It’s no secret that we here at Perfect Circuit are fans of Sonicware’s intuitive, affordable, and down-right fun collection of groovebox instruments, samplers, and synths. We were the exclusive retailers for their special edition, ultra-lo-fi LIVEN Lofi-6 Sampler, and here on Signal we have investigated the entire Sonicware line-up. With the recent release of the new LIVEN Ambient Ø Soundscape Synthesizer, we figure there is no better time to revisit one of our favorite designers in the industry.
To help us peel back the curtain on Sonicware’s vast and energized output, we reached out to Sonicware’s dedicated founder, designer, and CEO Dr. Yu Endo, to pick his brain about his practice in music, synth design, and running a company from all angles. In return, Dr. Endo treated us to a wonderfully thoughtful look into his perspectives on work, music making, and design. Along the way, we get into inspirational samplers, classic video game tunes, and of course the outstanding new Ambient Ø.
We've recently teamed up with Sonicware to give away not one, but six LIVEN boxes. Three winners will each get a unique curated pair of LIVEN instruments tailored to particular styles of music-making: the Ambient Combo (Ambient Ø + Texture Lab), the Game Combo (MEGA Synthesis + 8bit warps), and the Lo-Fi Combo (Lofi-12 and Lofi-6). Head to our contests page for your chance to enter—and read on to hear directly from the mind behind these amazing instruments.
An Interview with Dr. Yu Endo

[Above: Dr. Yu Endo of Sonicware.]
Perfect Circuit: What inspired you to start designing musical instruments? Did you come to engineering through music, or the other way around?
Dr. Yu Endo: Music and engineering were initially separate for me. I think it was more of an interest in engineering at first.
In the 1980s, I was fascinated by the Famicom (known as NES in the US) and dreamed of creating such TV games someday. I saved up my pocket money and bought an MSX2, a hobbyist PC with a Z80 8-bit CPU, when I was 11. This was the first step towards my path in engineering. After purchasing the MSX, I became engrossed in game programming using the BASIC language. At that time, I liked and listened to music, but I didn’t create music.
This background led me to attend a high school focused on engineering, where I became even more absorbed in programming.
Meanwhile, at that time in Japan, there was an unprecedented band boom, with rock and punk bands becoming popular. Influenced by this, I also became passionate about Japanese rock and punk music. I joined the light music club at the high school I attended and started playing the electric guitar. Looking back, I think that was my first step into music production. At first, I played covers of famous Japanese rock and punk bands, but gradually, I discovered the joy of creating my own music and became deeply involved.
Later, while I was at university focusing on research in "hardware and software co-design methods," I was also making original music and regularly performing with a band. I liked creating things, but during my student years, I had not yet fused these two interests.
When I entered graduate school, I began thinking about employment and my future. Until then, I may have only been absorbed in what was right in front of me. As I seriously considered what kind of work suited me, I realized that my love for engineering and music finally came together. While the term "musical instruments" had an acoustic image, I thought that "electronic musical instruments," which combine my love for music and engineering, might be a theme worth dedicating my life to.
Subsequently, I joined a musical instrument manufacturer in Japan, and my career in electronic musical instrument development began.
PC: Your work at Sonicware covers a lot of ground, from CEO to synth designer to composer for preset grooves and patches. How do you manage such a hands-on approach to multiple aspects of the company?
YE: My role at Sonicware is multifaceted, and the amount of work might seem vast and complex. There are a few important points to consider in this question, so I'll break it down:

1. Mindset about Work
Although it's not often said directly, some people may perceive me as being obsessed with work. I never tell my staff to become workaholics, but from an outside perspective, it might seem like I'm always working. In fact, I'm answering this interview on a Saturday evening after my son's local youth soccer team's activities. (By the way, I'm a parent coach for this team, and I'm a bit proud that we've won local championships twice in the U-8 and U-9 categories!)
