Guided tour

Every caption

Clips show roughly the first part of each chapter. Captions marked full video come later in the chapter than the clip plays.

Overview

01 · The window

1. 0:01The big screen on the right is the master output: what your audience sees.
2. 0:07Below it, a preview of each of the four decks: A, B, BG and PV.
3. 0:13A and B are the main decks. The crossfader mixes between them.
4. 0:19BG is the background deck: it is drawn behind A and B. full video
5. 0:23Its level starts at zero. Drag its fader up and BG appears behind deck A. full video
6. 0:29Deck A draws only part of the frame, so BG fills in around it. full video
7. 0:35PV is the preview deck. Try things out here: the audience never sees it. full video
8. 0:41On the left is the Perform view: rows of knobs, grouped into pages. This is the A/B page. full video
9. 0:48The BG/PV page holds the BG and PV decks. full video
10. 0:55MIXER holds the deck levels, the master FX chain, transitions and the clock. full video
11. 1:03Back to A/B. Perform is one of three views; the other two are Edit (Ch. 5 at 4:39) and Library (Ch. 6 at 5:28). full video

02 · Decks and sources

1. 0:00Every deck has two rows. The top row, SRC, is its source: the shader that draws the picture.
2. 0:07The row below is the deck's FX chain. Here it is switched off.
3. 0:12BYPASS turns the whole chain on or off. Click it, and the picture runs through the effects.
4. 0:19More on FX in Ch. 4 at 3:05. Sources first. full video
5. 0:23Click the source name to browse sources and presets for that deck. full video
6. 0:29Click a source in the list and it loads straight into the deck. full video
7. 0:36Each click swaps the deck's source. Watch deck A's preview and the output. full video
8. 0:42And back to Kifs. full video
9. 0:44Save stores the deck's source and all its settings as a preset. full video
10. 0:50The gear opens the Edit view with every parameter of the row (Ch. 5 at 4:39). full video
11. 0:56The FX row below is the deck's effect chain (Ch. 4 at 3:05). full video

03 · Knobs and crossfaders

1. 0:00Every row has four knobs, mapped to that row's most useful parameters.
2. 0:06Drag up or right to turn a knob up...
3. 0:10...and down or left to turn it down.
4. 0:14Hold Shift while dragging for fine control. Double-click a knob to type a value.
5. 0:21Under the output is the crossfader. It blends deck A into deck B. full video
6. 0:33The same crossfader is the first knob of the Transitions row on the MIXER page. full video
7. 0:39Turn it and the crossfader under the output follows. full video
8. 0:44The other knobs shape the transition: how deck A becomes deck B. full video

04 · FX chains

1. 0:00Every deck has an FX chain with three slots. The master has one too.
2. 0:06The picture flows through the slots from left to right: slot 1, then 2, then 3.
3. 0:12So order matters. Here Kaleidoscope folds the image, then Polar Tunnel wraps the result into a tunnel.
4. 0:20Swap them, and the tunnel is folded instead. Same effects, a very different picture. full video
5. 0:27Drag a slot onto another to reorder the chain. full video
6. 0:34The power button switches one slot off without removing it. full video
7. 0:42Each slot's knob is that effect's Metaknob: one knob that drives its main parameters. full video
8. 0:48The Super Knob turns the Metaknobs of every linked slot at once. full video
9. 0:54A slot joins in when the Super Knob passes its current value, so nothing jumps. full video
10. 1:00The link button above a slot adds it to the Super Knob or takes it out. Click to unlink Polar Tunnel. full video
11. 1:08Now the Super Knob moves only the linked slots. Polar Tunnel stays put. full video
12. 1:15Click again to link it back. full video
13. 1:19The link beside the Super Knob links or unlinks all slots at once. full video
14. 1:25The master FX chain on the MIXER page works the same way. It runs after the crossfader, on the final mix. full video

05 · Edit view

1. 0:00The gear on a row opens the Edit view.
2. 0:04Edit lists every parameter of the deck's source, not only the four on the knobs.
3. 0:10K1 to K4 mark the parameters that sit on the row's four knobs.
4. 0:16VAL sets a parameter's value. LFO and the other columns add modulation.
5. 0:22Click a parameter to see and edit its properties. full video
6. 0:29The FX tab shows the deck's chain: wet/dry, the Super Knob and every slot's parameters. full video
7. 0:36These checkboxes are another way to choose which slots follow the Super Knob. full video
8. 0:42The tabs on the far left jump to the other decks and to the mixer. full video

