The Liven Bass & Beats by Sonicware - A Review & Demonstration

[@Pauluz_The_Web_Gnome]

Hey man! In the screenshot you look like if you have ears from Micky Mouse on! Hahahahhaha Almost killed me! 🤣😂 The knobs look like ears!

[@diregnome4898]

I thought they were hair buns😀

[@DonCrack97]

I bought this as my first sequencer/syntheziser/groovebox instrument :p. Thanks for this and the wavetable video btw :).

[@MattGreerMusic]

Thanks for watching.

[@electro-soma]

Nice review Matt. How is the learning curve compared to the XFM. Similar? Not that I need one, after recently buying the XFM and backing the SmplTrek!

[@MattGreerMusic]

Yeah, I would say it's a similar learning curve to the XFM although it's sufficiently different that I had some head scratching moments unique to this one as well.

[@Vapor-Fi]

Great review! Others that have done reviews didn't even mention the overlays for editing or how deep the editing was. I was on the fence but this made me order one. Can't wait to get my hand on it. Reminds me of my favorite drum machine the Korg ER-1 but like it's bigger brother.

[@MattGreerMusic]

I hope you love it.

[@LizaLavolta]

Ok but, tell me how I was looking for reviews of this and your video came up! haha!

[@dinogoldie9716]

I'm still very much at the beginning of the learning curve with this machine. Here's my first impressions/criticisms: 1) There's no roll/retrig button for the drums. Similarly, there's no microstepping or note ratchetting (everything's gridlocked to the 16 steps, subject to global quantises for the Drum and Bass tracks). I fear this will make sequencing Trap-style hihat rolls difficult/impossible. 2) Whereas the OG 8bit Warps had separate reverb and FX controls, both the XFM and this B&B have a single "FX" shared by reverb/delay/bitcrush/chorus/etc. So you can't, say, have reverb on the drums then a bitcrush effect on the Bass because it's one global FX with send amounts. 3) There's a little bit of menu-diving. For instance, while on previous Livens the metronome and precount settings had dedicated buttons, on the B&B, it's all on the 9th white key. Similarly, while I was expecting swing to be one of the main knobs (or at least the shifted version of the tempo knob) it is in fact to be found as a menu in the Bass settings or the Drum settings menus (func+key 7/8). 4) The controls and function/shift key combos don't feel as intuitive or as well-organised as on previous Livens. I hope I get used to the new controls sooner than later but nothing seems to be where I expect them.

[@MattGreerMusic]

Yep. Those are all fair criticisms. It's really not intuitive at all.

[@FatSynthDude]

I got mine today and that's about my opinion as well. The other Livens are intuitive and fun. The B&B just tries to do way too much and gets really messy to edit. Shame because it's got amazing sounds on it.

[@xisotopex]

any hiccups/bugs when chaining patterns together? some cheap groove boxes are notorious for not letting note/effect tail fade out over changing patters, or not playing the first note of a pattern...

[@CNTRRNDM]

wow, what an entertaining watch! thanks for making these videos, mate!!!

[@xisotopex]

what do the sync in and out do? do they start and stop external sequencers or just pass the equivalent of midi note data?

[@bsmith8166]

How are you filming/recording this? What equipment would I need to replicate this setup?

[@MattGreerMusic]

The process can vary a little depending on the video but typically I record the video with my phone, record the audio into my computer and sync the two in post.

[@RobG1729]

• tip for checking out drum kits • 1. Program a rhythm using most or all of the 16 sounds. 2. With real-time parameter locking, change pitches of EX1 thru EX4. 3. Pick an effect like HPF and dial it up. 4. Change drum kit then unmute sounds, turn on the effect, enable parameter locks. You can see which kits are affected by the effects and what tuned extras sound like.

[@MattGreerMusic]

That's an excellent idea!

[@RobG1729]

Avrilcadabra came up with a cool technique for the XFM; record parameter values then play real-time while sounds are altered, more unpredictably if random steps are set. Changing drum kits under programmed changes was sparked by that.

[@bryanscarboddi1210]

What's the best bang for my buck🤑 on performance between the xfm vs bass and beats🤷‍♂️ not sure which one I should buy 🤑or should I just get both🤷‍♂️😁

[@MattGreerMusic]

I like the XFM better.

[@kethergenesis1090]

Do you recommend buying this over the Volca Bass???

[@MattGreerMusic]

That's a tough question. Very different machines. I think you get a lot more bang for your buck out of this one but the Volca Bass is a pretty decent little analog synth.

[@kethergenesis1090]

@@MattGreerMusic can I do the things the Volca Bass does on the B&B??

[@MattGreerMusic]

They're really not very comparable. The sequencer is very different. The sound is very different. The Volca Bass doesn't have any drum sounds.

[@BendApparatus]

Nicely done! I'm a bit perplexed by Mr Endo's omission of an arpeggiator... everything else he's released so far has had at least a basic one. I'm waiting on Chris's synth tutorial so I can follow along since I'm a bit of a dunce on anything that isn't the most basic subtractive synthesis.

[@MattGreerMusic]

An arp would be nice for sure.

[@michaeltrenier]

How does this compare to model cycles by elektron?