To digress, I probably don’t have a clear separation between work and off time. It might sound confusing, but work is play and play is work. I live in a gradient between work and play. Ideas often come from play and consumption activities, and in today's world, it’s becoming harder to draw a line between what constitutes work.
However, this doesn’t mean that everything is smooth and enjoyable. In fact, there are more tedious aspects than enjoyable ones. But even if things are bothersome, I don't dislike them, and sometimes I even enjoy dealing with them. I am convinced that almost all "valuable" creativity lies beyond the tedious tasks.
Work is play, play is work, and it's vast and troublesome yet enjoyable, without a clear start or end. Therefore, there is no distinct on or off time; it’s all continuous. This is my mindset about work.
2. Practical Approaches (Three Tips)
I have multiple roles at Sonicware, and they can be broadly categorized as follows:
- Management (CEO)
- Synthesizer/Product Designer (Planner/Developer)
- Preset composition, video production composition, and direction (Artist)
Upon reconsidering, there are a few tips that help me fulfill these roles. I'll share three tips:
(a) Advancing Thought
This isn’t just about having ideas or flashes of inspiration; it’s a method of consciously using "a certain system" to engage in continuous self-dialogue while advancing thought. If there’s a problem or theme to think about, it’s about not ending the thought process with a fleeting idea but fully exploring it. In simple terms, it’s like having a daily meeting between yesterday’s self and today’s self.
The method I use to advance thought may seem quite analog and surprising: I write down current thoughts on a B6-sized card focusing on one topic.

[Above: Dr. Yu Endo's neatly-filed product development concept cards.]
The key is to write only one theme on each card. Then, the next day, I skim through previously written cards, engage in dialogue with my past self, and if new or different ideas arise, I either add them to the existing card or write new ideas on a new card.
Doing this for about an hour each day helps refine and deepen my thinking, bringing me closer to the essence of things. I intentionally create situations where I discuss with my past self for about an hour each day to think about management and product planning.
(b) Time Management and Switching Work Modes
When creating music or sound design, I work from home and try to secure uninterrupted blocks of time, usually for one to two weeks.
However, it's impossible to eliminate meetings entirely. Specifically, I schedule almost a full day of meetings at the company on Mondays, and from Tuesday to Friday, I try to complete necessary tasks at the company in the mornings and then retreat to my home studio in the afternoons for sound design and music production.
For me, it’s crucial to create uninterrupted, focused time for sound design and music production.
(c) Living Joyfully without Dwelling on Negativity
I was very impressed by a phrase I read in a book: “Don’t live a life of excuses.” Everyone faces situations where things don’t go as planned. In fact, most things don’t go as expected. When faced with such situations, there’s a tendency to make excuses like “because of him” or “if only I had done this,” but the moment you make excuses, you’re not living your own life but rather someone else’s life through those excuses.
For example, saying “I couldn’t do X because of my parents” means that you made a choice based on what your parents said. Ultimately, it is your responsibility for making that choice. Therefore, making excuses means abandoning your own life and living someone else’s life.
By believing in yourself and making 100% of your decisions, you can accept the results, whatever they may be, with clarity. If you maintain this approach, you won’t dwell too much on past failures, and even if there are days when you worry about failing, you can come to terms with it in a positive way if you have given your all. By continuing in this way, you can work on the task at hand with peace and positivity.
PC: From the SmplTrek to the Texture Lab, making inspiring sounds with samples is something Sonicware does best. Are there any specific retro or otherwise interesting samplers that inspired your designs?
YE: In terms of sample-based gear, about 30 years ago, I was obsessed with creating breakbeats using the ZOOM ST-224 sampler and the AKAI DR8 multitrack recorder. However, in terms of influence on the design of products like the SmplTrek, I think my experience with the YAMAHA QY8 had a significant impact. I remember being excited about how easy it was to create music with a portable, battery-powered device that felt like a Game Boy.
[Above: Yamaha QY8 music sequencer; photo via Perfect Circuit's archives.]
