Create multitrack synth patterns in the LXR-02. Demo and tutorial

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Last time we looked at programming synth sounds on the LXR. This time we take a synth-heavy custom kit of four synth sounds and two drum sounds and team it up with the Midicake Arp. The Arp plays the four synth channels. Later we feed all four synths tracks into the LXR in one pass over 64 steps. While the Midicake is ideal for this you could use any sequencer or arp that can satisfy a few basic requirements: It needs to be able to send note information on different MIDI channels and be able to act as the Midi clock master - pretty basic powers. One tiny caution if you're going to use a Keystep-37: When you press the stop button for the arp or sequencer it sends a value '0' on Midi CC51 - which also happens to be the Midi command on the LXR for amp envelope decay on voice 1.

Feeding pattern data into the LXR is a good idea imo given how many options there are on the Midicake. One of the strengths of the Midicake is that it constantly saves its state as you work so there's no need to ever actively save anything. The downside is that there's no saved version to revert to in case you wander off on some promising but ultimately unsuccessful adventure. The lesson is to copy your patch to a new slot as you go. Same holds for the LXR - I've lost many interesting sounds in furious twiddles or too-confident "save kit" actions that turned out to be 'load kit' instead. Stay organized. For my honoured Patreon friends the LXR kit used here is available for download.

The synth sounds on the LXR are really starting to grow on me. They're pretty harsh and digital but respond well to effects. They're also not like your standard synth sounds so you tend to end up in odd places. It makes a good partner for the Midicake. Another obvious partner-candidate would be the Roland 4D. Not a fan of the superb blandness of Roland sounds but spec-wise it seems like a perfect fit. I only have one criticism of the Midicake Arp: They're now made in black and I've got a white one :/

As usual there is absolutely no extra effects, EQ, compression or alteration of the sound other than what you see.

0:00 Example arp
2:20 Drum pattern
2:45 Each synth sound
4:04 Midicake tracks demo
6:50 How to input data
10:02 LXR playback

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 8: Euclidean triggers

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part eight of a guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware 1.2. In some ways this is less of a tutorial and more of a fun exploration with the LXR-02 paired with a DB-01 Bassline and then a Vermona PerFourMer MkII with a Zen delay. The Euclidean triigers come from the LXR-02's pattern generator. In the first example one channel is dedicated to running the DB-01. The interesting sude effect of the triggering is that it adds sustain to the DB-01 sound. This means switching it on and off gives a very different quality to the sound. In the second example four channels of the LXR-02 trigger four different sounds on the Vermona PerFourMer. The fun comes from switching between channels on the LXR-02 to create rythmic variations. The Zen delay gives some extra complexity and dirt on top.
0:00 Technical setup
1:12 DB-01 pattern
1:44 DB-01 triggered
2:37 Changing the pitch
3:37 Euclidean jam
5:44 PerFourMer MkII setup
6:39 PerFourMer sounds
7:20 Fiddling with triggers
9:10 Zen delay
10:08 Overdrive
12:00 Kick fiddlings
13:00 More drive!

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 7: Fun with LFOs

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part seven of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware 1.2. This tutorial looks at applying multiple synchronized LFOs to a sound. You'd think a 17-minute tutorial could cover a big chunk of this topic, but instead it really only covers the more obvious options of modulating the pitch, filter, resonance and decay. There are dozens of other targets that can produce some extremely interesting and unusual sounds. At least this will get you started. Be warned though, it's a deep tunnel to explore! With six LFOs the LXR-02 can get very intricate very quickly.

As an aside: A non-synth friend who discovered me working on this video asked what it was about. When I tried to give a quick overview they thought it was hilarious. In the nicest way possible they dismissed it as 'incredibly niche'.

Some people just don't appreciate how much fun you can have with low frequency oscillators - but I know you understand.

0:00 LFO basics blather
1:20 Hats LFO one
2:40 Offset
3:30 Destination
4:00 Hats LFO two
5:40 Tom with an LFO
8:30 Noise with an LFO
10:15 Noise with a second LFO
11:30 Noise with a third LFO
13:50 LFO on noise tuning
14:15 Noise with a fourth LFO
14:40 Lost in too many LFOs :D
15:30 Order restored
15:55 Saving the SyncKit
16:20 SyncKit on a new pattern

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 6: Useful shortcuts

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part six of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware 1.2. This tutorial covers a selection of shortcuts which are sometimes not even indictated on the machine - they're just things you have to know. Some things here, like the Pattern generator, I've covered in detail in other videos, but I thought it worth grouping the best shortcuts together as a reference. And with the Automation shortcut here, this is the "quick and easy" method rather than going into the options in detail. Hope you find it useful.

0:00 intro
0:14 Pattern Generator
1:30 Deleting steps
1:55 Rolling steps
2:53 Last Step All
4:45 Copy & extend
5:50 Global sample rate
7:04 Easy automation
9:30 Deleting automation
11:14 Revert pattern

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 5: Automation

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part five of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware 1.2. This tutorial looks just at automation. How to automate steps and tracks isn't obvious at first glance and maybe doesn't sound all that exciting but it can add a huge amount of interesting variation to your patterns. It's also very fast and easy to create the automation tracks, change them, erase them and redo them. I think it's one of the LXR's best features.

