FM Synthesis - A Practical Tutorial Guide

video uploads by ChrisLody

"Here's something I've been meaning to get round to starting for ages, a practical guide to FM synthesis. In my experience FM tutorials usually over explain all the wrong things and rarely get as far as the important things like the predictable way operator ratios change the waveform and frequency responses. So I've tried to approach things from an entirely practical view point showing you how to make saw, square, noise etc with filter like responses."

Playlist: 1. FM Synthesis - Practical Tutorial 1 : Ratios, Basic Waveforms, Low Pass and High Pass Sounds

0:00 Intro
2:53 How the meters works
3:23 Operators and Algorithms
3:58 Carriers and Modulators
4:29 MEGA Synthesis envelope generator
5:48 Reface DX envelope generator
6:56 Adjusting algorithms and operators
8:35 Making a basic organ sound
9:47 Saw feedback
10:47 Square feedback
11:48 1:1 modulation (saw sounds)
13:03 Low pass like sweeps
14:12 1:2 modulation (square sounds)
15:34 2:1 etc modulation (band pass sounds)
16:37 Ratio chart
17:10 Quick demo bass patch
18:20 Summing up

2. FM Synthesis - Practical Tutorial 2 - Pad Example, Vibrato, Tremolo, Wubs and Wonk!, Reface DX

0:00 Coming Up
0:30 Intro
0:43 FM Diagrams - Quick saw patch
1:10 Non-integer ratios
3:37 Non-integer ratios with decay
4:10 Moving individual operators with the LFO (Vibrato and wonk)
5:42 Creating Tremolo
6:16 Wub-wubs!
6:35 "2x OSC" Algorithm detuned saws
7:23 Detuning operators away from each other
8:14 Liven Mega - Mild Pad
9:27 Pad example diagram
9:48 Pad example on Reface DX

3. FM Synthesis - Practical Tutorial 3 - How operator stacks work, truth about modulation, Reface DX

0:00 Coming Up
0:14 Intro
0:30 Additive synthesis vs FM
1:32 "Modulation creates sidebands"
1:54 Calculating 1-10 sidebands example
4:15 Calculating 1-1 sidebands example
5:40 Calculating 1-2 sidebands example
6:33 Calculating 1-5 sidebands example
7:29 Summarise 2 OP sidebands
7:48 1-1-10 sideband example
8:58 5-5-1 sideband example
9:24 2-1 with feedback example
10:20 Stacked modulator summary
11:00 "Disgusting Bass" example

4. FM Synthesis - Practical Tutorial 4 - Rate & Level Scaling, Velocity Expression, Reface DX, FB01

0:00 Coming Up
0:15 Intro
1:14 Aliasing noise
2:36 Level Scaling
4:32 Rate Scaling
5:40 Velocity Sensitivity
7:02 Funky Clavinet Example
10:36 Editing the Yamaha FB-01
11:28 Yamaha FB-01 weirdness
14:40 FB-01 Clav examined

FM Synthesis - A Practical Guide - Part 2 - Pad Example, Vibrato, Tremolo, Wubs and Wonk!

video upload by ChrisLody

Additional posts

"Here's something I've been meaning to get round to starting for ages, a practical guide to FM synthesis. In my experience FM tutorials usually over explain all the wrong things and rarely get as far as the important things like which setting will make usable sounds.

This episode covers using 2 operator 'stacks' to create a 2x OSC like setup, setting up vibrato, tremolo, LFO to filter like wub-wub sounds, 2 types of 'wonk' and a pad example.

The pad sound is inspired by Selected Ambient Works by Aphex Twin. I think more specifically it was inspired by the pad sound from Ageispolis but I haven't tried to recreate it exactly.

(I have a horrible cold at the moment so apologies for my voice!)

0:00 Coming Up
0:30 Intro
0:43 FM Diagrams - Quick saw patch
1:10 Non-integer ratios
3:37 Non-integer ratios with decay
4:10 Moving individual operators with the LFO (Vibrato and wonk)
5:42 Creating Tremolo
6:16 Wub-wubs!
6:35 "2x OSC" Algorithm detuned saws
7:23 Detuning operators away from each other
8:14 Liven Mega - Mild Pad
9:27 Pad example diagram
9:48 Pad example on Reface DX"

Amb0 Acid - Ambient 0 CPM DS-2 - Song-a-Day 2025 Jam

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware and Stylophone on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals, promo content etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware and Stylophone it is marked as Paid Promotion

So someone casually asked me if the Ambient 0 could manage acid which I took as a challenge naturally. Yes it can as it turns out. So file this under non-ambient 0 again.

