashed someplace...

[@ptrckc]

bought one. couldn't resist!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Nice one, hope you have fun 😁

[@johnthebigtree]

Hey, I'm wondering if each track can be sequenced on its own midi channel via an external sequencer? Thanks

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes it can do that. There is a midi channel setting for each track that can be adjusted in a menu. I talk about this in the main tutorial in the section that starts at 47m 13s : kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ6UkptvpZx6pqs

[@72ndHUMAN]

Smpltrek would of look sick in this color way. Still dope

[@grunntalll]

This looks great, but 4 seconds max sample time ?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It's 4 seconds max per sample and there's 128 slots for those. If that's not what you're looking for, check out the newly announced Lofi-12 XT which has a greatly expanded spec.

[@duketranslucent3rd]

Thanks for this brilliant video, Chris. Can I clarify something you did after recording in the lorry sample? You said you were increasing the "length" of it, to span two bars. But I didn't think you could "stretch" samples on this device? I'm very new to samplers and all the terminology involved, so I'm probably missing something quite simple. Thanks in advance!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry if that was a bit confusing. I just meant I lengthened the track so it could play for longer and I entered a long tied note into the steps and pitched it down so it would hold that not on while the sample plays. You're right it doesn't have a realtime stretch for samples. I'm working on the main tutorial now whic has a lot more details

[@duketranslucent3rd]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks a lot for clarifying, Chris. Seriously looking at this - but the decision not to include the (hard-to-track-down) 9V DC adapter is somewhat baffling, particularly given the lack of USB power too. Not like those batteries are gonna last long, surely?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

The power supplies are compatible with Korg Volcas so just grab one of those. There is an option to buy a power supply at checkout if you buy direct from Sonicware I believe though

[@timbient_ambient]

Sorry, another question! Can the Line In work as a audio through? As in, can you play something else through it (like a loop cassette from a walkman) when you're not doing any recording? And can you make use of effects when doing this? I've been looking at the manual, but couldn't find the answer to this.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh yes absolutely. All the Livens have that function in fact, you can even send midi out to a synth and audio back in. On this Liven and the 8Bit Warps the line in can be sent to the reverb section and on the XFM is can be sent to the multi FX that includes delay, bit crusher etc. I can't remember how it works on BassgBeats 😅

[@timbient_ambient]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Once again, many thanks for your reply. That's really good to know. I have quite a round birthday coming up just after xmas and I'm hoping various people will club together and get me this!

[@toitoitoy]

Wow! Sonicware are the hotest gear company today. Exiting!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yeah they're doing some very interesting things 😁

[@LB-pp7pu]

Hello Chris, great video, thanks. Is there a way to chain patterns with their settings to arrange full songs with variations per pattern etc?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes there is. If you double tap PTN it will turn orange and you can press multiple pattern selections on the step buttons and they will play in sequence. I'll be publishing a full tutorial today and it's shown in that

[@LB-pp7pu]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks for the answer, very happy about it, good to know that there is the possibility to arrange "complete" songs with variations, fills, etc as it is not a given in all devices

[@timbient_ambient]

Hi there, please can you confirm if it's possible to hard pan the tracks to the left or right channel so that the 3.5mm stereo output can be split to have (for example) beats on the left and tones on the right (for feeding through effect pedals), and if you can do this, does using the built-in effects on the device mean that the right and left channels can't stay separate? Hope that makes sense. Thanks!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes that's exactly how it works. I wasn't sure about the per track effects so I double checked and these hard pan too so it can be used as a 2 channel device. The only thing that won't pan is the master reverb because that's on a send effect so that's to be expected

[@timbient_ambient]

@@ChrisLodyMusic many thanks for that helpful info! Good to know that the per track effects can be hard panned. I'm fairly certain I'll get one. Hopefully there'll be someone stocking them in the UK soon.

