another sampler from Sonicware

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdZHROAYCT0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwsOg_PVGtM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vetATmursIs

Hell Yeah, looks and sounds really good! With 4-Track-Sequencer and true 12kHz/24kHz-Sampling. If i didn't already have 5 samplers, i would get this thing straight away!

this has almost the nice XFM synth seq similar seq by Sonicware (so some sort of cool elektron/electribe kind), plus sampling capabilities.
Other than that,
-it cannot resampling
-sample editing is done with the help of an overlay (like FM editing for the XFM)
-a sample is 4sec max per slot (divided in 8 banks)
but
from what i know each track could have its own effect( )
and ,at least, you can export patterns (and samples) and use the midi out for cool sequencing features

at first sight it sounds good to my ears (but this is just youtube sound)...

the damn thing is that they have hidden this product until yesterday, since the beginning of shippment of they're kickstarter product, so i bought this kickstater project in march (SmplTrek) wich is surely more powerful than this LOFI-12 but not as easy and immediate like this (and plus i'm used with the nice XFM workflow wich is basically the same)...
ps
if they add resampling and some other little stuff, i will consider it

Man I was about to pull the trigger on the smpltrek. Then thought "give it a day" watch the vids. and Ave's video' came out and put me back on the fence. If the price will really increase to $550. I would buy it for a flip at this point, not to use.
As for this unit.
It is basically an ESX with a better sequencer, less control over sample times, but effects per channel.
For the price this one seems more like a go!
Being set at the $239 I see no reason to buy it new. I just bought another ES-1 to flip for an unreasonable price to another dumbass like SP-User. so once the ES-1 is sold, I think I would definitely pick one up for around $150.

i totally feel you on this point, i mean, at the real price i will never bought the SmplTrek, let's be real there are other samplers/seq with better option (for now) at this range price (500€); the thing is that i could have bought it at one of the first bachers on kickstarter, so the price was about 270€, way cheaper than the price you find now in shops...anyway it will arrive in the next week, i'll see it after...i have to see if Sonicware will put his hands to a new firmware soon, seeing some of the critics by the youtubers and the bachers...


yes, that was i was expected from them in march, i like the XFM seq, some sort of simple elektron/esx style+volcas simplicity...
i got an es-1 too, and i could do your exact same move as i don't use it that often... (BUT, the es1 can resample... )

Thanks for the heads-up bruh, it looks great, exactly what I was expecting to see in the Liven range and you can bet your life I want one, possibly even two!



The LoFi-12 is well worth the asking price for new, so you should support guys like him by doing the decent thing and buying one new. It is very likely due to him that Korg had to quit the 3-voice bullshit on the Volca FM and give you 6 voices instead in an attempt to compete with him, and you can pretty much bet that this LoFi-12 will cause Korg to replace the Volca Sample with the Volca Sampler. The Volca Sampler will not be as good as the LoFi-12, but nevertheless I would not be surprised if we see one due to the LoFi-12 being released.

It's important to recognise the importance of supporting guys like him, because the more competition there is out there, the better the situation becomes for us as consumers. He's putting out very powerful stuff at very reasonable prices and deserves every sale he makes.

As for buying another ES-1 just to flip, I'm calling bullshit on that one bruh. More likely you decided to sell one of your ES-1s to fund the purchase of a LoFi-12. And again, I have no idea what makes me a "dumbass" for getting a pristine ES-1 with two maximum-capacity memory cards for just £180.

I don't see how that would make me a dumbass, so you totally lost me on that one!

korg have to understand now that there are lot of competitive machines in the market with implemented midi (in and out), so you can not only use the seq to drive other hardwares but also export pattern/data (on volcas this is a pain or not possible), and more voices (the LOFI has 10 in total, more than the XFM, damn)...so, they kind of opened a market side years ago, but now it should be time to move on
ps
since march 2022 Behringer had announced a series of interesting cheap mini synth/grooveboxes but until now...nothing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6mgF6eX734
https://musictech.com/guides/buyers-guide/behringer-synthesizers/#:~:text=The%20Model%20D%20Soul%2C%20announced,%2Dsounding%20low%2Dpass%20filter.

Not a fan of those tiny Behringers to be honest, they're far too small to be enjoyable IMHO.

BTW, I was just watching some of Chris Lody's videos about the XFM and Lofi-12 and noticed that he was having to double-twist the knobs all the time, and I had a feeling that maybe the Liven gear all use 'Catch Mode' on the knobs.

Thankfully a read through the manual shows that it can be set to 'Jump' mode so that is relief. What mode was your XFM set to out of the box bruh? Seeing Chris Lody having to double twist those knobs all the time makes me think that maybe it was set to 'Latch' by default unless he knowsa bout the setting and specifically prefers that. To be honest I don't know how anyone can bear 'Latch' mode, it's really annoying and pretty much doubles the amount of wear on the pots!

The first thing I will be doing when I get one is making sure it is set to 'Jump' mode

Does look really nice though, and like you said it's a shame it cannot resample, but I'm going to be using it mainly as a chromatic sampler to pair with the SP-555 anyway (assuming the bloody thing ever arrives that is).

What I really like about it is the simplicity, and that it's built around an LED display and not a menu. I love the idea of just being able to capture a single sound and use it quickly as a polyphonic and chromatic instrument.