So the Ambient 0 can do a pretty respectable of some acidic. It's not really using many of it features to do this but it is damn good fun. To create this patch I started with the standard patch that loads in an empty pattern in the drone layer which uses a saw wave and turned the release down. I turned the resonance up to max, assigned LFO 1 to cutoff , set it's shape to RMP- and set the trigger to 1 so it works like a 1 shot decaying envelope. I also set the voice mode to Legato and turned the glide up to 30. The it's just a case of programming an acid pattern and getting it to slide by programming overlapping notes. The one shot LFO is a substitute for an envelope but feels a bit different to use. Speed is reversed compared to the way an envelope works and turning the LFO amount up in this case drives the cutoff down and it influences it more but it's still playable. The built in distortion and reverb sounded really nice on this too but I decided to go with the ones built into the Zoom r8 as then they wouldn't change as the patterns were loaded on the Liven.

As well as having worked on the Ambient 0 I've also been lucky enough to have a Stylophone CPM DS-2 in the studio since the end of last year. It's a very cool bit of kit and I was also lucky enough to work for them on their stall at Bristronica last year too showing people how to use them. It's designed as a drone synth but it's Eurorack compatible so will accept CV for pitch so it can be bullied into playing melodic and bass parts too. So it's connected to a Korg SQ1 here and is playing the high melodic layer. I've got both oscillators tracking pitch but Drone 2's output is fed into Drone 1's cutoff input for some filter FM goodness"

26th of #Jamuary - Number Station Jam - Liven Lofi-6 Nord Lead

video upload by ChrisLody

"If you'd like to support the channel you can grab a 'Pay What You Want' album from my Bandcamp or an instrument, kit or badge from my Etsy.
https://chrislody.bandcamp.com
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SymetriC...

Another sombre one from me for #Jamuary2025 , current mood I guess.

So a little bit of background. I grew up in a village in the middle of nowhere in Lincolnshire UK during the 80s. Out of boredom sometimes I would sometimes tune through the dial on my little radio and see what I could hear from around the world. I would occasionally pick up really strange transmissions including morse code and what I now know to be 'Number Stations'. They were supposedly used to transmit information to operatives behind enemy lines and would often be sent on the shortwave band as it was capable of transmitting over very long distances due to being able to bounce off the atmosphere around the curvature of the earth. The long distance nature of short wave transmission leads to all sorts of strange distortion. These have been used since the first world war but were most common during the cold war."

Berlin School Ambient-ish Jam - Zoom R8, Gen R-8, ELZ_1 play, PSS-380

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware and Stylophone on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals, promo content etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware and Stylophone it is marked as Paid Promotion

So I feel very lucky this year to have worked with a few wonderful companies, mainly Sonicware and Stylophone. Obviously I've been sent the gear I've worked on for Sonicware as you'll see it all over my channel, but also Stylophone were very nice to me and sent me a Gen R-8 from their vaults!

I'm also lucky that my wife (and in-laws) appreciates my second job/hobby and buys me music gear for Christmas, that's where the Zoom R8 multitrack recorder I'm using here came from. I bought a Zoom Livetrak L-6 this year for my dawless jams which I love, but it records all it's channel simultaneously so layering is not possible. Layering is an interesting way of working which I've often used on the channel with a four track tape recorder, mixer and a send effect (most often a Zoom 1201), but this replaces the need for all that with a lot more features to boot.

What surprised me the most about the R8 is that you can record, mix and even master a whole track without relying on a DAW. All effects etc you hear are the R8 alone here. It has a send reverb slot, a send chorus/delay slot and then a single insert effects chain. The insert effect can only be doing one thing at once so you'll typically record through it onto an audio track or you can record dry and re-record (bounce) through it later if you prefer. There are a number of algorithms which are just a number of effects slots in a chain which can be configured to your liking. You switch algorithms, channel, contents and settings or preset of the insert effect depending what you need it for and when. This information is not well presented in the manual though so I geeked out and made a spreadsheet to show more simply which algorithms can contain which type of effect and which can be synced to tempo. That's available here: https://mega.nz/file/quxm3CoD#H1-u2Db... (I printed and laminated these, yes I know how to nerd)

Perhaps the only let down about the R8 is there's no sync options, though it's not really expecting you to work that way. You can have the metronome on headphones only which may be the way to do things, but I suspect I end up recording and panning a click from a Volca/Liven as a way around this.

