In this video, synthesist Dylan Ferno takes a look at the capabilities of the Sonicware Liven Ambient Zero, arguing that it’s capable of much more than ambient music.
While the Ambient Zero has featured tailored to ambient music, it’s also a drum machine and groovebox.
Here’s what Ferno has to say about it:
“It’s not just a wavetable synth for ambient music, but also an FM synth and drum machine, as well as a sampler and effects pedal that can be used to make any genre! It’s possible that Sonicware wanted to fill a niche in the market by making a pure ambient synth, but it turns out this groovebox is much more than that.”
Topics covered:
0:00 Demo Non-Ambient track
0:22 Why this synth is misbranded
1:45 Why its not just for ambient
4:08 FM synthesis demo
5:06 FM drum machine
6:07 Sampled Drums
6:34 Demo tracks
6:55 Jam #1 Acid Breakbeat
7:45 Jam #2 Bangin’ Techno
8:52 Jam #3 Chill House
10:29 Multi-Effects Demo (internal)
12:43 Effects Pedal Demo (External audio)
13:51 3, not 2 LFOs
15:05 Modulation Matrix
17:26 What Sonicware was thinking?
18:39 All in one box
This video?
https://youtu.be/Psr1aVDD8fM?si=8sKPDYUh9Vvu7KAL
Purchased one of these a few months ago, and it’s become my favorite piece of gear. Something to actually just “play” with, and it punches way higher than its weight class. Pairing it with a Microfreak running through the Ambient0’s effects – hours of fun. This could have easily charged twice the price for this thing and it would still be a bargain.
I second this. I picked one up….very affordable and yeah it’s great. Really happy with mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psr1aVDD8fM
This company is the better hipster synth brand, and way more affordable than TE.
Everything they make is interesting as well, unlike TE.
I’ve only properly spent time using their first synth (ELZ?) many years back and found it far more interesting than the OP-1 that people were losing their minds over at the time. The ELZ went almost unnoticed. I would argue however, that it’s Sonicware’s lack of hipster credentials that is greatly to their advantage!
This sounds amazing. I thought about getting one of these but I’m going to just try to make my model cycles do all the work and run that through my lofi-12 xt. Maybe I’ll get this for my girlfriend as a gift later.
Related, I think the included speaker on Sonicware stuff is vastly underrated. It gives everything such a great immediacy, no making sure everything is hooked up for those of us without a real studio or workspace.