Interview With Roger Linn

Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By Clint Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:28 pm
I guess we'll never know what really went on, but as someone mentioned earlier the contract must have been agreed and signed. Some contracts have a shelf life after which they are not legally binding. A trip to the Patent Office might reveal more...

And remember, a partnership contract is an agreement between two or more parties. Someone who was not party to the original contract, cannot be legally bound by it.

Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By daftmunk Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:38 pm
jpeg wrote:
i have to agree with jah this dude seems like he still in the 80's for the most part, who in they right mind is making a 3 grand analogue drum machine in 2012.


guess what? analog is all the hype these days. traditional sampling hip-hop producers isn't the only market out there you know... actually i'd say it's maybe become a minority. clearly Tempest is marketed toward EDM and it's basically become the most coveted drum machine in that market. also the Tempest doubles up as a fully analog 6 voice synth complete with Curtis chip filters, that's one extra voice then the cult Prophet 5 which it also bears similitudes courtesy of Dave smith. so business wise roger is pretty smart imo, he's now cornered 2 of the biggest contemporary music markets that exist..

as for the comment on tempest design looking 80's that is so funny because Renaissance is pretty much a complete throwback to the MPC60/3000 design, although there is nothing wrong with that... on the other hand i personally find the Tempest classy and modern looking with it's OLED display, blue light pads and touch sensitive sliders.. anyways here are my 2 Linns for the lovers/haters:

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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By emptysea Tue Nov 13, 2012 8:54 pm
Roger Linn wrote:Akai went out of business and the assets were purchase by Numark, headed up by a very unscrupulous fellow named Jack O’Donnell. Once he bought Akai, 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.

Not surprised to hear this at all.
m56p87 wrote:Nukai are Idiots for burning that bridge.
crossings wrote:AKAI is being run by a cheap bastard that is only in it to make a buck... even ripping off the original creators in the process... i hope roger sues akai for all they're worth... they'd be nothing without the MPC line he originally created for them.
daftmunk wrote: when you see how much their latest product is influenced by the 3000 & 60, from the design to the heavily advertised vintage mode, it's quite shocking Roger doesn't get any royalties on that... it honestly doesn't make me want to support that company despite my interest in renaissance..

For once, something we can agree on.

Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By fobedafied Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:28 pm
JAH wrote:hip-hop and R&B is the foundation of sampled phrased/looped recording.



i think you may have this backwards.



but yea... rearranging chairs. til nukai pulls the chair from under its own products before the 2 bar loop stops... again... :wink: :lol:
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By mr_debauch Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:39 pm
^ I dont think an analog groove synth/drum synth with a built in sequencer is aimed at people who want to make sample based RnB...

I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of most of the stuff I heard in demo videos so from what I took in watching those... it wasn't really for me either.. however synths are so tweakable, I probably could make some sounds with it that I could use if I had one... for a song or two.

But, there is nothing wrong with a small company making a new analog synth... drum synths are quite popular in some genres of music... and I can see why electronic music producers would like this machine. Is it the same as a sampler/sequencer/drum machine? no it is not...

And things like the linnstrument, the eigenharp, and things that can interface with a computer or sound module and offer more simultaneous parameters for articulation is a great area to innovate... these are the kinds of things that will shape what major mass manufacturers will design in the future. Maybe some day we will see a midi 2.0 that has higher bandwidth.

Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By daftmunk Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:53 pm
JAH wrote:I don't find anything 'modern' about the Tempest. It just looks like a Dave Smith synth in the form of a drum machine. I am only saying it isn't useful to me.Dude is out of touch with a huge portion of his product base. Agree or disagree...but hip-hop and R&B is the foundation of sampled phrased/looped recording. Roger Linn himself admitted he never imagined producers would use MPCs in this way.


Oh cmon, who on earth could have predicted in 84 (linn9000) or 88(MPC60) what hip-hop & r'n'b producers were going to do with them? he was just focused on making the best tool with the highest standards of studio integration. has he moved on since, sure.. he is an innovator and isn't interested in making the same thing 50 times, i find it sad because he has diversified himself or gone a different direction that people would assume he is washed up when in fact it is you guys that are stuck on one product/idea..