By the way the small glockenspiel was part of my present from my in-laws. I've never had much luck recording them because of the huge spike in volume when the bar is hit (transient) so I almost gave up, but after studying the effects I saw the R8 has a 'slow attack' effect which was perfect for this as it completely kills the clackiness of the hit. Nice one. I'm recording through one of the two built in mics for that btw.

A quick word about the Stylophone Gen R-8, it's a dirty little beast. It's been kind of wild to get to grips with and I'm finding it's not suited to quite a lot of patches I'd normally make, smooth basses are out of the question for example because it sounds like the oscillator resets at the start of each new note (maybe the envelope, idk) so there's always a percussive click. Plus the filter sound is agro with settings that would normally tame it, it refuses to be calm. But for more aggressive tones it's very nice so I'll probably use it mostly for that!"

https://chrislody.bandcamp.com

Sonicware Liven Ambient Ø Full Tutorial - Soundscape Synthesizer

video upload by ChrisLody

"Here's a full tutorial on the new Ambient 0, enjoy :)

For more information on the Ambient 0 please use these links:
Liven Ambient Ø:
https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-ambient

Online manuals
https://sonicware.jp/pages/online_man...

0:00 Teaser

0:38 Intro

1:35 Overview

Powering up, playing a pattern, speaker mute, Shift & Func

83:56 Playing a pattern*

Headphone gain, pattern bpm, global bpm, Shift lock, knob Latch

6:20 PTN button (pattern)

Bank buttons, natural release, queue pattern, pattern chain

8:20 Layer selection

mute layers

9:15 Preset patterns and templates

Hold function, Hold jam

12:02 Shimmer reverbs

reverb send, shimmer send, reverb mix, reverb types, FX speed & amount, FX type

CLICK FOR MORE »

XFM Analog Waveform Pack - 50 Free Waveform Presets

video upload by ChrisLody

Download the free waveform pack from here:
https://www.sonicware.co.jp/DL/LIVEN_...

"I've been using the XFM in this Virtual Analog mode for quite a while but I've only recently thought of a good way of using a naming system that will fit into the X.X.X.X format available on the Livens that shows a decent amount of information about what the presets contain. It's a bit harder to read than I was originally hoping but it does contain all relevant information to show how all the analog style oscillators are setup across the different operators."

0:00 Intro
0:16 XFM as a virtual analog synth

Preset name code:
1:12 Envelopes types
3:17 Waveforms

4:27 Filtering
5:15 Acid example
5:42 Pulse example
6:49 Pad example
8:08 Sync waveforms
8:55 How to import presets
10:08 Outro

Super Lazy Sci Fi Soundtrack 3 - SmplTrek Liven MEGA Korg Volca Keys NTS1

video upload by ChrisLody

https://chrislody.bandcamp.com
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SymetriC...

"The Synth Tray 2 saga continues. It's now grown a little to include a battery bank to power the NTS-1 that you can see tucked under the cables behind the SmlpTrek. This has 2 outputs so it's also able to power my handmade midi thru box now I've made a cable for it, you can see it at the top right. I've also added a Little Bear MC5 mixer which is sat behind the ELZ_1 play. This is really just a temporary fix because I plan to replace it with a Bastl Bestie when I can justify dropping £200 on one.

So a bit about how this is all setup. The SmplTrek is controlling all the midi in this setup with multiple midi tracks set to different channels. The midi out goes to the midi thru splitter box which then connects into the Liven MEGA and Korg Volca Keys. The SmplTrek is also playing the deep pad from the beginning which was sampled out of the ELZ_1 play into it, and the drum loop. When I'm using this in a sofa session I mix the external gear on the Little Bear MC5 and monitor all the audio through the SmplTrek and usually add a little of my send effect to the output, but this time when I recorded it for this video I connected all the separate instrument outputs to my audio interface instead to give me a greater level of control over the final mix.

The Korg Volca connects through the NTS1 in this jam and I'm using the Hammond Eggs Music - Haze reverb. It contains a high pass filter so it's great for making top end pad/string type sounds. I checked this list of available plugins for the NTS1 recently and found loads of new stuff I didn't know about. Mine is absolutely full now :)

I'm using the ELZ_1 play to play the Liven MEGA here and using the LFO set to a speed of zero as a upward pitch bend. The current firmware of the ELZ_1 play has no 'local control off' function which makes it hard to use as a controller and sound module while composing in a setup like this as playing external midi channels also triggers the internal sound engine. I've suggested adding 'local control off' as an option, so fingers crossed for that one.

