I found this review following the Lofi-12 XT kickstarter announcement, and backtracking over the sound engine. It’s noteworthy that all the issues you identified with this review were addressed in the new XT model (like their design team listened to your feedback point by point). I’m looking forward to your review on that device too.
Yes they really are an amazing company for that. Same with the SmplTrek, every single thing I mentioned has been fixed. So you gotta give that to them, they’re probably the most customer-centric company I’ve come across.
Yo, i thoroughly enjoyed this video and the track at the end. Im in a rough season of life and havent made music in probly over a year and this just inspired me. Thanks man
That's the best type of compliment, you made my day. Best medicine - just goof it out with some music! Chances are you'll come up with something doper than when you're trying hard to make something cool, and you can always modify the goofy parts later. Rooting for better days on your part!
I love this thing. Not because of the lofi beats, but because to my ear it’s a Boards of Canada ‘Geogaddi’ model kit that you put together yourself. Fantastic.
The nostalgia vibes is what made me want to buy the lofi-12. I was shocked at how good the internal speaker sounds. Makes it easy to have jams with your friends !!
For me, I would likely just use this as a Lo-Fi sound module and sequence and control externally. I would probably do a lo-fi CMI Fairlight style beat sequence once in a while as well or doing some really lo-fi video game style stuff. I already have an ISLA S2400 and Tempest for my drum machines/beats.
Great review, fair point about the grid. Though it's worth pointing out that the per step resolution up to 32nd's which will give you a higher resolution if you pair that with longer pattern. I know the Sonicware engineers are focussing on the SmplTrek right now but I think it would be perhaps doable for real-time recording to automatically delay notes with the Laid Back function, don't quote me on that though as I'm not an engineer! But this will only ever be on a per step basis so a spread chord for example on a step sequencer is never going to be a good fit. Ultimately though this chosen resolution is due to the amount of memory available on this hardware. If it had been designed with 1/128th note resolution which is 8 times higher than the way it works now, so you'd only be able to store 8 patterns on the machine vs the current 64 as each pattern would take up much more memory. Plus it's designed to be edited as a step sequencer so it would be difficult to design an interface like the current one that would be able to display recordings of that resolution and enable you to edit them.
Thanks bro! Yeah, I mean if it's technically possible to pick up the laid-back timing, record that as a parameter lock in real-time (which it should be? and shouldn't take up more memory), and just have any recorded note be related to its nearest step that would be good enough. Remove it or change a parameter, well it'll just have to affect anything within the range of that step. There are grooveboxes with next to 0 visual representation of the timeline that sequence and edit smoother, so I think we could live with it. If it can't save several notes with different timing per step and would have to allocate memory for that, I guess that's a problem for chord spreads yeah. What it boils down to for me even though I love its sound is that for a sampler/sequencer targetting this type of genre, a step sequencer is evidently not a good fit. Not quantizing is like a top 2 requirement for producers making these types of beats and that should have been researched a little more, and I bet my butt those comments will keep coming in the hiphop producer communities.
@@BlezzBeats Oh yes definitely it's been mentioned quite a lot so far so hopefully this can be addressed somehow. I also like the idea of resampling and having a whole bank of samples laid out across the keys, fingers crossed for those too 🤞
Hey Chris, correct me if I'm wrong, trying to figure this out. Given a max per pattern BPM of 250 that means maximum possible resolution for a 84-125 BPM song would be 1/64 when using 1/32 step resolution with pattern BPM at 2x song BPM, 63-83 BPM song would be 1/96 resolution with pattern played at 3x speed of song, and
You got one already? 🤩Nice! I preordered one. Seems like a dream machine. Great review! I'd love to see unquantised recording and resampling in the future.
Yessir! Thank you man! Yeah good point I though of that when I edited, resampling would make it easier to compile chopped samples, since you need to switch between the samples every time when you sequence. + stacking fx
I like that you can play the samples polyphonically, it's a simple thing but you'd be surprised how few samplers let you do that. This thing seems like it would be a good contemporary successor to the SK-1/VSS30 type samplers.
yeah that is what I am actually looking forward to using it for more than sequencing (should be coming here in a couple of days) . I have got the smpltrek and have been playing with it too and the sequencing although it has some bugs to work out is way more full fledged though I think both of the devices can benefit and learn from each other and probably will in the future FW
I'm just thinking about buying this to combine with SK-2100. It's the biggest model with stereo speakers, but sadly only 3-note polyphony with samples. Great aliasing though.