[@robertmariano]

I like your beats, I found another toy I that I want, thanks

[@paphruk5416]

Are there functions/options to save to external media… like an SD Card?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

There's no usb or SD card options on the Livens. You can export samples, patterns etc via the midi socket but this requires a midi interface and a computer or mobile device to record and store the files. The newer Lofi-12 XT does have SD card storage and usb, as does the SmplTrek kzbin.info/www/bejne/jojPl31vfLiigLs

[@nickangel6596]

We really want to own this wonder. Thank you for this excellent video. Do you have an idea of the total sample time available? And is backup possible? Good for you

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you for watching 😁 I answer both of those and a few other questions at the start of my newest video, but the total max sampling time is 8m 32s at 12khz quality and 4m 16s at 24khz quality. Backup is possible yes including pattern data, samples, sample banks and even the whole memory of the device. This is achieved by transmitting or receiving midi sysex data and it's fairly easy if you have a midi interface of some sort

[@nickangel6596]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thank you very much for the quick response!

[@SebticSmile]

Dammit, this is too tempting!

[@zyxyuv1650]

Was the 2 second sample time really necessary to reduce cost by that tiny bit? This would have been better with 12 seconds sample time so you could at least sample a 4 bar loop.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

The Liven is a set piece of hardware across all models so there is only a certain amount of memory that the engineers had to work with. So it's not a cost cutting exercise so much as working with what was available

[@gru_day]

I like this one. Lofi-12 is a keeper. With simple mono synth (Modal Craft 2.0) I can add some polyphony to the patch by sampling it. Thanks to audio in it is possible to add another sampler in the chain with FX on top. I use PO33KO! to free some Lofi-12 tracks from rhythm duty :) lofi-12 is worth the price only for a 4 track/64 steps sequencer. I think it's probably the brain of my current setup. Still waiting for some upgrades in soft that I mentioned about in conversation with Liven support tho...

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes I've made quite a few jams like that. Just a couple of bits of gear, make some samples and build an arrangement

[@NimbusAbi]

is the sequencer live recording unquantized? i did not find any info about quantization in the manual

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

No it's always going to be quantized to a step in the sequence, but you can turn up the resolution per track so that each step equals 1/32nd rather than the default 1/16th. So with 1/32nd on and 64 steps you'd get 2 bars of higher resolution recording which is good enough for most things I'd say

[@dinogoldie9716]

What's the cheapest/easiest way to convert a microphone signal to a line-level signal for use with this Liven Lofi12 or the Circuit Rhythm? Is there a cheap battery-powered mic preamp or such on the market?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Hmm strangely I can't seem to find a nice neat solution that's battery powered. As I mentioned briefly in the video it can be done with a phone though. If your phone has no headphone socket you'll need an adapter, but there are a few software options. I've been using "Playback Mic" on android which just connects the mic to the headphone socket. I will demo that in a video soon. Alternatively there are small mixers that are not battery powered that will accept an XLR type mic connection like the Behringer Xenyx 302usb that also doubles as a usb interface

[@junkylo-fi3121]

I like it but it’s so frustrating , I feel like selling it. I got my drum sample recorded and I just want it to loop and for some reason I can’t figure it out. Partial loop or goes 6 steps and plays partial loop. I know it’s me but I’ve watched this video over and over but still can’t get it to loop. I’ll keep trying .

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry to hear that. Have you tried my full tutorial? kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ6UkptvpZx6pqs Version 2 adds some drum related features too kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqjFY4itibWZmZo You can always ask on the Facebook group too, they're a helpful bunch fb://group/617781825432328?ref=share

[@mathieurebacz391]

Looks great ! Does it support multisampling?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yeah it's a good bit of kit. No multisamples though, just one sample stretched across the keys.

[@particular_noise]

Man I'm digging this

[@markmanter6508]

Damn I was looking into the Volca Sample because I have the Volca Bass Drum Keys and FM as well as a MicroKorg…but F the Sample, this thing looks so dope. 😅

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha yeah 😄 I'm a bit biased because I do freelance work for Sonicware, but I also own the Volca Beats, Keys, Modular and Sample and I much prefer the Lofi-12. It's so nice being able to sample directly into the machine, I wish the V.Sample did that. They've added some features since launch so check out this video too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqjFY4itibWZmZo

[@DetroitMicroSound]

I used to buy FM, in the late 90's, and early 2000's! ..Terrible, but I had no clue this machine existed. 🙁 Since I couldn't afford the SmplTrek, maybe I can go for this one. Sampling I work with is mostly lo-fi anyway.

