Polyend Medusa...Grid homage to Roger Linn?

[c0nsilience]

I realize it's an 8X8 grid, but this seems like something developed off of the shoulders of Roger with an analog box attached to it:

http://polyend.com/medusa/

[John the Savage]

The Medusa's pad array isn't continuous, so I don't imagine it's employing the same sensor technology per se.

As yet another NAMM goes by with scarcely a mention of the MPE protocol, and certainly no new hardware synths to champion it, I'm just glad the Medusa exists, if for no other reason than to push the market in that direction. That said, I know they were having issues with extraneous noise in the oscillators... Hopefully they got the bottom of that. Regardless, it sure is a compelling design.

Cheers!

[SteveElbows]

From what I've seen on the internet, Roger is usually very magnanimous about things that overlap, compete with or are partially inspired by the Linnstrument. The more MPE the merrier etc.

I've got a Medusa and although it has a bunch of interesting features, eg the way you can manually 'play sequencer grid pads' (and attach multiple notes to a pad), the expressiveness of the Medusa does not compare well to any other MPE controller. In all dimensions of expression it is limited, but especially pressure(aftertouch), the useable range of which is way too limited, and way to close too the minimum pressure cutoff, below which the note stops playing.

[c0nsilience]

Thanks for the insight, Steve!

[Roger_Linn]

Recently someone brought over a Medusa to show me. It's very nice to see the idea of expressive touch control expanding.

[SteveElbows]

Yeah, and despite what I said earlier I dont regret buying it, and was happy to support another company who are bold enough to try something a bit different. And the expressiveness isnt useless on the Medusa, it is more limited in some ways and you have to play to its strength, which will be a different way of playing compared to the Linnstrument in more ways than you might expect from only a superficial comparison.

Mind you I find it nearly as hard to find words to describe the feel and intimate playing details of various different MPE controllers as I do finding the right words to describe sounds and music. Nothing really beats trying one for yourself and coming up with your own styles of play. I've ended up buying a bunch of different MPE controllers (and other expressive things like the expressive e touche) in part so I could compare and contrast effectively, and I cant think of many I regret buying. My mind does inevitably wander towards thoughts of what an instrument that merged the best features from each device into one mega controller would look like, but what that would consist of exactly is probably quite personal. eg the oversimplified version of my own preference would be mostly linnstrument but with a bit more 'seaboard-like' squishyness/feel to the playing surface.

[funktree]

I came to this club from experience with Medusa and launchpad pro as midi controller (see my vids). Also though about Medusa as a great controller with very customizable synth engine before I shelled out $$. I do love the new approach "patch per pad” and sequencer on top of it, I wish Roger give it some thought(s) to per-pad programing But the expressiveness of medusa as a controller is far from LinnStrument. (For example with V 2.2 of LI firmware why arpeggiator stops playing when I go to global page to tweak something ?)

[Roger_Linn]

Hi funktree,

The problem is that a detailed sound control surface is a different product than an expressive musical instrument, and LinnStrument is about expressive musical performance, not detailed sound control. My experience is that players who want that level of detailed sound control for each pad usually aren't willing to pay what it costs for LinnStrument's highly precise musical performance gestural touch control. Also, the UI would have to be so confusing that it would be too complex for non-techy musicians, the very people I don't wish to scare away because they are often the more musically talented players.

Otherwise stated, you can put wheels on a boat but it won't make a very good car. Sorry I don't have a better answer. If you'd like to learn more about my guiding principle for adding features to LinnStrument, it's explained on the FAQ page, General Tab, FAQ "Can you add this feature__________?"

[funktree]

Roger,

I fully agree with you on the expressiveness, That is why I went from Medusa to LI.
Sorry, I don’t see the “Can you add this feature_________?”. Actually, I don’t see the “general tab” on the rogerlinndesign.com web site. The FAQ under the LI does not include this question .

Also, please note my second part of the post; Why the arp stops playing when I go to the global page to change some setting on the arp. (I use “switch 1" for start/stop and the other “switch 2” for LATCH function. So while my arp is LATCH-ed playing notes I’d like to play with the clock divider, direction in real time to get the arp some liveness.

