The LinnDrum Midistudio (also known as the Midistudio) was going to be an

electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

produced by

Linn Electronics 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 ho ...

as the successor to the ill-fated

Linn 9000 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. It combined ...

, which was an integrated digital sampling drum machine and

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA samp ...

. The Midistudio is essentially a rack-mount version of the

with some improvements. It was revealed at the 1986 Winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

in January for a list price of $5,990. However, it never went into production because

went out of business in February 1986. Apparently, one prototype is in existence and was placed up for auction in 2008.
For Sale: Roger Linn's original prototype MPC from 1986

Auction on VEMIA listing the Linn MidiStudio - Auction details... Published on : 12/04/2008 - Here's the one and only prototype of Roger Linn's Midistudio...

History

The LinnDrum Midistudio and the

LinnSequencer 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 use ...

used the same flawed operating system used in the ill-fated

, released in 1984. Chronic software bugs led to a reputation for unreliability and contributed to the eventual demise of

. The similarities between the LinnDrum Midistudio and the

Akai MPC The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) 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, mo ...

series, starting with the

Akai MPC60 The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) 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, modi ...

, leads many to perceive a

family resemblance Family resemblance (german: Familienähnlichkeit, link=no) is a philosophical idea made popular by Ludwig Wittgenstein, with the best known exposition given in his posthumously published book '' Philosophical Investigations'' (1953). It argues t ...

. From a strictly chronological standpoint, the LinnDrum Midistudio did come after the

and before the

and might well be called a step in the evolution of the

Music Production Controller The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) 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, mod ...

s of today. At the time of writing (2015), many products, mostly software, bear the name "Midistudio". But in 1986, the LinnDrum Midistudio was, perhaps, one of the first to brandish that moniker.

Features

The LinnDrum Midistudio has sixteen 8-bit 10 kHz ~ 50 kHz digitally sampled drum sounds: bass, snare, cross stick, hihat, two crash symbols, two ride symbols, four toms, cabasa, tambourine, cowbell and clap. The Midistudio has virtually all the same features as the Linn 9000. Also, many optional

9000 9000 may refer to: * 9000 (number) * The last year of the 9th millennium, an exceptional common year starting on Wednesday Business * ISO 9000, a family of standards for quality management systems * TL 9000, a quality management system En ...

features (like digital sampling capability and a floppy disk drive) are standard on the Midistudio. Both machines have large (1.25-inch-square)

velocity Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...

- and

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

-sensitive rubber performance pads. But the

has 18 pads in a three-high by six-wide pattern, where the Midistudio has 16 pads in the distinctive, four-by-four pattern, that would become the hallmark of the

series of

Music Production Center The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of Music workstation#Third generation music workstations, music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine Sampler (musical instrument), ...

s, starting with the

. The Midistudio has some improvements, including a sampling rate of 10 kHz - 50 kHz (the

is 11 kHz - 37 kHz) and (optionally) 16 trigger inputs (6 standard, optionally 12 maximum on the

). The most distinctive difference between the machines is that the Midistudio has a rack-mountable chassis with a separate "lap pad" control panel that doubles as a protective cover for front panel in the rack-mount unit. The

is a more traditional, one-piece drum machine chassis. They both feature an onboard mixer section providing real-time control over volume and pan. On the Midistudio, the sliders are in the rack, whereas on the

, they are on the one-piece, conventional drum machine control panel.

Brochure and gallery

References

{{Linn Electronics

External links

Official Roger Linn site
Drum machines Samplers (musical instrument) Electronic musical instruments Musical instruments invented in the 1980s MIDI