0:00 intro
0:43 Creating a track
1:04 Choose an automation track
1:36 Real-time automation
2:17 Second track of automation
3:40 Erasing automation
4:18 Reloading your kit
5:11 Realtime example two
5:53 Panning automation
6:51 Realtime example three
9:25 Step-by-step automation
12:20 Trying different kits

My site: https://richarddehove.com
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 4: Patterns

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part four of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with a beta version of firmware 1.2. This tutorial covers the fundamentals of patterns with a focus on the pattern generator. The generator is a Euclidean pattern generator but is so fast and versatile it's useful as a starter in just about any situation. The tutorial also looks at pattern and track lengths and clearing tracks.
This was also going to cover song mode but (and please test this for yourself) I believe there's a bug in song mode where the song plays backs patterns one-higher than the saved pattern number. So if your song says play back patterns 1, 2 and 3 it will actually play patterns 2, 3 and 4. As soon as this is fixed I'll do a video on song mode!
Note also in the pattern generator page that "mrp" is a morph control and will also be covered in a separate video.

0:00 The pattern generator
3:00 Saving and copying patterns
3:30 Clearing tracks
4:50 Copying tracks
6:42 Generator example 2
7:50 Track length - various methods

My site: https://richarddehove.com/

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 3: Snare, clap and hats

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part three of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware version 1.1. This tutorial covers the Snare, Cymbal/Clap and Hats voices. We look at all the parameters and some basic programming techniques - especially in order to create continuous variation.

0:00 Intro
0:20 Snare, Clap & hats overview
1:46 The two hat tracks
4:00 Initialize kit
4:28 Hats in detail
6:30 Chromatic playing
6:47 Step edit notes
7:27 LFO modulation
10:30 Assigning LFOs
12:33 Example hat sounds
14:35 Continuous variation
15:26 Cym/Clap voice
16:00 Flam controls
22:08 Clap example sounds
23:00 LFO as an envelope
24:28 LFO retrigger fun
27:02 Snare voice in detail
31:08 Example snare sounds
33:28 All together & next time
34:03 Outro sounds

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 2: Projects & Kits

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part two of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware version 1.1. This tutorial covers initializing a new project, adjusting basic configuration settings, using an external MIDI controller, and a run through of the voice editing parameters. Here we look at just the main drum synth voice that is used in the first three voices. Toward the end we create some basic drum sounds from scratch including some clean kicks, a few awful FM things and various flavors of snare. The remaining three voices: snare, clap and hats (and some better FM) - will be in the next tutorial.

If you want to skip all the config stuff start at 8:15 minutes in.

0:00 Intro
0:30 Initializing a project
1:32 Config options
4:08 MIDI note assign
5:00 Default content **
5:42 Tuned chromatic playing
7:09 Edit project name
8:00 Voice editing begins! (finally)
8:15 MIX section
8:32 OSC section
10:04 FILTER section
11:38 CLICK section
15:23 LFO section
21:32 AEG section
24:07 MOD section
25:46 Making some kick drums
29:53 MOD veocity controls
33:54 FM section
37:53 Making some snare drums

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove

** A couple of minor points: At 5:00 minutes I delete some content on Pattern 1. On very rare ocassions when initializing a project I get random (but coherant!) content on Pattern 1. Of course it happened while videoing. Also, a few people would have seen an earlier "tutorial 2". This was based on the operation of the LXR-02 with an earlier SD card image which didn't allow for simple project initialization. The improved software made that video largely irrelevant so I deleted it. That's the danger with early version tutorials!"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove

LXR-02 tutorial - Part 1: Essentials

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Part one of a getting started guide for the Erica Synths LXR-02 drum machine. This is with firmware version 1.1 and everything as you'll find it fresh from the box. The machine itself is tiny, sturdy, beautiful and absolutely packed full of features. With part one here I could only cover the absolute essentials. The guide is designed to make your first few hours and days with this machine as smooth as possible.

0:00 Introduction and all-round view
0:53 Firmware version
1:03 The micro-SD card
1:41 Everything's on the card
1:56 Data structure
2:25 What is a Project?
3:10 On boot
3:40 The two modes
4:15 Performance Mode
4:30 Global shuffle amount
4:45 Global sample rate
5:06 Roll rate
5:48 Setting the BPM
6:14 External sync
7:10 Loading kits
8:05 Triggering sounds
9:41 External trigger
10:27 Mute and select
10:53 "Escape" buttons
11:30 Editing buttons
11:48 Menu navigation
12:14 The Data knob
13:37 Adding steps
14:05 The voices
15:12 Voice editing overview
16:30 Mix menu
17:30 Selecting the outputs
19:51 An output trap!
21:15 Consider your outs
21:45 Track length and polymeters
22:28 MIDI note assign
23:10 Config menu
24:00 Screensaver on/off
24:45 MIDI options
25:17 Bar follow
25:42 Pattern-kit link
26:54 Clock PPQ settings
27:22 Saving the configuration
27:50 Creating a pattern
28:15 Saving a project
31:45 Copying patterns
32:38 Next time!

My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove"

LXR-02 tutorials by Richard DeHove