Roger Linn's New LinnStrument

Roger Linn, the creator of some of the modern drum machine with the LinnDrum and later the MPC60, is at it again. Roger has developed a brand new instrument that is as much a human instrument as it is electronic with his new LinnStrument.

A few years ago Roger was awarded a Technical Grammy for his lifetime achievement in truly groundbreaking designs, and he's trying to revolutionize the industry once again with his new instrument as much as  the LinnDrum did back in 1982.

The LinnStrument goes beyond what a typical synth keyboard can do in that it's touch sensitive, so if you wiggle your finger you'll get vibrato, and slide it along the unit you'll get a nice portamento.

The "keyboard" splits so both hands can play different instruments or loops, and it's designed along a grid system rather than piano-style for easy transposition.

The LinnStrument is slated for release at any time and should cost around $1500. You can find more information and a number of great videos here.

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The Future Of Musical Instruments?

I'm not sure where I came across this video, but it made me laugh, and not in a good way. It's shot at the recent San Francisco MusicTech Summit,  poorly edited and doesn't identify any of the principles, who are heavyweights in music technology. But technology people just don't get it sometimes. About the only ones who think this is the future of music are non-musicians.

With the exception of Roger Linn, who actually has a device that might actually make it as a musical instrument, I'm sort of left speechless when I watch this. Roger is inventor of the first drum machine and a hit songwriter. Max Mathews, the older gentleman in this video, is one of the legends of computer music. To me, I've heard it all before a long, long time ago and the song is still the same.

See what you think, then watch Roger's own demo video below.

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