For $239 it could be useful just as an external processor, sample into it, send to your DAW and program the sequence there. I don't wanna spend time learning a new limited sequencer that'll frustrate me, but for the 12/24khz and 12/16bit sound with some built in effects, I could see myself using it just to sample through and do the rest in my DAW. Even a Casio SK-1 can cost you $200 so this is decent! Nice aesthetic too lol. Loved the Christmas track at the end 😂🙌🏼
@@fwsuperhero1 I would personally compare it to Decimort 2, since that's my alternative. Wondering as well if I can get as good results with it if not better. Psychologically though, my mind is telling me that it probably isn't as authentic sounding as hardware. But it is digital. Though when physical chips are involved it's probably different than something dsp based. But the only way to figure out is by trying it out for mysel I guess. And it is affordable. Though money are a bit scarse at the moment 😅
Xmas song at the end had me subscribe.. been watching reviews of this thing out of general curiosity but as of now my gear and rc-20 is more than enough. Pleasantly surprised with the humor and music in your vids though!
This looks like a great addition for me so to cover up some sound design omissions in ny Model:cycles. Plus i always love having a keyboard instead of making the sequencer buttons do double duty. Gonna be a must buy for me i think
Most drum machines/grooveboxes - especially those for below five hundo bucks - tend to be gridlocked to 16 steps per measure. Even many pricier boxes aren't genuinely unquantized. To be fair to this one, it does have a note offset setting. Plus, I imagine you could sequence this (and other such gridlocked grooveboxes) via a keystep pro or whatnot.
Idunno, when you say genuinely unquantized you mean the PPQ isn't infinite? I think the difference still unpercievable to the human ear on most pricier boxes. Like I mentioned before - yeah it's not a problem if you're making other types of music, but lofi hiphop is THE genre for unquantized drums. It's literally a main ingredient, and that's the target audience. Any machine this type of user uses will most likely be able to do that. And to me it doesn't matter which genre it is, that's how I wanna lay my samples down, that's where the groove and feel is defined.
@@dinogoldie9716 Koala, used Maschine MK2, SP-303/404 off the top. But that's beside my point, we're comparing apples and oranges. Most lofi hip-hop users like to choose whether they want to quantize a sequence or not, so a gridlocked step sequencer is not the tool. Now am I gonna go out and buy a lawnmower to drive to work because it's cheaper than a car? I get what you mean but yes you can get a tool that fits the target audience better for well below 500 bucks. And if that's the limit hell we can start talking MPCs and all the typical weapons of choice. Everything else is cool but it trips on the finishline.
@@BlezzBeats to be honest - comparing Koala and Maschine which are basically a software that need external controllers , to Liven Lofi12 is kinda odd ;) also it's hard to get used 404 for 250 bucks, usually you would have to add 50 bucks more.
@@Niko80s Look, all I'm saying is I never made a point about the price or physical aspects from the get-go. My argument was target user + tools necessary for job = fail, and a shortcoming in properly understanding the needs of the people they're selling too. I do think it's odd to connect that specific lack of a feature to the price from the beginning, it's a software engineering issue, not some expensive part. But I (wrongfully) stayed in my lane talking from my same perspective and Dino in his. So in the end we're just talking around each other, and this is just a third branch-off in that conversation. I see your points though.
Herrejävlar, grym Yulelåt! Great Review! Have this on pre-order, stoked! Love the Christmas-vibe, what is that small display with the small animation called?
Tack som fan! I knew someone would ask that so there's a link for it in the description, it's the Divoom Timebox Mini. Such a dope little joyspreader on your desk.
Just ordered one before finding out about the quantization! lol, but i can still sequence with my mpc and record into 404, so for $250 I think I’ll be happy.
Guys, the device looks great, sounds beautiful and has tremendous potential but being locked to a 16 beat grid is really bad, specially for lo fi. I hope you can fix this in a future firmware 🙏
I am trying to merge few sampling techniques... adding "PO33KO!" to the chain thru audio for free rythm track in limited 4 track architecture of Lofi-12 (bonus with FX on audio in). I am saying that if u want to have unquantanize track u can get it somewhere else (Koala). It would be nice to heave that feature on this device tho, but not a dealbreaker for me. There's also resample func (firmware 2.0) that can do the job done. Love yr style man. Hope to se more on Loft-12.
