| LinnDrum | |
|---|---|
| Front panel | |
| Manufacturer | Linn Electronics |
| Dates | 1982–1985 |
| Price | US$2,995 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | polyphonic 12 voices |
| Timbrality | multitimbral 15 parts |
| Synthesis type | 8-bit digital samples, 28–35 kHz |
| Storage memory | 56 user patterns, 42 preset drum patterns, 49 songs |
| Effects | Individual level and pan for all sounds, tuning for snare, tom and conga only |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 15 hard plastic "pads" |
| External control | DIN sync (pre-MIDI), third-party MIDI Retrofit Kit, trigger inputs x5 |
The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, [1] is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. [2] [3]
The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. [4] It was cheaper and more widely produced than his first drum machine, the Linn LM-1, which was affordable only to wealthy musicians and studios. [4] [5]
The LinnDrum sold far more units than the Linn LM-1 and its successor, the Linn 9000, combined. [3] It was used by artists and producers including Trevor Horn, [6] Mark Knopfler, Naked Eyes, Stock Aitken Waterman, [7] Sandy Vee, [8] Justin Hayward, [9] and Michael Jackson. [10] When Linn Electronics closed in 1986, Forat Electronics purchased its assets and offered service, sounds, and modifications for the LinnDrum. [11] [12]
The models also had some teething issues, but those were addressed with two revisions of the LM-1, before a cheaper successor, the LinnDrum – not the LM-2, as it is commonly mis-titled – was introduced in 1982.