Cheap MPE controllers

[Uncle E]

Linnstrument is OT (not a cheap MPE controller).

[FranklyFlawless]

Also, I have no way of trying it out to confirm my suspicions and it is far too expensive for what it is compared to other options.

Already addressed in a related thread:

You can contact Roger about finding a local LinnStrument owner in your area:

• Where to Buy - Dealers

If you don't find a local LinnStrument dealer below, email me (Roger) and there's a good chance of a local LinnStrument owner who is willing to show you his. Or please suggest to your favorite local dealer to place an order for LinnStrument.

If you decide to pursue this possibility further, try to find two local LinnStrument owners, one for each LinnStrument size, so you have an idea of which form factor is best for your workflow.

[vurt]

Linnstrument is OT (not a cheap MPE controller).

you'd think so...

[FranklyFlawless]

I also agree the LinnStrument is not cheaply built either.

[BONES]

Well, my Roli basically needs to be thrown away and replaced with something else because of the pressure issues, so does that count as not requiring service?

One of my Roli products is a throw away but the other 10 that I own are all perfectly fine. With the 11th, the Seaboard Block, the situation is basically what I would get with a Linnstrument, which is why I wouldn't take the risk with one of those. i.e. The problem I've had with the Seaboard Block is what taught me the lesson when it comes to buying products with no local support.

If my Roli wasn't having issues I wouldn't have gone for the Linnstrument. As it is, I'm not married to keyboards and I like the melodic jumping around that a grid layout allows

I don't see how it is any better or more useful than a keyboard, where you are equally free to "jump around", except that I know which notes I am jumping to with a keyboard, it's pot-luck with a grid.

Already addressed in a related thread:

... and countered. There is no way I am going to ask someone else to let me try their Linnstrument, assuming there are even any in the country. That's just nuts.

[foosnark]

I don't see how it is any better or more useful than a keyboard, where you are equally free to "jump around", except that I know which notes I am jumping to with a keyboard, it's pot-luck with a grid.

A Linnstrument 128 is only a little bit larger than a Seabord M. The way I have my Linnstrument set up, it covers C1 to E6, while a Seaboard covers C1 to B2.

With any decent grid controller you can set the vertical spacing to any interval you want, including octaves. On the Linnstrument (and no doubt some other grid controllers) you can also customize the way notes are lit up to guide you.

My layout goes up a 5th per row, and I have C in a light teal and F and G in blue. It's extremely easy with this pattern for me to find any note on the scale. If I'm playing Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, or major or minor pentatonic, it's even the same pattern between C-F and G-C, so jumping up or down by a row or playing parallel 5ths works great. It's just super easy for improvising on. It also took basically no time to learn, and I can switch to 4ths instead of 5ths and it's just about as easy to work with.

But like I already said, there's no point in arguing personal preferences. I get why someone might want to stick with a traditional keyboard when that's what they are used to. I also get why a guitar or bass player or somebody with a different approach to music theory might prefer a grid...

[FranklyFlawless]

There is no way I am going to ask someone else to let me try their Linnstrument, assuming there are even any in the country.

Okay, you can try asking your preferred local music dealer about bringing one of each size in for demonstration.

[BONES]

Okay, you can try asking your preferred local music dealer about bringing one of each size in for demonstration.

No, I couldn't. Where would they get one from? Roger Linn needs to get off his high horse and get a f**king distributor who retailers can deal with.
Do you know why I bought a Seaboard Rise? Because the distributor and provided a great in-house installation in my local music shop so that customers could play around with the Seaboard and Equator, so that we could get a really good idea of what we might be getting for our significant monetary outlay. I went back several times, probably spending three or four hours with the set-up, before I had the confidence to spend the money. Even then, the knowledge that I could return it a month later and get my money back without question made the decision easier.

It was even better when I bought my Seaboard Block. I got that from a big-box retail store. Again, they had a nice retail stand where I could try it out, with the other Blocks, and get an idea of the value of the product to me. Again, I went back a few times to check out various aspects of the product and ended up buying it cheap when it was on sale. Of course, unbeknownst to me, they were actually in run-out mode, after the distributor dropped Roli. Had I realised that, I definitely would not have blown Au$900 on the f**king thing.

With Lumi Keys it wasn't such a big deal, as they are relatively very cheap and worth taking a risk on. As it turned out, though, Roli has a new Australian distributor so there wasn't as much risk as I thought, which is when I decided to buy a second unit. But for something that is 5-6 times more expensive, I'd want to know there was good local support for it before I took the plunge.

[FranklyFlawless]

No, I couldn't. Where would they get one from? Roger Linn needs to get off his high horse and get a f**king distributor who retailers can deal with.

Directly from Roger Linn Design:

• Where to Buy - Dealers

Dealer Inquiries

The only products that we sell to retailers are our LinnStrument and LinnStrument 128 Expressive MIDI Controllers.