[@MattGreerMusic]

No one knew. It just got released today.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yeah it's brand spanking new 😁

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Loving this product! Think I better go for this one. Been looking to get back to portable lo-fi sampling, for a while!

[@VitaEx]

I canceled my smpletrek for this for real in a heartbeat

[@boxed-sound]

Really awesome demo, Chris. Actively reloading pages to pick one up when it drops today. One question: can samples be played polyphonically? Could I sample a piano note and play a chord on the liven?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you. Yes I should have stressed that. You can sample a sound and immediately play chords with it

[@boxed-sound]

@@ChrisLodyMusic beautiful. Thank you! Then this immediately replaces my use case of the op-1. Finally.

[@nachshonrorick]

This looks and sounds great! Can you change how the samples playback, gated, looped, etc?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes there's a lot to cover which I will in a full tutorial. But you can trim start and end points, set separate loop start and end points, coarse and fine tune pitch, reverse the sample, add attack and release with a volume envelope the release of which doubles as a step gate time at low values, add a pitch sweep, add a filter with an envelope and LFO, route the same LFO to pitch, add effects. There's probably more if I think about it, but plenty to keep you busy 😄

[@nachshonrorick]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Nice! It's like a Volca Sample that you can actually sample to ;-) and much more!!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@nachshonrorick Yes exactly what I was hoping for when the Sample 2 was announced but much more 😁

[@Musical.Maze.1]

Does it have 8T, 16T and 32T i.e. triplets available? Thanks for the video!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It has 8th triplets and 16th triplets but not for 32nd, straight 32nd is as high as the resolution goes. Hope that helps

[@Musical.Maze.1]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks you for the super fast reply!

[@Musical.Maze.1]

@@ChrisLodyMusic You reviewed the version 2.0? Thanks gain!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@Musical.Maze.1 Yes i made a full tutorial and a quick guide to v2.0: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ6UkptvpZx6pqs + kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqjFY4itibWZmZo

[@Musical.Maze.1]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks!

[@Artisan1.618]

Will this give sound to my MIDI keyboard and allow me to use its banks?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes you can plug in a midi controller to play any of it's sounds or any sound you want to record. You should be able to change the channel on your midi keyboard, channel 1-4 will play tracks 1-4 where as sending it midi channel 6 (by default) will play whichever track is currently selected

[@Artisan1.618]

Thanks so much! 🎹🎼🎶@@ChrisLodyMusic

[@Artisan1.618]

How does this compare to the Liven XFm in your opinion? Is there much of a difference between the two?@@ChrisLodyMusic

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@Artisan1.618 Apart from the 4 track sequencer they are very different. I don't know how much you know about different music tech but the audio on the Lofi-12 is created using samples which are audio recording which can be audio from anything including recordings of real instruments, where as the XFM creates all it's audio using digital synthesis meaning it generates all the audio artificially. It's best to check out some audio demos if you want to examine the difference in audio between them, there's plenty on my channel. The XFM is a far more complex machine to use and can produce some much more wild sounds than the Lofi-12. The XFM has less voices of polyphony and only one FX slot because of the extra computational power needed for synthesis versus sampling. Hope that helps!

[@xisotopex]

is the firmware such that resampling/time stretch/chopping could be added?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I don't think stretching in the modern sense would be possible. But you can move and automate the sample start time so old school chopping and coarse time stretching is possible. I used that on a drum and bass preset pattern you can hear on Sonicware's KZbin channel

[@mpstrgc112]

Man I wish I’d known this was coming. I might have skipped the smpltrek for this one. Is there polyphony on lofi 12? Sorry if it’s in the video I’m not done watching yet.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry I should have mentioned that. Yes it can play polyphonically with a total of 10 voices shared across the 4 tracks

[@mpstrgc112]

@@ChrisLodyMusic that’s too cool. That’s why I backed smpltrek. But this one might fit me better.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Their workflow is very different, but yes they both have that in common. I hope you enjoy both of you decide to buy

[@mpstrgc112]

@@ChrisLodyMusic I’ll enjoy anything that makes a sound. At sonic ware prices it’s not hard.