As for the Texture Lab, it originally started as a single LIVEN project that combined the sample-based engine of Texture Lab with the Lofi-12. After creating some prototypes and testing them, we found that while a sample-based multi-engine offered many features, the concept was unclear, and the operation was complex, making it unlikely to be an enjoyable product.
We then revisited the concept: for the Lofi-12, we intentionally lowered the sample rate to produce authentic Lo-Fi sounds rather than just simulating them. For the Texture Lab, we focused on how to reconstruct organic sounds from samples. This process involved extensive internal revisions with our Vice President, Mr. Sudo, and Mr. Sato, who is involved in marketing and planning.
By clarifying the product concept, we also made our goals clearer, and as a result, I believe the product became one that inspires its users.
PC: Both the LIVEN and SmplTrek units offer a multitrack ensemble of tools, rather than a more narrowly defined single instrument. Are grooveboxes and sequence-based arrangements something Sonicware was always focused on making, or did you come into that niche organically?
YE: We naturally arrived at this niche.
In reality, we weren’t always focused on creating multitrack ensemble tools. For example, the classic ELZ_1 was not ensemble-based, and the LIVEN 8bit warps started development with the goal of being a groovebox that could be enjoyed by connecting it to other equipment. However, during the development process, we realized that it would be even better if it could be enjoyable without needing to connect to other gear, which led us to incorporate the multitrack looper function.
With the subsequent LIVEN XFM, we clearly focused on multitrack ensemble capabilities. While many SONICWARE products have 4 to 8 tracks, this number of tracks provides a certain limitation, which often fosters inspiration more than having an unlimited number of possibilities. In that sense, the LIVEN series may be just right for creating ensembles easily while providing enough limitations to spark inspiration.
Additionally, with features like LFOs, we also think of sequence-based changes and randomness as interesting methods for preventing sound from becoming uniform and for discovering new sound changes through after-editing while the sequence plays.
[Above: Images from the ELZ_1's conception and development, c. 2017–18.]
PC: The first Sonicware device, the ELZ_1, recently revitalized as the ELZ_1 play, is described on your website as “proudly digital”. Exploring digital audio’s many capabilities is a trend I see across your devices, from samplers to FM and 8-bit synths. Is there anything specific about digital audio drawing you to create devices that explore its many sound possibilities?
YE: Yes, there is.
To be clear, I used to primarily use a Marshall JCM900 amp in the band I was in during my student days, and I often built analog effects as a hobby, so I love analog sounds as well. Now that I’m developing digital synths, I also love digital sounds. I don’t have a particular opinion on whether analog or digital sounds are superior, and I’m not a digital evangelist. Sound is sound.
That said, there may be an element of contrarian spirit in my approach.
In the early 2000s, when I worked for a company making digital effects, I created several multi-effects units and MTRs (multitrack recorders). During that time, there were many negative opinions about digital effects. People would say that digital effects sounded cold before even hearing them, and some developers at that time simply agreed with this sentiment.
I was moved by the orchestral sounds in Dragon Quest from the Famicom, and I enjoyed making beats with digital samplers. It saddened me that digital methods were seen as emotionless and cold.
Since then, I’ve strongly believed that “there are expressions that only digital can achieve, and they are not necessarily inorganic.” I think we should take more pride in being digital. I continue to believe that entirely new sound architectures will come from digital processes, and I work on this every day.
PC: What attracts you as a designer and musician to “Lo-Fi” audio processing, and why do you think lo-fi sounds continue to have such popularity in the music or musical instrument industries?
YE: When I was a child, I had a portable cassette deck with a radio, microphone, and speakers at home, which I played with as a toy. I would record theme songs from my favorite TV shows or my own voice. The simple act of recording and playing back was just so much fun.
I find the simple song structures, the unrefined sound, and the noise in lo-fi audio pleasant to listen to. There’s a nostalgic aspect to it, but I also think that the sound itself is soothing and comforting to listeners, which is one reason for its popularity. Additionally, many lo-fi tracks have simple structures, making it easier for beginners to start making music, which is another appealing aspect.
