Liven Lofi-12

I've been a synth geek for 45 years now. The first Sonicware Liven synth I got was just a few months ago, an Ambient 0. It was quirky with a learning curve, limited in odd ways, and instantly addictive. Then I got a Texture Lab, an XFM (I know how to program a DX-7 from scratch) and a second Ambient 0. Even though I have other hardware samplers, I couldn't resist grabbing the LoFi 12. And it has hit me the same way as the others, after only two days with it: musical and addictive. The Liven series isn't for everyone, I get it. AR instead of ADSR envelopes. A single shared LFO. Corners cut for that $239 price point. But on the plus side, once you figure out how these are laid out, they are perfect for live semi-improvised solo performance, which is exactly what I'm working on right now--an impossibly complicated and expensive rig that I hope to hit the stage with in a few months. The LoFi 12 was the missing link for me. I have an SP404 Mk II, and for some reason I've never gelled with it sonically or UI-wise. Given my Ambient 0 experience, I don't even have to think about playing this thing. Start with held notes and noodling on the various four tracks, then start unmuting sequences, then you have a bed for moving onto other instruments. I could never get a proper pluck sound out of the Ambient 0, so my LoFi 12 immediately got a whole bank full of newly sampled plucks from various synths. Krautrock wackiness ensued. Yes, you can make this sound like Tangerine Dream with some real-time step sequencing skills! :)

Great little travel synth/groovebox. Lots of fun once you get the hang of it. YouTube is your friend. Lots of tips and tricks to get you started there.

Ok here is the deal. A little about me first, I am a huge synth person. I had at one point every piece of synth gear you can think of under the rainbow except a PPG wave. So I know a tad about synth gear etc. I have been making music since the 80's. So on to this piece of gear... I have 2 of these. Yes, 2 (TWO) of them plus I just got a Texture lab a few days ago from them as well. I use them for something unique, I won't explain but if you do not have a one of these 2 models you are missing out. As for the lofi-12, if you miss your Akai S950 or never got to experience one like I did then this 12 bit toy will satisfy that needs. I should not call it a toy due to the price sticker, but I am referring to it material wise. It is ALL Plastic! Does it sound good, YES it does. Now to my issue, why 4 stars? and not 5?... Well let me explain. I owned a manufacturing company many many moons ago. So as a retired business owner I have this thing. It's called Honesty and transparency. I will be honest, had I known before I dropped 239+++ dollars on this lofi-12 including the tax, only to find out as I am typing this Aug. 9th that Sonicware just released a Limited ed. of 500, Lofi-6's for 299 from another retail company as a exclusive. I feel that all the stuff on this new unit could of been added originally on the lofi-12 so its kind of to me a marketing tactic which kind of makes me feel I wasted money when I could of bought their new limited version. As for transparency it's just I feel I have to now be cautious when buying from Sonicware, because you do not know what will come right after you dropped a lot of money on one of their items. I just hope other buyer's who see this understand they make good items, not perfect which I can understand because they are a small company but this boutique manufacturing style is kind of unorthodox (when asking for $239+ something a pop) and misleading if you are on a limited budget, like many musicians I know. Hopefully someone at Sonicware reads this, maybe make it up to those of us who dropped a ton of money on their units and update our lofi-12's to have these extra options or those of us who paid for 2 of the same unit (lofi-12) and give them a discount or gift us one of the lofi-6's for buying from them a lot and supporting their company. Just a thought.

It felt cheap and plasticky. Menus and presets are as far as I got. I wanted to love this groovebox, but other tools did the same thing better.

Soooo...there are reviews saying that this thing is difficult to learn. That's not completely unfounded. Yes, it's a little confusing at first. But if you go on YouTube and follow along with some introductory tutorials, you will learn and it will start to make sense. I went from being ready to return it to actually enjoying it. Give it a chance. Try some YouTube tutorials. There's plenty of them. If you stick with it for a little bit (a few hours to a day or two, depending on how fast you learn) I think you'll like it. Don't give up too fast.

I struggled for months to decide between the several entries of the LIVEN series synths, but I settled on the LoFi-12. I'm very happy with it so far - all of the controls are functioning well, although I hope the control knobs and piano buttons survive the first year of use. I've only really begun learning to use the LoFi-12, but I recognize it as a powerful synth with effects that really only requires playful experimentation to learn alongside having the manual in hand. I've sampled some instruments that I loved from the 16-bit era of gaming, I've created drumkits, and I'm ready to learn using this as a sequencer with patterns like my old days of Modtracker. So far? So good. However, I think there's a few weaknesses to this product out of box: The first is a lack of USB connectivity. That is available on the XT series, but at a much higher price. The second is the software needed to really make this device yours. At $240, A VST to help it in modern DAWs via my separate MIDI to USB cable would be very nice. A modernized and easier-to-use sample wav to system file converter for MIDI-OX, which is an ancient tool, would make this device even more powerful. Sadly, I've yet to find a pipeline that allows me to directly import wav, brr, and similar sample files to the LIVEN's own system file format. I'd appreciate the company stepping up and filling that hole for users. If you buy this as a newcomer, you will likely need to buy some accessories/cables for it to get the most out of it. UPDATE/EDIT: Unfortunately, while the unit responds to my FLKey Midi's controls, these changes aren't clearly reflected in the device - resulting in ruining something I was working on, and I have no idea what I actually changed. I have to say this doesn't play nice with other devices without extensive experimenting, knowledge, and testing of control and program signals, and I have to downgrade it to 3 stars as a result.

My adult kids like it. They started making music pretty fast... Though it is a bit complicated to figure out at first. After that that no issue. Be sure and get batteries. It comes with none. You want to be portable. Very lightweight. Would be nice if they had a case for it even if it was listed as a separate item to buy.

As someone who's made electronic music for over 3 decades, this is the worst attempt at a tool I've come across. 1. Apparently a bad batch of these were made where there are issues when using batteries. Well, I got one of them. it crashes and shuts off, losing what you made (if you aren't saving constantly). 2. When switching between sequences, all sustain drops. Even if it's a copy of the exact same sequence. So making a song via pattern chaining is unusable. 3. The sounds are EXTREMELY limited, and sample chop (to make your own drum kit via sampling) is a very lame (yet hackable) process. 4. Build quality is laughably disappointing. The loose, plastic buttons make this thing more like a tambourine than a usable mini-workstation. They came close, though. They almost got it. The heart is there, but brains aren't. Make a better version all-around, then we'll talk later.