Features » Interviews » Roger Linn – “Asking My Permission Would Be Appreciated”

Roger Linn – “Asking My Permission Would Be Appreciated”

LinnDrum designer and musical instrument legend Roger Linn expands on his recent statement on the Behringer LM Drum, his dislike for litigiousness and the future of drum machines.

Roger Linn is a legend. As the developer of the LM-1 and LinnDrum, he almost single-handedly invented the modern drum machine, replacing chintzy analog percussion sounds with samples of acoustic drums, and making programmability, quantization and swing commonplace. Even if that was all that he was known for, his position as a musical instrument pioneer would be set, but he also created the MPC60 and MPC3000 with Akai, worked with Dave Smith on the Tempest, and is currently reimagining what a music keyboard can be with the LinnStrument.

Linn is also forthright and plainly spoken, as evidenced when he broke the internet last week with his essay about Behringer’s LM Drum, a sample-based drum machine that bears much more than just a passing resemblance to the LinnDrum. You should really read his statement in full if you haven’t yet (link here).

We wanted to know more though. We originally spoke with Linn 13 years ago when we took a deep dive into his invention of drum machine swing. This time, we wanted to know how he felt about being cloned, the difference between legal and ethical, and his famous dislike for taking legal action.

Attack: You say that you dislike legal stuff. Are there other emulations of your instruments, or uses of your drum sounds, that you’ve taken issue with before but not pursued? Why don’t you like legal stuff?

RL: It simply doesn’t interest me. But creating musical instruments does interest me, so that’s how I prefer to spend my time.

Many people might be surprised to learn that it’s illegal to share digital drum machine samples given how prolific sample packs are on the internet. It seems the internet has made copyright nearly impossible. Do you agree with that sentiment?

One issue is whether it’s legal to copy any digital information that is copyrighted. The other issue is whether I have any interest in chasing down people who copy my sounds, which I haven’t so far because it’s not fun. My essay explains my thoughts on this.

You mentioned that you question whether Behringer’s copying of the LinnDrum with the LM Drum is ethical. What would be an ethical way for a company to remake another company’s product in your opinion?

Asking my permission would be appreciated.

Ethical? Asking my permission would be appreciated.

How involved are you in the Luma-1, the LM-1 recreation, and what’s the difference between that and the LM Drum legally and ethically?

Luma-1 was created by my good friend Joe Britt, who makes no money on it but rather created it just for fun. His day gig is running a Silicon Valley tech firm that he founded. His two engineer friends, who are building and selling them, make very little from their efforts, and I’m happy to let them use the sounds. The story is on my site.

You also stated that you’ve borrowed from older products before. Would you mind talking about some of the products that inspired your own drum machines and instruments?

I didn’t invent the drum machine, but rather made a better drum machine by adding sampled sounds and real-time beat programming, aided by the invention of timing correction (quantize) and swing timing. In my opinion, the person most responsible for the biggest advancement in the evolution of the drum machine was Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland and Acetone before that.

In terms of GForce, what is about GForce that gives you the impression that they’re good people? They’ve worked with Tom Oberheim. Did you discuss GForce with him at all?

Tom told me that, plus in their first contact with me (regarding IconDrum, their software sound generator that plays sounds from LinnDrum), they were kind and respectful, said they wouldn’t proceed without my consent, and offered me compensation, which I politely declined as stated in my essay.

I’m not saying there’s no objective merit in nostalgia, but rather that I don’t have much interest in old synths and drum machines.

You mentioned in your essay that you’re not interested in nostalgia. For many though, the LinnDrum and your other instruments like the MPC-60 are more than just nostalgic, they’re classics that many would like to own. Are you flattered that people revere your creations in this way?

Yes, very flattered. I’m not saying there’s no objective merit in nostalgia, but rather that I don’t have much interest in old synths and drum machines. But everyone is different and it’s wonderful if an older music product makes someone happy.

Looking towards the future, what is the future of drum machines? Is there more room for innovation?

Maybe something like this?

It’s funny. I’ve sold 5000 LinnStruments, more than the number of LinnDrums I sold and 10 times as many LM-1s that I sold, yet the beat makers generally aren’t using it. It surprises me that most musicians see nothing limiting about playing music with on/off switches, which is what you play on drum machines and MIDI piano keyboards.

To learn more about Roger Linn and his work, visit his official website.