Product Reviews by KVR Members

Big thumbs up.

Out of the box the Linnstrument with its various modes/layouts is very satisfying to play, and you will start developing your own technique quickly. Some virtual instruments/presets work well without any quantization, others will definitely benefit from it. I am treating this as a versatile instrument, where nuance can be expressed in various ways.

The Linnstrument also works great under Linux and Pipewire/Jack, along with the Reaper in my case. Vital and Surge XT are two great free synths with which to get started.

I also think there is a _lot_ of untapped potential with this controller, especially when you consider the well documented User Firmware Mode, which makes (as far as I can tell) all of the expected sensor data and the firmware's smarter-calculations available via normal MIDI.

I can imagine (and might even write) a program to support custom layouts with multiple Virtual MIDI port outputs, allowing a single Linnstrument to more easily control several instruments at once with custom routing and layouts that could be quickly switched between.

As always with MPE, it is a little frustrating to find good synths and presets, and it's even harder to find any pre-configured for the Linnstrument (specifically it's short MPE Slide, aka CC 74, aka the vertical motion within a single square). As a result, most MPE presets will require a little bit of tweaking. I look forward to a growing collection of Linnstrument-specific presets in the future.

Hardware-wise, it looks and feels great. The FAQ covers the most common hardware issues and how to fix them painlessly yourself. After watching Roger's disassembly video, I'm confident that I could self-repair most issues I'm likely to encounter in the coming years.

-- Rob T.