PC: People just starting as well as experienced professionals are using and enjoying your devices, particularly the LIVEN series, which offers affordable tools that punch well above their price tag—how did you decide on the right balance of accessibility and fun vs depth and functionality?
YE: Balancing these aspects is challenging, and we are still researching and refining it. Our mission is to inspire musicians and contribute to the creation of new music, so all of our instruments are designed with the primary goal of inspiring their users.
While achieving this perfectly is difficult, the small team involved in planning and specifications, including myself, continually tests prototypes and generates improvement suggestions. I also spend a lot of time practically using the prototypes for creating songs and demo videos, so any areas needing improvement are promptly fed back to the team.
Here are three key points I particularly focus on:
- Avoid making it capable of "doing everything": I believe that being able to do everything often means not being able to do anything well.
- Packaging appropriate features and trimming down functionalities: While this may seem like a limitation, it stimulates creativity. I think having a limited set of tools, like a small sketchbook and 12 colored pencils, can be more inspiring than being given an infinite canvas and all possible colors.
- Opt for intuitive rather than strictly logical design: Even if a specification doesn’t make perfect logical sense from an engineering standpoint, if it enhances usability and doesn’t hinder creativity, it should be adopted.

PC: Each of the Sonicware devices is able to be battery powered, making for highly portable instruments that can inspire grooves and textures anywhere with on-board speakers. Why is portability a recurring element in your design goals?
YE: Since I was young, I’ve composed music with instruments and notebooks, creating wherever I was. I’ve written lyrics at the dining table, played guitar and thought up melodies while lying in bed, and recorded on an MTR on the tatami mat. I didn’t stick to a specific place for composition and production.
Whether it was a guitar, a QY8, or an upright piano in the living room, carrying instruments around has always felt natural to me. When I’m making music, I often wander around the house without much purpose, don’t you?
Even though I may mostly use the LIVENs, SmplTrek, or Lofi-12 XT at my desk, knowing that I can easily take them to the living room, bed, sofa, or garden, or carry them in a backpack for a walk, makes me feel free.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that every future instrument will necessarily include battery power and built-in speakers. It depends on the concept and type of the product.
PC: In the LIVEN series, you offer instruments that are oriented towards specific musical goals—Lo-Fi grooveboxes, Bass and Beats, the Texture Lab, MEGA Synthesis, and now the Ambient Ø all offer genre-focused tools. While each works amazingly for their intended purpose, have you been surprised by any creative ways you’ve seen them used by musicians out in the world?
YE: I’m often amazed by the incredible sounds users share in their videos. Closer to home, I’m surprised by the creativity and ingenuity of presets made by sound designers. For instance, with the 8bit warps, we initially didn’t anticipate its use for rhythm creation. However, a sound designer managed to craft kick, hat, and snare sounds using the sweep and parameter locking, which was astonishing. We were so impressed that we included a sound lock feature and drum sounds in a subsequent firmware update, allowing users to create drum patterns on the 8bit warps.
PC: The newest member of the LIVEN family, the Ambient Ø, implements a proprietary synth engine you’ve designed called Blendwave Modulation Synthesis. How does this engine differ from existing wavetable-based designs, and what sort of work went into making the engine a perfect match for ambient music and soundscapes?
YE: When we decided to develop a product for ambient music, we explored several initial concepts. We first considered a machine specialized for drones, but the complexity of enjoying such a product was quite high, which made it less accessible and not particularly innovative given the market.
Instead, we settled on a four-layer structure (DRONE, PAD, ATMOS, NOISE) and began focusing on designing a synth engine tailored to each layer's needs. For example, we initially thought of using basic waveforms with modulation for DRONE and PAD, and developing a new oscillator for ATMOS that outputs random waveforms.
