Linnstrument live rigs

[48cube]

Since there are some Linnstrument live rigs snippets scattered over a few threads of this forum, why not starting a dedicated discussion. Let's share pictures, practical tips, geeky details, anything related to playing Linnstrument live at gigs.

I'll kick-off with my humble and simple setup.

Linnstrument is attached to a basic keyboard X-stand with bungee chords. X-stand has got some flex when doing manual vibratos but I'm usually holding the left side of Linnstrument to keep it steady a playing with right hand. It's still shaking a bit but at least audience can connect it with what they are hearing

Last weekend I've played with a band at open air festival first time and got caught up unprepared by direct sunlight, not seeing the LED lights at all, leaving me blind. I had to put the synth and Linnstrument into the transport case and it's lid provided some shadow. Not ideal but it worked. This upcoming weekend our band is again playing outdoors so I used red and black acrylic markers (0.7 mm) to be able to play without the need of shadow (still hoping to get partial shadows by trees).

Concerning sounds, I play synth with drums/bass/guitar/vocal kinda-math rock band. I've settled on Sequential Prophet 6 module. Love it's sonic range and how it nicely blends with electric guitar, thanks to analog VCO's, filters and distortion. Effects are seemingly basic but I've found out by trial and error that they sound better then many external effects which tend to thin-out synth's raw sound.
P6 has basic MPE support. It's mono-timbral so no upper/lower zones and MPE mode has at default very limited Y-axis modulation destinations - you can only switch between full control of either filter or PW or both in the global settings. Aftertouch on the other hand has 6 destinations with variable common amount. And here it is where the Linnstrument really shines - I swapped the controllers so that Y-axis sends the Aftertouch and Z-axis sends the CC74 which is set to PW of both oscillators. With this trick I have much better expressive options.
Unisono sounds are not friends with MPE mode on P6 but Linnstruments saves the day again with it's second 'split' which is configured as single-channel and works wonders with unisono although with pitch slides limited to 12 semitones.

I have a magnetic foil with cheats for current playlist. Info for each song contains playing order number, name, tempo, key, preset numbers (P6 displays only numbers) and initial click countdowns that come from drummers click source to IEM. IEM headphone preamp is hanging velcroed on the stand, right below the Linnstrument (not in the pictures below).

My playing technique is perhaps a bit unorthodox (judging from other Linnstrumentalist videos). I use lower edge of the Linnstrument pads as guiding line for fingers and swing the fingerpads towards the upper pad egde. It's not a rule but most of my self-designed sounds are nearly muted with closed filter on lower pad edge and moving upwards it gets more open/bright/detuned/high-passed/broken/twisted... it depends. Sometimes this expression is subtle other times it goes to extremes. I.e. when playing chords the expression range is usually lower. For expressive 1- or 2-finger pad sounds/leads it is more drastic timbre change on Y-axis.

On my primitive 'pedal board' I have Radial Engineering Key Largo, a keyboardists mixer that has 3 stereo inputs (I'm using only one), USB interface, FX loop, volume pedal loop, monitor and DI outputs that FOH sound guys love. In the volume pedal loop is Really Nice Leveling Amplifier that is set to limit the highest peaks a bit. Both boxes are powered by Cioks power brick that also powers the Linnstrument with its USB out and IEM HP preamp. Everything fits in relatively small flight case. For the future I might add Eventide H9 with expression pedal for further sound tweaking but if it adds too much complexity, I'll just stick with the rig as it is. I'm getting older and my cognitive abilities are not exactly growing while the world around us is getting more and more complex so keeping things simple is necessary

I'm looking forward to your rigs and tips!

[inffih]

Great setup. I haven't tried to take my Linnstrument on a gig yet, but this actually inspires me to try find ways to improve the "blind" playability of the LS, which is indeed essential in a gig/band setting

[John the Savage]

Just hunkered down at the cabin, prepping for a tour presently.

Putting a new rig through its paces... Retro TV not included.

Low-res images to accommodate file-size restrictions and protect the innocent.

Cheers!

[Roger_Linn]

Cool setups, all.

[John the Savage]

Thanks, Roger.

Between shows, however, I prefer this...

[Roger_Linn]

Coffee always improves the music.

[48cube]

Just hunkered down at the cabin, prepping for a tour presently.

Putting a new rig through its paces... Retro TV not included.

Low-res images to accommodate file-size restrictions and protect the innocent.

Cheers!

Love the lights and tidy cabling - great inspiration! Could you please elaborate on what roles the different boxes play in your setup? How is the Linnstrument mounted to the stand? And... do you play solo or with a band?

[John the Savage]

Love the lights and tidy cabling - great inspiration! Could you please elaborate on what roles the different boxes play in your setup? How is the Linnstrument mounted to the stand? And... do you play solo or with a band?

Thanks, Cube!

Sure, no problem. For starters, you can read a lot about what my rig does (and what I do), and see a few previous incarnations of it, in this old thread:

viewtopic.php?t=587851

That was an impromptu conversation that arose, in an otherwise unrelated topic, a few years ago. This latest setup is aimed, more or less, at the same objective, while taking advantage of the latest tech.

The LinnStrument is not mounted to the stand at all, it's just sitting on a rubber mat, which creates enough friction to hold it in place. It can't move backwards, because the SR-18 and the DN2 are sitting on a plank of half-inch hardwood that is clamped to the underlying stand. And those machines are holding themselves in place, because their feet hang over the leading edge of the plank. Most of the upper deck employes these simple principles, and wherever I'm not relying on the laws of physics, Velcro is the almost certainly the answer.

In recent years, I've traded some audio looping for more MIDI looping. The Hapax was a revelation in that respect. It is the central brain of the entire upper deck, hosting and powering the LinnStrument, doing most of the sequencing, and providing clock to the entire rig, floor to ceiling. That said, all of the sequencers onstage are running, and can be used, in tandem with each other. Regardless of whatever show I'm on, there is never anything pre-recorded or pre-sequenced.

I'm always starting with a blank slate.

SR-18 is providing 24 basic "acoustic" drum samples...
DN2 is providing 8 additional synth drum sounds, and 5 channels of synthesis...

The MPC is providing a bit of everything, including additional drum racks, rompler sounds, more synths, FX, and general foley when needed.

The iPad is serving mostly as a rompler at the moment, if only because it has more polyphony than the MPC, and I often have the MPC committed to other duties. Though, I do run Animoog Z and a handful of other MPE synths on the iPad as well.

Helix is processing guitar and vocals, and routing any-and-all audio to-and-from the loopers, acting as a soundcard and MIDI interface for the iPad, and hosting the expression pedals to its right.

There's a Cry Baby in there, and a POG2, each doing what you might expect.

That's about it on the instrument side.

The lights don't typically travel with the rig. While I do use them for local gigs, they're mostly there as a "live fire" drill of sorts during rehearsals, because I will have to navigate this setup with similar par lights (and a whole lot more) blaring in my face, come showtime.

Yar, Billy, ya ever been to sea?

On most shows, the lighting comes with the venue or stage rigging, and is out of my hands, thankfully.

This is getting pretty long, so I'll leave it here for now. But I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have, should you want to know more.

Cheers!

[48cube]

Thank you! Wow, that's a lot of stuff happening there. Thanks for the heads up on the Hapax, I'll definitely try to learn more about it.

Ha, the thread you mention was a trigger for creating this one

[John the Savage]

Ha, the thread you mention was a trigger for creating this one

Ha!

Well then, hopefully, you can see a natural evolution taking place.

Cheers!