[@lugo4905]

When will this be available?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

There is some stock available from today, so right now if you're lucky. From here sonicware.jp/pages/liven-lofi12

[@vdp4e1]

Hi, is it a good machine for beginner? Vs sp404 mk2? Thank

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'd say it is good for a beginner yes, especially when it comes to value for money. But it depends what type of music you'd like to make on it. I'm not completely familiar with the SP404 has the ability to play rhythms on the pads where this is much more of a keyboard style sampler

[@adammazza9889]

Hello,,,Maybe someone has experience and can answer this: When formulating a full song with your selected patterns, will it automatically stop after your last selected pattern at the end of the song? Or just continue in a loop of the patterns you selected? Thank you. ♤

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Hi. There was a version 2.1 update for the Lofi-12 recently that among other things added a pattern chain function that can be found in the system menu under CN.LP (chain loop). This gives you the option to keep the current behaviour (OFF) or loop when it reaches the end (LOOP). The update can be found here under the Lofi-12 tab: sonicware.jp/pages/downloads Here is an update guide www.sonicware.co.jp/DL/LIVEN_Lofi-12/DOC/Lofi-12_v2_1_update_guide_en.pdf I also made a video about how to update: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHnbqolmptx5pNU

[@adammazza9889]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thank you for your quick response. This will be a very usable feature for live,and recording. Surprisingly, many other units don't seem to offer this feature. I play guitar over a PO-33 drum beat,and have to quickly press stop at the end of the song . Thanks again. ♤

[@thehowlingterror]

Nice one Chris. 👍

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks 😁

[@danieltykarski409]

How would someone go about getting back the factory stock sounds if they accidentally recorded over one? 😅

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It's something I mention briefly in the full tutorial below but I will cover it in more detail in a separate video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJ6UkptvpZx6pqs You'll need to be in edit mode for the sample you've overwritten as the backup files on Sonicware's website are single sounds rather than banks sonicware.jp/pages/downloads Also you'll need to be set up for transmitting midi sysex as shown here kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHnbqolmptx5pNU

[@ice4278]

Do you like the Lo-Fi 12 better than the smpltrek

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha that's a tough one. They're both good at different things. The Lofi-12 has a lot more sound design potential than the SmplTrek (at the moment), but the SmplTrek is great for sequencing and recording whole tracks along with long audio recordings that the lofi-12 can't manage. So it's swings and roundabouts really

[@benmckinney2941]

Cool stuff! At 7:50 it reminds me of Pepper by Butthole Surfers.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks I don't think I've heard that, I'll check it out

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

...no wait I do know that. Thanks for the compliment 😁

[@NoelWatson-kg9qh]

lol dj hyper on the cover. Sending vid to him now

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha thank you 😄 Can't believe I bought those sample CDs over 20 years ago now!

[@NoelWatson-kg9qh]

@@ChrisLodyMusic I have the same issue of future music and about 10 yrs worth of sound on sounds.

[@lab-by-the-sea]

Had these Discs on my desk last week too. Some of them went sticky over time and went unusable 😞

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh damn. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before

[@sonicase]

cool demo

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks 😁

[@tlatsegms]

Cool sound⚡⚡

[@OPdbx]

can it resample multiple tracks into one a la SP-303? the 4 track limit is kind of a bummer but I'm still really excited about this :)

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

No unfortunately not. There is no feature to render audio so it can't be done that was, plus once the sample recording feature is activated playback stops so as not to cause feedback. So you'd need an external recorder of some sort to pull that off.

