Got a LV1 Classic last week!
Here are my impressions:
Build quality: Basically very good. The chassis feels very sturdy.
Faders feel good — fast and not too noisy.
Touch & Turn is rather stiff and moves very slowly. Feels like there’s no acceleration programmed into it. Definitely an area for improvement.
The quality, same as with the potis above the faders, feels kind of “meh,” like on a MIDI controller. No comparison, for example, to the potis on a Midas Pro. And the feel is also noticeably worse than, say, the potis on an SQ.
Great screen. Bright. According to colleagues who have already used it in practice, it’s also bright enough outdoors in daylight.
Touch response is fast and precise.
Good size.
Only downside: after a day of playing around with it, I got a brutal sore shoulder from the unusual movement.
Headphone output is loud and clear.
Software has been stable and fast so far. No hiccups, no short freezes.
Firmware updates are super easy.
Built-in server is definitely sufficient — at least for 48 kHz.
Test projects with 64 channels, each with Emotion Filter, Dynamics, and EQ; 32 channels with F6 and analyzer; a few CLA 2 or 3; 4 H-Reverbs; some Feedback Hunters and GEQs in the monitors, etc. — all that brings server load to about 55%.
When switching to 96 kHz, it goes up to 85%. That’s already borderline. I still need to test that in more detail.
I like the software a lot. But a few things urgently need improvement:
For example, the function view at the top (where you select whether you want to control the preamps, see the plugin racks, or view routing) always switches to the monitor routing overview when you go to Sends on Fader. That’s annoying.
The scene scope is also… um… improvable.
It’s also urgently necessary to be able to choose exactly what you save or recall in templates.
I’m curious if more will come here.
For individual band gigs, it’s fine, but if you’re, say, running a small festival with several bands in a row, it gets tedious.
Patching and, for example, assigning channels to buses and DCAs via the patch window is fantastic for that.
Links — and especially temporary links — are great!
Operation of most plugins is very good. Only the CLA2 reacts a bit strangely to touch input.
Bus-to-bus routing and sidechaining works very easily and clearly.
I’d still like to have bus spill.
Looking forward to my first gig with it.