New LinnStrument owner here, questions

[puremusic]

Hey all, glad to have just picked up a LinnStrument the other day.

I am beginning my exploration of it, and already I love the wonderfully expanded chord possibilities. I am getting along well with it for everything but piano, and after all I have a great digital piano too so who needs do that with it?

The adjustment of parameters according to the charts on the perimeter has been really easy so far, didn't need to look up some stuff I thought I'd have to.

I thought I'd ask some of my beginner questions here on this thread as I get used to the instrument.

So far I've been able to turn off x axis pitch bend, and enjoy the glissandos. Is it possible to have that x axis setup for that, but still have pitch bend within a single square? Also are there pitch bend configuration possibilities beyond the parameters on the perimeter, i.e. fine tuning how much of it there is with a finger wiggle within a square?

Also, where should I read up on setting up microtonal and alternative scales and what possibilities there are that way?

Can I configure the specific x axis and y and z MIDI message to be whatever CC I want?

[Roger_Linn]

Thank you for owing a LinnStrument and welcome to our forum!

So far I've been able to turn off x axis pitch bend, and enjoy the glissandos. Is it possible to have that x axis setup for that, but still have pitch bend within a single square?

Sorry, there's no setting for that, but there is a cumbersome way to do it in order to learn whether you find it helpful. If you set MIDI Mode to One Channel, then hold one note while playing another with X-axis movements, the note with movements will permit vibrato within the note pad but pad-to-pad slides will be quantized to semitones. This is described on this page under the One Channel heading, first bullet point:
http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/midi-details.html

Also are there pitch bend configuration possibilities beyond the parameters on the perimeter, i.e. fine tuning how much of it there is with a finger wiggle within a square?

That's what Bend Range does. The idea is that you should set LinnStrument's Bend Range equal to that of your synth, then any X-axis movement will be one semitone per note pad. If would make no sense to have a separate bend range within the pad because if so, transitions from vibratos to pitch slides would result in a sudden pitch jump.

Also, where should I read up on setting up microtonal and alternative scales and what possibilities there are that way?

On the second FAQ of the FAQ page:
http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/ls-faqs.html

Can I configure the specific x axis and y and z MIDI message to be whatever CC I want?

The X-axis message is always Pitch Bend, because any other message is only 7 bits, which is inadequate for horizontal pad-to-pad slides. Y And Z can use any CC or Channel Pressure or Poly Pressure, assigned by holding Timbre/Y column > CC74 or Pressure/Z column > CC11 in Per-Split Settings. You can learn more in the relevant section of the Panel Settings page.

[puremusic]

Thank you that was helpful, it's a privilege to hear from you.

I really appreciate innovative control surfaces and instruments like this. I think the future is going to be very broad and wide for instrument technology, I think we'll be able to have any kind of surface we want, and turn it into an instrument with fine control that suits the person rather than the person having to be suited to the instrument.

It's a great time to be in seeing all this pioneering going on and being a part of it.

[Tj Shredder]

I think the future is going to be very broad and wide for instrument technology, I think we'll be able to have any kind of surface we want, and turn it into an instrument with fine control that suits the person rather than the person having to be suited to the instrument.

There are controllers like that, I have a Sensel Morph, I turned it into a sort of Mini LinnStrument. Good if I can‘t carry the LinnStrument for whatever reason. But its different. Playing the same synth sounds different. Its an illusion to think an instrument would adapt completely to you, you always have to adapt to the instrument as well and that is a good thing...

[puremusic]

I remember reading about the Morph. I figure yes, anything will be an instrument, your couch, a piece of wood, something you carved into your favorite shape, whatever you wish or randomly encounter. The right sensing devices whether visual or electrical and they will sense your finger positions and you'll adjust the sounds to be like you want.

People with disabilities and poor natural muscle coordination will have everything compensated for them, and folks without will still have their natural tendencies and preferences fitted to by the instrument.