again concerning Tempest, no need to feel insecure and lash out at it, it isn't competing with Ren, it isn't even aimed at the same market. however as an MPC60 & Tempest owner I can tell you it's a lot more then a Dave Smith synth in the form of a drum machine.. Roger was thorough in making it the best possible analog drum machine and it includes just as one legacy example an envelope section with different decay modes like on the 60/3000 that you can even activate right from a dedicated switch.. this is something we were just saying was dropped by Nukai in the 5K/Ren which to me shows how out of touch they are with their fan base... but again i don't want to transform this into a Tempest vs Ren thread. both serve their purpose, let's just leave it at that...

finally about Roger's royalties or lack thereof... i'm inclined to believe him, why would he make that up? wouldn't it risk him getting sued?! not to mention i like to believe the little man vs the big greedy corp in these types of situations.. hell just look at steve jobs or mark zukerberg and see how they treated their former founding partners, honestly wouldn't be surprised this jack o'donell would cut off a former employee he doesn't even know personally without even blinking..
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By JAH Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:07 am
I never said Roger Linn created the MPC 4000. I don't believe he is capable enough to pull that off. And I doubt the Linn Drumm II would be something that would be highly coveted except by forum fanatics. I only mentioned the 4000 as it was designed by Akai Japan who are the ones that changed the amp envelopes not Numark.

Regardless...if Roger Linn dropped the Linn Drum II which included sampling, I would buy it. And I hope he proves me wrong.
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By Ill-Green Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:03 am
JAH wrote:If Roger Linn dropped the Linn Drum II which included sampling, I would buy it. And I hope he proves me wrong.

Yes, buy it and pay heed to the originator.
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By JAH Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:26 am
Sweetwater Roger Linn interview:

Q. Where did the idea for the MPC 60 come from?


Roger Linn:
First of all, when my company Linn Electronics (that made the LM1, Linn Drum, Linn 9000), finally went out of business in 1986, because I am really a creative guy. I'm a horrible business man. And I was my own worst enemy trying to run that company. It was truly silly. After that time, someone hooked me up with the guys at Akai. And they were looking for ideas. They really didn't have creative engineers there...there were mostly production engineers and marketeers there. But they really respected some of the ideas that came from various [sames] in the industry. We basically wanted to make a better version of my product the Linn 9000. And before my company closed there was a product called the Linn Drum MIDI studio, that never got released, that was half-way along the way. So we took those same concepts..but then started from scratch and used Akai's production engineering, resources to make custom chip for the sound generator and add a lot more power to the sequencing and operation of the machine....and the MPC 60 came out in 88. And it slowly grew to be the standard for all the rhythmic music going on around that time in Rap and Hip-hop..and a lot of the different dance music. It was a great surprise. I didn't expect it to be as successful as it was.
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By Coz Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:46 am
Roger Linn:
They really didn't have creative engineers there...there were mostly production engineers and marketeers there.




Some things never change.

Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By daftmunk Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:32 pm
yea thanks for that interview jah.. it pretty much confirms everything i've been saying: roger was the creative force behind the MPC concept which was basically a repackaged Linn 9000 / Linn Midi Drum Studio. Everything in the 60/3000 is his design including the 3.0 upgrade which he still sells under his name. he even wrote the MPC manuals himself which Akai still copy/paste from! all the terminology and design of your favorite features come from the man. without him, no MPC and akai japan would have gone under just like e-mu and the others, nukai wouldn't even exist. just be a bit greatful for that, again without the man and his legacy you would have never had all those MPCs to sell and make profit from..
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Re: Interview With Roger Linn

By JAH Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:48 pm
daftmunk wrote:yea thanks for that interview jah.. it pretty much confirms everything i've been saying: roger was the creative force behind the MPC concept which was basically a repackaged Linn 9000 / Linn Midi Drum Studio. Everything in the 60/3000 is his design including the 3.0 upgrade which he still sells under his name. he even wrote the MPC manuals himself which Akai still copy/paste from! all the terminology and design of your favorite features come from the man. without him, no MPC and akai japan would have gone under just like e-mu and the others, nukai wouldn't even exist. just be a bit greatful for that, again without the man and his legacy you would have never had all those MPCs to sell and make profit from..


But you left out the fact that Roger Linn's company went bankrupt. Akai bankrolled the MPC 60/60II/3000 took all the risks to create a new and improved version of a product that just failed. They manufactured the chips for the sound engine. Without Akai there is no MPC. There are only 3 Akai/Roger Linn MPCs. Akai created 8 more MPCs since then. MPC 3000LE is my favorite as it is sexy...but the MPC 4000 crushes it. The MPC 2500 is far more capable MPC.
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