However, during our internal planning and discussions, Sato from our team proposed that a wavetable-based engine could potentially fulfill all these requirements. Building on this idea, Sato, Sudo, and I explored the feasibility of creating ambient sounds with a wavetable-based approach.
As a result, we:
- Implemented a wavetable engine specifically tailored for ambient music.
- Designed structures for each layer to match their specific needs.
- Added new features like UNISON mode, which were not present in previous LIVEN series.
The key to our engine is its detailed wavetable and its structure, which are crafted specifically for ambient sound. This makes it distinct from general-purpose wavetable synth engines.
PC: In addition to designing hardware and software, you are also responsible for many of the preset arrangements and sequences on multiple units, with some beautiful examples in the new Ambient Ø. How do you approach creating arrangements that help inspire starting points for the users of your devices?
YE: I’m glad you found the examples beautiful; that means a lot to me. Thank you.
When creating presets and sequences, I focus on maintaining the concept and vision of the product. For the Ambient Ø, which again, has a four-layer structure (DRONE, PAD, ATMOS, NOISE), I ensure the presets reflect this structure precisely. I avoid overcomplicating things to prevent confusing the users.
For PRESET SONGS, my goal is to create starting points that inspire. I aim for users to find joy in playing the presets even without needing to delve deeply into the sequences. The idea is to have the presets provide a fun and engaging experience right from the start.
In terms of the world view, I focus on creating sounds and arrangements that evoke an emotional response. Even though my compositions might not feature complex chord progressions, I pay a lot of attention to whether the sound or song moves the listener emotionally. I set a personal standard where I need to be moved by the songs I create before I consider them ready.
PC: Is Ambient music an important part of your own musical tastes, or are your musical interests as varied as the devices you create?
YE: The latter. My mother used to run a music practice studio, and I helped out there during my student days. I enjoyed going to live performances and listening to demo tapes from various bands that played different genres of music. I’m not an expert in any specific genre; my musical interests vary over time. Recently, I’ve been inclined towards cinematic, ambient, retro computer music, psytrance, lo-fi chill, hip-hop, and cyberpunk.

PC: The Sonicware mission statement mentions you are on a continuous path towards the “next synthesizer revolution”, with the goal to inspire culture and creativity through reinvention and advancement of electronic instruments. What are some aspects of your devices that you feel have been most successful in moving towards this goal?
YE: To be honest, we are still in the midst of our challenges, so it’s difficult to say we have definitively succeeded. However, during the development process, there are moments when I feel we have made some progress.
So far, there have been two key aspects: "new sound expression" and "new synthesizer user groups."
New Sound Expression: I felt this strongly during the development of the LIVEN XFM. This is an FM synthesizer, but it fundamentally eliminates the traditional concept of algorithms. By doing so, it allows for morphing between two FM sounds in a way that remains musically coherent. While traditional algorithm-based sound making is still possible, the X-LAB engine enables continuous and intuitive creation of organic FM sounds by morphing two sound patches without breaking them. Moreover, the morphed sounds can further serve as materials for sound creation with the X-LAB engine, providing high novelty in both approach and resulting sounds.
New Synthesizer User Groups: Initially, I believed that new sound expression derived from revolutionary synthesis methods would contribute most to the birth of new music and the development of culture. However, it’s not only about that. For instance, people who have never made music before but now pick up a hardware synthesizer for the first time and create new music using their creativity also contribute to the development of music culture. Specifically, the MEGA SYNTHESIS and Lofi-12 have been purchased by many as their first synthesizers, even by those who had never touched a synthesizer before. This implies an increase in new creativity in this field.
I am especially pleased that game music enthusiasts and lo-fi music listeners are trying their hand at creation with the LIVEN series and that we have been able to provide creative materials and themes to such people.
PC: Are there plans in the works to create an instrument outside the Liven / SmplTrek formats?
YE: Yes, developing new hardware products is a significant undertaking that takes several years, but we are committed to continuing to create enjoyable instruments that contribute to your creativity and inspiration. We will keep working hard to bring you exciting new products in the future.