Crazy as it sounds I think the most vital thing he included was the ability to loop instrument samples, because that makes it viable whereas it would be as good as useless without that facility so I'm really glad he did that.

I'm assuming that in loop mode the sample will play from the very start of the sample, reach the loop end point and then jump to the loop start point and continue looping from there. I'm just a little bit worried though cause in the manual it says that switching on loop mode will loop between the loop start and loop end (which is great but there is no mention of it still starting from the very start of the sample).

You see what I'm getting at?

It's funny really, the current videos, cause the main feature of this thing is that it can actually sample, yet none of the reviews so far have been dedicated to the sampling functionality. Would love to see that, and also a deep dive into the effects so that we can hear what they sound like going from minimum to maximum effect.

Also, I wonder why he's having them manufactured in such small batches at a time? Unless perhaps he's just playing safe in case there are any hardware problems to iron out. Anyway, I don't think he needs to worry about selling this thing, I reckon it will sell like crazy!

Just think, 128 custom sample slots that each form an instrument. Man, I'll be filling that thing up with what I personally feel are my own bread and butter sounds and I will be in heaven!

It will be like having a custom Lo-Fi sound module, so all I gotta do is link that beauty up to the Roland A-49 and I'll be as happy as a pig in shit as the saying goes! And don't forget, all of that will be getting sampled into the SP-555, that's proper Lo-Fi into the SP-555, lol, it'll sound absolutely bloody killer!

BTW, here's a new video demoing some of the patterns and sounding great:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjIcNANjIZU

i don't see very well this catch mode vs jump mode to be honest:) i haven't used the XFM since some months (execpt for djing as a controller:) )
could you develop please (or at list point me at the LOFI manual page;) )?

I've not looked for it in the XFM manual yet but here is the manual for the Lofi-12:
https://www.sonicware.co.jp/DL/LIVEN_Lo ... ual_en.pdf

The stuff about the knob mode is on page 88 (thankfully)
Be sure to set it to 'Jump' mode for ultimate enjoyment bruh!

Aaaah that!
Ok
I never used it:)
And, to be honest, i didn't read that until today:))

Hey man, I am just poking fun. An item is worth what someone is willing to pay, so if you are happy with what you paid whether to use or collect, it's all about what it's worth to you.

I am not sure why me buying another es-1 is b/s? I buy cheap and sell high. I was hoping to have the unit over the holiday weekend (thanksgiving), so I could dismantle, clean, re-carbon pads, replace any pots, and have it relisted. Once received, as long as it "powers on" as described. I have no problem adding pics so you can see the procedure.

Typically I buy, fix, clean, sale, to pay for items that I want. The goal for this weekend is $800, so I can buy the Elektron Snytakt.

I get your point of buying shit direct to support the developer. When I lose my job, is the developer going to buy it back to support me? No. I will continue to do what makes ME money.

Never bought/tried a Volca (so not sure why they were brought up), Electribes are my jam, best units ever for how they look and to play with.

The lofi-12, still to me seems like a great machine. SP-DUsher, if you are truly enjoying the es-1 then you and I are on the same playing field. I think you and I would both love the lofi-12. Changing sample points per step like an Electron in awesome.

But this is nothing new, the korg ESX already has slice, and a start point knob. So you can do the same thing of automating the start point on the Electribe ESX, with no limit to sample time per sample (under the total limit).

So I will definitely be buying one of these, but at a price that I feel that it's worth!


UUUUUHHHGGGG. Okay.....

that's a point that makes me hesitate...but then i saw that you can automate also the Bank knob, so you can try some workarounds editing different samples and then p-lock them, for example in live situation, so this is a cool plus of the LOFI-12...(i don't think the esx1 can do that)


reality

Crane, dear homie, it's all water under the bridge

I'm still calling bullshit on the ES-1 thing though. I'm not saying you don't flip these things, but what I am saying is that you're not buying ES-1s, servicing them and selling them for less than I just paid for mine! To do that, to buy an ES-1, to pay for the time involved and make a profit, you must surely be buying those ES-1s for £50 or summat (and that is why I'm calling bullshit on what you claimed after also claiming that I overpaid for mine).

If you really do that then you deserve a medal for goodwill services towards the Electribe community cause I'm damn sure I wouldn't buy an ES-1, service it and flip it for less than £250-£400 (depending on the condition and what I paid for it).

Regards supporting the developer, likewise, I agree with what you said too, but I'm talking in general terms here. Just remember that when Korg come crawling with their tail between their legs (and they will just like they did with the Volca FM), it's important that purchasers remember which company was happy to cripple their product, and which company didn't. ALWAYS support the company that did NOT cripple the product, NOT the company that did!

As for buying a Digitakt or any other Elektron device for that matter, never in a million years bruh. I cannot stand their products and wouldn't touch any of them with a fucking barge-pole. They have to rank as the most bland, ununspiring, boring fucking bleep-boxes on the market! I can't stand the fucking things, I'd honsetly rather toss pizzas for the MPC Pizza App than use one of those things. I hate the things so much that I actively avoid any videos that have any Elektron device listed in the title (seriously).

Regards the ESX, well there's actually a few reasons I have no interest in the ESX, but since it's irrelevant I'm not even going to bother going into it. Like I said, nice box, but I much prefer the original ES-1 over the ESX.