[@francisard1488]

I really want one, I feel like the preorders are going to sell out and I won't be able to get one when I get paid:(

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes judging from the reaction I've seen in less than 24 hours this could be quite a hot product for Sonicware. I hope they're ready 😁

[@dinogoldie9716]

Mine arrived yesterday teatime. Could somebody please tell me what the two rows of knobs and the round step buttons do in sample edit mode? (I cannot read the overlay and the mostly pictorial manual is no help) Thanks.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'll send that info over later. I'm working on the main tutorial for it at the moment and I'll include an accessibility section at the end of the video describing all the functions in order

[@dinogoldie9716]

​@@ChrisLodyMusic Many thanks. I think I've got most of em (Row1: start, end, pitch, level, value; Row2: EG Attack, EG Release, AutoRec level,loop Start, loop End, Enable, Reverse, Velocity, line-in level, volume. Oblong buttons: Edit, Select, bank buttons, initialize, octave-/+, cancel, save,24khz, Sample, copy/import, paste/export,Rename).

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yep that's it perfectly, it's a lot simpler than the previous two Livens overlays were! By using the step buttons in the sample edit mode you can fade out a sample too, but only when loop is off. Also the value knob is used to fine edit the settings for start, end etc

[@gwugluud]

I was about to drop some bill money on this, but the Amazon reviews all say it's anti-intuitive and convoluted. Hard to use. So I guess it's not for me, as I wasn't born already imbued with the...mojo...or whatever you'd call it, which would predispose me to readily understand really "computery" like, precepts, and concepts. I once returned a Zoom sampler a few years ago, because the only part I could work out how to do was engage the "power" button. A bit saddened here, lol.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Well I think anyone that describes this as unintuitive has never tried to use a vintage Akai sampler, they'll test you 😅 But seriously though, considering the overall design and price point it's very well organised. My opinion is biased because I do Sonicware freelance work but the Lofi-12 is my favourite Liven hands down

[@drk_fi]

Does it have a scales and chord mode?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

No sorry not yet. But this idea has already reached the Dev teams as I saw from a comment over on Sonicware's KZbin so fingers crossed 🤞

[@I.O.M.]

Can you resample?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

That's right yes, direct sampling via the Line In

[@I.O.M.]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Chris, can you resample within the machine like the SP404?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh sorry I misread that. No unfortunately it cannot resample it's own playback

[@I.O.M.]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks for the reply and demo.

[@pr5323]

Do you know when these ship to the UK 😊

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'm not sure exactly no sorry. You might be able to order directly from Sonicware's website. If not the other Livens have been available on Amazon recently so I'm sure the stock will reach that soon too. Sonicware are quite small but I'm sure they're working on it 😁

[@pr5323]

@@ChrisLodyMusic sweet, thanx for getting back to me 👍

[@dinogoldie9716]

​@@pr5323 You (UK/Europe customers) can't buy the Lofi12 directly from Sonicware (I've tried). Apparently Sonicware have delegated European sales to B4 Distribution. I can't find it listed on the usual suspects (Thomann, DV247 etc) and the Sonicware website's list of UK resellers is dubious.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes there is no UK based stockist on that list yet so best to wait until it's on Amazon, DV247, Gear4Music etc

[@whormongrmuzik]

looks like it just went up on the website

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes it should be available to buy right away

[@griffithmorgan4966]

I love Sonicware gear. I have a 8 bit warps and use it constantly. All I can say is that I am grateful they made this sampler such an ugly grey color. It helps me resist buying one of these. Got too many samplers as is. 😂

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Ha 😄 I actually really like the "NHS hospital grey" colour scheme to be honest. I don't have much in the way of hardware sampling in the studio so I'm loving this and I'm sure I'll continue to use it

[@griffithmorgan4966]

@@ChrisLodyMusic I'm sure being Sonicware it is both easy to use and sounds great. Everything I own seems to be black or grey. The only exception are a couple of Dreadbox modules. I would have hoped for a more colorful look on this unit. i.e. I have absolutely no need for a TD3, but they make them in purple! Some day I will have to get a purple one. I know it is juvenile to purchase based on colors, yet, if you look at guitar pedals they do a lot to make them in pretty colors and people will see the adverts more readily if the image contains colorful bling. But oh well. I am saved from this sampler for now. I am sorely tempted by the XFM because I can use the sequencer to play my small modular rack without hauling a big Ensoniq keyboard around.

