Feature suggestion.

[stratblue]

Hey.

Firstly, I'd love to have more internal presets for the Linnstrument so I could store all the panel settings I tend to use, maybe available for recall via a program change message. I use the Linnstrument for so many different things, I fill up the available ones easily.


Secondly, some of the equipment I have doesn't respond well to rapid sequences of program change messages, my Line 6 Helix simply locks up, so instead of dragging the finger across the playing surface to transmit PC, would a 16 by 8 grid that allows the sending of one specific PC message be useful?

I lack the skills to do anything with the open source code so hopefully these sound like potential good ideas.

Cheers.

[FranklyFlawless]

• Support - LinnStrument - FAQs (General tab)

Q: Can you add this feature: __________?

A: LinnStrument has a very full feature set, which you can see in the Panel Settings page, accessed from the LinnStrument Support page.

However, the flexible nature of LinnStrument inspires many different people to want to make it into many different instruments. Geert (LinnStrument programmer) and I (Roger) realized early on that:

1) We don’t have the resources to make a LinnStrument that meets everyone’s individual desires,
2) we didn’t want to make it so complex that it scares away non-techy musicians, and
3) we wanted to keep it compact without adding space for an alphanumeric display and various editing knobs, switches and sliders.

So we intentionally chose parameters that focused on its core purpose as an expressive musical performance instrument and printed them on the panel, and other than the sequencer settings, I only printed parameters in the first 16 columns in order to maintain compatibility with LinnStrument 128. And for all of the many different features that individual users desire, we:

1) released the software as open-source, permitting everything to be customized,
2) put in lots of remote MIDI commads so that external computer applications can control nearly everything, and
3) created a User Firmware Mode that allows LinnStrument to act as a smart terminal for external computer applications.

Given that the upper and lower printed panel parameters through column 16 are all used, any new features must be fairly simple and carefully considered to be important to many users for LinnStrument's core purpose as an expressive musical performance instrument.

I lack the skills to do anything with the open source code so hopefully these sound like potential good ideas.

Take the time to learn them.

[Roger_Linn]

Hi stratblue,

Thanks for the suggestions:

1) I think you're asking for more "All Settings" memories than the current 6 that are represented by the 6 blue buttons on the right side of the Preset screen. If so, I'm sorry to say that there's not enough memory for more. But also, I try to keep LinnStrument's operation simple in order to not scare away non-technical users, and managing so many All Settings memories would, in my opinion, require a more complex system that includes naming, copying and editing a large number of such memories. My design focus for LinnStrument is more about live expressive performance than about being a complex programmable desktop workstation, so I feel that 6 of these memories is the correct number for this simple design focus.

I have received a few requests for this feature from new users, but they generally find that once they understand LinnStrument's fairly simple UI, they generally find that it's easier to make the few settings changes directly.

If you'd like to learn more about my guiding principle for adding software features, it's on the FAQ page, "General" tab, FAQ "Can you add this feature ______?".

That said, perhaps a programmer on this forum would be interested in writing a computer application for you that would import all settings from LinnStrument and store them on your computer, thereby allowing you to save and load as many of these memories as you desire.

2) Not overloading slower synths by sending many Program Change messages from LinnStrument.

We currently plan a solution that does not require changing the UI: while sliding your finger to change the Preset (Program Change +1) number in the Preset screen, don't send the continuously changing Program Change messages. Instead, wait until you finish your finger slide and release your finger, then send the final displayed Preset (Program Change - 1). However, I can't tell you when this will be added because there is very little demand for it.


Update: I just noticed Franky Flawless's response, which I don't agree with. LinnStrument is a musical instrument, designed for musicians and not coders, and I don't expect any LinnStrument owner to learn to write software.