Linn 9000 | |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Linn Electronics |
Dates | 1984-1986 |
Price | $5,000 US ($7,000 fully expanded) |
Technical specifications | |
Polyphony | polyphonic 13 voices |
Timbrality | multitimbral 18 voices |
Synthesis type | 8 bit Digital Samples / 11 kHz - 37kHz |
Storage memory | 100 Drum Sequences, 100 MIDI Sequences - 10,490 notes |
Effects | Individual level, pan, tuning for all sounds |
Input/output | |
Keyboard | 18 large (1.25 inch square) velocity and pressure sensitive rubber pads |
External control | MIDI In, out and thru, Foot Switch x2, Foot Controller x1 (hi-hat), Sync Tone In/Out, trigger outputs x2, trigger inputs x6 |
The Linn 9000 is an electronic musical instrument manufactured by Linn Electronics as the successor to the LinnDrum. It was introduced in 1984 at a list price of $5,000, ($7,000 fully expanded) and about 1100 units were produced. [1]
It combined MIDI sequencing and audio sampling (optional) with a set of 18 velocity and pressure sensitive performance pads, to produce an instrument optimized for use as a drum machine. It featured programmable hi-hat decay, 18 digital drum sounds, a mixer section, 18 individual 1/4" outputs, an LCD display, 6 external trigger inputs and an internal floppy disk drive (optional). [2] The Linn 9000 had innovative and groundbreaking features [3] and would influence many future drum machine designs. [4] But chronic software bugs [5] [6] led to a reputation for unreliability and contributed to the eventual demise of Linn Electronics. [7] [8]
The Linn 9000 was used on many recordings throughout the 1980s, including international hits such as The Pointer Sisters' "Automatic", Divine's "You Think You're a Man", "Give It Up", "I'm So Beautiful", "Show Me Around" and "T Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans" and Rick Astley's "Together Forever".
The Linn 9000 would get a new lease on life when Forat Music and Electronics purchased Linn's remaining assets, [9] fixed all of the bugs, [10] added new features [11] and dubbed it the Forat F9000.
The Linn 9000 was Roger Linn's first attempt to create an integrated sampling/sequencing/MIDI workstation, but was plagued with problems from the beginning. [5] [6] On early models, the power supply over-heated the CPU and had to be replaced under warranty, but insurmountable issues with the Linn 9000's operating system forced its eventual demise.
The original Linn 9000 operating system had numerous bugs and it was common for the machine to lock-up and lose data. The OS was mostly written in an esoteric high-level programming language called FORTH with some machine language. In early versions, some of the FORTH code produced unacceptable delays in user interface functions and was rewritten in machine language. Linn attempted to debug, rewrite and enhance the operating system after firing the engineers who had written it, but he was limited by the 64K code space memory segmentation in the Intel 8088 microprocessor that left no room for new features. Further software development was abandoned.
The flawed Linn 9000 operating system was also used in the LinnSequencer, [12] a rack mount 32 track hardware MIDI sequencer introduced by Linn Electronics in 1985. As a result, both machines earned a reputation for being notoriously unreliable. A planned rack mount successor to the Linn 9000, the LinnDrum Midistudio, which would have utilized the same operating system, was never released.
These issues contributed to the eventual demise of Linn Electronics in 1986, [7] [8] but Linn drew heavily on the Linn 9000 and the Sequential Circuits Studio 440 when he designed the Akai MPC60, [4] released in 1988.
Forat Music and Electronics purchased the assets of Linn Electronics, [9] recreating the Linn 9000 [11] with a stable, bug-free operating system, [10] releasing it as the Forat F9000 in 1987.
The Linn 9000 has eighteen 8-bit 11 kHz ~ 37 kHz digitally sampled drum sounds: bass, snare, sidestick, hihat, two crash cymbals, two ride cymbals, four toms, cabasa, tambourine, high and low congas, cowbell and clap. The Linn 9000 had many firsts. [2] [3] In addition to being the first drum machine to incorporate a MIDI sequencer, it was the first drum machine with custom sounds, sampling capability (optional), a floppy disk drive (optional) and an LCD display.
The programmable hi-hat decay is a unique feature [13] that provides seven open hi-hat positions in addition to the closed hi-hat, allowing for subtle and expressive performances.
The Linn 9000's most distinctive feature was 18 large (1.25 inch square) velocity- and pressure-sensitive rubber pads. Pad pressure is used for the Note Repeat feature. If holding Timing Correction and applying continuous pressure to a pad while in record mode, that note is automatically repeated at the Timing Correction note value setting. The velocity (volume) level of each repeated note is determined by the amount of pressure applied at the time the note is played. Similar rubber pads would be seen on many subsequent drum machines and controllers including the Akai MPC60 [14] and the Akai MPC4000. [4]
The Linn 9000 circuitry is deployed as a mother board with 14 slots. Daughter boards are used to deploy standard and optional features, with slots on the back panel resembling PCs of the time. It uses the Intel 8088 CPU chip.