[@griffithmorgan4966]

@@ChrisLodyMusic According the the official video it comes with a "Laid Back knob for creating drunk beats." I may have to get one now. 😝 They're gonna need to hire an english language expert to proof their ads.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@griffithmorgan4966 that what I thought originally but Drunk Beats is correct. It's a term associated with J Dilla and the like meaning beats with sloppy timing

[@griffithmorgan4966]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Yah, I just looked it up. I guess I'm old. As a serious question about the device. I am very heavily into samples. How hard is it to load wav files onto the little liven? That is the real make it or break it on the unit for me. I have a 2HP Play which takes a little Micro SD and it is is amazing. I am tempted to get another one for my eurorack. But if the Liven is good on taking a set of files, I may have to get one as my older samplers are time intensive to work with.

[@mpmi7588]

Anyone know how to delete samples?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'm planning a full tutorial for the Lofi-12 which will show this in detail but it's done from the Init option on the overlay which will initialise your sound. Then you can save and exit

[@jeroendeclercq7580]

Everything he turns a knob, it seems like the values are jumping all over the place

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I've got the knob latch function on, which can be turned off if you prefer. It's designed to stop accidentally changing values when the knob position doesn't match the value stored in memory, so the knob needs to be turned past whatever value that is until it will edit that value. I'll cover that fully in a complete tutorial.

[@NoxBoxdy]

I'd love to ask some questions but scared to...

[@NoxBoxdy]

How about this. Is the an extended spec sheet with the midi ccs? And also can these tracks be set to dif channels? .. as I am still being bullied it seems.

[@NoxBoxdy]

Sorry. Is 'there'

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Go ahead. I don't know what's happened in the past but you won't get bullied here. The tracks can be set to different midi channels so it's 4 way multitimbral. The sequencer can send midi to other devices too. There is a midi implementation chart in the online manual section on the Sonicware site here: sonicware.jp/pages/online_manuals

[@NoxBoxdy]

The fact I cant ask a simple question on sonicware page shouldnt mean I have to ask you man. You know where that got me before...Just all stupid. Im a good person and really tired of simply not being able to communicate. The xfm I have never been able to find a way to set channels 2-4 to anything but. Is this the same ? Be great to know. Also is there sustain cc? Main 2 want to knows if possible...

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sorry to hear that. Facebook can be like the wild west sometimes. I'm a mod there so I try to control things but it's tricky keeping on top of it all. So holding Func and repeatedly pressing the key with Midi Ch below it will cycle round each of the 4 tracks allowing you to set the channel with the Value encoder. I wish there was but unfortunately there is no sustain on cc64

[@adamkrasneski3679]

Panning???

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes it has panning which can also be automated

[@kokobanemusic]

So essentially this is a desktop akai x7000 with faux Elektron sequencer...I'm down

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Sounds about right 😄

[@valley_robot]

Let me get this straight,can it only store 128 samples ? That's ridiculous,I'll stick to my MPC I think

[@eladreltuc]

If you have an MPC then why are you looking at this?

[@Noloveforspectre]

Howd you learn this with no instructions lol😅

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'm a pretty big nerd to be honest 😅 I've been using gear for a long time so everything it does is pretty familiar to me. I was also involved in the sound design process so I got a chance to practice on it and asked questions about anything I didn't understand

[@femi2860]

!!! 😮

[@EBHawellsGames]

🤯🎅

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

😆👌

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

Only 1 output? I wanted it but will continue with my S-950

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Well you can hard pan tracks to make it essentially a 2 channel device if you want

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

@@ChrisLodyMusic too poormate. i am testing as much old samplers as I can nowadays. keeping the asr10, epsr and s 950,s 330 either

[@falangistavaleroso9689]

@@ChrisLodyMusic that is very dissapointing, sorry to say.

[@TheOriginalGeekyNoob]

Whoaaaa, WTH is this!?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Brand new sampling Liven 😁💥

[@jameslord2601]

I wouldn't recommend this product. I have it and there is a big learning curve, the sampling functions aren't the greatest and after 1 day of owning it I asked for a return and Sonicware denied me!