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 LinnStrument Feedback 
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Post LinnStrument Feedback
I posted this on Facebook, in the hopes of getting some Sticky feedback on the LinnStrument.

My next major musical purchase is gonna be a LinnStrument, by Roger Linn, inventor of the drum machine pad. Saving up the pennies now, and maybe I'll have one by Christmas. What's'at? "Sweetwater will give you 2 years no interest on their credit card"? "You could have a LinnStrument in your hands in 2 days, even though you've never actually seen or played one before"?

Well, of course I need an innovative new MIDI controller that costs more than most of my guitars! (Except the Sticks, which I also bought never having seen or played one before. That turned out well.)

I'm curious what my Stick player friends who have played a LinnStrument think. Y'all as happy with the LinnStrument as I hope to be?

Background reasons for the LinnStrument: I'd really like to work on my right hand on chords. I feel like I have the left hand down now for either 5th or 4th tuning, and I can play the chords I want, thanks especially to some great work by both Greg and Bob in their Interlochen seminar this summer. I learned a bunch of good chordal stuff for the left hand. So much, in fact, that I am keeping my Railboard in Matched Reciprocal, AND my Rosewood in mirrored 4ths, just so that I can play with both styles of tuning. I see now the utility of the left hand chords for Stick, where I only saw basslines before.

My right hand, however, would really like to fly even at 1/10th the speed it does on piano. My thought was that I'd use the LinnStrument for my keyboard needs, and that would only help me on Stick. Since the right hand does chords the same way on the LinnStrument as is does a Stick, but unlike what a traditional keyboard controller does, I should not feel guilty for playing keyboards at the expense of my Stick training.

So again, I'm curious what my Stick player friends who have played a LinnStrument think. Y'all as happy with the LinnStrument as I hope to be?


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Mon Sep 11, 2017 8:40 am
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
Jeremy C, where you at? I am certain Jeremy would be able to offer some great feedback and how Stickist's can take advantage of the symmetry that exists between these 2 instruments.

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Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:48 am
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
paigan0 wrote:
My right hand, however, would really like to fly even at 1/10th the speed it does on piano. My thought was that I'd use the LinnStrument for my keyboard needs, and that would only help me on Stick. Since the right hand does chords the same way on the LinnStrument as is does a Stick, but unlike what a traditional keyboard controller does, I should not feel guilty for playing keyboards at the expense of my Stick training.

Buy one if you think it's cool. The only thing that will help you with your r.h. on the Stick IS your r.h. ON the Stick.

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Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:33 am
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
I got to play the Linnstrument at the last Namm show and I was very impressed.
I was able to take the right hand fingering straight to the MIDI controller world! I was ripping it with cool solos and runs I've been doing with my right hand on the NS.
The expression available from the Linnstrument was astounding and a real pleasure to play.

I think a great place to test out this type of midi controller is with the Geoshred. It's an app that was developed with Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess and is, by default, tuned in fourths. I have a lot of fun with it on my iphone.
I felt the Linnstrument had more expression.

The downside of the Geoshred, and I think with the Linnstrument, is the inability to bar two notes on a "string"... For example I play the first inversion chord by playing the 5th and root/octave using one finger...

Neither one is a total replacement for a stuck but can be a wonderful interface to work with synths.

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Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:08 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
AnDroiD wrote:
paigan0 wrote:
My right hand, however, would really like to fly even at 1/10th the speed it does on piano. My thought was that I'd use the LinnStrument for my keyboard needs, and that would only help me on Stick. Since the right hand does chords the same way on the LinnStrument as is does a Stick, but unlike what a traditional keyboard controller does, I should not feel guilty for playing keyboards at the expense of my Stick training.

Buy one if you think it's cool. The only thing that will help you with your r.h. on the Stick IS your r.h. ON the Stick.
The bolded part was the important part. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but playing chord shapes on the LinnStrument when I want to play keys instead of playing a traditional keyboard has to be better for me on Stick than not doing so. Yes, I did have the thought that nothing beats learning Stick like a Stick, but for someone who can and will play a lot of keyboards, playing the same chord shapes as Stick has to be better for me than not doing so.

The Stick can be a MIDI controller, for that matter, if you really want to go there. And if I stopped keyboards altogether (and all the other instruments) and focused exclusively on Stick, yeah, I'd learn Stick a lot faster. But that's not what I'm trying to do here.

And I do think it's cool that you have 3 dimensions of expression on the pads, when I don't even have aftertouch on any of my keyboards anymore.

It also seems like something I can slip into a suitcase and travel with, which is not something I can do with any but the smallest of my keyboards.
earthgene wrote:
Jeremy C, where you at? I am certain Jeremy would be able to offer some great feedback and how Stickist's can take advantage of the symmetry that exists between these 2 instruments.
Thank, Gene! Jeremy already gave me a quick shout out on Facebook about the Linnstrument:

Quote:
"...As a Stick player, you already know the fingering. It is the most expressive MIDI controller I have played for melodic instruments. With the exception of piano and organ parts, it is my go to controller."

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Rosewood 10-string, #5989, M4s
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Wenge-on-Wenge NS/Stick, #170130, Bass 4ths
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-RDlN ... Ez0hN49_Qg


Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:10 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
To me, the LinnStrument is the best pure MIDI controller for a Stick player. The fingering on the LinnStrument is the same as the melody side of the Stick. That being said, the technique will differ depending on the settings and sound source. I agree that double stops are tricky. On the other hand, you can play two notes on the same "string" which opens up other possibilities. LinnStrument is my go to MIDI controller except when I am playing piano or organ.

