Sonicware has introduced Liven Bass & Beats, a “wavetable bass synthesizer and rhythm machine”.
It’s designed to be a powerful portable groovebox that can be used in your studio or standalone, with battery power and a built-in speaker.
The bass synth engine includes:
- Two independent Wavetable oscillators with the 32 available wavetables.
- One sub-oscillator
- One noise generator which can create 10 different noise types.
Other features include built-in LFO, envelope generator, unison control, multi-mode filter, and distortion effects.
64+ bass presets include standards like Reese Bass, Future Bounce Bass, Wobble Bass, Growl Bass, Neuro Bass, Deep House Bass, Acid Bass, 808 Sub Bass and more.
The Liven Bass & Beats is also loaded with 150 rhythm sounds. The library of drum sounds also includes risers and tension release FX for creating transition effects. The drum sounds are organized into kits for specific genres such as dubstep, house, hiphop, trap and techno. You can also mix and match sounds from the drum library to create your own custom kits.
The Liven Bass & Beats also offers features tailored to live performance, including 16 physical control knobs, parameter locking for each sequencer step, and SYNC IN/OUT and MIDI IN/OUT connectors.
Pricing and Availability
The Liven Bass & Beats is available to pre-order for $199 USD, with pre-orders expected to ship in February 2022.
Synthwave in a box! ?
I’ll prolly get it – I have the 8 bit and the xfm and they are both really fun and … I am a sucker for grooveboxes in general
I preordered an XFM the other day. Do you consider it a sort of groove box? I’m intrigued by its functionality and price. Seems way cooler than anything in its range.
The XFM has a 4-part 4-voice step sequencer so you can definitely create a groove. By chaining patterns and adding automation, you could even create a whole song. For these reasons I think it fits in the groovebox category. (Disclosure: I have done contract work for the brand in the past… but I am also a fan.)
I had one but sold it after a week.
It sounded awesome. A great synth engine. Good sequencer and effects too.
But the filter cutoff and resonance shared the same knob!
That was a big no for me.
this is why there should be more affordable analog filters on the market. a questionable digital synth often sounds 1000x better through an analog filter. there is no reason B can’t make a $50 MF-101 clone.
a very impressive design thinking behind it. a little electronica glitch-pop supercharged toy / machine for 200 bucks?! amazing connectivity, all the necessary built in stuff (side chain, effects etc). I would wanna get one for my bar mitzvah for sure lol
Can’t wait to see this on Bad Gear on YouTube
The ELZ_1 is a pretty solid device. Very similar to the op1 with more advanced synth engines just less creative in comparison with the OP1’s sequencers and tape recorder. Still a great device, tiny screen too.
They describe Liven as a “hardware platform” and apart from the panel markings it does look as if the hardware is identical between the different models, so does anyone know if it’s possible to swap the firmwares? Google’s not giving me anything here…being able to switch between the different models using panel overlays à la Noise Engineering’s Versio series would be super cool…
Though I very much appreciate the 1-device-limited-abilities part of hardware devices, the notion of flipping the firmware on this/these would *greatly* increase the appeal for me.
As is, still seems like an awful lot of device for 200 smackers.
I mean, some folks pay close to $200 for bi-directional MIDIAnalog Sync/Clock conversion alone.
Had mine several months now and having immediately integrated it into my live set up I’ve recently taken some quality time with the B&B and am enjoying fantastic results in the synth and kit editing modes. Trust me, once you REALLY get to grips with the synth editing you’ll know this box is a keeper. I’ve been playing synths and making music for over 30 years and for the first time in a long time I’m excited about sound design again. Thanks Sonicware.