| Linn 9000 | |
|---|---|
 Linn 9000 integrated digital drum machine and MIDI keyboard recorder. | |
| Manufacturer | Linn Electronics |
| Dates | 1984-1986 |
| Price | $5,000US ($7,000 fully expanded) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | polyphonic 13 voices |
| Timbrality | multitimbral 18 voices |
| Synthesis type | 8 bitDigital Samples / 11 kHz - 37kHz |
| Storage memory | 100 Drum Sequences, 100MIDI Sequences - 10,490 notes |
| Effects | Individual level, pan, tuning for all sounds |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 18 large (1.25 inch square)velocity andpressure sensitive rubber pads |
| External control | MIDI In, out and thru, Foot Switch x2, Foot Controller x1 (hi-hat), Sync Tone In/Out, trigger outputs x2, trigger inputs x6 |
TheLinn 9000 is anelectronic musical instrument manufactured byLinn Electronics as the successor to theLinnDrum. It was introduced in 1984 at a list price of $5,000, ($7,000 fully expanded) and about 1,100 units were produced.[1]
It combinedMIDIsequencing and audiosampling (optional) with a set of 18velocity andpressure sensitive performance pads, to produce an instrument optimized for use as adrum machine. It featured programmable hi-hat decay, 18 digital drum sounds, a mixer section, 18 individual 1/4" outputs, an LCD display, 6 external trigger inputs and an internal floppy disk drive (optional).[2] Despite possessing innovative and groundbreaking features[3] and influencing many futuredrum machine designs,[4] chronic software bugs[5][6] led to a reputation for unreliability, and ultimately contributed to the eventual demise of Linn Electronics.[7][8]
The Linn 9000 was used on many recordings throughout the 1980s, including international hits such asStacey Q's "Two of Hearts",Divine's "You Think You're a Man", "Give It Up", "I'm So Beautiful", "Show Me Around" and "T Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans" andRick Astley's "Together Forever". Michael Lloyd also used it in videos from the hit children's video seriesKidsongs in 1986 and 1987.
The Linn 9000 would get a new lease on life whenForat Music and Electronics purchased Linn's remaining assets,[9] fixed all of the bugs,[10] added new features[11] and dubbed it theForat F9000.
The Linn 9000 wasRoger Linn's first attempt to create an integrated sampling/sequencing/MIDIworkstation, but it was plagued with problems from the beginning.[5][6] On early models, the power supply over-heated the CPU and had to be replaced under warranty, but insurmountable issues with the Linn 9000's operating system forced its eventual demise.
The original Linn 9000 operating system had numerous bugs and it was common for the machine to lock-up and lose data. The OS was mostly written in an esoterichigh-level programming language calledForth with somemachine language. In early versions, some of the FORTH code produced unacceptable delays in user interface functions and was rewritten in machine language. Linn attempted to debug, rewrite and enhance the operating system after firing the engineers who had written it, but he was limited by the 64K code space memory segmentation in theIntel 8088 microprocessor that left no room for new features. Further software development was abandoned.
The flawed Linn 9000 operating system was also used in theLinnSequencer,[12] a rack mount 32 track hardware MIDI sequencer introduced byLinn Electronics in 1985. As a result, both machines earned a reputation for being notoriously unreliable. A planned rack mount successor to the Linn 9000, theLinnDrum Midistudio, which would have utilized the same operating system, was never released.
These issues contributed to the eventual demise ofLinn Electronics in 1986,[7][8] but Linn drew heavily on the Linn 9000 and theSequential Circuits Studio 440 when he designed theAkai MPC60,[4] released in 1988.
Forat Music and Electronics purchased the assets of Linn Electronics,[9] recreating the Linn 9000[11] with a stable, bug-free operating system,[10] releasing it as theForat F9000 in 1987.
The Linn 9000 has eighteen 8-bit 11 kHz ~ 37 kHz digitallysampled drum sounds: bass, snare, sidestick, hihat, two crash cymbals, two ride cymbals, four toms, cabasa, tambourine, high and low congas, cowbell and clap. The Linn 9000 had many firsts.[2][3]In addition to being the firstdrum machine to incorporate aMIDIsequencer, it was the firstdrum machine with custom sounds, sampling capability (optional), a floppy disk drive (optional) and an LCD display.
The programmable hi-hat decay is a unique feature[13] that provides seven open hi-hat positions in addition to the closed hi-hat, allowing for subtle and expressive performances.
The Linn 9000's most distinctive feature was 18 large (1.25 inch square)velocity- andpressure-sensitive rubber pads. Pad pressure is used for the Note Repeat feature. If holding Timing Correction and applying continuous pressure to a pad while in record mode, that note is automatically repeated at the Timing Correction note value setting. The velocity (volume) level of each repeated note is determined by the amount of pressure applied at the time the note is played. Similar rubber pads would be seen on many subsequentdrum machines and controllers including theAkai MPC60[14][full citation needed] and theAkai MPC4000.[4]
The Linn 9000 circuitry is deployed as a mother board with 14 slots. Daughter boards are used to deploy standard and optional features, with slots on the back panel resembling PCs of the time. It uses theIntel 8088 CPU chip.
What happened? We simply ran out of money and were unable to get more. Why? There were a number of reasons. The 9000 had technical problems early on and was expensive to re-engineer, manufacturer and service; we had strong competition; we had no investment financing; and we were experiencing all the classic 'growing pains' of a new business.