The MiniDisc player isn't really part of the setup I've been using, but it was nice to see it fit neatly with everything else :) I was planning to record the output down a global track on the SmplTrek, but they're mono so the ambience lost something when I did that, so I resorted to just playing it live and looping the track. The ambient recording is of my home town of Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.

The NTS1 is being used as an insert effect here (the Volca Keys is passing straight through) but once I buy a Bastl Bestie there is a way to use that in a send/return configuration which will be very useful from such a smaller mixer."

Protolody - Song-a-day 2024 - SmplTrek Liven MEGA ELZ_1 play Volca Keys NTS1

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion

So just recently I've been a down about my musical output to be honest, mostly the quality of my jams that I've been putting up on YouTube. This came to a head last weekend when I got talking to someone about my 2014 album, listened to some of it and had the realisation that the contents of that album is better than my work now. I imagined I'd grown as an artist but that was not the case. The main culprit was that I was actually making decent arrangement back then, taking my time to build something over at least a few day. Here's the album in question: https://chrislody.bandcamp.com/album/...

Due to my recent workload I've been favouring making jams, recording them and uploading them immediately. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot that can be learned from this approach, but carry on too long and it's like eating a bag a crisps everyday for your main meal, not satisfying.

A lot of the album above was created on the Nintendo DS and PSP using Nitrotracker, Korg Ds10 and Beaterator. These are nice little closed systems and have the benefit of running on something you can sit with on the sofa and really dig in to get the most from the software and finesse your work. I don't really want to return to using those though as I've just about rinsed them and they're not easy to integrate with other gear as they have no midi capability.

So my thoughts turned to something I kind of made as a joke video but actually turned out to be really useful, the Synth Tray. My original one of these was made from a bit of scrap ply so it wasn't very big and I want to cram on my gear so now I've made a new one, 'Synth Tray 2 - Dawless Evolved'"

Liven MEGA SYNTHESIS - Tutorial Part 2 - FM Edit Deep Dive

video upload by ChrisLody

Part 1 here

"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 videos like this. Any other shorter videos on my channel containing Sonicware products are not paid content.

As promised, here is part 2 of the tutorial for the Sonicware Liven MEGA Synthesis, this time covering everything you need to know about using the FM Eit mode with a bit of FM theory thrown in to get you going.

CLICK FOR MORE »

240114 - Jamuary2024 - PSG Tracks Only Liven MEGA Synthesis

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion

So someone asked me in the comments (@ArtFluids) If I could make a demo track on the Liven MEGA Synthesis using just the PSG tracks, so here it is. Using the Liven MEGA like this makes it sound quite a lot like the 8 Bit Warps, but I'm only using a very small part of it's feature set. I've restricted myself to not playing notes with the square below an A2 like the original hardware, but it can actually play lower than that. Also no FX at all.

The Liven MEGA Synthesis seeks to recreate the audio capabilities of the SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis. So the Sega Mega Drive was built upon the hardware in Sega's previous console, the Master System / Sega Mark III. The sound capabilities of that machine were 4 channels of audio consisting of 3 square wave channels and 1 noise/pulse (under quite specific restrictions). So the Mega Drive / Genesis contained that sound chip too and was mostly used during music to add layers of square waves to the sound or noisy percussion, it was rarely used up front.

The MEGA Synthesis emulates that chip and users can program it from 2 dedicated tracks. So you're a little restricted in the fact that a track can only play one sound at once, though using automation you can change the sound on the fly. Using automation, Track 5 is playing drums and a pulse bass (on even steps only but somehow that still sounds fine 🤷‍♂️) while Track 4 plays everything else which must use the same envelope, modulation settings etc at any one moment. So it's more restrictive in some ways than original hardware, but also it's less restrictive in other ways like allowing 4 voices of noise, square or pulse to play at the same time. So like most of the features on the MEGA, it captures the overall sound without being overly concerned about super specific technical restrictions."

Liven MEGA SYNTHESIS - Tutorial Part 1 - Pattern Editing Deep Dive

video upload by ChrisLody

"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 videos like this. Any other shorter videos on my channel containing Sonicware products are not paid content.