My favorite of the innovative devices is Touchkeys, which I don't know how I'd do without at this point. I am so happy to have that extra hand available rather than working a mod wheel for expression. After that, my breath controller, can't do without that for wind instrument sound control. Linnstrument is going to be great for fast and different chords than I'm accustomed to I feel.

In the future, if H-PI comes out with another generation of Tonal Plexus as planned, I'll try to get ahold of one of those too and explore the vast world of microtonal music with 1300 keys.

[BobDog]

I remember reading about the Morph. I figure yes, anything will be an instrument, your couch, a piece of wood, something you carved into your favorite shape, whatever you wish or randomly encounter. The right sensing devices whether visual or electrical and they will sense your finger positions and you'll adjust the sounds to be like you want.

Quite a few years ago I went to a get-together of the electro-music.com forum in a chateau in Belgium for a week.

The whole thing was great, my first introduction to the continuum and also early models of the Octopus sequencer with the guys that were developing it, meeting lots of very interesting people, a general mind opener.

The thing that stands out though in my memory was an installation consisting of multiple sensors spread through out the place, mostly environmental and plant based all feeding a complex system written in supercollider which was a PhD project of one of the people there (sorry I can't remember her name but she was Dutch). This system treated us to a week of beautiful background music that changed constantly as the environment changed about it, very magical.

For me it was an important lesson in realiseing that my ideas of what made instruments and instrumentalists was maybe not as wide as it should be and was a start on to a different path.

[puremusic]

Thanks for the story Bob.

I'd love to try a continuum someday. I nearly bit on that continuum mini, but really I want to try the big one, that'll have to wait for a flush moment. I recall reading in the past about someone making plant based music, and I recall seeing for sale recently a meditation headband that changes the music according to whether your brain waves are more active or peaceful to reflect your state of mind.

I'm someone who has a great preference for background music that benefits the mind without seizing your attention, like Satie, and have spend a great deal of time listening to meandering, non-repetitive piano and symphonic music throughout my day. I can well imagine this sort of music composed to be altered seamlessly to suit as you wandered about your house or engaged in different activities.

A very idyllic environment to think about indeed.

[puremusic]

Here's a convenience factor question, is it possible to set the LinnStrument to start up in low power mode? It turns on automatically whenever I start up the PC, and I find myself shutting it off until it's time for music work, which while that's an everyday thing, it's not every hour of the day after all.

I can always buy a USB on/off switch if that's not possible I suppose.

Are there any custom firmwares available with interesting features I should be aware of?

[Roger_Linn]

If you enable Low Power mode, then turn power off and on, your LinnStrument will wake up in Low Power mode. If you disable Low Power mode, then turn power off and on, your LinnStrument will wake up in normal power mode.

While in normal power mode, if you wish to wake LinnStrument up in Low Power mode, hold Octave/Transpose while connecting power.

I am not aware of any custom firmwares but others may be. If you’re interested in discovering hidden features in LinnStrument, search each tab of the Panel Settings page for “hidden”.

[puremusic]

Interesting. That's not the behavior I'm seeing here. You turn on low power mode by pressing Pre-Split Settings and Global Settings buttons at once, and the lights turn off, correct? After that, I shut down the computer.

When my system starts up again, the lights come on again.

Let's see, I have it directly connected to my PC, Win 10, latest version. OS is 221.054.

[Roger_Linn]

No, pressing Per-Split Settings and Global Settings buttons at the same time turns on Sleep Mode, which is also accessed in Global Settings > Power/MIDI.

[puremusic]

Ah-ha, thank you for clearing that up. I basically wanted to have the lights stay off when powering up the pc, and confused the two modes.

[puremusic]

I wonder if anyone has some suggestions as to particular instruments or sample libraries that work best with the Linnstrument?

[Roger_Linn]

Yes, there is a page on my site called Recommended Sounds, which can be accessed from the LinnStrument Support page.

[mrspiral]

Yes, there is a page on my site called Recommended Sounds, which can be accessed from the LinnStrument Support page.

...and which he keeps pretty well updated, so visit frequently.

(Hi, Roger. Loving LS128 number two, hope you're loving the ContinuuMini )