Floomatic Labs Liverator

The Liverator is a homebrew desktop synth module that uses MIDI data to generate sound from a Sound Blaster Live using Soundfonts.

Why'd I do this? Well, the SB Live is a unique sound card in many ways, and one of those ways is how resonant filters are handled - something which I've noticed every soundfont engine does differently. There are loads of sounds I really like that only sound right coming out of the SB Live, and I use them regualrly in the production of music.

Under the hood, it's a standard PC running Windows XP. Incoming MIDI signals are fed through the SB Live synth by Python to generate audio. The front panel of the unit displays the active patch on any of the 16 channels, and allows the user to scroll through any of the patches or banks. Pressing F2 shows activity on each of the 16 MIDI channels as a bar display.

Planned additions are Toslink digital out and an additional MIDI connector to grant the use of the remaining 16 MIDI channels - of 32 total offered by the SB Live.

And in case you're wondering ..... No, I didn't design the enclosure, it's a mini-box M300-LCD enclosure. I may make my own in the future to support the addition of the aforementioned Toslink and MIDI connectors, but this one's sufficient for now.

Sound Demos

Each of these clips is an original creation unless noted otherwise. Click here for comparisons of resonant filters against other sound engines.

Tech Specs