06 · Library and themes

1. 0:00The Library view fills the screen with your sources, effects and presets.
2. 0:06Tabs switch between sources, FX, transitions, queues and macros.
3. 0:12Search finds items by name, tag or folder.
4. 0:20Preferences, under General, has the theme. full video
5. 0:25There are two: dark, and this light one for bright rooms. full video
6. 0:32Liquid LSD is free software under the GPL-3.0. full video

Modulation

07 · The modulation grid

1. 0:01Modulation makes parameters move on their own: with an LFO, the music, or a step pattern.
2. 0:08It is set up in the Edit view. Click the gear on deck A's source row.
3. 0:15Each row is one parameter of the source.
4. 0:19VAL is the parameter's own value: what its knob sets. full video
5. 0:24The other columns are modulation sources. A cell connects one source to one parameter. full video
6. 0:31The step sequencer column is off by default. Turn it on from the menu beside VAL. full video

08 · LFO

1. 0:00Start with an LFO on Zoom. Click its LFO cell.
2. 0:05The LFO panel opens on the right. A new LFO starts switched off.
3. 0:11Click the power button. The graph shows the wave, and the picture starts to breathe in and out.
4. 0:18The shape buttons pick the wave: sine, triangle, square or random.
5. 0:29Range sets how far it swings. Click the maximum and type a new value. full video
6. 0:37Time counts in seconds. Beat locks the LFO to the clock, so it moves with the music. full video
7. 0:45Beat Div sets how many beats one full swing takes. full video
8. 0:50Back in the grid, the cell's small knob shows the LFO's live value. full video

09 · Audio

1. 0:00Now make Gain flash with the kick drum. Click its AUD cell.
2. 0:06Switch it on. The graph now follows the music.
3. 0:12Frequency Band picks what to listen to. Bass follows the kick drum.
4. 0:20Continuous follows how loud the band is. Transient fires on each new hit. full video
5. 0:28Response sets how fast it rises and falls. Punchy suits drums. full video
6. 0:36Range works as for the LFO. From 0 to 40, each kick brightens the picture. full video

10 · Step sequencer

1. 0:00The step sequencer plays a pattern of values. Put one on Lobes.
2. 0:06Switch it on.
3. 0:09Pick 8, 16 or 32 steps.
4. 0:12Click a step and type its value. The bright box is the step playing now.
5. 0:26Lobes is on deck A's first knob, so the LOBES knob steps along with the pattern. full video
6. 0:32Set the clock to BEAT and each step lands on the beat. full video
7. 0:42Step Hold and Glide Curve shape the move from one step to the next: a jump or a slide. full video

11 · Muting and combining

1. 0:00The power button mutes a modulator and keeps its settings.
2. 0:07ADD adds the modulator to the value. MUL multiplies the value; SCALE pulls it down as the signal rises.
3. 0:15The knob still sets the starting point. Modulation moves around it.
4. 0:21Every deck, every FX slot and the mixer have the same grid. full video
5. 0:26Save the preset and its modulation is saved with it. full video

FX chains

12 · Building a chain

1. 0:01Effects change the picture a source draws: fold it, warp it, blur it, colour it.
2. 0:08Each deck's second row is its FX chain. Deck A's is new: no effects yet.
3. 0:13It has three slots, one under each of the last three knobs. Click the first slot.
4. 0:20The browser below now lists effects for that slot. Click one to load it. full video
5. 0:28Kaleidoscope folds the picture into mirrored wedges. Now the second slot. full video
6. 0:37Polar Tunnel wraps it into a tunnel. full video
7. 0:41And Bloom in the third, for a soft glow. full video
8. 0:50To try other effects without the browser, scroll the mouse wheel over a slot. full video
9. 1:00The wheel steps through your favourite effects, or the slot's category. full video

13 · Order and bypass

1. 0:00The picture flows through the slots from left to right.
2. 0:04Drag a slot onto another to swap them. Now the tunnel is drawn first and then folded.
3. 0:11Swap them back: same effects, a different picture.
4. 0:17The power button beside a slot switches that effect off and keeps its settings.
5. 0:27BYPASS switches the whole chain off, so you can compare with the bare source. full video

14 · Metaknobs and the Super Knob

1. 0:00The knob above each slot is that effect's Metaknob: one knob tuned to drive its main parameters.
2. 0:13The first knob is the Super Knob. It turns every linked Metaknob at once.
3. 0:22A Metaknob joins in when the Super Knob passes its value, so nothing jumps. full video
4. 0:28The link button above a slot takes it out of the Super Knob. Unlink Bloom... full video
5. 0:35...and the Super Knob leaves Bloom alone. full video
6. 0:40The chain link beside the Super Knob links or unlinks all three slots at once. full video
7. 0:48The gear opens the chain in the Edit view, where you choose what each Metaknob drives. full video

