How To Use the Sonicware Liven Lofi-12 Sampler - Full Tutorial

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.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 What is a Groove-box sampler?

2:00 Lofi-12 Layout

3:33 Getting Started
Powering up
Playing patterns
Shift & Func
Muting the speaker
Headphone gain
Shift lock
Loading patterns with PTN
Pattern and Global BPM
Page buttons
Pattern chaining
Knob latch

10:01 Tracks & Patterns
Pattern and track contents
Selecting tracks
Muting tracks
Clearing track

12:03 Selecting Sounds & Step Recording
Clearing a pattern
Picking a sample
Keyboard and octave buttons
Adding notes to the steps
Velocity
Clearing notes
Release & Gate
Attack
Step recording
Auto Step
Tied notes
Realtime recording
Metronome
Pre-Count
Transpose
Track length
Note length
Track level
Track pan
Laid-back
Saving a pattern

22:18 Quick Sampling a Synth
Line in settings
Sampling settings
12khz vs 24khz sampling
Reverb amount
Line in to reverb
Reverb type

26:20 Realtime Record, Voice Mode, Pitch and FX
Pitch setting
LFO to pitch
LFO shapes
LFO delay
Sweep up and down
Sweep speed and range
Sweep curve
Voice modes
Realtime recording a melody
Per track reverb send
Per track FX section
Adding delay

33:21 Working With Drum Breaks
Quick sampling a drum break
Pattern level
Distortion and compression
Matching pattern tempo to loops
12 bit mode
Sample start setting
Start setting differences between looped and non looped samples

38:13 Filter Types & Filter Envelopes
Filter envelope types
Cutoff & resonance
Filter envelope depth & time
Filter types
LFO to filter
Filter and EQ in FX

42:11 Parameter Locks, Dice, Swing & Laid-back
Recording parameter locks
Parameter lock on & off
Clear parameter locks
Programming parameter locks per step
Sound locking
Adding a snare and hi-hats to our kick drum pattern
Adding swing
Laid-back per step
Dice setting
Programming dice per step

47:13 Performance Modes & Misc Menus
Random step
Random playback
Stutter mode
Copy & Paste
Clock menu
Midi channel menu
Midi settings menu
Data menu
System menu

51:15 Sample Editing Overlay
Using the overlay
Edit and select indicators
Selecting banks and samples
Playing samples
Select mode
Entering edit mode
Sample recording
24khz button
Line in level
Auto record threshold
Editing sample start and end
Fine adjust with value knob
Change pitch
Change level
Enable and tweaking a loop
Reverse
Attack and release preview
Velocity preview
Rename a sample
Fade the sample
Save a sample
Copying in a sample into another slot
Exporting and importing a sample via midi
Initialising a sample
Rename a bank
Exporting and importing a bank via midi
Exiting back to pattern edit mode

58:25 Accessibility
A list of all the functions of the knobs and buttons in order by name
58:48 Top row of knobs
59:05 Bottom row of knobs
1:00:00 Rubber buttons
1:00:55 Step buttons
1:01:35 Keyboard button menus
1:02:14 Sample edit rubber buttons
1:03:34 Sample edit knobs and step buttons

#ChrisLody

[geephlips]

I really appreciate that Sonicware made a groovebox/sampler that doesn’t seem explicitly targeted to people who make EDM. And with 10-voice polyphony. And more interesting features than monophonic boxes costing 2-4 times as much. And I like the limitations.

[jakme]

Just got my lofi because of this video. Thank you!

[markgordon]

Chris, you showed me in 15 minutes what I could not figure out in 3 hours with the manual THANK YOU

[remowo_]

Chris, honestly I can't thank you enough. You saved me from going bananas. It' all makes sense now. I tried to read the manual but I found only bits and pieces of the functionality none for the actual workflow. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[Brokeninc]

I keep coming back to this video to help me with my Lofi 6. Thank you for making this man.

[lonelyteenage]

Thanks for the video, I’m 4 days into the Lofi 12 and I feel like i have this mastered now because of your tutorial!

[SimpleHold]

So much work put into this!
Thanks, Chris, and merry Christmas to you!

[OPdbx]

Mine arrived last night! I was worried it would be difficult to program, but your tutorial was very straight forward and it seems super easy! Happy sampling!

[elsantoproductora]

Thanks for the tutorial, great work as always!
This thing is really powerful and the pricepoint is just insane for the amount of features you get.
At first I thought the drum programming workflow was a bit slow but as you build a little muscle memory it becomes second nature.
I hope they add resampling and tap tempo to match the bpm to the loops on the fly.
Thanks again!!

[Nonsense]

Good work on this man. 15 minutes in and starting going off on my own to make a beat… then cleared everything and continued the tutorial to learn more.

[scottcolt]

This is ridiculously well done/helpful/what I wish for every piece of gear.
And responding to all the questions!
You are epic, sir.

[alloriginalpirates]

Thanks Chris. This is by far the clearest and most in-depth explanation available on YouTube. Mine is on order so I'll be watching again once it arrives 😀

[midiwhale]

I've watched this video at least 4 times now. Every time I learn something new :-) Thanks again Chris!

[dinogoldie]

Off for Christmas dinner now. Will defo be studying this video as soon as I return/sober-up/regain consciousness. Merry Christmas Chris and season's greetings to everybody in the Liven community (if that's a thing).

[unfair_potato]

I have ordered this unit (on the way to me now!), and it's the first of it's kind for me, and this video has really raised my confidence - very nice and easy to understand. Thanks so much!

[icareg]

another wonderful tutorial video! I got the lofi12 shortly after the bass and beats. I think ill hold off on learning the B&B and learn this one first. Thank you very much for this.

[anthonymanzalji]

This was really thorough, and a great way to get familiar with the lofi12.

[SonicVibe]

Got this today I was so wrong this thing is epic I thought the workflow would be convoluted but it’s super easy

[manucontrovento]

Hi, very awesome tutorial!! I'd like to know more about a few things (I already read the manual...) could you reply me?
1) is it possible to trigger patterns using the program change on the global midi channel?
2) selecting the 12-bit mode, will it play all samples at 12 bit despite of the quality they were sampled at? I mean: if I sample something at 24-bit freq, then I switch on the 12-bit mode, will it play back my samples at 12-bit?
3) Does the LoFi-12 save the single track status (muted/unmuted) along with the Pattern data?
Thanks!!!!

[xvhemtx]

Thanks for covering this sampler. Definitely an interesting instrument.