Roger Linn | |
|---|---|
 Roger Linn at MusicTech Summit (2010) | |
| Born | Roger Curtis Linn |
| Spouse | Ingrid Linn |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Songwriting Electronic engineering |
| Projects | Linn Electronics |
| Website | rogerlinndesign |
Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer ofelectronic musical instruments and equipment.[1] He is the designer of theLM-1, the firstdrum machine to usesamples, and theMPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development ofhip hop.[2] Linn is also a member of the Dead Presidents Society, a group of innovators in the field of electronic music.[3]
In 1979, Roger Linn and Alex Moffett[4] foundedLinn Moffett Electronics (soon to be renamedLinn Electronics) to develop Linn's design for adrum machine that usesdigitalsamples. It would be calledLM-1 for Linn/Moffett/1. Moffett left the company in 1982. Linn used his new drum machine and performed withLeon Russell on his albumLife and Love in 1979.[5][6]
In 1980, Roger Linn released the world's first drum machine to usedigital samples, theLM-1 Drum Computer.[7] The LM-1 was the first drum machine to usesamples of a real drum kit, which Linn recorded with Los Angeles session drummer Art Wood.[citation needed] Examples of the LM-1 in use can be found on recordings byPrince,Gary Numan, andMichael Jackson.[8]
In 1982 Linn released theLinnDrum as the successor to the LM-1. It improved on the LM-1 in some ways like the addition of crash and ride cymbal samples. One drawback: on the LinnDrum, only the snare, tom, and conga samples can be tuned, whereas the LM-1 allows every sound to be individually tuned. Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular. It sold more units than its predecessor (theLM-1) and its successor (theLinn 9000) combined. TheLinnDrum was used on countless recordings throughout the 1980s, includinga-Ha's international hit "Take On Me".
In 1984 Linn released theLinn 9000 as the successor to the LinnDrum. It was the first integrateddigitaldrum machine andMIDIsequencer. The 9000 had innovative features, like dynamic sensitive rubber pads,[9] and would influence many futuredrum machine designs.[10] But chronic software bugs[11][12] led to a reputation for unreliability and contributed to the eventual demise of the company.[13][14] The 9000 can be heard onMichael Jackson's 1987 album,Bad, on the cuts such as "Bad" and "Liberian Girl".
In 1985, Linn released theLinnSequencer, arack mount 32 track hardwareMIDIsequencer. It used the same flawed operating system used in theLinn 9000.[15] As a result, the machine earned a reputation for unreliability.[11][12]
In January 1986, Linn debuted theLinnDrum Midistudio at theNAMM Winter Music & Sound Market as the successor to theLinn 9000. The Midistudio is essentially a rack mount version of theLinn 9000 with some improvements.[16] It used the same flawed operating system used in theLinn 9000.[17] It never went into production because Linn Electronics went out of business the following month.[18]
Similarities between the LinnDrum Midistudio and theAkai MPC series lead some to perceive afamily resemblance.[19][20][21] Most notably, the Midistudio has sixteen dynamic sensitive rubber pads in the distinctive, four by four pattern, that would become the hallmark of theMPCs, starting with theMPC60.
Linn Electronics went out of business in February 1986.Forat Electronics purchased their remaining assets,[22] manufactured and sold theForat F9000 andLinnSequencer until 1994 and provide service, sounds, customization and upgrades for the entire Linn Electronics line.
TheLM-1,LinnDrum andLinn 9000 became synonymous with themusic of the 1980s. TheLinn 9000 andLinnDrum Midistudio pioneered the concept of theMusic Production Center orMPC.
