Sonicware Liven XFM [FM Synthesizer Groove Box] 3 new FM engines with 4-track sequencer

I was so dissapointed with nearly every groovebox type thingy I have owned: mpc ONE, novation circuit, mc 101, mc707, op1, opz...This thing cost £200 and has so much thought and love put into it, it is actually very practical and useful unlike everything made by teenage engineering.This is the ONLY groovebox on the market with a chromatic keyboard except the two atrocities by TE. I hate playing synths on those stupid trigger pads every groovebox has now and plus most of them are terrible quality so pretty much impossible to play chords and scales like on a keyboard. The Circuit had good touch pads so did the 707, everything else it was a huge weak area, even the MPC ONE. But this FM Liven thing, they actually thought about making it practical and useful.I have to say one thing that is bad is it doesnt sound that great, I know that is a harsh criticism. But yeah it just has a kinda dead low fi sound, Not to say its not useful, but man I was blown away by the FM synthesis of the Volca FM, it sounds 10 x better than this liven. WHo knows why!? the volca sounds almost organic and acoustic, its incredible. This just lacks depth it sounds like lower sample rate or lower bit rate or something.But I am not intending to use only this to write songs, I have an analogue Crave from Behringer, the Volca and will get the new sonic ware sampler when its released. They all play nicely together and the liven is like the main machine with the size and ease of use, it has great selection of ports.The thing is, this is a sketch pad, its light and small, has a speaker, runs on batteries, it actually has a sequencer (unlike the op1) and nice playable keys (unlike opz, mpc one, mc 707 and more). Funny you would think those two things are kinda basic standard things that all groovebox/synths should have lolI am very inspired finally, the potential of this thing, the convenience, the depth of which you can edit sounds (another area where grooveboxes are very weak). There is simply nothing else with these exact features on the market they really filled in the blanks that every other manufacturer seem to be missing. Complete opposite of teenage engineering who make overpriced fancy useless gadgets, this is cheap and very practical and useful. Shame its synth engine doesnt sound better though.I actually ended up returning it, its still great but just sounds wooden and flat... Which kinda defeats the point. For the price though the feature set and concept is still worth it and you can get some interesting sounds out of it..

It is a brilliant FM Synth & does so much. It isn't particularly intuitive to use straight out of the box though. It's a steep learning curve. The best thing is to watch YouTube tutorial videos.

A fantastic FM synth / groovebox in a tidy form factor. I/O is well catered for with full size midi and audio in and out. The speaker is super useful and can be switched off when using the line out connection.Uses several engines of a simplified form of FM synthesis. Can make searing leads, mellow pads and glitchy bass sounds and everything in between, including drum and percussion sounds. Using 4 tracks you can come up with some great lo-fi and smooth grooves.Really impressed so far and highly recommend for the money especially.

Fantastic groove box, a steep learning curve but rewarding once you understand how it works, great sound design.. Unfortunately mine stopped working, no power.. Sonicware wanted me to return it to Japan at my own expense (which was almost half of original cost of item) which I really couldn't afford, so now it's just a paper weight...disappointed considering I also own a liven 8bit..

I love this product. The possibilities are infinite.

Great value 4 track groovebox with a deep FM synthesis engine. For the money it is the most complete package I can think of.

Well what can i say but this little synth as gob smacked me at its price range.I have 15 synths and this is not a shy competitor to the rest of them i own.

Iv seen reviews on u tube what can do I'm very happy to be using soon kind regards