LinnDrum II - Dave Smith & Roger Linn

Antonym wrote:
BUT unless the lightable pads add some sort of important functionality other than just glitter, they're just a way to drive that price way up and impress people who have grown up watching blinking television screens.

In terms of functionality I think the lightable pads are more than just a gimmick. I find them very useful on my Korg ESX. Kind of like a visual version of grid edit that works well for muting parts - especially if you're using it for live purposes (i.e. in a dark club). It's nice to see the beats when you're composing, but not have to rely on a little screen.

BTW, anyone ever mess with the Korg padKONTROL? Those pads are MPC size and light up. I've never tried one though...

^ I had pad kontrol for a brief minute. I was looking for replacment for my 2500. They are not mpc size tho, but the functionality of the lights on the pads is beyond the looks. Theyre used as indicators for different shit, not sure wha tho.

It's a bit less interesting for me personally with the changes. I looks like a great machine though, just not something i need. If i had some extra cash though, i'm sure i'd have alot of fun with either, especially the analog.

akai must be pissing their pants with their mpc 3500

will this also be usable as a sequencer by the way? if so... there should be a dedicated midi out and midi thru i think.

akai must be pissing their pants with their mpc 3500 Laughing

i heard the mpc3500 is going to be a 2500/1000 in an even BIGGER box
it will have not 16 but 17 pads
boasts even more empty space under the hood so your samples resonate and sound better

Chulukinat wrote:will this also be usable as a sequencer by the way?

:shock:
Just by looking at the picture you can see the words 'beats' 'steps' 'quantize' 'sequence' 'song' 'transport' 'bpm'
Short answer no. Roger Linn has designed a sound module with pads on it that cannot be used as a sequencer
Not trying to be a dik btw just having a lil fun is all.

Chulukinat wrote:there should be a dedicated midi out and midi thru i think.

Just out of curiosity, why would you want a MIDI thru?
I use the MPC3KLE which has 4 MIDI outs so I never need a thru, and on my Vdrums, and (presumably) most other pieces there is an option that treats the MIDI out as a thru if you need that. I haven't heard talk about thru since people were using MIDI printers and such.

zeusmajor wrote:Just out of curiosity, why would you want a MIDI thru?

You must not have much MIDI gear. Just wait till you run out of outputs, then you'll figure it out. I don't recommend using them if you don't have to, but it happens, even with a 16 by 16 interface. Sometimes you need it for quick live setups, too.

zeusmajor wrote:I use the MPC3KLE which has 4 MIDI outs so I never need a thru, and on my Vdrums, and (presumably) most other pieces there is an option that treats the MIDI out as a thru if you need that.

Don't know why you presume that, since it's not the case, but that only works for devices with a limited midi out spec. What happens when you have a device that sends, say a bunch of controller messages that you want to record but don't want to send to the next device in the chain? The choices are always out, thru or merge and if you need the separate signals at the same time that doesn't work. Switchable out/thrus suk, especially when the switching creates more software drag on the MIDI unit. Real hardware thru beats it any day.

zeusmajor wrote:I haven't heard talk about thru since people were using MIDI printers and such.

Midi printers??? Don't remember that one. Unless you are talking about the printer port feedthrus on the old computer interfaces, but that's not MIDI.

elektrik_muz wrote:You must not have much MIDI gear.

Or perhaps I have a MIDI interface

elektrik_muz wrote:I don't recommend using them if you don't have to

My point exactly.

elektrik_muz wrote:Just wait till you run out of outputs even with a 16 by 16 interface

While I am by means no a MIDI "Master" I would not call someone who uses less than 17 pieces of MIDI gear at once someone who must not have much MIDI gear.

zeusmajor wrote:

elektrik_muz wrote:You must not have much MIDI gear.

Or perhaps I have MIDI interface. Far superior to any thru ports dont you think?

Um, yeah and if you read my post you'll see that's exactly what I said, but you can still run out at times, and for some applications where there's no interface or no room and/or need for an interface, there's no other way to get things done.

Look at the pic closely
Not only is there a MIDI THRU there is a MIDI OUT/THRU. Just like the Vdrums.

cowbell wrote:In case of the LinnDrum 2 they do have an important functionality: XOX-style sequencing, possibly mutes and pattern selection.

Track Mutes' with lighted pads.... a godsend for those of us who play in a dark dingy warehouse/club

zeusmajor wrote:

Chulukinat wrote:will this also be usable as a sequencer by the way?

:shock:
Just by looking at the picture you can see the words 'beats' 'steps' 'quantize' 'sequence' 'song' 'transport' 'bpm'
Short answer no. Roger Linn has designed a sound module with pads on it that cannot be used as a sequencer
Not trying to be a dik btw just having a lil fun is all.

The sequencer is just for the internal synth/sampler, you can't sequence external stuff so you don't need a lot of midi outputs.

It's not an MPC, it's a drum machine.

renegadebliss wrote:

cowbell wrote:In case of the LinnDrum 2 they do have an important functionality: XOX-style sequencing, possibly mutes and pattern selection.

Track Mutes' with lighted pads.... a godsend for those of us who play in a dark dingy warehouse/club

good point

I would like to see Roger Lynn work on upgrading the 3000 with more memory, and more than one usable program at a time. It would be king over the MPC 4000.