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After Linn Electronics, Linn collaborated with the Japanese companyAkai to design theMPC60, an integrateddigital samplingdrum machine and MIDIsequencer released in 1988.[23] According to Linn, "[The collaboration] was a good fit because Akai needed a creative designer with ideas and I didn't want to do sales, marketing, finance or manufacturing, all of which Akai was very good at."[24] The MPC60 was followed by the MPC60 MkII and the MPC3000.[25]
Linn aimed to design an affordable user-friendly instrument that did not require extensive musical knowledge or studio equipment to use.[23] It had a major influence on the development of hip hop and electronic music.[26][2] The 4x4 grid of pads was adopted by numerous manufacturers and became standard in DJ technology.[26]
Linn left Akai after the company went out of business and its assets were purchased by Numark. According to Linn, the new organization was led by "a very unscrupulous fellow ... he immediately stopped my royalty payments, refused to take my calls and had his lawyer send me threatening letters. I checked around and learned that he has a reputation of being a real bastard, so given that challenging him would have been long and expensive, I let it go."[27] Akai has continued to produce MPC models without Linn, such as the MPC2000;[24] Linn was critical, saying: "Akai seems to be making slight changes to my old 1986 designs for the original MPC, basically rearranging the deck chairs on theTitanic."[27]
In 2001 Roger Linn founded a new company, Roger Linn Design. The company's first product offering was the AdrenaLinn, with the LinnStrument music performance controller added later.
The AdrenaLinn is adigital multi-effects unit with a drum machine and amp modeler all in one, designed by Roger Linn with some help fromDave Smith (credited with helping to conceiveMIDI) andTom Oberheim (designer of earlyanalog synthesizers). Most notably, unlike other guitar pedals, the AdrenaLinn specializes in beat-synced effects, including modulation and delay but also a sequencer that provides looped patterns of filtered tones, all moving in sync to its internal drum machine or to midi. The drum section can also be affected by thefilter section, allowing dance-style beats. Other unusual aspects of this pedal include note-triggered filter effects such as auto-wah, simulated talk box and guitar synthesizer sounds. The AdrenaLinn technology was also the basis of Roger Linn's partnership withM-Audio to create the Black Box guitar multi-effect and recording unit.[1]
The AdrenaLinn can be heard on the following records (among many others):
The AdrenaLinn was followed-up with the AdrenaLinn II and AdrenaLinn III.
Roger Linn andDave Smith announced co-development of a drum machine product, originally to be called BoomChik, but changed to LinnDrum II in December 2007, a reference to one of Linn's early popular drum machines: theLinnDrum. The LinnDrum II was renamed the Tempest, and co-released by Roger Linn Designs andDave Smith Instruments in 2011. Unlike Linn's previous digital drum machines, the Tempest was an analog drum machine.
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In late 2014, after several years of development, Linn released the LinnStrument, a music performance controller with 3D note expression. The grid based MIDI controller, playable with one or two hands, is velocity sensitive, but also senses three dimensions per finger, polyphonically. It can employMPE, thereby using a full MIDI channel per note. Two versions are available, the larger originalLinnStrument as well as the smallerLinnStrument 128.[29]
Almost the entire surface of the controller is covered by its 8 by 25 (or 8 by 16 in the case of the LinnStrument 128) grid. The fingertip-sized fields are each able to measure and transmit velocity, aftertouch, x-position relative to the entire row (or any subset thereof), y-position within a field, as well as release velocity.[30] It is highly adaptable and can also function in more traditional MIDI configurations, accommodating sound generators that don't yet support MPE and allowing them to be played more expressively.
The LinnStrument has several additional features, such as anarpeggiator, a velocity-sensitivestep sequencer as well as freely assignable virtual MIDIfaders. It is USB-powered and can communicate viaUSB or5-pin MIDI.
Roger Linn has had a level of songwriting success, penning hits ("Promises",Eric Clapton 1979; "Quittin' Time",Lou Ann Barton 1986,Mary Chapin Carpenter 1991, Amy Bishop 2009), and having toured as a guitarist with the pianist/songwriterLeon Russell in the 1970s at age 21.[1]
In 2011 Roger was awarded aGrammy Award for Lifetime Technical Achievement, recognizing his many contributions to the music recording industry.[31][32]