Nice review! I have some an old akai s20 and a squid salmple (supposedly closest to an S1000) and lofi 12 certainly looks cool. I don't think it really nails the "grey" akai sampler sound though and like you said is more like an akai s612 but even that used a lot of AA when sampling in a lower rates and gave it a specific sound. I feel like it is a bit like a casio sk-1 or yamaha VSS in sound and then you got those lofi effects to throw on top. Pretty cool if you ask me, but I also feel like its sound fits like boombap or vaporwave more than like the akai jungle sound but then the quantized work flow is more fitting to a techno genre. At the price I am sure I will end up with one eventually.
Hi mate, just bumped into your channel, dope content. In your opinion what's the closest machine to ableton? Also are the live lofi 12 pads velocity sensitive?
Nice song y’all nice and thanks for showing me how to use the sampler incase I want to but this thing it doesn’t seem bad tho for the price I’m an MPC head tho✌🏾
I have mine on preorder but I didn't know it was locked to a 16 beat grid, that's really bad. The manual says you can set the length of a step with the Func+Note combo and I assumed that was the grid's resolution. I hope there's a way out the 16th grid or it will be barely usable
Yes, that changes the resolution of the pattern, you can do that + double the bpm but that also halves the "pattern-scope" that you see on the step-buttons and limits the length of the pattern more, so its not really a manageable way. You just have to make do with the swing and laidback function, which is fine in a lot of cases but just let me decide if I want it quantized or not lol.
I did our first demotapes with the S612 and a ton of quickdisks. You needded to be creative, sampling with one second storage sounds that sound great in the lowend of the keyboard like a basedrum, in the middle for melodies and in the highend as hihat 🙂
Blezzy my guy, how do you like the Retroid Pocket? I see you've got Caustic on there, and I'm wondering if you can utilize the controls (d-pad and such) or if it's still just a touch screen workflow. I've been thinking about getting an RP3+ for some emulation but also for using Koala and shit but I don't wanna buy it if it's still just gonna be a touchscreen workflow. Hope all is good!
I just did a response to this recently “Even though this is a few dollars more than the Volca Sample, the Lofi 12 is worth the extra hit to the wallet in terms of effects and what it can do”
Ah damn, that sequencing limitation of having the notes stuck to the grid is harsh. It's like a Volca plus effects...or a Model Samples minus nudging plus effects. Or a PO-33 that takes 3x the batteries.
@@Two-Eyed_Boy You’re right too. The sequencer… I’m using three pieces in the noise I make. An MPC1000, an Sp-404, and this. The MPC has all my LoFi samples and a sequencer, the SP-404 provides resampling, and this will handle melodics (I think that’s the word I’m after, I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed). It works for my configuration a LOT better than a PO-33 would. And since it’s all about me anyway ;)
If you record in a drum pattern (kicks + Snares + Hats) and the hats are rolled in parts in 32nds, this would work if you run it as sample on the unit right? This is opposed to doing the drum programming directly on the unit which prevents 32nd notes?
You can switch to 32nds with the note button but you'll see half a bar of the pattern if I remember correctly. You mean have a sample with 2 hihat hits in one sample?
Not too bad actually, it's never more than one layer deep. Well, to edit samples you go into one menu to select the sample and then dive into the next, so in that case 2 layers.
My bad if it came across that way, it wasn't a diss at all. I love their music, anything that comes out of my mouth in these videos take it with a grain of salt :D
The deep explanation to "whatever the kids call it nowadays": those type of sparse sample-based loop beats have been around forever, Griselda does it really good and they made it popular, and I'm not keeping up to date with what's going on so it might be called something else now.
Yeah they just put it together in one week and shipped out lool, it has mostly the same problems though, except less menudiving. I think winkwink development on the SmplTrek will be great.
@@mikoajczeski1272 the 239 price makes way more sense now then the 350 last time I checked but of course sold out why only 100 units were available is a idk 🤷♂️
@@BlezzBeats because 12 bit 32khz is the sweet spot for that Akai sound. The 2 second sample time at 24khz is just an arbitrary number in 2022, artificially gimped for no good reason.
@@BlezzBeats I get it, be nice to have the choice though, being able to select 12/24/32/44 and 4 or 5 seconds at max rate and I'd have bought two instantly. No company seems to want to offer a keyboard sampler in the 2020s that appeals to more than 10 people. Just so frustrating that's all.
