Awesome! Do you have the 128 or 200?
- Iām not one of these Linnstumentalists you see doing crazy live virtuoso performances. Iām just plunking in bass lines and the occasional chord, so the 128 is plenty big for me, and fits in the keyboard tray under my desk, so totally worth the trade off.
Itās worth mentioning that the Linnstrument has a really useful and well implemented split mode, though. Check out the manual and some videos, because if thatās something you think youāll use, the 200 gives you meaningfully more room to play with.
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Iām a career guitarist, and the LinnStrument was an epiphany for me, to be sure. Iāve been using mine, in a professional context, for well-over half a decade nowā¦ Iām never going back to playing keys, I can tell you that.
Roger put one in my hands, back when we were working together, fixing the Tempestās firmware, and it literally changed my life.
What can I say, Iām a hack on the keysā¦ No more. 
Cheers!
P.S. To answer your other question, Iāve got the 128. I prefer it over the 200, mostly because its footprint fits perfectly in my setup; but also because I find it easier to stay oriented in the dark onstage. To that end, the note range is more than adequate for my needs.
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Iām also very happy with mine. Life long bassist but now Iām also a synthesist. I have both sizes and prefer the 200 but sometimes the 128 is the only one that will fit.
It is exceptionally well conceived and built.
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Iām in Australia and looking to purchase the 200 model. Does anybody know the most reasonably priced place to do so?
I also bought the linnstrument128 as a guitarist about 1,5 years ago. I think itās the best option for a midi controller for guitarists. I only want to add to the opinions voiced here already, that itās very flexible and easy to edit directly on the device itself. Itās amazing what can be done with it, with enough practice.
However, I currently have it on sale, as I just donāt feel comfortable playing it (and I donāt have the digitone anymore, the main synth I used it with in pseudo MPE mode). No matter how I tried to set it up (flat, at an angle, on my lap), I always ended up with pain in my neck and back after a while. This might as well be my personal problem with it, so it might not be a problem for others, but I donāt experience the same kind of pain with other instruments. I just thought Iād mention that aspect as well.
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Raise it up, closer to your diaphragm; put it further away from your body; keep your chin up and your head back; relax your shoulders; learn to sight notes in your peripheral vision; and if you have to look down, do it with you eyes only, not your headā¦ Posture is half the battle.
Further to that, it is also often overlooked that most instruments do demand that the player be in reasonably good physical shape. To that end, physiotherapy might be of benefit, if youāre a serious player.
Lord knows, my colleagues and I have survived through many a repetitive strain injury, over the years, regardless of the instrument at hand. Hell, people get injured sitting in office chairs, staring at a computer screen and typing, soā¦
Cheers!
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Thank you for the advice! Itās exactly these points you listed I am having trouble with when using the linnstrument. Itās very hard for me to resist the urge to tilt my neck and look down when using it.
When I play guitar, I donāt even look at the fretboard 95% of the time. Thatās not going to happen on the linnstrument as itās very hard to feel where I am at (for me at least), so I really need to look down. Trying to stay aware of maintaining a good posture while playing is key, I completely agree. I just find it especially hard to do when playing the linnstrument.
Hmm, maybe you need to learn to trust your ears more?
Well, if it lends any perspective, I too suffered from tension and pain in my neck and upper-back, when I first took the LinnStrument to task. But I adapted by way of the advice above.
To use the guitar as an example (Iāve been playing for some 30yrs), while I may not have to look directly at the fretboard anymore, I am absolutely keeping an eye on it peripherally, and certainly stealing a glance, here and there, as needed. After decades of playing, however, that is no longer a matter of conscious thought. As such, it may feel or seem as though Iām not looking at it at all; but, in fact, I am.
The same is true of the LinnStrument. Like every instrument, itās okay to look occasionally, and certainly of no physical harm to do so. It may take a good long while, but if you make a conscious effort to look with your eyes and not your head, and slowly adapt to relying more and more on your peripheral vision, eventually it will become the good habit that saves you. I swear itās true.
As for the physicality of playing any instrument, it is a discipline, to be sure. It can take months, or even years, to correct oneās posture; especially if they tend to slouch in general (walking, sitting, typing, texting, etc.).
Anyway, it sounds as though youāve got your mind made up, but thereās my best attempt at a pep-talk. Iām living proof.
Cheers!
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Yeah, exactly. I appreciate the pep-talk and Iām sure it is also very useful for other people interested in the linnstrument. But for me, Iāve had the linnstrument for 1.5 years and havenāt been able to keep up a consistent practice routine with it. So I think itās better to pass it on in my case.
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For what is worth, I also had the linnstrument about 1.5 years and just couldnāt connect with it. I kept comparing what I could do with it to the keyboard, or even the guitar.
So I sold it. But nowā¦I miss it still. I will probably go back to it in a couple years, because it could really do some cool stuff.
Itās a dang cool instrument, people who take the time to learn it can play some amazing music.
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I just hit purchase on a brand new Linnstrument 200. I spent a few weeks looking for a good second hand bargain on line but in the end it made more sense to buy new, especially considering the free shipping
Can anybody recommend some good resources to get started. Iām pretty much new to anything outside of a sequencer work flow and have a lot to learn.
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Check for Jeff Moenās lessons.
(Sorry for the cross-posting to several fora, Iām trying to reach as many users as possible.)
Custom firmware: smoother playing in One Channel modes with non-MPE synths
The Linnstrument firmware resets pressure data at note on/off, and only sends pressure data for the most recent pad held. For non-MPE synths (or any synth played in One Channel or Channel per Row mode), this causes an abrupt jump in Z-values from 0 to/from the value of whatever prior pad is held. This behavior is similar for Y-values.
I fixed it in a non-supported and no-promises-made custom firmware, with the result that playing non-MPE synths is more predictable, and Z-data and Y-data is more usable to control synth parameters. The changes do not negatively impact MPE function, or other mode use-cases.
This change was prompted by a discussion on KVR.
The binary release is on Github:
Again, this is unofficial firmware, use at your own risk.
Then again, everyone is welcome to try it, and Iād appreciate any comments. Thanks.
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Most guitar tutorials (especially those with tab) make for a good referenceā¦
Cheers!
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Definitely agree. I found Moenās approach more piano-y which didnāt work as well for me.
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His approach, yes, but his chord shapes and fingerings are excellent. For the rest, I picked up a guitar book by Shawn Lane.
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How are you finding that book so far?
His book Power Licks and Solos is great and challenging, albeit even more difficult if you try to approach it with 4th tuning. When you reach the two upper rows, that tuning differs from the guitar and so the fingerings wonāt be always relevant. Nevertheless, Shawnās fingerings are often patterns, which generalise quite nicely.
All this being said: guitarists can obviously not count! Their finger numbering starts with index finger = 1 and stops at pinky = 4. Thatās very mind twisting for the trained pianist, who happens to have a thumb and also considers this one as a valid finger.
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