2 Hydrasynths and the LXR was just too much digital news, so I’ve had to swap it out for a Toraiz AS-1 doing analog percussion.
But I am still using the LXR as a midi clock, because I really like the shuffle, which the AS-1 doesn’t have.
I’m in a group in Facebook of LXR02 and one of the members have said that at the moment there is only one person in the LXR project and he or she is focusing on other projects. Bad news. Last year there were three people in the project and this year only one.
I feel that this is a machine with lot of potential with a clunky workflow. Workflow is essential for me, as essential as sound. It sounds great but even with no copy/paste steps…
What I don’t understand is why the sequencer in DB01 is so great and is so bad in this machine, which have almost the same enclosure, buttons, etc…
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Given the original LXR was open-source, I wonder if Erica Synths would consider open-sourcing the software of the LXR-02 if they aren’t able to keep people working on it.
It is a pretty quality built device from a physical standpoint. Perhaps they could sell a good number of units to people excited to mod and develop their own stuff for it.
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I think what a lot of people are not aware of (or forget) in their gripes is that the LXR-02 is an iteration on an existing DIY kit made by a different company.
It has some new features (e.g. the FX), but AFAICT – I don’t have the 02, but I have the original kit – the OS and the general workflow is largely the same and is not forked from other ES products like the DB-01.
The hardware enclosure might fool you into thinking it’s a “sibling”, but the internals are not kindred.
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Yup… 02 OS is like a bastardized version of the Brendan Clarke firmware… things like the sample slots can still be seen in the menus but the functionality has been removed(more than likely to add CPU space for the FX section). I was talking with Andre from Tubeohm which just had Erica release a case for the Jeannie, and he mentioned that the same guy who made the case @ erica for the original LXR made the one for his synth… assuming that was also the person at the company that pushed for them to make the 02…
And I commend ES for picking it up and giving it a second life. That was a nice and unexpected move on their part. It’s a great sounding design that deserved a wider audience.
But expectations should be managed for anyone going in: it doesn’t have the same lineage as other ES devices and it’s not like an Elektron box.
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Did you get this to work ?
Different case but maybe related and helpful… I’ve got an OG LXR and send program change messages from Akai Force to change kits. But I have to send MSB instead of program change message for it to switch kits… Might that be an option on an OT? (I don’t have one)
Thanks for the tip, will investigate with LXR02 and OT.
Did you get this to work with OT ?
Chromatic notes, midi-arp, midi-lfo, midi-retrig with Retrokit rk002 with OT and LXR-02
OT and LXR-02 (Firmware 1.6)
Bank A OT plays pat 1-16 LXR02, Bank B 17-32,…
Possible to play diff OT pat with same LXR pat (copy pat on LXR)
More to investigate
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How to change kits with OT ? A. only 4/bank, with parts ? B. MSB instead of program change ?
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Instant pattern change possible with OT and LXR-02 and rk002 ?
Stop/Start for instant pattern change - #26 by tro
These are killer. Killed my GAS for the LXR-02 immediately. Thank you!
BTW…are these drum presets available in some form?
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replacing Mr. Bungle with Brittany Speers.
Go for it.
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Hey,
got a LXR-02 a few days ago, but have some trouble syncing correctly. I use bitwig, (studio 5.03), but i got some questions i hope you can help with!
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When using USB MIDI the internal sequencer plays at double or higher speed. Any fix for this? BPM is set to EXT of course.
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Also, i wonder how i disable the transport and play the notes from sequencer instead? I have set midi transmit to PCN (anyway the one that dont use the start/stop) and set the different drums to react to different notes. But this dont work, i dont get a response.
Any tips on where to look? I have checked the manual but it´s really not much help!
Cheers! /mbang
Issue 1 sounds like you’re sending 2 copies of midi clock to the LXR… check for midi loops and check to see exactly what is sending clock to where. Check the MRT (Midi routing / midi through) settings on the LXR. I had accidentally set USB to Midi (U2M) on mine one day and clock was going out then coming back in.
Issue 2 - midi receive filter RXF needs to include the N for note. And maybe C for CCs if you’re gonna do CC control. Also check the global midi channel in LXR settings, and also check the voice midi channel in MIX page for each voice, depending on how your planning to use it.
I use split midi channel (Drum 1 on midi channel 1, Drum 2 on midi channel 2 etc) then I can play any note with any voice. If you do that, you’ll use 7 channels for voices and then you should set master midi channel (in settings) to 8 for program changes and global morph etc.
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Thanks, man.,
I got it working, not sure what i did but left the studio, came back and did a overhaul, not i have a group where the different instruments are according to their routing, that is also where i set the output from the sounds interface.
Somehow i managed to get it working, now it´s in perfect sync and i can skip the internal sequencer and program everything in one arrangement window, plus add different effects. So i am content, at least for now.
Yes, i checked all the things you mentioned. Maybe it was the midi channel that got it working, dont know. Now i am running everythng on the same. BUT, i had set sounds to react to c4, d4 and so on… But in reality its the c2, d2 and so on that makes them play. Odd.
Anyway, happy it works!
The midi tips in the end i appreciate, sounds like a good idea to separate the notes and CC n stuff…
Gotta experiment with the sounds, though.
Thanks for the help. 
You’re welcome! Yeah I can strongly recommend trying the split channel method, setting up a thick distorted bass / lead / pad patch on drum 2 or 3 and playing it using a keyboard or grid controller - the LXR makes some wicked bass/synthy sounds. Simple architecture / oscs etc but the sound is meaty. And having the ability to change the pitch of the voices when doing drum programming just by moving your midi notes up and down on the piano roll in your DAW is super helpful for me to get voices to sit with each other.
The octave number thing is I think to do with whether a manufacturer starts at 0 for the lowest octave or -2. I guess your DAW uses -2 for the lowest octave. Maybe!
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Thanks for the tip!
I havent actually worked with drums chromatically, probably since the era when i only worked with sampled ones. Usually, i tune the drum until it fits me, but maybe it could useful to be able to play the drums more. Or, it could absolutely be useful when using the lxr as something else than just a drummer. I will try it out!
Cheers!
On my unit, when i have headphones plugged in, and I turn the volume up when no pattern is playing, I hear a very low volume, but high pitch frequency. Almost like tinnitus, but its definitely from the machine, not my ears. When playing patterns and sounds, it is not noticeable through the mix though. Is this normal for the lxr02 headphone out? Are other people hearing this too? I tried recording it, but the sound is not there when plugged into my interface with a cable coming from the phone output. It’s only noticeable when i am listening through headphones directly. It’s not really a big issue, but I want to sell mine, and want to check if others are like that before I sell.
From my experience there has definitely been an issue with high pitched noise/noise floor on the LXR02 – not only with headphones but always. I had a lengthy discussion with Erica’s support around this topic where at first they denied an issue but finally concluded this is to be accepted as general design flaw. When carefully listening to Richard de Hoves demos on youtube you’ll hear it, too.
I really loved the LXR for tweakability, faders and raw sound – but this issue made me return it within the first few weeks.
Edit: please read my next post for clarification why today I most likely would not consider the noise-issue an issue…
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