Roger Linn
Encyclopedia
Roger Linn is an industrial designer, mainly of electronic drum machines, and has recently branched out into guitar effects pedals. His products have become underground hits
, being used on many famous recordings. Besides being an accomplished guitarist and producer, Roger Linn is also a member of the Dead Presidents Society, a group of distinguished innovators in the field of electronic music
.
s by designing the world's first drum machine to use digital samples
, the LM-1 Drum Computer
. The LM-1 was the first drum machine to use samples
of a real drum kit, though Roger Linn cannot recall exactly who the session drummer
was that played the hits. To further add to the mystery, an entry in the online museum of the Roger Linn Design company credits L.A. session drummer Art Wood with most of the samples. Examples of the LM-1 in use can be found on recordings by Prince
, Gary Numan
, and Michael Jackson
. Linn Electronics released two other designs after the LM-1: the LinnDrum
and Linn 9000, which became synonymous with the music of the 1980s
.
Linn Electronics went out of business in 1986, at which point Linn was recruited by the Japanese company Akai
to help in designing the MPC60, and later, the MPC3000.
, now updated to a third version. The AdrenaLinn is a digital multi-effects
unit with a drum machine and amp modeler all in one, designed by Roger Linn with some help from Dave Smith
(credited with helping to conceive MIDI) and Tom Oberheim (designer of early analog synthesizer
s). Most notably, unlike other guitar pedals, the AdrenaLinn specializes in beat-synced effects, including modulation and delay but also a sequencer that provides looped patterns of filtered tones, all moving in sync to its internal drum machine or to midi. The drum section can also be affected by the filter
section, allowing dance-style beats. Other unusual aspects of this pedal include note-triggered filter effects such as auto-wah, simulated talk box and guitar synthesizer sounds. The AdrenaLinn technology was also the basis of Roger Linn's partnership with M-Audio
to create the Black Box guitar multi-effect and recording unit.
The AdrenaLinn can be heard on the following records (among many others):
have announced co-development of a drum machine product, originally to be called BoomChik, but changed to LinnDrum II in December 2007, a reference to one of Linn's early popular drum machines. The LinnDrum II page on Linn's site states that the product is still in development, though no release date is given. The same page also shows three earlier but rejected designs for the product.
1979; "Quittin' Time
", Lou Ann Barton
1986, Mary Chapin Carpenter
1991, Amy Bishop 2009), and having toured as a guitarist with the pianist/songwriter Leon Russell
in the 1970s at age 21.
In 2011 Roger was awarded a Grammy Award
for Lifetime Technical Achievement, recognizing his many contributions to the music recording industry. This award was previously awarded to people such as Thomas Edison
and Leo Fender
.
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
, being used on many famous recordings. Besides being an accomplished guitarist and producer, Roger Linn is also a member of the Dead Presidents Society, a group of distinguished innovators in the field of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
The LM-1
In 1979, Roger Linn revolutionized the world of electronic musical instrumentElectronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
s by designing the world's first drum machine to use digital samples
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
, the LM-1 Drum Computer
Linn LM-1
The LM-1 Drum Computer, manufactured by Linn Electronics Inc., was the first drum machine to use digital samples of acoustic drums. Conceived and designed by Roger Linn, it was also one of the first programmable drum machines...
. The LM-1 was the first drum machine to use samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
of a real drum kit, though Roger Linn cannot recall exactly who the session drummer
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
was that played the hits. To further add to the mystery, an entry in the online museum of the Roger Linn Design company credits L.A. session drummer Art Wood with most of the samples. Examples of the LM-1 in use can be found on recordings by Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. Linn Electronics released two other designs after the LM-1: the LinnDrum
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics. It was released in 1982 as a successor to the Linn LM-1. The LinnDrum has 15 drum sounds sampled from real drums, a sequencer for programming rhythm patterns and five trigger inputs....
and Linn 9000, which became synonymous with the music of the 1980s
1980s in music
For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89For a history of music in all times, see Timeline of musical events....
.
Linn Electronics went out of business in 1986, at which point Linn was recruited by the Japanese company Akai
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
to help in designing the MPC60, and later, the MPC3000.
Roger Linn Design
As of 2001, Roger Linn has founded a new company, Roger Linn Design. RLD's products so far are the AdrenaLinn series of guitar pedalsEffects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
, now updated to a third version. The AdrenaLinn is a digital multi-effects
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
unit with a drum machine and amp modeler all in one, designed by Roger Linn with some help from Dave Smith
Dave Smith (engineer)
Dave Smith is an engineer and guitarist who pioneered many groundbreaking technologies in music technology. Smith was responsible for the first polyphonic and microprocessor-controlled synthesizer, the Prophet 5...