Yes, I'm starting to understand that you want to keep this (LinnStrument) strictly as an instrument, but I only have two hands and perform as "one man band” most of the time. There are 128 or 200 XYZ sensitive pads under my fingers at LI that could help me to change some parts of my live performance. so I’m forced to move my hands over another device to turn/move some knobs or sliders. (OP-Z is fully midi ready, so I could get some performance effects on the 6x8 pads in the split mode).

Lastly, the UI design is where I shine. so if I create “confusing UX” in my other life .. I don’t get paid. Using synths/computers and electronics for over 20 years with focus on creativity, workflow efficiency and easy to operate UX makes me a good bee to help with design. Next time you have a challenge to implement something
shoot me an email.

[Roger_Linn]

I don’t see the “general tab” on the rogerlinndesign.com web site. The FAQ under the LI does not include this question .

Here is the FAQ page with the General (center) tab selected for you:
http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/ls-faqs.html
It is the 6th FAQ from the top.

Why the arp stops playing when I go to the global page to change some setting on the arp. (I use “switch 1" for start/stop and the other “switch 2” for LATCH function. So while my arp is LATCH-ed playing notes I’d like to play with the clock divider, direction in real time to get the arp some liveness.

Sorry, I missed that and will add that to my list of changes for the future. I should also say that LinnStrument's Arpeggiator is primary intended as an expressive arpeggiator, meaning that it is primarily intended to be played in real time, with each auto-generated note reflecting the X, Y and Z position of your polyphonic touch at the moment the note is generated. The Latch function is an add-on but not central to its operation. However, you can assign the Low Row to Arpeggiator, which permits using the X position to change the Arpeggiator Rate in real time.

Yes, I'm starting to understand that you want to keep this (LinnStrument) strictly as an instrument, but I only have two hands and perform as "one man band” most of the time. There are 128 or 200 XYZ sensitive pads under my fingers at LI that could help me to change some parts of my live performance. so I’m forced to move my hands over another device to turn/move some knobs or sliders. (OP-Z is fully midi ready, so I could get some performance effects on the 6x8 pads in the split mode).

Yes, it is true that LinnStrument is intended to be a musical instrument, and its features and printed panel settings reflect that intention. That said, it does have the Low Row, CC Faders, and Panel/Foot Switches, as well as quick access to frequently musical needs including volume, split keyboard, sound switching, octaves and transposition, which I find to be correct for control purposes related to musical performance. And I'm sorry you disagree, but I do feel that changing it into a MIDI controller capable of individual XYZ assignment for each note pad would make it too complex for non-technical musicians to use. However, you are welcome to edit the source code or write an external application for its User Firmware mode, thereby changing LinnStrument into your ideal personal instrument.

Lastly, the UI design is where I shine. so if I create “confusing UX” in my other life .. I don’t get paid. Using synths/computers and electronics for over 20 years with focus on creativity, workflow efficiency and easy to operate UX makes me a good bee to help with design. Next time you have a challenge to implement something
shoot me an email.

Thank you, but I suspect that we have different approaches to the design of a musical instrument. If you do edit the source code to change LinnStrument into your ideal personal instrument, please post your code on the forum for the benefit of others who share you view.

[John the Savage]

Lastly, the UI design is where I shine. so if I create “confusing UX” in my other life .. I don’t get paid. Using synths/computers and electronics for over 20 years with focus on creativity, workflow efficiency and easy to operate UX makes me a good bee to help with design. Next time you have a challenge to implement something
shoot me an email.

The code is open-source, man... Let's see what you got. I'll be waiting with bated breath...

Cheers!

[tiantong]

From what I've seen on the internet, Roger is usually very magnanimous about things that overlap, compete with or are partially inspired by the Linnstrument. The more MPE the merrier etc.

I've got a Medusa and although it has a bunch of interesting features, eg the way you can manually 'play sequencer grid pads' (and attach multiple notes to a pad), the expressiveness of the Medusa does not compare well to any other MPE controller. In all dimensions of expression it is limited, but especially pressure(aftertouch), the useable range of which is way too limited, and way to close too the minimum pressure cutoff, below which the note stops playing.

Have you tried to control Medusa with the Linnstrument? Curious about how it will respond.