Watch On
Sonicware’s Lofi-12 XT first landed in 2023, itself an update to the company’s Liven Lofi-12 that had launched a year previously. Both machines share a similar ethos – reviving the crunchy, low-bitrate sound of samplers from the ‘80s and ‘90s within compact, modernised instruments that offered easier and more flexible sound shaping than the machines that inspired them.
The Lofi-12 XT expanded on the concept with longer sample times, increased connectivity and more hands-on performance features, all while keeping the price around the relatively-affordable £/$400 mark. Now the capabilities of the XT model have been expanded further via a substantial v1.5 firmware update.
The most interesting new features come to the device’s Sound Page. Here the machine gains new reverse playback sample modes, which allow it to play samples back-to-front, either as one-shots, loops or slices. The sampler’s slice mode has been improved too, making it possible to chop a loop into up-to 16 slices, as well as making it easier to edit all slices simultaneously.
The machine’s sequencing workflow gets an upgrade too, allowing users to start playback of a sequence from a specific step, as well as preview the sound of a specific step in a sequence – all of which promises to make editing and adjusting patterns easier.
Lofi-12 XT gains four new master effects too. These are Snip Loop, which will capture and repeat a chunk of the current loop, an Isolator EQ and a new beat repeat-style Remix effect. There are also newly separated Sidechain and standard Compressor modes.
Perhaps the most useful of the new features is audio exporting, which allows users to export the audio of their loops directly as a .wav file that can easily be imported directly into a DAW or another device. The Lofi-12 XT can export a full mixdown of a complete loop or individual stems of each track.
Lofi-12 XT still has a 16-bit/12kHz/24kHz engine at its core, equipped with a 12-bit sampler mode. Each sample has a maximum length of 300 seconds and, depending on your SD card, you can store as many samples as you like and load up 256 of these into a single project.
The onboard eight-track sequencer allows for both real and step-time recording plus it can record automation. The new effects are added to an existing lineup of 20 master processors.
Beyond the headline features, v1.5 also adds a variety of improvements to the interface, MIDI functionality and bug fixes. The XT now also comes with samples created by hip-hop producers Dibiase and Ski Beatz.
The v1.5 firmware is available now for existing users. New users can currently pick up the sampler for a discounted price of £359/$379. Head to the Sonicware site for more info.