More about the Sonicware Liven MEGA Synthesis:
Sonicware's Website: https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-mega...
Trailer & Yuzo Koshiro's Patterns: [posted here]
My quick overview video: [2nd video here]

So as promised here is my Sonicware Liven MEGA Synthesis deep dive video. This video will look at pattern editing including everything that's available to make your own music. The next video will focus on the FM sound editing overlay so will cover how to make your own sounds

Sonicware and I have both noted how many customers have bought the Liven MEGA Synthesis who have never bought an instrument before, so I've done my best to make this video as beginner friendly as possible which is why this video is quite long. If you're more experienced please use the chapter markers so skip through to relevant sections.

CLICK FOR MORE »

240107 - Jamuary2024 - Liven MEGA Synthesis Jam

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion

7 days into Jamuary 2024 and I've only managed 2, not really what I'd planned! But at least now the reveal of the Liven MEGA Synthesis is out of the way I can upload some jams using it. Plus this isn't an official Sonicware video, so I can mention the fact that it's designed to emulate the experience of making music on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis hardware unlike in my last video, hopefully to the surprise of almost nobody 😄

I didn't create any fresh patches for this jam, it's all just presets and there's plenty to choose from (including my work of course).

From this video you should be able to hear that the general lo-fi vibe of the YM2612 has been replicated nicely. Part of that is due to a design flaw in it's 9 bit DAC which distorted the sound at quite volumes, often called the Ladder Effect. You can turn that on and off per track on the MEGA.

Apart from the delay on the lead sound I'm not using any effects here, the distorted guitar lead sound is created using just FM synthesis. On the original Mega Drive/Genesis adding delay would have had to be done by duplicating notes onto another channel of the chip using up polyphony, but the MEGA has an effects section so this is a regular guitar pedal like delay effect."

Sonicware LIVEN MEGA Synthesis User Demos

video upload by Limbic Bits

Two demos - audio only demo from Limbic Bits above, and an overview from ChrisLody below. See the announcement post here (directly below if you are coming off the main page)

Sonicware Liven TextureLab Sound Demo (no talking)

0:00 Stage 5-1
1:10 Club
1:47 Soil
3:00 Void
4:23 Cammy's Impro
5:08 Ambient
6:13 Sea
7:35 PADS
11:58 BASS / LEAD
14:37 Mallets / Bells
17:03 EFX / Drones / Percussion
18:58 Some Drum Samples

Liven MEGA SYNTHESIS - Retro Game Music Production Machine

video upload by ChrisLody

Texture Lab in the Effects Processor Mode with an Electric Guitar

video upload by SONICWARE

"Daniel Rose demonstrates an electric guitar connected to LIVEN Texture Lab.
The Texture Lab is a Granular synthesizer and effector with a majestic Shimmer Reverb. https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-text...

Check out his instruction video:"

How to Use the Sonicware Texture Lab as a Live Granular Effects Processor

video upload by SONICWARE

"Timestamps / Table of Contents:

Section 1: basic principles

Part 1: the non-granular side of the blend
1:35 - intro
1:57 - first synth sound and default effects mode sound
2:32 - notes on blend, reverb, and filter
5:56 - tip #1

Part 2: the granular side of the blend
6:44 - intro
7:51 - notes on playback direction (❗important❗)

CLICK FOR MORE »

Introducing the LIVEN 8bit warps v3.0 Update and the All Black Limited Edition!

video upload by SONICWARE

"We have just released version 3.0 firmware of the LIVEN 8bit warps! 👉 https://sonicware.jp/pages/downloads?...
"And the special All Black Limited Edition has been released! 👉 https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven8bitw...

LIVEN 8bit warps v3.0
・8-bit waveform memory synth engine for creating a wide variety of sounds from Chiptune to Ambient
- Four distinct 8-bit waveform memory synth engines (Includes waveform editing with waveform capture function)
・Unique sound creation with aliasing noise on/off, detune and sweep functions
・128-step sequencer with parameter locking
・4-track looper for recording internal audio and external audio from the line input
・10 effects and 6 reverbs (switchable to the Cassette tape simulator)"

Sonicware Liven 8Bit Warps v3.0 Quick Start Guide

video upload by ChrisLody

"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.

A new version 3.0 firmware has been released for the Liven 8Bit Warps that adds some new feature, a pack of new drum sounds and generally tidy's things up a bit. You can download it from this page on the Sonicware website under the 8Bit Warps tab: https://sonicware.jp/pages/downloads

0:00 Teaser bit
0:16 Intro
1:00 How to update and add drum sounds
1:57 Demo of new drum sounds
2:26 6 New FX types
5:20 Copy duplicate
6:27 Sound locking
8:50 Using sound locking to make drum patterns
10:13 Pattern chain looping
11:06 Outro
11:16 Super secret mini jam!"

