#41

The linnstrument is a very sensitive instrument. Velocity and pressure sensitivity are also adjustable on the unit, using the global settings area.

I haven’t tried a Haken Continuum yet, and I get the impression that its Hall effect sensors may be even more sensitive than the Linnstrument’s FSR array, but compared to the Roli Seaboard Grand (which cost multiples of the Linnstrument price) I found the Linnstrument to be responsive, consistent, and reliable.

#42

Having owned a roli, linnstrument and continuum (in that order) I’ve found the Continuum to be the most sensitive and interesting to play. I didn’t like the lack of movement on the linnstrument at all tbh. The continuum allows you to tap, push, scrape etc. I’m so many different ways (with tactile feedback) which invoke different sounds so beautifully from the Eaganmatrix synth.

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#43

A scrape is a very subtle gesture! Impressive. Usually requires mics to pick up something so subtle.

#44

It’s partly down to the sound design of course but it’s certainly a surface which allows multiple ways of playing.

#45

What’s your go-to sound when you want to practice or play right away? I love sound design but not when I want to get right to playing. And sound choice can be the difference between feeling like you’re playing an expressive instrument or like you’re tapping on a table since Linnstrument has very little physical feedback.

#46

Guitar or other plucked string instruments. It’s sometimes nice if pressure or slide brings in some kind of granular or delay effect, but not strictly necessary.

Guitar was my first instrument, and the one I still feel most connected to, even when playing an abstracted electronic form. There is also something about the layout and ergonomics of linnstrument that lends itself to guitar.

I’m also fond of mallet sounds on the linnstrument.

If you’ve got a nice velocity-responsive sharp attack, and then layer in some kind of pressure-sensitive pad or effect for sustain, this covers a lot of linnstrument’s expressive territory. And pitch bends also make sense for stringed instruments, as well as wind instruments to a lesser degree. So, upright bass, and woodwinds are also favorites.

I’m terrible at playing acoustic flute, but I sound halfway decent at it on a linnstrument.

I strongly recommend trying Roli’s Equator2. They’ve done the sound design for you. I love experimenting with MPE and I’ve found exciting sounds in all sorts of places, but if I just want to power up and play the way I would with an acoustic instrument, there are a few favorited patches in Equator2 that I can rely on to deliver with zero fuss.

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#47

I’ll have to check out Equator2. I’ve been finding that most synths are “dialed in” for keyboard for obvious reasons but I didn’t think of that before getting a Linnstrument. In practice this means fiddling with velocity and pressure settings per sound to get it to feel right. A synth already dialed in for MPE would be stellar. Ironically monophonic sounds seem to “just work” but there might be a hint of bias there since I’m a bassist and given a 4th tuning I can figure a bass line out more intuitively than chords.

#48

Once you get something like Equator2 under your fingers you can move beyond “this doesn’t sound as good as it would with an ordinary keyboard” and start thinking critically about “what makes a guitar sound like a guitar, and a flute sound like a flute, and how can I adjust my playing technique for more realism?” Or alternatively, “how can I push the limits of what five dimensions of expression mean in electronic music?” (Which isn’t likely to resemble any acoustic instrument at all, yet somehow benefits from all the “realism” exploration you did before.)

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#49

I purchased a Linnstrument at the beginning of January after thinking about it for over a year. I’m quite excited for it! Has anyone been using it with Live 11? Is it pretty plug and play with the MPE mode?

#50

Yep! Just works. …

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#51

Given that my original instrument was bass, Linnstrument’s lights on the natural notes haven’t felt like much of a help to me. I don’t think in terms of white keys and black keys; I think in terms of hand positions, and fingering patterns for intervals and scales. What I really wanted was “fret markers.” Today I realized that the screws on the Linnstrument are all spaced 5 semitones apart - fourths. Not the same spacing as fret markers but since I can feel the screws with my thumb without looking down it is already making it easier to orient hand positions.

#52

You can also configure the light patterns to match bass or whatever intervals you like!

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#53

I’ve figured out how to light up different notes but that still requires me to look down and isn’t really like fret markers. I’ve found that I tend to just want to tap the lit notes like a moth to a lamp. One thing I miss compared to bass is on a string instrument the frets get closer together as they go up. This makes it easier to tell where you are without looking down because different parts of the neck feel different to play. At least the screw trick is tactile.

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#54

For me it’s winds all the way.

As @jasonw22 said, it just works for a number of instruments and they’re actively looking for more in the beta forum. Equator2 is one of the supported ones and it’s pretty amazing despite some performance issues they need to hammer out…

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#55

Tried out all the tuning options and landed on major thirds with the right split mirrored. The chord patterns fall really naturally under my fingers without stretching or contorting, scales follow a nice diagonal trajectory, and you use the same fingers for both hands. I think I’m going to stick with it.

What stands are you all using? I’d like to give my Linnstrument its own spot so I don’t have to make room on my desk whenever I want to play it. Roger Linn recommends one on his site, but it seems to only be available from Amazon at the moment and I try to order from music stores whenever possible.