15 · Focus mode

1. 0:00To work on one effect, click its number. This is focus mode.
2. 0:06Now the first knob is Kaleidoscope's Metaknob...
3. 0:10...and the other three are its own parameters.
4. 0:17An effect with more than three parameters has pages. The arrows step through them.
5. 0:24Wet blends the effect with its input. Drag it down to fade Kaleidoscope out. full video
6. 0:36Click another number to focus that slot instead... full video
7. 0:42...or the lit one again to go back to the whole chain. full video

16 · Saved chains

1. 0:00A whole chain can be saved and loaded. Click the chain name to list saved chains.
2. 0:07Click one to load all three slots at once.
3. 0:20Save keeps your changes. It turns red when the chain has changed since it was loaded. full video
4. 0:27The menu has Save As, Clear, and Copy and Paste between decks. full video
5. 0:32A deck's FX chain is separate from its presets: loading a preset keeps the chain. full video

17 · Master FX

1. 0:00The MIXER page has the master FX chain. It works on the final mix, after the crossfader.
2. 0:07Load something bold into a master slot, like Invert...
3. 0:15...and it stays on screen whichever deck the crossfader shows.
4. 0:26The master chain starts with gentle effects you can leave on all night. full video
5. 0:32Every deck and the master: the same three slots, the same knobs. full video

Mixing

18 · Deck levels

1. 0:01The output is a mix of decks A and B, with BG behind them. The MIXER page controls the mix.
2. 0:08The first row holds the levels: how bright each deck is in the mix.
3. 0:13Turn LEVEL A down and deck A fades out...
4. 0:18...and back up. full video
5. 0:21The thin fader beside each deck preview is the same level. Move either one and the other follows. full video
6. 0:28BG starts at zero. Turn LEVEL BG up... full video
7. 0:34...and the background deck appears behind deck A. full video
8. 0:39MASTER fades the whole output: a quick way to black out. full video

19 · The crossfader

1. 0:00The crossfader blends deck A into deck B. Drag it under the output...
2. 0:13...or turn XFADE, the first knob of the Transitions row. They move together.
3. 0:27The A and B buttons jump straight to one deck: a hard cut. full video

20 · Transitions

1. 0:00How A turns into B is the transition. The default is a plain crossfade. Click its name to pick another.
2. 0:08Click a transition to use it. Vortex Swirl twists deck A away and unwinds deck B.
3. 0:16Now move the crossfader slowly to watch it.
4. 0:26The other three knobs are the transition's own settings. They change with each transition. full video
5. 0:33Try another: Film Burn. full video
6. 0:41Back to deck A, burning through. full video

21 · AUTO and fade time

1. 0:00AUTO runs the crossfader for you, from one deck to the other.
2. 0:11The time beside it is how long the fade takes. Drag it, or scroll over it, to change it.
3. 0:19Now AUTO fades back to A in 3 seconds. full video
4. 0:26Click AUTO while it fades to stop it where it is. full video

22 · The clock

1. 0:00The last row is the clock. Everything set to follow the beat runs on its tempo.
2. 0:06Here an LFO set to Beat morphs deck A's shape in time with the music.
3. 0:12Halve the tempo, and the morph slows down with it.
4. 0:20Double it to get back. full video
5. 0:25TAP sets the tempo: click it in time with the music, four times or more. full video
6. 0:32Plus and minus nudge it by half a beat per minute. full video
7. 0:36RESYNC puts the downbeat back on the first dot. full video
8. 0:41MAN keeps your tempo. AUDIO follows the beat it hears in the music. full video
9. 0:47Levels, crossfader, transitions and clock: the whole mix on one page. full video

Library and presets

23 · Browsing the Library

1. 0:01Below the knobs is the Library: every source, effect, transition and preset you have.
2. 0:08Press Space to give it the whole column. Space again brings the knobs back.
3. 0:14The tabs pick what it lists: Sources, FX, Transitions, Queues and Macros.
4. 0:19The folders on the left narrow the list: stock sources, your saved presets, playlists. full video
5. 0:26Search finds anything by name, tag or folder. Ctrl+F jumps here from anywhere. full video

24 · Loading onto a deck

1. 0:00Double-click a source to load it into the deck that is not on air.
2. 0:07The crossfader is on A, so it went to deck B, ready for the next fade.
3. 0:14Or drag it onto the deck you want. Try it on PV, the preview deck, first.
4. 0:24Clicking a deck's source name opens the same list for that deck alone: one click loads. full video