A groovebox is a self-contained electronic or digital musical instrument for the production of live, loop-based electronic music with a high degree of user control facilitating improvisation. The term "Groovebox" was originally used by Roland Corporation to refer to its MC-303, released in 1996. The term has since entered general use, and the concept dates back to the Movement Computer Systems Drum Computer in 1981.
Akai is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic products such as LED TV, washing machines, clothes dryers, air conditioners and smart phones, through collaborations with other electronics companies bearing relevant expertise. inMusic Brands in the United States took over Akai's brand, starting the ‘Akai Professional’ label, that distributes high-end audio electronics products.
A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of:
A sampler is an electronic or digital musical instrument which uses sound recordings of real instrument sounds, excerpts from recorded songs or found sounds. The samples are loaded or recorded by the user or by a manufacturer. These sounds are then played back by means of the sampler program itself, a MIDI keyboard, sequencer or another triggering device to perform or compose music. Because these samples are usually stored in digital memory, the information can be quickly accessed. A single sample may often be pitch-shifted to different pitches to produce musical scales and chords.
The Akai MPC is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modify them and play them back as sequences.
Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip hop. Roger Linn is also a member of the Dead Presidents Society, a group of innovators in the field of electronic music.
The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American engineer Roger Linn, wanted a machine that would produce more realistic drum sounds and offer more than preset patterns.
The Roland TR-505 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine and MIDI sequencer released by Roland Corporation in 1986. It hails from the same family of drum machines as the Roland TR-909, TR-808, TR-707, TR-626 and TR-606. The drum kit includes basic rock drum sounds similar to those of the TR-707, plus a complement of Latin-style drum sounds similar to those of the TR-727
Simmons is an electronic drum brand, which originally was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums. Founded in 1978 by Dave Simmons, it supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1994. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s. The company closed in 1999 and the Simmons name is currently owned by Guitar Center.
The E-mu SP-1200 is a sampler that was released in August 1987 by E-mu Systems.
The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold.
The Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine released by the Roland Corporation in 1985.
The Boss DR-220 Dr. Rhythm is a series of two budget-priced digital drum machines developed and manufactured by Boss Corporation beginning in 1985.
The LinnSequencer is a rack-mount 32-track hardware MIDI sequencer manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1985 at a list price of US $1,250. An optional Remote Control was available. Like the LinnDrum Midistudio, the LinnSequencer used the same flawed operating system used in the ill-fated Linn 9000, released in 1984. As a result, both machines earned a reputation for being notoriously unreliable. In addition, the optional LinnSequencer SMPTE feature could not be deployed due to flawed circuit design. The last LinnSequencer operating system released by Linn Electronics was version 5.17.
Bruce Forat is an electronics engineer, computer programmer, music producer, songwriter and co-founder and president of Forat Music and Electronics Corporation, founded in 1986.
The Forat F16 is the first 16 bit digital sampler optimized for use as a "drum brain" or electronic drum module. It dynamically responds to trigger inputs from MIDI and/or audio signals. With a response time of 0.1 milliseconds, the F16 is the fastest audio triggering digital sampler ever sold. It was manufactured by Forat Music and Electronics, introduced in 1987 at a list price of $5200 and was discontinued in 1994. An optional Remote Control and SCSI capability was available for $1385.
The Forat F9000 is a software- and hardware-upgraded version of the ill-fated Linn 9000, an integrated digital sampling drum machine and hardware MIDI sequencer manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1984 at a list price of $5,000.
The LinnDrum Midistudio was going to be an electronic musical instrument produced by Linn Electronics as the successor to the ill-fated Linn 9000, which was an integrated digital sampling drum machine and MIDI sequencer. The Midistudio is essentially a rack-mount version of the Linn 9000 with some improvements. It was revealed at the 1986 Winter NAMM Show in January for a list price of $5,990. However, it never went into production because Linn Electronics went out of business in February 1986.
The DDD-1 is a sampling drum machine introduced in 1986 by Korg. It offers more features than the DDD-5, and is highly regarded for its sounds and sequencer. The unit also features a limited sampling option, for adding sounds to the drum machine. It also has fully featured MIDI implementation, six assignable outputs, and a backlit LCD screen.
The Korg DRM-1 Digital Rhythm module built by Korg, in late 1987. It was introduced during 1987 Summer NAMM industry trade show in Chicago.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |url=
(help)