Another feature of LinnStrument (that can also be tried out on GeoShred) is MPE or multidimensional polyphonic expression. This is a relatively new MIDI standard that permits expression of individual notes in a chord. Of course, this feature is inherent in the Stick but relatively new to electronic instruments. By using an MPE sound source and setting the LinnStrument to MPE mode, you can bend and apply vibrato, aftertouch etc. to individual notes in a chord.

The easiest way to get started with sound sources is here - http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/ls-recom ... ounds.html

If you have Logic or Mainstage, you can download Roger's template. He has the template configured with (mostly) Logic sounds so you can try out MPE and non-MPE sounds mapped to take advantage of various expressive possibilities. I am a big fan of the Sample Modeling instruments (non-MPE) for orchestral solo instruments and of SynthMaster (MPE) for synth sounds. If you have an iPad, the Moog apps are MPE compatible and fantastic.

Roger Linn is very approachable and is a Stick fan - he came to Stick night in Anaheim during the NAMM show. Geert Bevin, the co-developer of LinnStrument, also played at Stick night on LinnStrument and is a Railboard player. He also happens to work for Moog and implemented MPE into their apps.

LinnStrument comes in large and small versions that are virtually identical. The smaller version is fine for most applications and has the advantage of fitting into a backpack or laptop bag and being less expensive. The larger version is great if you plan to use the split mode and need more real estate.

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Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:35 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
I have a LinnStrument 128 (the smaller one). I also figured it would be a great way to work on RH chord/interval patterns - that was my excuse to myself for finally getting it! You get a MIDI controller that lets you stay in the 4ths (or 5ths) mindset, and one of the few MPE-capable controllers.

The LinnStrument is great and Roger’s support is fantastic. If you haven’t checked it out already, there’s full documentation and a LinnStrument forum.


Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:51 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
Skydiver wrote:
I got to play the Linnstrument at the last Namm show and I was very impressed.
I was able to take the right hand fingering straight to the MIDI controller world! I was ripping it with cool solos and runs I've been doing with my right hand on the NS.
The expression available from the Linnstrument was astounding and a real pleasure to play.

I think a great place to test out this type of midi controller is with the Geoshred. It's an app that was developed with Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess and is, by default, tuned in fourths. I have a lot of fun with it on my iphone.
I felt the Linnstrument had more expression.

The downside of the Geoshred, and I think with the Linnstrument, is the inability to bar two notes on a "string"... For example I play the first inversion chord by playing the 5th and root/octave using one finger...

Neither one is a total replacement for a stuck but can be a wonderful interface to work with synths.

Thanks, Dean! I'll check out the Geoshred app. That's the 3rd time someone has recommended it to me for various reasons. And thanks for the LinnStrument impressions!

jacubert wrote:
To me, the LinnStrument is the best pure MIDI controller for a Stick player. The fingering on the LinnStrument is the same as the melody side of the Stick. That being said, the technique will differ depending on the settings and sound source. I agree that double stops are tricky. On the other hand, you can play two notes on the same "string" which opens up other possibilities. LinnStrument is my go to MIDI controller except when I am playing piano or organ.

Thanks again, Jeremy! Your one of my favorite LinnStrument players, and one or two of the main reasons I think they're really cool!

Claire wrote:
I have a LinnStrument 128 (the smaller one). I also figured it would be a great way to work on RH chord/interval patterns - that was my excuse to myself for finally getting it! You get a MIDI controller that lets you stay in the 4ths (or 5ths) mindset, and one of the few MPE-capable controllers.

The LinnStrument is great and Roger’s support is fantastic. If you haven’t checked it out already, there’s full documentation and a LinnStrument forum.

Thanks for the tips, Claire! I hadn't really looked at the smaller form factor. I figured if I was going to get one, I would spend just a little more to get the big size. But I did see a used one on Ebay for something like $500 and thought about it, but it was gone before I could jump on it. And thanks for the forum and site links!

Roger Linn sounds like a really cool guy, from what I've seen. I'd like to meet him.

Here's a really long demo by Roger:


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Steve Sink, Laser Fractals
Rosewood 10-string, #5989, M4s
Sapphire Railboard, #6763, MR
Wenge-on-Wenge NS/Stick, #170130, Bass 4ths
http://soundcloud.com/stephen-sink-1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-RDlN ... Ez0hN49_Qg


Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:04 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
Geoshred is a helluva lot of fun on the ipad! It's one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Even is you're not too skilled as a player, you can still do some incredible things with it. I've never seen or used the Linnstrument, but at 1500.00, it's doubtful I ever will. Geoshred on the other hand, is around 20.00


Tue Sep 12, 2017 2:03 pm
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Post Re: LinnStrument Feedback
One thing I liked about Geoshred is that each "string" acts like a string so it will play only the highest note you play. You can do pull offs by "holding" down the string with one finger and tap the higher note on that string.

I'm not sure if I can change this behaviour on the Geoshred or if the Linnstrument can imitate the pulloff. I believe the standard setting on the Linnstrument is the ability to play multiple notes on the same "string"...

Something to think about...

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http://www.GreenElephantStudio.com
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Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:46 pm
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