25 · Saving presets

1. 0:00Change something on deck A...
2. 0:05...and a star after its name marks unsaved changes.
3. 0:10Save stores the source, every setting and its modulation as a preset. Ctrl+S does the same.
4. 0:16Give it a name, and tags to find it by later, then click Save. full video
5. 0:21We cancel here. Saved presets appear in the Library, under Saved presets. full video

26 · Queues

1. 0:00A queue lines up saved presets for your set. Search for some first.
2. 0:05Select a preset and press Q to add it to the A/B queue.
3. 0:18The Queues tab shows them in order. full video
4. 0:24The arrows on a deck's source row step through the queue, loading the next preset. full video
5. 0:32Shift+Q fills the BG queue instead. FX and transitions have queues too. full video

27 · The pair view

1. 0:00Click a deck's preview to open its pair view.
2. 0:06Deck B's source and FX rows stay on top, with the browser below for that deck.
3. 0:12Parameters opens the full Edit view for it.
4. 0:17Back, or Esc, returns to Perform. full video
5. 0:22Browse, load, save and queue: your whole set lives in the Library. full video

Hardware control

28 · MIDI learn

1. 0:01Liquid LSD can be played from MIDI controllers, a Midi Fighter Twister, or OSC apps such as TouchOSC.
2. 0:09To put a knob on your controller, right-click it.
3. 0:14The ring pulses: it is waiting. Move a knob or fader on the controller and the two are linked.
4. 0:21Right-click again to stop waiting without linking anything. full video
5. 0:26Buttons learn the same way: right-click A, B, AUTO or TAP, then press a pad. full video
6. 0:35In Edit, right-click any slider for Learn MIDI and Learn OSC. full video

29 · Perform pages and the Twister

1. 0:00A Midi Fighter Twister needs no setup: plug it in and its 16 knobs are the 16 knobs on screen.
2. 0:08Its side button steps through the pages, like these tabs, and the screen follows.
3. 0:17Its rings show each knob's value, and on an FX row a push switches that slot off. full video
4. 0:24Preferences, under MIDI Controls, lists the pages. Each one is four rows. full video
5. 0:30Copy a page to a user file to change its rows and make it your own. full video
6. 0:35With MIDI on, this panel also shows incoming messages and every mapping, with its range, smoothing and soft takeover. full video

30 · OSC

1. 0:00OSC Controls sets up control from a phone or tablet app such as TouchOSC.
2. 0:05Point the app at this computer and the inbound port. Feedback goes back on the outbound port.
3. 0:12Start Learn, then move a control in the app to link it. Right-clicking a slider does the same.
4. 0:19Mappings are saved in a profile, so each app or layout can have its own. full video
5. 0:26The Hardware page of the user guide covers each controller in detail. full video

Output and recording

31 · Output View and a second screen

1. 0:01The master output is what the audience sees. There are several ways to get it in front of them.
2. 0:08Press F for Output View: the controls disappear and the output fills the screen.
3. 0:17Esc brings the controls back. F11 makes the window fullscreen. full video
4. 0:23With a projector or second screen, use the Output menu. full video
5. 0:27Secondary Output Window fills the other screen with the output, and the controls stay on yours. full video
6. 0:34Output Monitor picks which screen, if it lands on the wrong one. full video

32 · Resolution and sharing

1. 0:00Preferences, under Video & Display, sets the render resolution. Lower it if a laptop struggles.
2. 0:07Display Scaling fits the output to screens with other shapes.
3. 0:12Live Video Sharing sends any deck or the master to other apps, such as OBS or Resolume.
4. 0:18Tick a row to share it. It uses Spout on Windows, Syphon on macOS and PipeWire on Linux. full video

33 · Recording

1. 0:00Recording settings are just below: the folder, the quality, and whether to include the audio.
2. 0:06To record your set, press Ctrl+R or use Output, Record Output.
3. 0:12A red REC badge with the time shows while it records. Ctrl+R again stops it.
4. 0:18Render Video renders offline, frame by frame, from an audio file: slower than real time, at any resolution. full video

34 · Web broadcast

1. 0:00Web Broadcast is experimental: it streams your show to a web page, where each viewer's browser draws it.
2. 0:07It needs a relay server and a broadcaster token. Enter both here.
3. 0:13Go Live connects. The title bar then shows LIVE while you are streaming.
4. 0:19The Output page of the user guide has all the details. full video