(credited with helping to conceive MIDI) and Tom Oberheim (designer of early analog synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
s). Most notably, unlike other guitar pedals, the AdrenaLinn specializes in beat-synced effects, including modulation and delay but also a sequencer that provides looped patterns of filtered tones, all moving in sync to its internal drum machine or to midi. The drum section can also be affected by the filter
Digital filter
In electronics, computer science and mathematics, a digital filter is a system that performs mathematical operations on a sampled, discrete-time signal to reduce or enhance certain aspects of that signal. This is in contrast to the other major type of electronic filter, the analog filter, which is...
section, allowing dance-style beats. Other unusual aspects of this pedal include note-triggered filter effects such as auto-wah, simulated talk box and guitar synthesizer sounds. The AdrenaLinn technology was also the basis of Roger Linn's partnership with M-Audio
M-Audio
M-Audio is a business unit of Avid Technology that designs and markets digital audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music software...
to create the Black Box guitar multi-effect and recording unit.
The AdrenaLinn can be heard on the following records (among many others):
- John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
– "Heartbreak WarfareHeartbreak Warfare"Heartbreak Warfare" is a song by American blues-rock musician John Mayer, featured on his 2009 fourth studio album Battle Studies. Written by Mayer and produced by Mayer and drummer Steve Jordan, the song is the opening track on the album, and was released as the second single from the album on...
", from the 2009 album "Battle StudiesBattle StudiesBattle Studies is a book by Ardant du Picq, a colonel in the French Army who was killed in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War. The work was never completed, but Du Picq had written many chapters completely and left sufficient notes behind to complete the book.-Themes of the book:The theme of the book,...
", "Bigger Than My BodyBigger Than My Body"Bigger Than My Body" is the first single released by John Mayer from his second album Heavier Things. As a B-side, the single contained a cover of Radiohead's "Kid A" and a new original song that was not included on Heavier Things, "Tracing"...
" from the 2003 album "Heavier ThingsHeavier ThingsHeavier Things is the second studio album by American musician John Mayer, released September 9, 2003 on Columbia Records in the United States. The title of the album itself is a subtle response to certain criticism of Mayer's music. The album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart,...
" and "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" from the 2006 album "Continuum" - Green DayGreen DayGreen Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
– "Boulevard of Broken DreamsBoulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from their seventh album, American Idiot. The song was written by Green Day, with lyrics by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong...
" from the 2004 album "American IdiotAmerican IdiotAmerican Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on September 21, 2004 through Reprise Records and was produced by longtime collaborator Rob Cavallo. In mid-2003, the band began recording songs for an album entitled Cigarettes and Valentines...
" - Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
– By The Way – Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
– 2002 (produced by Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
) - MorcheebaMorcheebaMorcheeba are a British band, mixing influences from trip hop, rock, R&B, and pop.They have produced 7 albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten.-Biography:...
– Parts Of The Process – Reprise RecordsReprise RecordsReprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
– 2003 - MarillionMarillionMarillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
– Marbles – 2004
LinnDrum II
Roger Linn and Dave SmithDave Smith (engineer)
Dave Smith is an engineer and guitarist who pioneered many groundbreaking technologies in music technology. Smith was responsible for the first polyphonic and microprocessor-controlled synthesizer, the Prophet 5...
have announced co-development of a drum machine product, originally to be called BoomChik, but changed to LinnDrum II in December 2007, a reference to one of Linn's early popular drum machines. The LinnDrum II page on Linn's site states that the product is still in development, though no release date is given. The same page also shows three earlier but rejected designs for the product.
Music career
Roger Linn has had a level of songwriting success, penning hits ("Promises", Eric ClaptonEric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
1979; "Quittin' Time
Quittin' Time
"Quittin' Time" is a single by American country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. Released in 1990, it was the third single from the album State of the Heart. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart....
", Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based, out of Austin, Texas since the 1970s.-Biography:...
1986, Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
1991, Amy Bishop 2009), and having toured as a guitarist with the pianist/songwriter Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
in the 1970s at age 21.
In 2011 Roger was awarded a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Lifetime Technical Achievement, recognizing his many contributions to the music recording industry. This award was previously awarded to people such as Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
and Leo Fender
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short...
.
External links
- Akaipro.com
- Roger Linn Design
- About Roger Linn; biography, video interview by Sweetwater SoundSweetwater SoundSweetwater Sound, Inc. is one of the United States' largest dealers in musical equipment for musicians, recording studios, schools, houses of worship, concert sound companies and broadcasters...
- A BBC Radio 4 programme devoted to Roger Linn's drum machines.
- LinnDrum II
- The Linn 9000 Homepage
- Mr. MPC: Roger Linn
- Linn MidiStudio (a very early prototype of the MPC60)
- Auction on VEMIA listing the Linn MidiStudio