We only sell direct in the U.S. but outside the U.S., we welcome orders from any established musical instrument or professional audio retail business (selling directly to end-users) on a non-exclusive basis, that meets the following requirements:

1) You have a professional web site showing that you are an authorized retail dealer (selling directly to end-users) for similar electronic musical instrument brands. Note: We do not normally sell to distributors (businesses that only resell to retail stores) and offer no additional discounts for such distributors.

2) You must have at least one representative who learns and knows our product(s) well and is able to give customers a professional and knowledgeable demonstration. I (Roger) am willing to train your representative in a video call.

3) We provide direct English language technical support to end-users of our products. However, if you are in a non-English speaking country, you must have at least one representative who knows our product(s) well enough to answer technical questions from end-users.

4) In the unlikely event of one of our products needing repair or component replacement, we provide direct English language repair support to the customer, determining the problem by email or phone and if repair is needed, arranging to send the customer a user-replaceable part or arranging for repair. However, if you are in a non-English speaking country, you must work with us and the non-English speaking customer to help solve his problem.

If you are interested in becoming a dealer for LinnStrument, contact me (Roger) at sales@rogerlinndesign.com with your web site address. I will respond with our dealer prices. Our minimum order is two pieces, though we permit a one-time single LinnStrument purchase for new dealers, at a smaller discount, in order to evaluate LinnStrument. Also, all initial or infrequent dealer orders must be prepaid. 30-day payment terms are available for frequent repeat orders.

[BONES]

See, that's the problem. Without a distributor, there is no local support. e.g. When I have a problem with a Korg product, the Australian distributor is responsible for sorting it out, so they have a local authorised repair agent who has access to parts and repair manuals, etc. So I don't need to spend $150 each way on postage, I can take a product in and hand it over in person, and pick it up when it's ready. That same repair agent also does Roland, which makes it even more convenient. Yamaha have their own service set-up but they also do Steinberg, which was super-convenient for Cubase issues.

When Roli told me I'd need to send my Seaboard Block back to them in England to have it repaired, I threw it in the bin because it just wasn't going to be worth the hassle or cost.

My layout goes up a 5th per row, and I have C in a light teal and F and G in blue. It's extremely easy with this pattern for me to find any note on the scale. If I'm playing Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, or major or minor pentatonic, it's even the same pattern between C-F and G-C, so jumping up or down by a row or playing parallel 5ths works great.

You have to understand that I have only the faintest idea what any of that means. I know where the notes are on a keyboard and I have a reasonable, intuitive feeling of which notes will work with which other notes.

It's just super easy for improvising on.

I'm not a musician, I don't improvise. I never practice, I only ever rehearse.

I also get why a guitar or bass player or somebody with a different approach to music theory might prefer a grid...

That's the thing, it clearly works if you can play guitar but if you can't, then it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. When I am just playing around on the Lightpad, I can hear a lot of very guitar sounding progressions/riffs, things that make it obvious how a lot of recognisable songs came about, but even after several years, I still can't make any sense of it for myself. I still have to learn parts by rote, not note. i.e. I don't think of it as F, then A, then A#. To me it is still 4th button on the bottom row, then last button on the second row, etc., and that's the only way I can approach it. (I couldn't even convert the F-A-A# to grid positions just now.) I think that even if the notes were lit up on the pads, I'd still struggle. It's just way too far removed from my experience to make it stick in my useless, fat head.

[FranklyFlawless]

Right, I agree, but this is how the situation is for the LinnStrument at the moment. As you already know, other MPE hardware manufacturers experience similar issues except those with substantial industry backing, such as Ableton.

[audiojunkie]

Is there a way to assign a chord to a single key on the Linnstrument? I would love to be able set up guitar chords to single keys, and then strum them with the strummer. That would be so useful for me! I'm not comfortable with trying to play multiple buttons in a chord form, while strumming at the same time.

[BONES]

Last night I was doing a bit of rehearsal with the Lumi Keys for the first time and I was amazed at how much better the playing experience was compared to my MPK Mini+ or KeyStep. There is one particular part I play in We Are Glass that I found almost prohibitively difficult on the MPK that is an absolute doddle on the Lumi, thanks to the extra length in the keys. It was almost a eureka! moment for me. The Lumi Keys is shaping up as one of the best $200 I've spent in a long time. I can't wait to get up on stage with them.

[FranklyFlawless]

Is there a way to assign a chord to a single key on the Linnstrument?

If you have Arduino programming interest and/or experience, you can add/change/remove whatever functionality you want to the LinnStrument's firmware, subject to hardware limitations and among other resources.

[audiojunkie]

Last night I was doing a bit of rehearsal with the Lumi Keys for the first time and I was amazed at how much better the playing experience was compared to my MPK Mini+ or KeyStep. There is one particular part I play in We Are Glass that I found almost prohibitively difficult on the MPK that is an absolute doddle on the Lumi, thanks to the extra length in the keys. It was almost a eureka! moment for me. The Lumi Keys is shaping up as one of the best $200 I've spent in a long time. I can't wait to get up on stage with them.

You are talking about Piano M from Roli, right? When I go to look at LUMI Keys Studio Edition, the site points to the Piano M.