Limited Edition SONICWARE LIVEN Lofi-6

LIVEN Lofi-6 (Official PV)video upload by SONICWARE

See this previous post for additional details and demos of the standard edition Lofi-6.


LIVEN Lofi-6 Sound Demo video upload by SONICWARE

"LIVEN Lofi-6, a limited edition of 500 units in collaboration with Perfect Circuit.
https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-lofi6
https://www.perfectcircuit.com/sonicw...

0:00 01 : DIXI (Dixieland by Takahiro Sato)
0:15 02 : AIME (Chabada by Christian Laffitte)
0:28 03 : JIVE (Jive by Chris Lody)
0:46 04 : FONO (Fonogram by Christian Laffitte)
0:58 05 : SEA (ASMR-ish 'By the sea' by Takahiro Sato)
1:10 06 : LATE (Late One Day by Chris Lody)
1:31 07 : NOVA (La Vie Est Belle by Christian Laffitte)
1:44 08 : HEY (Hey by Dr. Endo)
2:05 09 : BAYA (Baya playa by Christian Laffitte)
2:17 10 : LIFT (Lift Music by Chris Lody)
2:28 11 : LAGO (Lago by Christian Laffitte)
2:44 12 : EASY (Easy by Chris Lody)
3:05 13 : DRAW (Draw the Picture with Your Sound by Yasutake(elfin))
3:20 14 : D.NOC (Dobranoc by Yasutake(elfin))
3:46 15 : COSY (Cosy by Yasutake(elfin))
4:00 16 : BK.HL (Might Be Blackhole by Yasutake(elfin))"

Sonicware Liven Lofi-6 Quick Start Guide - How to Make Retro Lofi Music

video upload by ChrisLody

How To Use Texture Lab Granular Synth For Experimental Noise

video upload by ChrisLody

"Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion

For more information about the Texture Lab see this video: [posted here]

Here's how to use the Liven Texture Lab for extreme experimental noise. This is very similar to a 'no input mixer technique' feedback technique but in this case the feedback loop is affected by granular synthesis so the results are extremely wild! Like all feedback techniques the results can be extreme and incredibly difficult to control, great fun :)"

SONICWARE Introduces the LIVEN Texture Lab | Granular Synthesizer/Effector

video upload by SONICWARE

"LIVEN Texture Lab | Granular Synthesizer/Effector
- Sample, slice, transform and reconstruct audio to synthesize completely new sounds
- Granular synthesizer with granular effects processor mode
- Shimmer reverb for fantastical and majestic sounding spaces
- 128-step sequencer with parameter locking
- World-famous sound designers have provided presets as results of their experiments

The presets are
01 FL.BK (Flashback) : Yasutake(elfin)
02 DRMR (Dreamer) : Limbic Bits
03 FEAR (Fear) : Chris Lody
04 US.HP (Use Headphones!) : Takashi Matsuura
05 CHOR (nostalgic space choir) : Dr. Endo"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Quick guide for LIVEN Lofi-12 v2.0

video upload by ChrisLody

"LIVEN Lofi-12 v2.0:
https://sonicware.jp/pages/liven-lofi12

● Chopping
Two new voice modes called ‘Drum’ and ‘Chop’ auto-slice samples easily with the newly developed Downbeat Divider*. Sliced sections of a sample are then spread across the keyboard making finger drumming possible.

● Resampling
Patterns and tracks can be resampled by internally recording the audio output into a new sample. Real-time resampling of your keyboard playing is also possible.

● Remix Effect
A beat repeater effect ‘R.MIX’, added to the master effect options, makes glitchy real-time performances possible.

The new features are designed to work well with each other so you can easily create drum tracks with auto-slicing and record lively performances that are not constrained by the grid of the internal step sequencer. You can also resample samples and tracks for infinite effects processing and even build your own beats and kits ready to be sliced up in the Drum and Chop modes.

The new features in version 2.0 will further expand your creativity!

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*…Downbeat Divider is an auto-slicing function that divides the entire sample into equal portions of equal length by setting the length of one beat. Set the length by the [VOICE] ADJ. It can be set from 0 to 255 for a maximum of 1 second. The default is 0.5 seconds at 167.

PLEASE NOTE: The new Drum sounds I describe were revised shortly after the video was finished so are available as individual samples rather than a bank. Therefore the upload procedure is not the same as shown at the start of the video. Sonicware has provided an update guide for the firmware and new sounds so please refer to that for guidance."