[@MattGreerMusic]

The sequencer is pretty comparable between them but the workflow otherwise is pretty different. The sound is different too. The Model Cycles uses "engines" to refine the sound design experience to purposeful jobs like being a kick or a chord etc where the XFM is more of complete synth allowing access to every editable parameter. Far deeper for sound design IMO but also a steeper learning curve. Yeah pretty different machines actually.

[@michaeltrenier]

@@MattGreerMusic great great info bro! Many thx! The Liven price points are SCHWEET that’s another thing that has me leaning this way. I’m using Maschine Fantom and Studio One. I’ve had the MPC. It’s a damn PC in a box lol didn’t really enjoy it that much. OP1 is an overpriced gimmick. Didn’t enjoy. Electribe should be $199 LMAO str8 out the 90s sounds and workflow. Thanks again bro

[@AuntAlnico4]

@1:46 I hear you on that but the fact is these machines could have all the features of all the liven Machines in one but they made it so you have to buy em all when they could do it all in one. Same with korg volca, actually not the same as some are Analog so no they couldn't put all the volca features in one box but you get the idea.

[@xisotopex]

is the drum machine samples or is it a synth?

[@bahutu802]

Thanks for your review! I was waiting for the release and more videos about it since last fall/winter :) Have to say I'm quite intrigued by the machine due to the clever combination of, as the name says, bass and beats, in one device. Since it makes up a 'complete' groove to which you can add leads/pads/melodies from other machines... Also I actually like the complexity, those overlays etc., since it suggests you can dive really deep into sound modelling while "minimizing" menu diving (not suggesting it is not complex, but I guess almost all functionalities are not more than 2 or 3 button clicks away, instead of scrolling through hierarchical sub-sub menus etc.). Maybe the workflow is not perfect, but I think it's quite refreshing to see a complex synth / drum machine with novel workflow / (audio) design decisions. On the long run, that can only benefit the field, even if it needs some more iterations / firmware updates until it's finalised. I'm quite nervous though about the 3.5 mm audio jack, situated so close to other knobs / buttons of the device. In my experience those jacks have a malfunction sooner or later, or at least you can't really relax using it, constantly having to watch out not to touch the cables etc. Also as I understand, it doesn't have microtiming, which is quite sad. Since I guess with all the engineering knowledge which went into this machine, I guess it would have been a minor thing to implement that. And it would indeed dramatically expand the musical / rythmic options... One *question* regarding pattern length, note value etc.: Do all drum sounds act as one track, or is there a track for each drum sound? Differently phrased, is it possible to adjust the note value just for the HiHat or so? Or would it be possible to have different pattern lengths for Bassdrum and HiHat for example, to produce polymeters / polyrhythms? Thanks in advance in case you're able to answer!

[@MattGreerMusic]

Thanks for the interest and all of the thoughtful comments. Unfortunately, all drum sounds share the same pattern length parameters.

[@dr.yuendo]

Great review!! Thank you!!🙏

[@MattGreerMusic]

My pleasure.

[@luisperezthebedroommusicia3054]

Great video man how about a sequel into how you approach the midi capability of the unit. Thanx ......Luis the bedroom musician

[@I.O.M.]

Nice video but I don’t think my brain can handle this gear and all the choices 😩

[@MattGreerMusic]

It definitely gets confusing.

[@あゆ-r4d7m]

good

[@gustavgunz1877]

I think the layer is the worst solution they could make,still not sure why i like them all way to much xD

[@tylon2999]

Sadly I purchased this as crowd funding campaign,six days later I still cant change patterns without doing a system reset.If you have little money and a lot of time you might be able to obtain some worthwhile music as the bass engine seems quite powerful.I say seems because my efforts have been null and void. Also it dosn't seem that live performance is where this machine excels at.

[@indirektdjs]

That's very odd behaviour - it seems to me that you might have a defective unit on your hands. Contact sonicware and I'm sure they'll be happy to help you out. They seem to have a really good customer service model in place.

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

Good intro

[@MattGreerMusic]

Thanks! 🙂

[@AlekseiDroganov]

Matt, you are handsome! Know it, did you? There is just so much hardware around you, a lot of it is just lying on the floor, like a footstool or a coffee mug. 😜🎹 Please tell me which headphones you tried and now settled on the buyerdynamic dt770, as I understand it. If you can do it, plug them directly into the groove box and listen, will there be enough headroom for me if I decide to take them myself? I don't have a powerful computer and a/interface, I want to go dawless and I'm looking for my first cool groovebox. I would be very grateful if you could advise me. Alex

[@MattGreerMusic]

The dt770's might be a bit quiet but they will work with the Liven.

[@AlekseiDroganov]

@@MattGreerMusic So, you think I must to use some sequencer like an Mpc or Digitakt to put audio through it?! Or use headphones with less impedance. By the way, what headphones do you have now?

[@MattGreerMusic]

@@AlekseiDroganov Well I just tested the headphone output with my DT770's. After I put the headphone gain on the "LOUD" setting, it had sufficient volume. Most of the time when I'm away from my interface, I use these headphones: www.status.co/products/cb1 They are fantastic for the price.

[@AlekseiDroganov]

@@MattGreerMusic Thank you

[@AlekseiDroganov]

I live in Tallinn, Estonia. I'm afraid after buying the headphones themselves from USA , I will have to pay a bunch more duties and shipping. How do you think?